Methods to Victory
- A combination of MILD and WILD/WBTB will be used. I've tried downloading special music tracks, but they either wake me up, or fail to have any effect on me.
My previous failures were due to. . .
- Not being able to fall asleep after staying up for 10-30 minutes, I've tried toying around with the time I stay awake, but to no avail.
- Conking out too easily and waking up hours later, despite repeating mantras or counting down.
Insight
- Before losing consciousness, I've noticed that whatever I'm thinking about gets replaced with completely random, out-of-place thoughts. I am usually able to recognize this stage now. Sort of.
- I believe that if I focused on being aware during this stage, it would be a lot more effective than trying to focus for an extended period of time.
- Another failing point is motivation in general: I have trouble bringing myself to write down all my dreams just after waking up..
- My sleep schedule is messed up and unhealthy beyond all reason - I usually fall asleep at 2-4 A.M., then wake up around 11-12 P.M. Though I'm still getting around eight hours of sleep, I don't go to bed until I'm fatigued and yawning constantly.
- I've tried drinking apple/orange juice before bed, 200mg of B6. Didn't help. I figure my diet's only going to help until after I've got the basics down.
Reality Check
- I use the nose plug technique. Funnily enough, I've been doing this since I was a young kiddo, just for the sake of having my ears popped constantly. The problem is that I do it habitually without including the mental aspect of the reality check, and I don't remember ever doing this reality check in any of my dreams.
- I also pair the finger-through-hand trick with above technique. I'm not sure how hard I'm supposed to press through my palm though.
Goals
- Meet my "dream guide/character". I'm only going to post one goal related to in-dream activities so I have a easier time remembering it once I actually have a LD.
- Constant reality checks, including a full scan of my surroundings. I read that it's better not to do these at a certain interval, so I'll perform it sporadically throughout the day.
- Practice staying still in bed after I wake up. It's hard to keep in mind when waking up, sadly.
- Daily visits to Dreamviews, so I keep motivated and stay forever faithful to this project and my dream journal.
- Simply getting into SP would be a great milestone for me. However, trying to WILD on my back is impossible, I just can't fall asleep. But once I lay on my side, I'm out like a light.
Dream Signs
- My parents show up in about 80% of my dreams. About half of the time they act as they do in real life. To be honest, it's a little disturbing how they're really the only real life people to show up in my dreams over and over again.
- Another recent trend is that relatively new life events manifest in my dreams, their outcomes tend to be unpleasant. For example, I had an interview for being a possible intern: I've already had 2-3 dreams about being turned down. Strange thing is, I don't recall something like this happening before.
