Thread: Article: A day in the life of an LD-er

there are many tutorials out there, however while rich in technique, they are not usually "connected" with each other. In this article I will talk about a general day in my own life and the techniques I use to have lucid dreams. I usually have around 1-3 LD's per week and my main technique is MILD/DILD. I have started late last year and at the time of my writing this article I have had a total of 84 lucid dreams. Please note that this "day" is by no means an example to be copied- each should, through trial and error find a combination that works for them.





I wake up- when do I wake up and how much sleep do I have? Now that I think about it, since after all this is the day of an oneironaut I will start at bedtime

Many dreamers place grate importance on going to bed early at 10-11pm, and I used to doggedly adhere to those values, however as time went on I realized that it didn't really influence my LD amount- as long as I got enough sleep. Since I'm on holiday I now go to sleep around 1-3 am and sometimes nap during the day.

Before bedtime I prepare a large mug of black tea with plenty of sugar, and also make sure to have some water handy. In case I'm feeling too emotional for whatever reason I meditate- this always helps calm me down and brings me to a good mood. I read a few pages from my dream journal to refresh my memory- this helps me significantly with dream recall. I don't drink any water before my initial sleep - perhaps a lil water- and set my alarm to go off around 4 hours later. Now, my main technique is MILD- so why, are you wondering, do I still want to wake up in the night? Simple- effectiveness. Trying MILD before my initial sleep is much less effective and if I trying any techniques then can cause me to stay awake for hours, instead I maybe repeat a MILD mantra for maybe 30 seconds and then allow my thoughts to take me away and fall asleep. After about 3-4 hours I either wake up naturally or by alarm, depending on which happens first. I go to the loo, and then drink all/most of the tea I prepared before going to bed. This awakening period is crucial- I sometimes "practice" my emotional response to finding out I'm in a dream- just as astronauts require training prior to space and spend time practicing each and every motion in large swimming pools, so should oneironaughts practice before dreams- Stand in a room, try to imagine realizing you are in a dream- what goes on through your head? is it "LOLZ ZOMG i'm dreaming!" or is it "oh cool I'm dreaming, ok dream goals...", try walking around and getting used to the feeling of being in a dream- this might be tricky though if you have never actually been in one- you might want to imagine you've just discovered you are "the one" in the matrix. Walk around, think of stuff to do- simple stuff, and get used to your emotions. The overall process can last anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes. Next I go to sleep and try to repeat a MILD mantra continuously, confidently and slowly as I fall asleep- ideally you should be repeating it even as you loose consciousness. I usually wake up around 1-3 more times, sometimes even after an LD quite hit and miss, but my dreams are usually quite exciting even if I'm nonlucid. Whenever I wake up I do a hand RC, which is still my main RC- assuming I don't forget to do it of course Also I make sure to write all of my dreams down after each awakening, but not before lying still and replaying them all in my head.

Then my day actually begins. When I first started I used to doggedly do RC's every 5 mins or so, and I did that for a few months, and in turn had somewhat more LD's, however I found that to be unsustainable since it does not allow me to truly think about more worldly matters, now I still think I do them often, but now I allow myself to think about other things as well, but I try to RC whenever I'm around and talking to people, and also when unexpected or exciting events occur, since that's the most challenging. I also take note of the times I should have RC'd but didn't.

Dreamsigns? I have several, my main one is flying, but generally I just look for anomalies and see if something is "too much"- as in too big, too weird, etc... I also pause after my RC- just stand still for a few moments- observe the world and allow it to proceed on without you to see if it will do anything weird.

Milk- milk is also good- in my opinion, at least, it really helps my dream recall. in the evening I like to go out on a stroll to a supermarket to get it, and during that stroll I continuously repeat MILD mantras and do RC's, dreamgoals, practice walking meditation and also ponder of my motives for LD-ing, and if I truly require an LD that day.
During the evening I like to browse DV and also talk to other dreamers via IM and share experiences and discuss techniques