Fredrik's book of proletarian activities

April 20-21.
As per usual, I spend my days randomly pinching my nose, occasionally trying out other RC's when they're available (like texts). I've kept a dream journal since January, yet haven't noticed any recurring DS with the exception of abnormal gravity from time to time.

Since the weekend allows for more shuteye, I decided to try my best at inducing a lucid dream this saturday night. I was still randomly pinching my nose, telling myself mantras like ''I will awake tonight'', and ''I will have a lucid dream''. I also decided to test my luck at Vitamin B6 once again, so I took 500mg of it along with some chicken for the tryptophan.

At the middle of the night, I awoke, wrote in my DJ, pinched my nose, went to the WC, went back to sleep, tried some really amateurish WILDing combined with mantras, and fell asleep once again. First I experienced a false awakening, then a somewhat blurry dream with a recurring theme which ended up leading to my first real lucid dream. For the second time, nose pinching did wonders. :D
Now, I only hope I can discover some more concrete dream signs / learn how to get in ''charge'' of the dream world and how to properly use the techniques.

Hey and welcome to the class!
One very important thing to know is that the point of reality checking is not the check itself, but questioning your reality- within dreams, you may by chance randomly reality check (though this will be infrequent). However, how most people get lucid is noticing something is off/wrong, questioning the likeliness that it is in fact a dream and then reality checking.
Also - what method do you plan to be working on?

Thank you, sir!
I do try reality checking whenever something seems off, but that's not very often. I was kind of disappointed in myself when I couldn't find any real dreamsigns after several months. That's why I question my reality at random intervals, I guess.
As for what technique I'll be practising, I really have no idea. I've kind of thrown myself into everything at once, something I realise isn't among the best of ideas. I often have problems relaxing/falling asleep, so I guess WILD is out of the question?

April 21-22.
Nothing too interesting. Whenever something reminds me of dreaming/seems off, I look around and do a nose-pinch.
Ate some chicken before bed for the tryptophan.

At least you know you have problems relaxing and falling asleep. If WILD is something you really do want to dedicate yourself to, you could always learn to meditate. :P

Meditation sounds so tempting, but I have problems finding out where to start. Whenever I tried the breathing techniques, I'd be clumsy enough to get stressed by the lack of oxygen. xD

April 22-23.
I tried being observant of my surroundings. Nature is beautiful, that's all I can say. Still have to force myself whenever questioning my state comes to mind, followed by a nose-pinch.
School and schoolmates seem to be recurring themes/objects in my dreams, but they are too normal to be considered effective dream signs. I keep telling them about my dreams from time to time, and they seem rather interested.

April 24.
I wasn't particularly focused, and I didn't get a lot of sleep tonight, but holy cow, I became lucid! After tonights events, I've truly started questioning my state after experiencing how realistic a false awakening can be.
I was kind of disappointed by the lack of control / physical feelings in the dream, though. Also, seems like Dream Logic still had it's grip on me. Was I only semi-lucid?
Recurring dreamsigns the last two weeks have been elements from the Gintama-series.

DJ-entry of the dream:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fredrik1ST

Dream 3 (false awakening -> Lucidity)
I am suddenly waken up by my mother, who tells me to go to school. I find my bottle of Pyridoxin-pills beneath the sheets, and she says I'll need them.
I walk to the bathroom, do my business there, and as I'm about to leave it, I find the entire situation extremely weird. It's pitch-dark outside, and my mother should neither be awake nor present.

So I pinch my nose, and sure enough, my sight goes blurry all of a sudden and I become dizzy. I start rubbing my hands together and try spinning, but moving my legs is difficult, like moving through water.
While trying to overcome some of the strangest feelings ever, I decide to try flying, so I levitate towards the door (still pitch-dark outside). My control is absolutely terrible, and just as I think ''oh well, might as well go through the roof'' I hit my head and fall down on the floor. I couldn't feel a thing, which made me rather disappointed (neither control nor physical feelings were very noticeable). I rubbed the armrest of an old wooden chair just to give myself the satisfaction of feeling something at all (friction).

I walk downstairs and into the kitchen, where my father is cooking in the middle of night.
''Hey, I'm dreaming. Look!'' I say, before trying to levitate in front of him. I have to lean my knee against the back of a chair to stay there. He just turns around like nothing happened.
Then I consider going outside, before dream logic returned with a vengeance. I had to tell my mother not to awake me again! So I marched towards the bathroom, saying ''Don't you dare waking me up now!''.
Her answer was something like ''don't raise your voice like that'' before her arm started it's journey towards my face. I go ''nonononononononono-!'' before they reach my eyes and wake me up for good.

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Oops, i thought i replied to this thread yesterday.. must have gotten distracted.. sorry! Meditation does not have to be a set practice, depending on what you are aiming at achieving. If you want to just relax, just set some time out whenever it's quiet and focus on your breathing or just.. relax x) If you'd like, I could go through briefly the two types of meditation if you'd like.
I would really recommend going through waking life and considering "I'm dreaming" every now and then when you remember. Don't expect that "Dream with become unstable, blah blah blah" crap. Remember, dream control; expectations and confidence that it will happen. If you do that, you will practically make yourself have a bad lucid dream x)
Semi-Lucid is a term used when you know you are dreaming but cannot control the dream whatsoever. As if you are just 'on the ride' and the dream is in control :)

Hey Fredrik, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your lucid dream. Especially the part where you say "Hey dad look, I'm dreaming!" Usually my dream characters go crazy and/or explode if I say something like that :P

I really like how you went for feeling the chair to help lock in lucidity, when you were having trouble with physical sensations. I do something similar with my hands too. And good job finding a dream sign (Gintama-series.)

Keep up the great work! :)

@fOrceez No biggie. There wasn't really that much to base a reply on yesterday. :P
I take it that the time for relaxation should be during the day, and not right before going to sleep?
And yes, please! I'd very much like to know a thing or two.

With the knowledge I had of psychology (and drastically less dramatic outcomes than what I often heard from an accidental WILD) I was kind of prepared for that, but breaking through the semi-lucidity was harder than expected. ''This will probably work...apparently not'' sums up my experiences so far.

@OpheliaBlue Haha, thank you! That seems to be the first thing I do instinctively every time I induce a lucid dream. The craziness sounds just as interesting, though.
Yeah, I was kind of disappointed in myself about that thing with the chair. It was like I couldn't feel any physical sensations of any kind without focusing on them.
Another thing I've noticed is that I've never been able to leave whatever building I've been in during any of my LDs so far. As weird as it sounds.

Thank you very much for your replies, both of you! :D


April 25
I've been carrying on with the same techniques as previously mentioned, but not as frequently as usual.
A dream character actually told me that ''this is a dream'' and that he was doing his best to extend it. I must've had my head completely filled with DL-bugs, because I mindlessly went along with it.

Whoa... the change of servers really seems to have made the database(s) gone bananas or something. I get dupes everywhere, and I'm unable to delete anything.

April 26-27
I had been a bit stressed this week due to school. Decided to relax completely and carry on focusing on lucid dreaming.
And lucid I became! It was my longest and most vivid, yet also most fragmented lucid dream I've had so far. I managed to fly, rescue, heal some people and create an ice cream, but even though my mind was constantly racing, it was difficult controlling aspects of it. Also, I couldn't really sense taste/physical sensation this time either.
At the end of the dream, my reality check failed, and I walked around believing that I was awake. After the actual awakening, this was really, really freaky.

The DJ-entry:

Quote:

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Dream 2 (Lucid! Gotta try everything... that my brain is able to suddenly come up with.
My house is placed on the top of a cliff right atop of a little village by the sea (it's sunset/twilight, kind of tropical-looking). I have no idea where/when/how, but I became lucid, and managed to keep that state thanks to my mind racing all the time while frequently doing nose-pinch-RCs. At the very beginning it gets really blurry, but then I close my eyes and focus, which seems to work out. Two people fall from the terrace, so I jump after them, catch them and just fly up again like it was the most natural thing in the world. Seems like they were my brothers, and that they're hurt. Well, I healed them. With HP-bars and everything floating in the air around them. Their bruises (and their 22%HP) healed pretty darn quickly. I look at myself in the mirror, and I see the most horrible things being morphed out of what originally was my face. Nope, I don't like dream mirrors at all. I tried waking myself up as well as I could while closing my eyes, but I didn't manage to. I notice the scenery shifting from the village by the sea at night to the fjord in daylight. Various family members pop up randomly in the house. I try materialising something edible; a weirdly shaped ice cream cone. It didn't taste anything, which disappointed me a bit, just like the lack of physical feeling. In the end I bring with me a giant iPad (with the very same icons/functions as the real deal) into the living room, where my little brother is watching some people in sleds on the TV. I decide that I want to enter the TV, so I press my arms against it, but nothing happens. I'm kind of careful because of the vividness of the dream, and the fact that my cousin and some other girls are also in the living room.
I pinch my nose again, and the ''weirdest'' thing happens: I can't breathe. The reality check failed, leading me to believe that I was no longer in a dream, but walking around in waking life. ''Oops, I'm awake!'' I uttered, the only response being laughter from the other people in the room. I was really fasctinated/frightened/humoured by the whole thing. Then I woke up. I hadn't slept for long, but I felt really well-rested!

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Congratulations Fredrik!!!!

Gotta try eeeeverything, I can relate. Sorry you don't like dream mirrors, they help some, but are just disturbing to others. Still, I'm glad that you were able to fly around, experiment with food and such. And I'm super proud of the fact that you were able to perpetuate the dream by continuously returning to the nose-pinching and the focusing.

Now that you have some tricks up your sleeve, your LDs are just going to get longer and better and more controlled. Excellent progress man!

Thanks a lot for the positive feedback! It's really motivational! Once I enter the lucid state, I've noticed that my minds goes completely hyperactive. DL gets a pretty firm grip on me then.
Yup. Hopefully I'll experience them more frequently/vividly/longer. Thanks again! :)

April 28.
My focus/awareness has been dropping a bit. I stayed up way too late, resulting in only one recorded dream (sadly, I'm doing the same as I'm typing this).
Occasionally, I stay really focused for several minutes, imagining different RCs I want to try while lucid and stuff like that. I haven't forgot doing them while awake either.
I've noticed that I've never really left the house while lucid, even though I've desperately wanted to. Everything around the house has changed during dreams, though.

Yes! Success! :D Don't worry man, I don't like dream mirrors either >_> We'll probably have to both face that dislike one day. Lucids also make me feel rested, well.. can't complain. Double win.

I was surprised at how rested I felt after the last one too.

April 29-30
I'm trying to get my sleep pattern on the right track again. I RC (nosepinch) at anything even remotely off, and my friends often remind me of doing so by randomly reminding me about things I relate to sleep/dreams/weird things. I'm still somewhat unsure of what technique I'll be focusing on. So far, my Lucid Dreams have been random DILDs, but my first lucid experience was through sleep paralyzis. I'm really uncertain as of whether it'll work out for me, but I'll try combining some simple mantras/visualisations with WILD. I should probably take a proper look at meditation/relaxation techniques.

Taking 500mg B6 and some chicken tonight. Drank a lot before going to bed, which will hopefully help me wake up at night (natural awakenings seem much more effective to me, at least so far).

Oh wow, you got your friends on board with your RCs? That's brilliant!

Fingers crossed for you and the B6. :) I look forward to reading of your success :)

At least several of them are aware of them. Most of them help me out unconsciously.
Sadly, the B6 had little to no effect last night, but I did try returning to sleep several times, as I awoke quite a lot of times during night/morning.
Other than that, I'm still the nose-pinching maniac I usually am. :P

May 1-2
The occasional nosepinch is going strong. Almost refrained from it for an entire day due to a bad combination of fishing and frostbite.
I'm a complete mess at WILDing. I wriggle around in bed trying to find a comfortable position before fainting from fatigue as soon as I start focusing (often with limbs crossed).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fredrik1ST

At least several of them are aware of them. Most of them help me out unconsciously.
Sadly, the B6 had little to no effect last night, but I did try returning to sleep several times, as I awoke quite a lot of times during night/morning.
Other than that, I'm still the nose-pinching maniac I usually am. :P

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What do you mean by that? x)
As for your WILDing, perhaps you should make your WBTB a little longer and if that doesn't help, perhaps not being in a perfectly comfortable position is the way to go.

When engaged in conversation, several of my friends keep saying a lot of weird things. Quite often, I hear something I associate with sleep/dreaming, and I do an RC, without them knowing what the heck's going on. :P
I've only managed to get into the state of SP once by accident. With time there's sure to pop up some more, and I'll be more observant of when/how they happen. I'll definitely put your tips to the test too, thanks!

May 3
I've been slacking off! Only ~10 reality checks today.
I'll try focusing intensely and see if I can't pull off a WILD or an accidental DILD after a WBTB. (acronyms, acronyms everywhere!)
During the weekend, however... oh man, I'm going to try WILDing so hard that my ancestors'll feel it!

May 4
I've been somewhat more aware of my surroundings today than I was yesterday. Still nowhere near optimal, I feel.
Did happen to pull an RC during the middle of a movie in the cinema. That's a new one! :)
And ouch, it seems like my mind's on a constant marathon. It keeps wandering off into nonsensical/unconscous dreams whenever I try focusing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fredrik1ST

May 4
Did happen to pull an RC during the middle of a movie in the cinema. That's a new one! :)

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That's really good. I usually get so entwined with the characters in a movie that I completely forget about reality. And I think that's why I often dream about shows I watch or movies I've seen, even to the point of being one of the characters. Makes it hard to become lucid in those dreams because I'm not even really me, so I don't question anything. So well done on having an RC while watching a movie. We should all make the same effort as much as possible, even if it means taking away from the recreational pleasure of getting sucked into the story.

Quote:

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And ouch, it seems like my mind's on a constant marathon. It keeps wandering off into nonsensical/unconscous dreams whenever I try focusing.

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You mean when you try focusing at night before going to sleep? If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, it could be HI.

Cinco de Mayo
I've been hearing/seeing things all day, creeping me into doing a lot of RCs.
I tried keeping my focus really, really hard every time I awoke, but tension in one part of the body would eventually spread and distract me/make me flip over/scratch myself.

Edit: Thanks, OpheliaBlue! I just happen to get random urges to question my state every now and then, it seems.
Hypnogogic Imagery? Is that what people are referring to when they talk about lights/shapes they see while WILDing?
Well, I don't know what it is, but I just end up falling asleep ''normally'', despite my efforts. :P

May 6
The usual keeps happening. Only one particular thing to report:
Had a friend over, who just so happened to mention lucid dreaming as we were working on the computer. A lengthy conversation commenced, and it turned out that he'd experienced lucid dreaming (with incredibly good control) the first night he heard about it. His RC happened to be switching the lights on/off. I was flabbergasted. It inspired me even more to do this! I'll keep practising WILD (perhaps DEILD) until I achieve results, and beyond!

Yes, the light switch is a common reality check. I guess light switches fail to work properly in most people's dreams. I haven't had that happen to me particularly, but I do suffer from several types of device failures: cell phone, laptop, calculators etc.

And to answer your question about HI, yes, you can see all types of random images and shapes, lights and color. They often can take shape and form into a dream. If you are able to stay aware during this transformation, you can achieve lucidity. It's not the easiest method, but once mastered, you can get really consistent results.

That's it! Testing out lots of electronics will be my next goal. :D
I hope I'm able to at least get into the state soon...

May 7-8
...That being said, things are going downhill somewhat. This week has been characterized by stress and lack of sleep, making tonight's journal entry completely blank, with only a few fragments of the night before that.
I'm still trying to keep my awareness at a minimum of sort, and it's been pretty fun. I notice small stuff around me that I've never paid much attention to before.
Perhaps I can use my stress and exhaustion to my own favour for WILD?

May 9-11
A series of exams have resulted in a series of dry DJ pages. Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track soon.
My brain is still giving up before my body when falling asleep. I'll try some B6 again tonight.

I know, exams are a pain for everybody right now. When are they over?

Anywhere from this week to somewhere next month. We're randomly chosen in different subjects.
I'm trying to be as relaxed as possible, but I end up twisting my sleep pattern nevertheless. I'll utilise the weekends to the limits, by trying to go back to sleep several times in the morning. Might become a problem with my noisy family, but if I had some way to get rid of both sound and light, I'd be all set.

Ugh bugger man :/ Good luck with your exams.

Thanks, fOrceez! I'm just trying to surf my way through them.

May 12
I didn't get as much sleep as intended due to the family being noisy and the sun beaming it's way past the curtains in an angle. I know for a fact now that my recall has dropped. Or perhaps I've just gotten lazier.
Did a few nose-pinches today, albeit really half-hearted.
Every time I felt itching while laying in bed I got all excited, thinking that a WILD was on it's way. Nope, it was just an itch.

May 13-15
I'm still alive, although stressed and drastically deprived of sleep. My awareness has been decent for the last couple of days, while lack of sleep has obliterated my dream recall.
I will still try WILDing, but rather than an alarm, I'll resort to an old trick of mine; drinking lots before going to bed. Has given me a few successful WBTBs so far.

Good luck Fredrik, I hope you are able to get enough sleep.

So how come you're so itchy all the time?

Looks like you're not the only one:
http://www.dreamviews.com/f12/please...2/#post1880319

I wonder what this means, and how to combat it. I've never heard about it before you two mentioned it.

I guess there isn't any real reason to post here now, but...

I guess the itches come partly from my bed and pillows being pretty horrible.
Yup, my experience with WILD has been EXACTLY like that guy's.

May 15-end
My recall skyrocketed again and I had a rather intense, out-of-control, rid-of-physical-feelings DILD once again!

Back from the grave, and way too late (sorry!). :bowdown:
Recent RC's have been blending into my natural habits, for better and for worse. I barely notice them sometimes, so my awareness isn't top-notch. My dream recall continues being relatively stable, and I cannot get my dreamsigns to trigger anything.

Welcome back!!

Are you still trying WBTB's? Either with an alarm or you drinking water approach?