Michael's Workbook

[Michael073]

Hello Dreamers! I am Michael, new to Lucid Dreaming! This is my workbook and i will try to update my progress and stuff daily! Reality Checks: - Pinch my nose and try to breath. - Look at the time on my watch, cover it with my hand.. try to change the time by my mind, watch again. - Dream/Reality Recognition by Awareness Experience. (i guess?) Dream Signs: - Warfare - Shooting - Running - Fighting Short-Term Goals: - Getting my first Lucid Dream [X] DONE! - Try to keep my Lucid stable and not wake up due excitement. [X] DONE - Fight like the Matrix and run like a twilight vamp. [X] DONE! - Swim with Sharks..maybe transform into one? Long-Term Goals: - Master as much techniques as possible - 2+ Lucids in one night - Change scenario while the current lucid dream fades away, keep being lucid. Lucid/Dream Recall History: At this point i have no problem recalling at least 1 dream after i wake up in the morning. I close my eyes and recall the dream again, and then start writing as much and as detailed as possible. My first lucid is still to come *exciting* Current Technique: Currently there is not really a technique i use to get a Lucid, i found out when my alarm goes off at 5, and i take a few minutes awake and then continue sleeping and wake up at 7.. i always be able to recall my dreams very clearly. In this way i want to improve my awareness about dreaming and reality before putting too much effort in a technique. Maybe by this 'technique' i will be aware that i am dreaming?! Who knows. Thanks for reading my workbook, i will keep it updated!

[CanisLucidus]

Welcome, Michael! This is a great start. You're already journaling, so that's perfect. Keep that habit up, keep expanding your dreamsigns, and keep familiarizing yourself with what your dreams are like. As you work through the lessons (particularly lesson II) you will probably notice that you are already practicing a variant of the Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB) technique. This will enhance whatever technique you ultimately choose, so that's a great thing to familiarize yourself with. Keep us updated on what you try and how things go. I'll be looking forward to hearing more from you!

[Michael073]

Hello everybody, Last night i had a unstable night because my girlfriend came over at 4 because she went out. I didn't had any dreams i know of so far last night.. too bad Hope to be more focused and stable this night! -Michael

[Xanous]

Michael, sometimes you will get disruptions during the night. I always try to think of it as a WBTB opportunity. The more times you wake up the more chances you get to induce. Just a positive thought there.

[Michael073]

Thanks Xanous! Yesterday an hour before i went to sleep i red my way through Lesson I, II, III and IV. I am still not sure which method i am going to try first. I keep increasing my All Day Awareness every day. Last night i was so tired i didn't focus much on dreaming, a little break that i will catch up tonight! Therefore i also couldn't recall anything from last night.. i woke up several times.. will write these down in my DJ. Thanks for reading!

[paigeyemps]

Hey Michael, good to see you join the intro class!

[Michael073]

1. Sleep and Wake up times: - Most of the times i go to sleep between 10 and 12. - Most of the times i wake up at around 7 or 8. Tonight i will wake up at 4 and try a WBTB. 2. Why do i want to achieve Lucid Dreaming? - I would like to have the freedom to do things i normally can't, like flying around.. becoming Rambo. - Experimenting, i will be going to use Lucid dreaming to experiment with things i maybe wouldn't do as fast in real life. That will be it for now

[Michael073]

Little update Last night i tried WBTB, i went to bed at 11.00 and woke up by my alarm at 3.30, i tried recalling a dream from that night.. but i couldn't recall a dream. Then i put some dim light on and took my laptop (very low brightness) and watched some inspiring movie clips and some music. at 4.00 i shut down my laptop and dim light and started to recall some dreams from last week, imagined myself doing what i want to do in a lucid dream.. then fell asleep and woke up at 5.00 because my dad was making noise, then fell asleep again and woke up at 6.30 cuz my mom and sister were getting out of bed.. then fell asleep again and finally woke up at 11. again tried to recall anything, nothing... That will be it for now! ~Michael

[CanisLucidus]

Michael, I feel your pain on the zero recall night. Saturday night was that way for me, and I have to admit that this always tends to bum me out a little. Even though it's lucid dreams that I'm going for, I greatly enjoy my non-lucids as well. There are a few steps that I take when I want to repair my recall. First, I go to bed as early as I can the next night, and try to go to bed in the most relaxed frame of mind possible, eagerly anticipating my dreams for the night. Next, during the day while performing my awareness practices, I will periodically spend a few seconds daydreaming everything that I did or experienced in the last few hours. I just play it back visually in extreme fast-forward, paying attention to what has happened throughout the day and keeping it in mind. The hope is that this habit carries over to the day as well. If I am feeling a little desperate, I will spend a few days maintaining a waking life journal alongside my dream journal. This pretty much always gets me unstuck, but it's a lot of work. Something else that many of us use from time to time (RareCola, paigeyemps, and myself, at least) is a nice glass of apple juice right before heading to bed. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've had some nice, vivid dreams on nights that I had some apple juice before bed. (Just be sure to brush your teeth afterward, heh heh...) Very tasty and well worth a try to get yourself going! More recently, I had an amazing night of dreaming last night after eating mango, but this is still being "researched". Good luck and let us know how things go for you!

[Michael073]

Thank you CanisLucidus! Yea i felt a little bum when i can't really anything, but i don't worry too much.. There will be enough nights in life were it will go right! About the apple juice is kinda funny because i always take a few glasses during the day! Tonight i will just go to bed, clean my mind and do a MILD. Since WBTB is in practice during the weekend for me. i am working on my awareness during the day, but it's so hard in the beginning since i (and i think more beginners) actually don't know on which details to focus. I am going nice i think, during the day i spent about 3 times, each ~5-10minutes focusing on as much as possible. I feel the clothes i am wearing, listen to the voices i am picking up, and so on. for example: A few family members were sitting at a table and i started to focus, i saw my dad was playing with a pen.. and when i almost looked away i noticed the pen was actually RED.. that r the kind of details i would normally take for granted. So i am working on it! Will update tomorrow! Thanks for reading. ~Michael

[Michael073]

Edit: in the first sentence i say: when i can't really anything. This has to be when i can't recall anything. Ofcourse

[OpheliaBlue]

Hi Michael, welcome to the class! When you begin a technique like increasing your daily awareness, focusing on details like your dad's pen is a good start of course. I also recommend just increasing your visual awareness overall. For example, when you're in a room let's say, try to increase your field of vision, taking in more of the room all at once. I find that I will do this in my dreams, and it helps me realize I'm dreaming. Just a little tip. Best of luck with your weekend MILDs, and let us know your progress!

[Michael073]

Thank you very much OpheliaBlue!! I will use your tip for my awareness practice ! Last night i had a funny non lucid dream: In my dream i wanted to lucid dream, but dreamviews didn't exist yet.. so there was some kind of museum where everybody could learn how to lucid dream, and then suddenly some characters appeared at the museum (dreamviews admins) and said, from now on everybody needs to pay 5 bucks to enter the museum! Suddenly everyone at the entrance turned around and walked away. End This was so strange and funny! (:

[paigeyemps]

LOL! That dream x) The more you stay around DV, the more we are gonna creep into your dreams It's true! I often have dreams with DV members in them haha

[Michael073]

Hhehe it was so funny Hahah! Yea i believe you haha, so funny

[Michael073]

Little update, yesterday i took 1 Vitamin B Complex pill that my mother used to take just to try it out because everyone says it will make ur dreams clear and vivid. So i thought lets just try it. I had 3 very very vivid dreams, one i couldn't really remember tho. But i have added 2 really nice dreams to my dream journal (:

[CanisLucidus]

Little update, yesterday i took 1 Vitamin B Complex pill that my mother used to take just to try it out because everyone says it will make ur dreams clear and vivid. So i thought lets just try it. I had 3 very very vivid dreams, one i couldn't really remember tho. But i have added 2 really nice dreams to my dream journal (: Excellent, Michael! Congratulations on the high-quality dreaming! I've also had great results from 100 mg of B6, so I would imagine that a B-complex would work as well if not better. One thing you may consider is to keep your use of the B vitamin just a bit spread out so that you don't build up any sort of tolerance for it. I find that it's nice to have that occasional "boost" to look forward to on nights where I'm going to get enough sleep. I know that some who've taken B in very high doses nightly don't get as much "punch" from it. These highly vivid, memorable dreams are a great chance to get to know your dream life and learn more of your dream signs. Plus, they're generally quite a lot of fun, even if you can't quite achieve true lucidity. Glad you enjoyed!

[Michael073]

Hey Canis! Thanks for reading and commenting! Yea that B was actually just for trying, i didn't take it as some sort of desperate solution, just to try it. Yea those highly vivid dreams are great to get to know my dream life better and better, that was my thought as well in the first place, getting a lucid wasn't really the goal here. Since lucidity is all about awareness.. being aware of the fact that your dreaming. B doesn't achieve that, your mind does. Thanks for replying and your tips! ~Michael

[CanisLucidus]

Since lucidity is all about awareness.. being aware of the fact that your dreaming. B doesn't achieve that, your mind does. Man! I wish that I'd had this level of insight when I was starting out! You are exactly right. All of these things may help you, but what'll really matter in the end are the skills that you are building up every day (and, er, night.) I spent a lot of my initial time thinking that I just needed to find the "perfect technique". But really, what we're going through is a process of changing ourselves and our own minds. There are things we can do to give ourselves a little boost or help ourselves learn the right lessons, but in the end the most important things will be patience, time, practice, and enthusiasm. The B vitamins and mangoes are just gravy. (Effective gravy, admittedly, heh heh heh...)

[Michael073]

Hehe Thanks Canis! I still have to practice and learn A LOT, before i will have my first lucid. Every time when i add a dream to my journal i think ' i could have know it... ' because of the dream signs and all. So i just have to practice more and eventually everything will fall in place. Do the best you can, and never stop Stephen Wiltshire

[Michael073]

Added 3 more non lucid dreams to my journal

[CanisLucidus]

Fantastic, Michael! It sounds like things are really coming along for you on the dream recall front. These are the raw materials you'll use to build that understanding and familiarity with your dream world, so I'm glad to see that it's picked up so nicely for you. Do you put it down to any particular changes in habit? Or more just focus and practice? Anyway, enjoy those new DJ entries. Give them a read when you have some time to help yourself stay in the dreaming mindset. And of course, look at spots where you could have become lucid if you'd only recognized X. Play them out in your mind and really think about them. Treat them almost like tasks you must remember to do later, such as remembering to swing by to pick up some milk after work. "If I see X, it's a dream! Got to remember that!" This is called "prospective memory" and is a faculty that still functions during dreams. If you can use prospective memory to "remember" that you're dreaming, that's a fantastic way to pick up a DILD!

[Michael073]

Thanks CanisLucidus! Yea i always write my dream down at my offline dream journal as detailed as possible, then i'll review them and most of the times i think; hey i could have know that i was dreaming! So yea i am working on it hehe ^.^ I don't want to PUSH myself too much.. i think it's better to start small to get the best long term results Thanks for reading and the tips Canis! (:

[Michael073]

Added 2 more very vivid dreams to my offline dream journal. One veeeeerryyy detailed, but when i reviewed both of them i recognize more more things that could make me lucid. It's cooooooomingggggg ^.^

[CanisLucidus]

Added 2 more very vivid dreams to my offline dream journal. One veeeeerryyy detailed, but when i reviewed both of them i recognize more more things that could make me lucid. It's cooooooomingggggg ^.^ Excellent!! This is great stuff, Michael. You're laying the foundation right now. Everything that you build up from here on will rest on this sense of the dream world you're building right now. (Plus, the process itself is fun IMO -- non-lucid dreams often have really cool/funny/interesting material in them.) You are very much on the right track and I love the way you're going about this.