Hey, welcome back! You're a legend to many aspiring beginner lucid dreamers like me.
I was just wondering if you had made any improvements on ADA or things you do differently since you were on hiatus?
Thank you so much for the guide!
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Hey, welcome back! You're a legend to many aspiring beginner lucid dreamers like me.
I was just wondering if you had made any improvements on ADA or things you do differently since you were on hiatus?
Thank you so much for the guide!
Thanks for the warm welcome. I just posted in the meta forum about editing my tutorials. As soon as I hear back from them, I'm going to go through my tutorials and revise, edit, add, anything that I feel needs to be added. I will definitely update it, but I need to go through it properly first. I'll post in here once I have completed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by mahoogie
Great tutorial! I have actually done this before, just trying to be mindful of everything, and during that time I noticed a great increase in my dream recall. :) Thank you Yoshi, I will definitely start doing this again!
Hmm, smell the air...OH MY GOD, is this what my apartment smells like!? Must...open...window...yeah, as you said, all the small things we don't notice. :p
Haha! Sounds like my place :P! Be sure to keep us updated on your progress.Quote:
Originally Posted by Unbound
Will do! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by KingYoshi
hey guys!
Brand new here, I'm a beginner lucid dreamer with only 1 fully lucid dream under my belt. What drove me to register and post this was the method by which that lonesome magnificent LD came to be for me. I had been doing vipassana meditation for a week or 2 for at least 45 minutes a day leading up to it, and became spontaneously lucid with no intention of LD'ing at all. Didn't even know LD's were possible.
Now more specifically what I was doing was Shinzen Youngs "5 ways to know yourself". He has a free ebook explaining it all you can read at "shinzen.org" under 'articles'. Anyway, the second way is the way of the physical senses, and it's pretty much exactly what ADA seems to be. You focus out, on different senses, and on all of them at the same time. I wasn't even doing this way all the time, I spent a good chunk of time focusing inwardly.
this is the first paragraph on the second way:
"In this approach, the basic idea is to anchor yourself in the present moment by focusing on external sight, external sound and physical (i.e., non-emotional) body sensations. This is based on a practice commonly given to new monks in Zen temples, allowing them to remain in a meditative state while effectively performing their daily tasks." "It is a sustained and systematic apparatus designed to permanently increase your base level of concentration, sensory clarity and equanimity.
The ultimate aim is to experience oneness with the outside world."
he goes on to describe how you can go from focusing on just one sense to floating between all of them:
"When you work individually, you increase concentration, clarity, and equanimity in just one element for a while. Because you’re working with just that one element at a time, it may be relatively easy to do. After doing that, when you back up and work with all of the elements, the whole system is likely to function in a smoother, more effective, and more satisfying manner because each element has been tuned up individually."
So I'm going to keep up the meditation and just continue the awareness through the day ADA style as much as possible, with some mantras/intention setting thrown in. I'm going to do WBTB paired with SSILD as well (seems like basically the same thing but in a cycle format tweaked for immediate induction), dream journal (I've been doing that for a little bit now, took Laberges advice and focused on dream recall first in the LD journey, have like 20 dreams recorded) and see what happens. I'll report back with success.
Great stuff and Welcome to Dreamviews!!Quote:
Originally Posted by tofur
Yeah, ADA is basically just compiled information written in a way that speaks to Lucid Dreamers. Buddhist Monks have been doing things very similar to ADA for years and years. This technique, basically, just cuts out some of the spiritual parts of their practices and focuses more on enhancing the recreational dreaming experience, recall, and awareness in both worlds (dream world and waking life). Reading and getting into the many practices of those Monks can only help with your dreaming experience. I'm glad to see you are enjoying the practice so far. Just stay positive and keep it going. Those lucid dreams will start popping up all over the place :)!
Yeah, Laberge nailed it when it comes to practicing recall first. Building dream recall is one of the most important aspects for beginners and veterans alike. Not only does recall help you remember more dreams/details/etc, but it can actually create lucidity all on its own. I can't imagine how many times, when I first started LDing, that something cool would happen in a non-lucid dream and I'd think, "I got to remember to write this down when I wake up." BOOM! I'd become lucid from this thought alone. So, keep that journal flowing and be sure to keep us all updated on your progress. You never know when your successes and failures could help out a fellow forum lurker. Experience is GOLD when it comes to lucid dreaming. Best of luck to you!
If recall helps that much then I need to start writing every dream down now!
Damn right you do! :P. In all seriousness though, recall is the number one factor when it comes to learning to lucid dream. You don't have to use elaborate descriptions and take up large amounts of time when writing down your dreams. Keep a notebook beside your place of rest and just write short sentences or groups of keyword, etc. While you are writing these down, play the dream out in your head. Think about everything you saw even if you don't write everything you saw. This process helps imbed the dream in your memory. The better your recall, the more chance you will have to become lucid. Not to mention, recall alone can help lead to spontaneous lucidity. So many times I've been in a non-lucid dream when something cool happens and I think, "I've got to remember to write that down." BOOM! That thought makes me lucid.Quote:
Originally Posted by azoller1
Thank you for explaining this so well. i will be coupling this with a personal technique to help me remember to do it. i hope it works as well for me as it is you. thanks alot :P
Hey, no problem at all, bud. I'm glad it was easy enough to understand and I wish you the best of luck. If you ever need anything or have questions regarding ADA, don't hesitate to ask!Quote:
Originally Posted by Asyyd
success!
just woke up from a LD! I've been doing ADA and meditating for however long it's been now, like a little over a week. This is my first purposefully induced LD, so glad I made that jump from the first random one so quick. I've been having some vivid dreams where I am a bit suspicious about strange occurrences, some unconscious fragmented dreams, and some nights of great recall and others with no recall, so I've had to work on my patience. I think that's key, can't be upset if nothing happens, but you have to desire something happening at the same time.
What I did specifically: starting a couple hours before bed, I filled up a large notebook page with "I wake up inside my dreams and realize I'm dreaming". I filled half the page then threw on some brain entrainment tracks (I always meditate with them) and continued the phrase as a kind of mantra, holding that thought to the exclusion of all others. Then I started visualizing what waking up inside a dream is like. I realized using real life memories to create the visualization is real easy so I did that. After 25-35 minutes I switched over to basic awareness training (focused on my mind, watched thoughts rise, floated through different senses as well). Then after a hour total of mediation I finished up the page and went to bed.
This is what I just wrote down about becoming lucid:
"... I just realized it was a dream. It seemed so real I didn't do anything even though I knew. There were 3 clocks in the room (analog). I looked at one (said 4:50), looked at the other one which had a completely different time, then back, and the first one had jumped 10 minutes forward. A minute or so passed where I just soaked it in, then either I closed my eyes or the dream faded, I opened my eyes and I was in bed. Immediately did a reality check (surprising considering I never do them in waking life) because the transition was so seamless, tried to DEILD but was too awake".
So cool how I just noticed it was a dream. It was almost too good to be true, it was so real and stable I questioned my call, but the clocks confirmed it. To be honest I still wasn't totally convinced, hence me just sitting there like a idiot. I think my mind is a little rigid from lack of LD'ing, lol.
Conrats tofur!! You are right. With dedication like that and the patience you displayed, you have a long lucid dreaming career ahead of you :D. The first few lucids are such an overwhelming experience. The more you get lucid, the more your mind will get used to the experience. It is a lot to take in at first, but that was an excellent first intentional lucid. You may not have moved around much, but you tested the dream world with the clocks and gained some valuable experience. Fantastic job and I'm sure this was just the first of many more to come. Glad the technique helped you achieve lucidity and I look forward to hearing your future endeavors. Again, congrats!
thanks! yeah I just view it as mental exercise. In my mind an hour or 2 a night after my day is over and right before I go to sleep and maintaining basic awareness even sporadicly during the day isn't so bad considering it has such a positive impact on quality of life in general
lol yeah my mind most definitely isn't used to it. I was kind of in shock, felt like I didn't want to disturb the people around me (it was a classroom filled with people that looked exactly like a real life one), so even though I knew the truth I didn't want to freak them out by doing something crazy, lol. But now I have a fresh experience that will help me visualize becoming lucid, should help a lot.
Haha, indeed. Its such a great feeling once you get used to lucidity and tear down that wall of normalcy. You will be ready to do something crazy in that same situation and it'll be a blast!Quote:
Originally Posted by tofur
This method looks quite useful, but I REALLY like to daydream. Is it possible to use this method and still daydream?
Sure, perform ADA within your daydream, taking that daydream to the next level. if you are daydreaming about winning an award (for example), imagine all the emotions, sounds, and experiences within that daydream. At the same time, keeping the awareness of your current body and the environment around you. Its a lot to experience at once, so try not to overdo it at first. Start with a smaller number of things to keep awareness of and allow that number to grow the more and more you get used to the technique.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkniager
What's the success rate if someone performs awareness techniques only during WBTB?
My problem with ADA is that so very little of my waking life actually carries over to my dreams. However, I often find that stuff I think about during WBTB (or when I get up in the middle of the night for fodd!) often gets included in dreams. Particularly things I don't usually dream about - like where I live or where I work.
Practicing ADA during WBTB is perfectly fine. I don't have a number for you, but it will definitely help increase your chances.
Keep in mind though, you don't have to be in a familiar place/setting/area or see familiar people/creatures/objects for ADA to carry over into your dream. ADA simply helps you distinguish between reality and the dream state. So, even if your dreams have nothing to do with your reality, ADA can still help you "feel" the dream. I use feel for lack of a better term. Its more like a mental feeling and not a physical one.
Its almost as if it creates an instinct to knowing you are in a dream. Not exactly, but very similar.
What happens if you kind of toy with your perception to both give you constant reminders to perform ADA and keep you more aware? Example? I'm thinking things like only wearing one contact lens so that one eye is blurry, deliberately putting a stone in a shoe, etc.
Yeah, those type things can help out to keep your senses on point. Though, make sure you aren't doing something that will cause you physical harm :P. Aka, make sure that the stone isn't very big and your blurry vision isn't causing you to run into walls, haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehat
A few questions in regards what you do to supplement ADA:
Do you WBTB or make use of natural micro-awakenings at all alogside ADA, or do you just go to bed with the expectation of becoming lucid at some point in the night? Also, what do you do at bedtime? Do you do any intention techniques, or do just go o bed without a thought towards LD?
Do you find it harder to have a DILD when you go to bed high? I was wondering if smoking weed lowers your chances of having a LD or remembering your dreams in general?
Hey,
I was linked here from ld4all, and I registered here just to reply to your topic:
This was one of the most awesome and promising things I have ever read, not just on LDing, but in general. It clearly opened my eyes on how we walk through our days - with our eyes closed.
I thought about this increased awareness since reading Stephen LaBerges "ETWOLD", since I think this is the key point of his book - not some techniques in general, but increasing your all-day awareness.
I read that the average lucid dreamer has 3 to 5 LDs a month, and I wondered why people like Stephen LaBerge would be able to have an LD whenever they want to, I couldn't believe this would just be because they worked with the topic so much.
But the way he wrote the book made clear that it has something to do with his mindset in general - and you perfectly described it.
Most LDs see lucid dreaming as something to achieve via techniques, and altering your body, tricking it to REM sleep - but fail to notice that they already have what they need, and that is dreams. We are simply too unaware to notice them.
Thanks a lot for this great post! Very motivational!
Hey KingYoshi, this is what I do during the sessions: I look all around my room for objects that I can touch, feel and smell. I also expand my field of view so I can see everything in my room with a much greater detail. I smell the air aswell and feel it, I do some reality checks too between the sessions. I'm just asking if I am doing this right, because I don't want to waste precious time. Also, how many times do you think I should do this sessions in 1 day?
P.S: If KingYoshi can't reply to this comment, I would be thankful if anyone else would help me.