Thread: Fennecgirl's Workbook

Originally Posted by fennecgirl

It was mentioned in a class lately that perhaps the reason I'd had my first LD on a night that I didn't bother trying to induce one could be because giving my mind a break from intentionally TRYING to LD could allow it to do it naturally, rather than trying too hard. I decided to try that tactic again last night.

I still did a few reality checks throughout the day, as well as hanging around lucid dreaming sites on and off. When I went to bed, though, I didn't attempt MILD or any other induction method. I simply allowed my mind to wander and think about whatever I felt like thinking about.

I could recall two dreams when I woke up. Neither of them were lucid, but I wasn't too disappointed, because they were both Doctor Who-related.

I ended up drifting back to sleep once more. I woke up unable to recall any dreams, but the big Pikachu bead sprite on my wall was new... and, when my iPod told me the time was 103:53, I knew I was actually dreaming. I failed at teleportation, but at least this dream was stable and felt realistic (well, false awakenings usually do), unlike the last one. I also had full (or near-full, at least) control over my own actions. I guess I just need to learn some dream control now, huh?

By the way, I tried teleporting by closing my eyes and telling myself where I would be when I opened them. Should I have actually visualized the place in my mind? I have a feeling that would have been more effective...

Closing your eyes can be quite bad in a dream, it's easy to wake yourself up. But yes, visualisation is the key.

I tried DEILD last night, since I happened to wake up at one point. I know I'm supposed to keep my eyes closed and stay perfectly still, but my half-asleep brain decided that it would be perfectly okay to move anyway, as long as I didn't get up. That ended up ruining it for me.

Tonight, I'm going to try DEILD again, using autosuggestion to (hopefully) wake up for it, since I don't like the idea of having to set an alarm for the middle of the night.

I spent the evening at a girls' night out at the library (that's why I wasn't at the DVA class tonight). Now, that may sound a bit off topic to be posting here, but I have a reason. At one point nearer the end, I was talking with a friend who used to go to my church (note that I recently started attending the writing group at the library, and she goes there, too). Soon, another girl from the writing group joined in our conversation. After a little while, the topic shifted toward dreams. Lucid dreaming was briefly mentioned, and it turns out that she was a natural LDer when she was younger (and still has LDs occasionally).

We mostly talked about non-lucid dreams after that, especially about the typical weirdness of our dreams. She found it quite funny that I once dreamt that I was a monkey whose best friend was an elephant, yet we both looked like normal humans. She told me that she once dreamt that she was the main character from the novel she's writing and actually ended up sleepwalking and acting like her character. Of course, we shared a lot of other strange and funny dreams, too.

Anyway, my point is, I think it was cool that I got an opportunity to talk about dreams with someone else, not just on the internet or with my parents.

Also, I'm looking after a friend's bunny while she's going away for a couple weeks. He (the bunny) is going to be kept in my room, so I'm hoping that he doesn't keep me awake and interfere with my LD attempts... though he is adorable, so I guess that makes up a bit for that.

Ah that's awesome! I'd love to talk to someone in real life about dreams. Glad you found a dream buddy haha.

No worries about missing DVA tonight, as there wasn't one Never usually is on a Wednesday.

Oh, so there isn't. I just checked the chat times thread. I guess I thought tomorrow's class was tonight for some reason.

I tried DEILD again last night. This time, I knew not to turn over or move again (well, I did know that last time). I moved my arms without really thinking, though. So much for keeping still. Maybe I'll do it right tonight.

Moving a little is not bad actually for a DEILD. As long as what ever motion you do doesn't wake you up TOO much. Also, was your LD count always 2 or did I miss something...

Edit: nvm I see what I did there.

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

Moving a little is not bad actually for a DEILD. As long as what ever motion you do doesn't wake you up TOO much.

Ooooh, I even roll over all the time, and I still get DEILDs. I'm used to it already though, so I dunno if it'll work for you. Basically the rollover only gives me enough awareness of my physical body, so after I roll over, I slip into the dream easily with the recently gained awareness. I realized that if I stay completely still, I don't get the awareness I need.

Try out different things, and see which works well for you. Good luck!

Thanks for the tips!

By the way, I'm still having trouble with dream control. I had another LD this morning and attempted to teleport again to see if I could actually get it right. My first attempt involved trying to summon a portal and jump into it (the portal didn't appear, though, so I just landed back on the floor). The second attempt involved spinning. I'd remembered that it helps to visualize where you want to go, so I briefly closed my eyes to help me visualize somewhere. Unfortunately, that woke me up.

EDIT: Is teleportation perhaps too advanced a technique for now? Should I try something easier first? If so, what's easiest for a beginner?

Originally Posted by fennecgirl

Thanks for the tips!

By the way, I'm still having trouble with dream control. I had another LD this morning and attempted to teleport again to see if I could actually get it right. My first attempt involved trying to summon a portal and jump into it (the portal didn't appear, though, so I just landed back on the floor). The second attempt involved spinning. I'd remembered that it helps to visualize where you want to go, so I briefly closed my eyes to help me visualize somewhere. Unfortunately, that woke me up.

EDIT: Is teleportation perhaps too advanced a technique for now? Should I try something easier first? If so, what's easiest for a beginner?

I have the exact same issues with teleportation, the one time I did do it I didn't try too hard and just let it happen. I walked through a wall and told myself that when I got to the other side the scene I was visualising would come into view. My vision blurred out and when it came back I was in the scene (well, similar to it, at least).

I never would've thought to teleport by walking through a wall. I'll try to remember that for next time! Thanks!

Originally Posted by fennecgirl

I never would've thought to teleport by walking through a wall. I'll try to remember that for next time! Thanks!

Yea I got a tip a while back to run at a wall to phase through it into another scene, but when I ran at one I just smacked into it and woke myself up in pain and disorientation. Walking worked though!

I tried MILD again last night, using "I have full consciousness in my dreams" as a mantra. However, I ended up having another dream about playing video games. I have a tendency to accept everything in a dream as normal when it happens in a video game, so that's kind of a problem for becoming lucid. I think it's definitely a dream sign, though, especially if it's a Zelda game; looking back through my DJ, I've had three dreams about playing Zelda games in the past eight days.

Since, in video game dreams, I can usually only see what's on the screen, as if I'm watching the dream in third-person (but still aware I'm playing a video game), it would be a bit hard to do a reality check. Because of that, I've come up with a new idea for a reality check - I've decided that, whenever I play a video game, I'll do an RC by checking if I can see what's around the screen.

I also have a lot of dreams where I'm third person, playing a videogame. I've never thought of training myself to look around the screen while playing a game, that's a fantastic idea. Also, I just ordered that Dalek to victory poster. I'm pretty pumped about it.

Hey fennecgirl, that's a good idea. Video games are a theme in my dreams too, but so far I haven't been able to become lucid in a game dream yet. I try to become aware of my surroundings when I play the game sometimes, but that detracts from my enjoyment of the game. So let me know how looking around the screen works for you!

In response to your portal query above, I've read about some people just using doors. Expect to find a door behind you, turn around, and walk through the door, expecting to find a new scene. Doors, mirrors, water, flying. You could even see if holding your hands in front of your eyes for a second and moving them would work. There are tons of ways of going about tasks in dreams, so just experiment and be creative.

By the way, I like your avatar. I just finished the third season of Doctor Who.

Since there's a template now for workbooks...

Reality Checks:
Counting fingers
Looking at text, looking away, checking if it's changed
Same as above but with clocks
Checking to see if I can see what's around the screen (when playing video games/watching TV/using the computer)

Dream Signs:
Video games

Short-Term Goals:
Revisit a previous dream (I do have a specific one in mind).
Teleport
Complete the ToTM (of course)
Meet my characters
Meet Link (from Legend of Zelda)

Long-Term Goals:
Have LDs regularly (at least every other night)
Meet my Dream Guide/Subconscious
Master dream control

Current Technique:
Various DILD techniques (whatever I feel like, really), mainly MILD (bedtime) and DEILD

I could remember five dreams this morning, which I'm sure is a new record for me! None of them were lucid, though.

I might try using autosuggestion tonight to wake myself up for DEILD. I usually just try it whenever I happen to wake up, but last night was the second night in a row that I slept soundly without waking up during the night. =/

5 dreams is an incredible number to recall! Sounds to me like you've got it totally down

Autosuggestion will hopefully work well - I plan on doing the same thing tonight. We can compare results tomorrow!

I'm doing two summer camps this week - Earth camp, which takes up most of my day (10-3), and music theory camp in the evenings. Last night, my subconscious decided to merge them together into one dream. I had a dream that I was doing complicated chord analysis... at Earth Camp.

I remembered one of my long-term goals that I forgot to post the other day! I guess this is kind of a common goal, but I want to create my own dream world that I can visit in LDs whenever I want, with the same characters always there, letting the storyline play out over multiple dreams.

Today, at Earth Camp, we had a falconer come in to talk about falconry. It sounds really interesting - I LOVE birds of prey, by the way - and it's something I'd definitely love to do when I'm a bit older, if I have the time.

In the meantime, I've got a new LD goal.

Falconry in an LD? That's really cool. I remember seeing a bird of prey show at Scarborough Fair last spring. It's really amazing to watch. And as long as you're lucid, you could do falconry, but like, with a pterodactyl!

So that'd be, pterodactylry

With a pterodactyl? I never would've thought of that! XD

And you know what? I could even do it with Pokemon, too!

Hahaha can't wait to hear more about that one!