Fennecgirl's Workbook

Homework Assignments for Lesson I

1. Start your own workbook thread in this subforum.
Done!

2. Start a DreamViews dream journal and record each dream.
Well, I've only just signed up to DreamViews today, so I don't have a dream journal here yet. I suppose I could copy my dream journal entries over to here, but... I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll start one in the morning and post tonight's dreams there. I'll post again here with a link to it in the morning.

Okay, I've started my dream journal now! I'd link to it here, but I can't post links yet.

3. Do at least one reality check a day, and list it in your workbook.
My reality checks include counting my fingers, sticking my finger through my palm, reading text and double-checking to see if it changes, doing the same as the text RC but with clocks, and (rarely) closing my nose and trying to breathe. I do an RC (or two) whenever something strange happens, whenever the thought crosses my mind, or whenever something reminds me. Of course, I also do an RC when I wake up.

I also have a few more specific RCs (which I often forget to do, though I'm working on that). When somebody starts a conversation with me (or vice versa), I'll ask myself who that person is and how I know them. When I get in the car or any other vehicle, I'll ask myself where I'm going and why. Also, when I'm about to open a door, I'll visualize a different room or area on the other side of the door; if I don't end up there, I'll ask myself if I ended up where the door is supposed to lead to. If any of these RCs fail (save for the door one, which is a dead giveaway), I'll perform one of the general RCs I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

4. Extra Credit: if you notice any recurring elements in your dream journal (aka dream signs), list it in your workbook for 10 hall points.

Nope. :(

Hey fennecgirl, welcome to the class! :rockon:

Those specific RCs are really great ideas! I'm gonna try some of those as well ;)

By the way, how long have you been keeping a dream journal? I noticed you said you don't notice any recurring elements at all. Have you tried looking into action dream signs as well? They don't necessarily have to be places or people. They could also be recurring events, like if you keep dreaming about running, or falling (or in my case I seem to do parkour a lot in my dreams haha!)

Anyway, good luck and happy dreaming :)

Well, I started my dream journal back in the fall (for the purpose of dream interpretation), but I kinda forgot about it after awhile. I wrote in it once more in May when I had a vivid dream I really wanted to remember, and then I started writing in it again probably around late June to improve my dream recall for lucid dreaming. I've kinda been neglecting it again lately, though... ^^;

Ah, alrighty! You should keep writing in it whenever you remember any dreams, and for that matter, you should try to recall your dreams too. Your dream journal is one of the biggest factors in achieving lucidity, next to patience and determination. Not only will it give you valuable info like dream signs, but it is also fun to reread your dreams! :D

And I know how that feels too, sometimes I feel too lazy to write them up, especially if they're very tiny fragments. But I learned that that attitude would not be beneficial at all in the long run, I'm still working on being not lazy until now hahaha.

Yeah, I'm the same way; I tend to not bother with fragments, even though I know I should still write them down. I'm trying to get over that...

Speaking of which, I think I did well with my DJ update today, as I managed to force myself to write down what little recollection I have of last night, despite the fact I could hardly remember anything at all (my dream recall's been lower than usual for the past few nights).

Awesome, after all, we all need to start somewhere! ;) Keep it up

Hey welcome to the class :D My assistant, paigeyemps, is a great help to everyone in the class.

Just kidding, paige is my overlord in the class ;_;.

I'm certain you will get along with everyone on the site and most of all, you will learn a lot. My guess is that you will have your first LD within 2 weeks, although it depends.

Good luck and see you around the chat! :banana:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lunatide

Hey welcome to the class :D My assistant, paigeyemps, is a great help to everyone in the class.

Just kidding, paige is my overlord in the class ;_;.

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Lol wuuuuut. But I am your assistant, Master Lunatide! :P

Quote:

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Good luck and see you around the chat!

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Oh ya, I hope to see you on chat! :D C

Yesterday, I thought that brain training games could perhaps be helpful for lucid dreaming. I figured that stimulating the logic centre of my brain before going to sleep might make me more likely to notice something illogical in a dream. I also figured that playing memory games, especially ones where you have to remember a picture or scene, would be helpful for improving dream recall. I think I may have been right, as I managed to recall four dreams last night (two fragments from one, one fragment from another, and two whole dreams), which is unusual for me.

Anyway, here was what I did last night:

At 9 PM, I had a banana (since I heard they can make dreams more vivid). I played various brain training games online for about an hour (probably not totally necessary, but I was having fun). Then, I watched the second episode of Ghost Hound and had chamomile tea (with milk and sugar). I started watching it because I heard it was about lucid dreaming, but, so far, it's just been strange with little connection to LDing. It's kind of bizarre, and I don't really care for it. I'm probably not going to watch it tonight.

After one episode, I went off to bed. I meditated for a little while and then did KenKen puzzles (kind of like Sudoku with math; again, it was for logic stimulation before sleep) while listening to theta binaural beats (6.3Hz).

I did two and a half puzzles, then got bored of it (it was easier than I remembered), so I turned off the light and decided to go to sleep. I tried MILD, repeating, "I will become lucid tonight" in my head. I also tried using self-hypnosis to aid the effectiveness of it.

I woke up at around quarter to four, just remembering fragments from two non-lucid dreams. I made some quick notes on my iPod and then, seeing as I'd just woken up after some sleep, decided to try WILD. I listened to some music on my iPod (quiet, all without lyrics and not fast/high-energy), as it aids in visualization. I find that the combination of visualization and quiet music helps keep me conscious enough to WILD. I started the visualization consciously, but I let my subconscious take over as much as it wanted (it usually at least takes over the environment pretty quickly). I soon ended up in this big, empty, white room. For each note in the music, a coloured dot would appear and ripple out, then disappear. It's the same place I'd ended up last time I'd tried WILD (which was the first time I'd tried it with music). I remembered from last time that I could step in time to the music to make the coloured dots appear where I stepped. I tried it, and it still worked this time. Ash (one of my CALD characters) appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and we started doing it together (i.e., one of us would use the melody, the other would pick another harmony part). (Note that there was a third stage last time, of lying down as if I was going to sleep with someone guiding me through WILD (it had been both Amy Pond and the Doctor last time). I didn't reach that stage this time, unfortunately, though I think I got close, as the representation of myself in my mind just collapsed... but then got back up again and continued stepping in time with the music to make more coloured dots appear.)

(EDIT: I almost forgot something! In that music room (as I'll now call it, for lack of a better name) the Minecraft soundtrack has some REALLY fun songs!)

As for physical sensations during this, I felt some sort of wave of... something, like it washed over me. It was... it wasn't exactly numbness, nor was it quite a wave of relaxation. It's hard to describe. It happened again a few minutes later, though. I did stay at the point of being really still and relaxed, feeling almost as if my body isn't there, for quite a while, though. However, I didn't quite reach the point of feeling really light or heavy.

I don't really remember why my WILD wasn't successful. I think I moved a little bit accidentally and kinda woke myself up. Well, I at least know I woke up a bit for some reason, so I just decided to shut off the music and go back to sleep (as it was around half past four in the morning by this point). I used MILD, but, unfortunately, didn't become lucid, though I did have two vivid dreams that I could recall in the morning (which I've posted in my dream journal). I think I almost became lucid because I noticed something was different when we had a different instructor for taekwondo. Then I remembered it was Wednesday... which seemed like a valid explanation to my dreaming mind.

Hmmmm, that's rather interesting Fennecgirl. I know others have described SP as a wave feeling. You got the visualization down well at least! I'm sure that if you keep trying, you'll manage to get there. :) You certainly have more luck with WILDs than I do. Keep trying!

I knew memory games were good, but I never thought of using logic/puzzle games for logic stimulation. I'll try playing Professor Layton before bed and see if that works for me. Sounds like you have a good routine going, Fennecgirl!

Last night, I didn't really follow a routine or do much to prepare for lucid dreaming (I kinda got carried away talking to a friend on Facebook chat). I did do a couple of KenKen puzzles again, but that was it. When I went to bed, I'd intended to use MILD, but I think I must have fallen asleep almost immediately (I was really tired) because I don't actually remember doing it at all.

I also think I was correct about playing memory games in the evening helping with dream recall, as I can't remember any dreams from last night.

I have a hard time with recall as well if I'm super tired when I fall asleep. It's like I sleep TOO deep or something.

Anyway, if the memory games help your recall then definitely stick to that method. I find that very interesting that you tried that and it worked. I wonder what effect that would have on others?

Anyway, better luck tonight!

I think the memory games are definitely helpful for recall. I tried playing them again yesterday evening. In the morning, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't remember any dreams from last night, but I did wake up with that feeling of "I can remember dreaming of something; I just can't remember what". I spent awhile trying to remember and managed to recall pieces of four dreams again (including one whole dream), even though none of them were particularly clear.

By the way, I also used MILD again.

Last night, I didn't end up playing memory games in the evening because I had a friend over. I hoped my dream recall would still be okay, and it was. I'm pretty sure I could remember four dreams when I woke up this morning, but I can only remember three now (just missed that extra credit!). I've posted them all in my DJ.

As for induction methods, I planned on hanging with my characters a bit for CALD and then doing MILD. I do have other, non-CALD characters and worlds in my mind, too (I always have, just for my amusement), and my mind ended up drifting over to another world instead... and then another. I guess I was having a bit too much fun with that (not to mention I had some... important business with a couple of other characters, long story there), so I figured I'd just go back to CALD later. I ended up falling asleep before returning to them or doing MILD. Oops.

Hey, seems like a good plan!

Btw, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :party:

I did it. I finally did it.

...well, sort of.

I became lucid, but I got too excited, which caused me to wake up before I could really do anything. Turns out it was actually a false awakening, but I didn't realize that until I woke up for real. Hopefully, my next LD will be a bit longer!

I've posted the details in my dream journal, by the way.

Heyyy!! That's great news! Congratulations! :rockon:

Read your DJ entry :3

Those annoying FA's! Gaaa! At least you caught one of them! Haha. Congrats again.

Thanks! I didn't quite catch it, though; it wasn't until I woke up for real and replayed the dream in my mind that I realized I'd paid no attention to the extra finger that was still there.

I didn't manage to become lucid again last night, though I did meet a DC who seemed important after going back to sleep this morning. I think there is a possibility that she might be my dream guide, but I'm not sure yet. I'm going to have to look for her in my next LD (if I stay lucid long enough next time) and ask her. By the way, do you have any tips for remembering what DCs look like? I find that I'm terrible at recalling the appearance of DCs (unless I'm familiar with them IRL), despite having decent dream recall.

Homework Assignments for Lesson II

1. Maintain your Workbook and your Dream Journal
Done!

2. Continue to do at least one reality check a day, and list it in your workbook.
I do at least a few a day, though I haven't been posting them in my workbook because I don't really keep track of them. I'm still trying to get better at remembering to RC more often, though I still do at least a few every day.

3. Select an Induction Technique from Lesson II, and begin practicing daily. Post your results in your workbook daily as well.
Well, I've been practicing MILD most nights (as well as CALD, as it seems all I have to do for that is spend time with my characters in my mind, as well as talking about LDing with them, especially when going to bed), sometimes in conjunction with self-hypnosis (which I haven't been totally successful with yet). I have been posting my results.

Extra Credit: Recall more than 3 dreams each night, for at least 3 nights this week, and you will be awarded 20 hall points.
Done, and recorded in my dream journal!

Awesome work fennecgirl!!

I too, despite having great recall, have issues recalling the details of a DCs face. I think this is due to interference from our left brain. The left brain associates "symbols" to things, such as facial structure. This is why so many people have issues drawing because when you draw an eye you draw an oval shape with a circle in the middle, as is the symbol from your left brain. In actuality, each eye is very different.

I'm still not too great at remembering what DCs look like, but I found the best way to get as much information as possible is to study the finer details of their appearance, as you would if you were attempting to draw somebody's portrait. And instead of noticing their eyes as eyes, notice them as simple shapes, lines and how wrinkles look as they're hit by light.

I think I came close again last night. For some reason, I had a dream that my dad was dead. After speaking with him for awhile, I started to suspect that he was actually still alive (as opposed to, you know, a really alive-looking zombie or something), but I also began to suspect that none of this was real. However, it didn't actually cross my mind that I could be dreaming; I thought that perhaps he was just acting and this whole thing was staged.

I used MILD again last night, by the way.

Awww. I have plenty of dreams like that too. I wonder if it's real, but for some reason I think that I'm just being stupid, and end up never getting lucid. That's why lately, when I do mental reality checks such as asking myself "is this real and why?", I try to really take time to think about my answers so it gets internalized and I don't end up disregarding it.


Hahaha tricky tricky brain. Well, you're doing really great still. Keep it up ;D

I have kind of a hobby of worldbuilding, which I'd been really focused on before bed last night, so that's all I really had on my mind when I went to bed. I realized this was a bad mindset for lucid dreaming, as it would just distract me from LD-related thoughts if I kept thinking about all my ideas. I decided to incorporate it into my MILD, saying, "I am a Lusaŋki. I know this means I'm dreaming."

The Lusaŋki are a race I made up for the world I'm making, by the way. My intention was that I'd dream of being one of them (or, at least, being WITH them), leading me to realize that I'm dreaming.

In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea, being too specific. I ended up dreaming about playing video games instead, so I had no apparent reason to question reality. When it started getting weird, I realized that I didn't recognize that part from the game I thought it was, but then I remembered I was playing a different game. That explanation satisfied me... until I woke up.

On the plus side, I actually got to play a video game without it glitching to the point of being near-unplayable, and I also managed to (sort of) remember the appearance of a DC.

That's really interesting. How great would that be though, if someone could successfully incubate his own made up world in specific details, and having the ability to enter it everytime he sleeps. :D

Well, you can always do the worldbuilding as part of your daydreaming when you're up and awake. And then, just as you said, focus on incorporating it into your MILD over and over before bed :)

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...

Quote:

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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...

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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 :D haha.

No worries about missing DVA tonight, as there wasn't one :P 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.

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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.

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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! :D

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?

Quote:

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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?

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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!

Quote:

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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!

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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 :P

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 :chuckle:

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!

I tried DEILD again last night, as I woke up half-asleep in the middle of the night. I couldn't get it to work, though. After a few minutes, I just gave up and let myself fall asleep normally... and ended up falling asleep really quickly.

On a positive note, though, I've been getting up earlier and updating my dream journal BEFORE camp, rather than updating it when I get home or simply not getting around to it at all. My dream recall's already getting better again. Last night, I only remembered one dream, but it was REALLY vivid. It's been awhile since I've had one that vivid.

It's good that you're making yourself update your dream journal before you get the day started. I've tried to make myself to the same, as well, it really does seem to help my recall as opposed to putting it off for the afternoon.

I think it's safe to say my dream recall's back to normal. I remembered three dreams last night, and they were all fairly vivid.

Actually, in terms of vividness, I'd say that's a bit above average for me...

By the way, I might be a little late to the DVA class today.

Last night, I was at an overnight that was all astronomy-related stuff (various activities, seeing 3D pictures taken by Curiosity on Mars, time lapse videos of the Northern Lights from the International Space Station, and, of course, watching the meteor shower). I was hoping to dream about space or astronomy. I figured that all that stuff in the evening would help. I also tried using autosuggestion and visualization to incubate a dream on Mars. :3

...unfortunately, that didn't work. I did briefly meet a girl from Mars, though, but she was a human. :P

Oh well, there's always tonight. I want to go to Mars, explore, find Curiosity, then find Spirit and Opportunity and repair them (seriously, I actually do feel sorry for them... Spirit got stuck and died, and Opportunity's on its way out). If I have time before waking up, maybe I can go back to Earth to see NASA's reaction to finding life on Mars... especially a human! XD

Oh good, glad you got your recall back. So cool that you met a Martian/human girl :P

I've also been wanting to dream about being on another planet. I like flying in LDs, but it's more low to the ground, not much of a blast-through-the-atmosphere kind of flying. I thought about phasing through a mirror to find an alien world, you know, have my own little StarGate moment :P

Well, I finally had another LD last night... but I can't remember anything except doing an RC and becoming lucid! :morecrying:

I had another LD tonight. That's a new record for me - getting lucid two nights in a row! :D

I love how just a couple words can sometimes trigger dream recall.

I could remember two dreams when I woke up this morning, but I didn't bother updating my dream journal for a couple hours or so. When I finally got around to it, I wrote down the first one, and then realized I'd forgotten the second. I scrolled down a bit to see my tag cloud and, unsuprisingly, saw "legend of zelda" at the top in huge font. I asked myself, "Was I playing a Zelda game?" I only had to think about the answer to that for a few seconds or so to remember that, yes, I was. That one tag alone actually caused me to remember the whole dream with in detail!

Speaking of Zelda games, I was bad this morning. I'm on the second day of using a reward system in which my reward for lucid dreaming is video games. If I get lucid, I can play video games. If I don't, I can't play any video games all morning (afternoon is fine, unless I have no recall, in which case I have to go all day without video games). Two nights ago (i.e., the first night), when I went to bed, I told myself I had to get lucid so I could play Zelda games. That worked; I had an LD. I got up the next morning and played Wind Waker.

However... I spent ages playing Wind Waker again this morning, even though I didn't get lucid last night. I told myself that it was okay because just one day wouldn't hurt.

At least I finally beat the game. That counts for something, right?

Anyway, I promise, from this day forth, I shall be stricter with my reward system!

I was disappointed when I woke up this morning with no recall. However, then I went back to sleep and had an LD! After that one, I went back to sleep and had another!

The second one was my longest and most stable one yet, and I definitely felt like I could think more clearly than usual.

I've still been unsuccessful with dream control, though. I tried changing location by opening a door, and I tried summoning my iPod by saying it was in my pocket and reaching for it. I even asked a DC how to summon objects, and he said, "I'll tell you how: you can't."

Well, now I know who ISN'T my dream guide! XD

LOL! Bad DC is bad.

Congrats on your lucids! :party:

I know it must be frustrating not to be able to control the dream even when you try hard. You'll get there eventually! Just never have even the slightest doubt in your mind! Like, "there will absolutely be a phone in my pocket!" or "there IS a waterfall on the other side of this door!" be excited about it too, it really helps ;)


Good luck, and congrats again!

Thank you! I'll have to remember that!

I've decided to start practicing CALD again.

I mean, I never really decided to stop, but, being a huge daydreamer, I do have other worlds in my head (well, actually, I like to go inside video games in my daydreams). One night in another one of my worlds kinda turned into a couple weeks of exclusively daydreaming there, so... CALD sorta got put off for awhile...

When I finally did decide to return to doing CALD, Kayleigh (one of my CALD characters) was annoyed at me for having been gone so long.

tl;dr - I'mma try CALD again; don't mind the rest; I'm just rambling.

Hahaha the Kayleigh thing is interesting. What did you tell her? :D

And good luck with the CALD x)

Thank you!

I reminded her that I DO have other characters, too. She didn't seem to think that was a good excuse.

So I tried WILD this morning... in a dream.

According to dream logic, WILD is apparently done by attempting to fall asleep while walking around the house. I'm not entirely sure how that's actually supposed to work.

Oh I hate when that happens lol. I sometimes dream about attempting different induction techniques, and they're usually retarded.

OpheliaBlue, paigeyemps, I had a dream about you two last night. xD

You were both at my school for some reason. I think you were both teachers. I know at least Ophelia was. o.O

What! Nice ;)

What did we do?

It's in my latest DJ entry.

You weren't actually there, though. You were just mentioned.

Haha awesome. Is this your first DV member dream? I have irc dreams alot myself.

Yeah, that was my first.

I FINALLY had another lucid dream the other night! It was kind of weird. I was playing a video game, and it was pretty glitchy. I figured, hey, this is a dream, how about I see what sort of weird glitch effects I can pull off (like when I get carried away with AR codes on old Pokemon games IWL). After a couple minutes, it began to fade, so I opened my eyes. I guess it was technically just really vivid HI, since I was still sort of aware of my body the whole time, but it turned out that was inside of an actual dream, so I guess that's close enough to consider that dream-HI thing to be a moment of lucidity.

Also, I've been attempting a dream incubation method based off the experiment the MIT scientists did with controlling rats' dreams with audio cues (it was suggested in a thread here on DV). I've actually found it to be extremely reliable. Finally, I've found an incubation method that actually works for me!

Congrats on the lucid!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fennecgirl

After a couple minutes, it began to fade, so I opened my eyes.

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I'm just curious, when you say you opened your eyes, was it IWL, or you opened dream eyes into another dream? Just curious, because I've had some experiences like that.

I opened my eyes into the dream I was in before I closed them. Like I said, I was still sort of aware of my body after closing my eyes, so I never totally left that dream.

Oh that's really interesting.

I wonder what would happen, the next time you open your eyes into a dream like that, and are aware of your body like you said, if you just slowly got up out of bed anyway. I *may* have had a similar experience as you, and when I just made the decision to get out of bed, I was really lucid dreaming. I'm wondering this because there's a chance that when you felt your body still in bed, it could have been a false awakening. I can't be certain of course because I'm just going off of what you said, but it might be worth experimenting on if it happens again.

I DEILDed this morning!

It was actually an accident; I wasn't intending to, but, when I started seeing vivid HI, I saw it as a good opportunity. In the dream, I got a package from my subconscious, but I woke up before I could open it...

Nice job!! Much respect, since I failed my own DEILD attempt this morning.

And I love this whole "package from your subconscious" angle. Ah, I see you've got a DJ entry for this! Looks like this is your first-ever DEILD, so congratulations! I'm gonna check out your entry.

Nice job fennecgirl! :party:

Heads up: It's almost October! I suggest making a new list of monthly goals you want to achieve, as well as reevaluate your DJ for possible new dream signs or any realizations :D

I finally had another LD last night... it's been ages!

I'm also surprised at how long it's been since we've had a DVA class... =/

Haha what a coincidence! I'm about to PM the group for a class right now. You're so intuitive :P

And congrats on the LD!

It's been awhile since I've updated, so I may as well post something.

Tulpae are fairly well known around here on DV, right? I can explain, if I need to...

Anyway, you know how tulpae may try to enter the host's dreams? My newest goal is sort of the opposite. I'm going to try to enter a tulpa's dream. I'm planning on trying to achieve this via autosuggestion.

If anyone's wondering, I've chosen to try to get into one of Link's dreams. I figured his would be the easiest for me to enter because he's the only who shows up in my dreams now and then and because we seem to have the strongest mental connection (such as sensing thoughts/emotions easier, etc.).

Hey, maybe I'll even help him to become lucid. That'd be quite something, wouldn't it?

Hey, nice to see your update! While I'm not really big on the whole tulpa thing, I would definitely be interested in the results of your experiment. Let us know how it goes.

I normally suck at dream control, but I actually did something last night! I think the dream was destabilizing in a way, because my vision was turning black and white. Without thinking, I instinctively shouted, "Make everything in color!" and it worked!

That's awesome! I have had some luck with verbal commands in the past, so I'm happy you got that one to work.

Since I've been neglecting my dream journal, my recall deteriorated a lot, to the point where I was remembering only one, maybe two, vague dreams per night (so, not terrible recall, but definitely not good). For the past few nights, I've been listening to a relaxation CD when I go to bed, and I've been remembering tons of dreams each night now. I usually end up falling asleep while the CD is playing and waking up shortly after, but I wake up really relaxed and just fall back asleep after a few minutes or so. My recall quality still isn't great (I guess I do need to start writing in my dream journal again), but some of my dreams are a bit more vivid, and the quantity of dreams remembered has gone way up.

Since stress can negatively affect dream recall, I guess it's no surprise that really relaxing before going to sleep can have a positive effect.

Actually, some of my dreams are pretty vivid, if I'm lucky.

I would've just added this to the previous post, but the edit feature doesn't seem to be working for me.

Wow, I haven't posted here in nearly five months.

Anyway, I've decided to try to start LDing again. I sort of lost interest and motivation, but now I'm ready to start again. Hopefully I'll actually be good at it this time around.

Welcome back fennecgirl, I'm glad you're giving it a go again! How have you been? :)

Apparently, just deciding to start trying to LD again was enough to make me get lucid again (I'd still been doing infrequent RCs and had perhaps one or two short LDs while I've been inactive here, despite not really putting in any other effort). It was a short dream that collapsed quickly after I became lucid, but at least I actually got lucid.

In the dream, I was in public school again. I was walking down one of the hallways when I remembered I go to an online school, but then I thought that I must have switched back to public school at some point, since I was there. That made me confused, and I wasn't sure what school I went to anymore. Then, I realized that I must be dreaming, because, if I was awake, I would know what school I went to, so I did a quick RC to confirm this.

The dream didn't last long after that, but I did feel kind of accomplished for having another LD so soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fennecgirl

Anyway, I've decided to try to start LDing again. I sort of lost interest and motivation, but now I'm ready to start again.

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Welcome back! Great to have you back. No worries -- it's never too late. Wanting it, getting in there, and putting in the work... that's all that matters. Do that, and you'll be successful.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fennecgirl

Apparently, just deciding to start trying to LD again was enough to make me get lucid again (I'd still been doing infrequent RCs and had perhaps one or two short LDs while I've been inactive here, despite not really putting in any other effort). It was a short dream that collapsed quickly after I became lucid, but at least I actually got lucid.

In the dream, I was in public school again. I was walking down one of the hallways when I remembered I go to an online school, but then I thought that I must have switched back to public school at some point, since I was there. That made me confused, and I wasn't sure what school I went to anymore. Then, I realized that I must be dreaming, because, if I was awake, I would know what school I went to, so I did a quick RC to confirm this.

The dream didn't last long after that, but I did feel kind of accomplished for having another LD so soon.

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See, I knew you'd start getting lucid again. (Did I call it or what? :chuckle:)

Seriously, congratulations on the lucid. Intent is hugely important in lucid dreaming. Wanting to have an LD and more importantly knowing that you can and will have lucid dreams matters so much in terms of producing results.

What induction tech are you using these days? Anyhow, congratulations again. Keep that momentum rolling!

I'm probably just going to go through all the lessons again, right from the beginning. I need something to get me started again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fennecgirl

I'm probably just going to go through all the lessons again, right from the beginning. I need something to get me started again.

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Welcome back! That sounds like a great approach. I always start from the basics when I need to bring up some aspect of my LD practice. While I admit that I don't literally go through the intro class homework, I always start from the foundation.

It's familiar ground, it builds back up fast, and it's the stuff that truly matters, IMO.

Good luck and keep us updated on how you! :)