Varrin's Workbook

So I've done a little reading on LDs, and I've had the occasional DILD, but I've never really been able to control them for long. I'm hoping this course can help, as I have big plans for my dreams :cheeky:

Goals
-Be able to LD fairly regularly
-Compose music in my dreams.
-Practice violin (basically lots of music related things)
-Talk with my subconscious (if that's even really possible)


It's the middle of the day right now, so I'll create a dream journal before I go to bed and link to it here.

As far as reality checks go, I'm going to try a method I read about a while ago; it involves writing a letter/number/symbol on your palm, and then whenever you look at it you do a reality check. I'm doing it this way because I'm worried if I try to do one just "randomly" throughout the day I'll probably forget.

I've never heard of that method of RC before! I'm having a hard time with RC cause I always forget to do them! I'll have to try out what you're doing :) Good luck on your LDs!

Thanks. I can't remember where I read that technique from, but it's definitely helpful if you're busy/forgetful like me.

Hey varrin, welcome to the class! The fact that you have the occasional DILD is very promising. How long do you think you've been LDing for? Once you learn more about the techniques to LD and what works for you, I'm sure you'll find LDing rather easy to do. Which techniques will you be using? Have you noticed any recurring themes in your dreams (dream signs)?

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Originally Posted by varrin

It's the middle of the day right now, so I'll create a dream journal before I go to bed and link to it here.

As far as reality checks go, I'm going to try a method I read about a while ago; it involves writing a letter/number/symbol on your palm, and then whenever you look at it you do a reality check. I'm doing it this way because I'm worried if I try to do one just "randomly" throughout the day I'll probably forget.

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Once you make a DJ entry in DV (unless you plan on posting your dreams elsewhere), we'll be able to access your DJ from all of your posts. Notice how Pastelpeach and I have a "DJ Entries" line under the "Likes" line, below our avatars? That'll automatically happen for you once you make your first DJ Entry, so no need to post a link. You can if you want, but it's not necessary.

Careful with that RC method. Writing on your hand is a good way to start remembering to RC, but the problem is that you could become dependent on it. For example, one of the good ways to catch if you're dreaming is to RC if you notice anything strange, unusual, or suspicious. If you rely on writing on your hand to tell you to RC, you might not decide to RC around the strange stuff in the dream. You'll also be relying on ink on your hand, rather than yourself, to catch if you're dreaming. It is a good way to remember to RC, but try to RC without the reminders too.

You never did specify which RC(s) you'll be using too. Have you decided?

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Originally Posted by Caenis

Hey varrin, welcome to the class! The fact that you have the occasional DILD is very promising. How long do you think you've been LDing for? Once you learn more about the techniques to LD and what works for you, I'm sure you'll find LDing rather easy to do. Which techniques will you be using? Have you noticed any recurring themes in your dreams (dream signs)?

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I can't really say how long I've been LDing, I can't remember when the first time it happened was. It doesn't happen THAT often, maybe once or twice a month, but I've also rarely forgotten dreams, which is another good sign :) As far as technique, I haven't really decided yet; I want to take a little time on each lesson before moving into the next one, although I'll probably end up choosing DILD, as that's how I've LDed in the past.

I'm not sure I understand why you think it won't work; are you saying I would ignore the hand symbol and not do a RC while dreaming? I think the idea behind the hand-symbol method is that even a "reminder" to RC will trigger RC-related thoughts, even if you don't actively try and RC. But in any case it probably would be best not to become dependent on something like this.

As far as what I'll actually be checking in an RC, I've picked a couple. Dream-signs would be one; my dreams almost always have that hazy quality to them, or a weird, "zoomed out" first person perspective, where it kind of looks like I'm playing a video game starring myself. Another I will use is a memory check, because while I've never really had a problem remembering my dreams, they always change setting a lot, so it should be easy to realize this irregularity.

And thanks for the info on DJs! :)

That's true, the writing on your hand will make you have more RC-related thoughts. But there's a chance that if you don't see the writing on your hand in the dream, or if you don't look at your hands, then you won't have a reason to RC. Writing stuff down is a great way to remember things, so I don't mean to advise against it. Just don't let that be the only way you RC, or use the reminder less once you get into the habit of RCing daily.

Hey varrin!! Welcome to the class!

As for the palm writing RC, that was one of the first RCs I used when I started lucid dreaming. What Caenis said was right (in my case). I put the letter "A" on my palm and RCed throughout the day. But whenever I was in a dream, I never bothered to check my hands, so they never worked for me. But it's different for everyone though, so you never know!

Good luck :)

Well I decided to see how well I can do without the whole palm thing (and I also went with the letter A! At least before I washed it off :P ). I RCed yesterday probably once every two or three hours. This morning my dream was a bit fuzzy at first; I could only remember the middle of it. But after trying to remember I was able to recall all of it...or at least all that I can remember :P Wasn't able to become lucid, but it's only Day 1 so I'm not surprised. It had the same "quality" my dreams always have...hazy, and from an altered perspective, but I haven't cemented the habit of RCing quite yet, so nothing seemed out of place.

Well done for your recall, it's a great skill to practise and can sometimes take a while to get down properly. If your dreams always have that quality, maybe it's one of your dream signs? You could train yourself to notice it more using this: http://www.dreamviews.com/f12/incuba...-signs-134585/

That's really good progress for your first day as well :)

Thanks! I'll be sure to try that, and I plan on trying some MILD tonight. Gave myself a few RCs today, maybe 6 or 7 total, including checking memory and the nose-plug one, as well as checking for dream signs, which in my case would indeed be the haze and warped perspective. Hopefully all goes well tonight!

Best of luck! :D

Just a thought: August is coming up! Why don't you create a list of personal lucid goals you would like to achieve this month? It can help motivate you and put you in a better mindset to get lucid! Good luck. :banana:

Well today was a rare day for me; I was unable to remember most of my dreams. Usually I have little problem recalling almost all of it, but today not so much. Hopefully I'm just having an "off night".

I've come up with a goal that the first time I become lucid I'm going to try my best to contain my excitement. I'd like to build a "lucid room", which would be a place that I could come back to whenever I'm lucid. Since I intend to try to write music in my dreams, I've chosen the concert hall at the conservatory I go to. Whenever I become lucid, and if I'm able to stabilize and maintain control, then I'll try to enter it.

Oh that's pretty cool Varrin, with the concert hall. I actually have a regular thing that I turn to for stabilization if necessary. Not a room, but a thing: a mirror. I can always find one, and they're sorta like my safe place in an LD, and I can even go through them if I want to change scenes. That would be really cool if you can compose music in your dream, and even better if you remember enough to dictate it after you wake up!

Apologies for not posting regularly, had a bit of a scare concerning student loans, but it's all sorted out now.
Since then I've resumed doing my RCs, only now without the aid of the hand mark. I can remember to do them fairly well at this point.

I had a brief lucid dream a couple days ago, but it was one of the random ones that I sometimes have, so it didn't last very long. I guess you could say I sort of dreamed that I was dreaming, because all that happened was I realized I was dreaming, then the next moment I just went back to my normal dream state, indifferent. So maybe I was never lucid, and it was all just part of the dream? :uhm:

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Originally Posted by varrin

Apologies for not posting regularly, had a bit of a scare concerning student loans, but it's all sorted out now.
Since then I've resumed doing my RCs, only now without the aid of the hand mark. I can remember to do them fairly well at this point.

I had a brief lucid dream a couple days ago, but it was one of the random ones that I sometimes have, so it didn't last very long. I guess you could say I sort of dreamed that I was dreaming, because all that happened was I realized I was dreaming, then the next moment I just went back to my normal dream state, indifferent. So maybe I was never lucid, and it was all just part of the dream? :uhm:

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I'd say that's pretty likely, a lot of people mistake dreaming that you're dreaming for lucidity. I've found the foolproof way of testing to see whether you were actually lucid is questioning whether the dream was like a waking-life memory. In true lucidity, the recall of it is just like recalling any other waking-life memory.

Well it happened again. I had a dream where I dreamed I was lucid dreaming. It's hard for me to tell one way or the other however, since usually I have pretty good recall. Lucid or not, usually I have no problem remember my dreams, and it was especially hard this time because when I dreamed I was lucid dreaming, I dreamed I was trying to stabilize my dream by rubbing/looking at my hands, and it did get somewhat clearer, although I remember there was a bit of haze.

I think the problem might be in my RCs. It's probably because I need to put more effort into really trying to do my RCs as if I'm dreaming all the time, that way I don't do them half-heartedly. Also I feel my awareness probably needs to be better, and I need to do RCs more often, as now that school is starting back up I'm forgetting to do them as regularly as I was before.

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Originally Posted by varrin

... and I need to do RCs more often, as now that school is starting back up I'm forgetting to do them as regularly as I was before.

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Gaaa I feel your pain! Try putting something on your school supplies that reminds you to reality check. I used to put something on my backpack, which I would see everytime I set it down, thus reminding me to RC. Or if your classes require you to move from room to room, practice RCing everytime you enter your next class. Right now, my pens have this print on their body that says "pay attention". It's this thin strip of paper rolled around the inside of the pen (the tube containing the ink). Everyone else thinks I put it there for discussion purposes, but really, I use them to remind me to RC, since I tell myself "pay attention" everytime I practice awareness for a few minutes throughout the day. Hehe ;) Just thought of sharing them in case you wanted to try them out.