Thread: James' Workbook

What was going on here? And how long does it usually take to get into the dream?

Probably just bad timing. I suggest you try this next time: if it takes too long, just roll over or move into a more comfortable position and try again. You dont have to lie straight on your back for a WILD, being comfortable is the important thing since you wanna fall asleep. So if you get a bit iffy after a while, just change position, relax and start again. Getting that relief could help your body fall asleep faster, just remember to use an anchor or retain your awareness. Anyway, if you can, just lay in a comfortable position in the first place and be patient. If that doesn't work, it might be time to adjust the time you wake up or stay up.

False awakening

Indeed, it was a false awakening. Practice doing reality checks every time you wake up, no matter where you are. This will help you catch FA's in the future.

Good luck!

Yeah I have been consistently able to stay relaxed and keep awareness using an anchor. I had noticed that my body has been numb especially in my arms after every attempt! But I'm not sure if this is sleep paralysis or what!

Originally Posted by balinup13

Yeah I have been consistently able to stay relaxed and keep awareness using an anchor. I had noticed that my body has been numb especially in my arms after every attempt! But I'm not sure if this is sleep paralysis or what!

It looks like what you felt were the normal sensations you tend to notice as your body starts falling asleep. Since you woke up, it's makes perfect sense that you will still have those lingering feelings of numbness, etc.

Another 4 tries of WILD without success but gonna have a WILD tomorrow morning I know it! Here we go!

That's the spirit! Make every attempt a learning experience, no matter the outcome

Originally Posted by balinup13

Another 4 tries of WILD without success but gonna have a WILD tomorrow morning I know it! Here we go!

There you go, man, love the attitude! That's exactly right. You learn more and more about yourself every time you try this stuff. WILD is a technique that tends to have a very personal shape to it -- a person has to learn what it feels like for them to fall asleep consciously. For me, the process is usually a quiet and peaceful journey, for some it involves lots of excitement and vibrations. It took me lots of attempts to learn what it was like, and once you get it, you'll be that much better equipped to make it happen in the future.

One of the unspoken secrets of success is that you must keep showing up. Most people forget this, but it really is that simple. So long as you keep trying and keep learning from each attempt, you're getting closer and closer to your next success.

Let us know how it goes and any specific questions that arise in your attempts!

I really like the advice about showing up. I know i just gotta keep putting in the work and I'll get the results. Interestingly this morning I had an incredible experience. I woke up quite a few times this morning because it was hot in my room so I kept fading in and out of consciousness. Anyway I think I had an interesting LD experience that I need some help making sense of.

The dream began for a while where I was getting ready to go to a massive mansion for a dance or something. Somewhere along the lines I ended up in Mexico trying to hide from the cops. I was with some friends and I somehow just knew that the cops would be showing up soon and so I tried to hide behind a sand dune but they found us and surrounded us. They then told us that there was no other way to avoid getting in trouble unless we walked across a very small and sketchy bridge that had some type of acid below it. Somehow the idea just came to me that this was all very unprofessional and that the police would never do this type of thing. So I am right by the bridge and I look below me and everything just magically clicked. I put it together. I took a huge risk and just jumped from the top of the bridge into the acid and screamed I am dreaming. At that moment I started to fly above the acid and felt completely exhilarated. This is where it starts to get VERY WEIRD. After i flew above the acid I woke up...or so I thought. I felt myself like wake up to a new dream in which I was watching a 90's music video take place. I knew I was still lucid somehow and noticed that the dream was very blurry. So I told myself that I would close my eyes and then when I opened them it would all be clear. When i opened them it was much clearer but I felt as if I didn't have the kind of control as at that one moment flying over the acid. After this, that dream ended and I woke up in yet another dream. I wasn't lucid anymore though, and interestingly I woke up feeling like I had actually woken up from my very first dream of being at the mansion dance. I was convinced that that was reality until after I woke up from all of this confused as hell.

Sorry for the long post but this was absolutely insane..a breakthrough for me for sure. Reminded me of inception. Did I actually have a lucid dream?? or did I just dream about having a lucid dream? There were 3 different dreams in one or something? I am pretty sure I had one because I thought at one point I can't wait to tell my girlfriend about having a lucid dream when I woke up. Anyways, let me know what you think!

Thanks guys

Had yet another false awakening this morning!!!!! GAH these pesky false awakenings..really trying to get into the habit of RC'ing first thing when i wake up!

Haha no worries, you'll get used to it in time!

Originally Posted by balinup13

The dream began for a while where I was getting ready to go to a massive mansion for a dance or something. Somewhere along the lines I ended up in Mexico trying to hide from the cops. I was with some friends and I somehow just knew that the cops would be showing up soon and so I tried to hide behind a sand dune but they found us and surrounded us. They then told us that there was no other way to avoid getting in trouble unless we walked across a very small and sketchy bridge that had some type of acid below it. Somehow the idea just came to me that this was all very unprofessional and that the police would never do this type of thing. So I am right by the bridge and I look below me and everything just magically clicked. I put it together. I took a huge risk and just jumped from the top of the bridge into the acid and screamed I am dreaming. At that moment I started to fly above the acid and felt completely exhilarated. This is where it starts to get VERY WEIRD. After i flew above the acid I woke up...or so I thought. I felt myself like wake up to a new dream in which I was watching a 90's music video take place. I knew I was still lucid somehow and noticed that the dream was very blurry. So I told myself that I would close my eyes and then when I opened them it would all be clear. When i opened them it was much clearer but I felt as if I didn't have the kind of control as at that one moment flying over the acid. After this, that dream ended and I woke up in yet another dream. I wasn't lucid anymore though, and interestingly I woke up feeling like I had actually woken up from my very first dream of being at the mansion dance. I was convinced that that was reality until after I woke up from all of this confused as hell.

Sorry for the long post but this was absolutely insane..a breakthrough for me for sure. Reminded me of inception. Did I actually have a lucid dream?? or did I just dream about having a lucid dream? There were 3 different dreams in one or something? I am pretty sure I had one because I thought at one point I can't wait to tell my girlfriend about having a lucid dream when I woke up. Anyways, let me know what you think!

Wow, man, awesome, awesome dream! Yes, absolutely, this was a lucid dream. And from the sound of it a very cool one! Even during a lucid dream you'll experience these sorts of transitions. I'd normally say that the trick is to hang through them without losing lucidity, but you did that just fine at the part with the 90s music video. It's the false awakening that got you, but that's normal. More practice and experience will help there. And let's be honest, they all fool us sometimes.

Anyway, yeah the dream within a dream thing is totally real and has happened to me a few times as well. I have actually performed a "WILD" from within a NLD, gone into a lucid dream, and then had a false awakening back into the original dream, now non-lucid again. Here's the DJ entry where this happened to me, although your dream was actually much cooler! But to show that you're not alone: Fooled - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

Keep up the great work, man!

Woah that was quite the dream you had! Thanks for the responses I am so happy I have been having this kind of success lately!

Had another lucid but the weird thing is that I have no recollection of how I got to be lucid! I also was not very lucid I don't thing cause it all seemed kinda foggy when I was lucid. I even tried to fly to the stars but for some reason I like stopped before I left the atmosphere? Any thoughts on this guys?

Hey James! Congrats on the lucid! Sometimes, we have spontaneous lucids where you just get lucid without really any trigger (this means your awareness is just really good). And also, many times because of the low level of lucidity, and perhaps with not-so-good recall, we tend to not remember how it began. Not to worry though, it always gets better with time and practice. The same is true with dream control. Just remember that lucidity is not equal to control, though they may be related. Next time try stabilizing the dream so it can get more vivid and prevent you from waking up, as well as give you a better chance to improve your dream control.

http://www.dreamviews.com/attaining-...-tutorial.html

Along the lines that paigey was going, taking a moment to gather yourself is a great way to extend a lucid. This is especially true if you are doing intense stuff like flying into space. One lucid I had, I was doing that exact thing and realized I was losing the dream. I stopped flying, and just floated in the clouds for minute. A full scene began forming below me with the earth and oceans. Unfortunately, once it was done forming, the dream ended. Regardless, taking a moment to relax, and take stock of your surroundings will go far in improving lucidity.

Thanks guys I did a ton of reading about this yesterday and I guess it is a common mistake for beginners! My next lucid goal is to perform some of the stabilizing techniques... I don't even care of that's all that I do in the dream. I learned that out of my 3 or 4 lucids I have never stabilized and that's why I have questioned how people think lucids are so incredibly vivid! It's time to experience this for myself! Anyways thanks as always for the quick reply

Originally Posted by balinup13

Thanks guys I did a ton of reading about this yesterday and I guess it is a common mistake for beginners! My next lucid goal is to perform some of the stabilizing techniques... I don't even care of that's all that I do in the dream. I learned that out of my 3 or 4 lucids I have never stabilized and that's why I have questioned how people think lucids are so incredibly vivid! It's time to experience this for myself! Anyways thanks as always for the quick reply

Congratulations on the lucid, James! Sounds great. I think you'll find that these stabilization techs are fun in and of themselves.

In fact, you don't even have to think of them as "stabilization" so much as just really getting yourself immersed in the dream. An issue we face is that once we become conscious in a dream, we want to make sure that we live in that dream, completely ignoring our physical bodies. Yes, we know that we have a physical body, but the last thing we want to do is spend a lot of time thinking about it!

What's cool with these stabilization techs is that they involve just getting really, really into your dream scene, drinking in all of those awesome details, and just really living in the moment in this incredibly powerful human experience. Once you look, really look at just how vivid and detailed this world you have created is, you'll be blown away by it. Stabilization becomes almost a byproduct of that.

Great work!

Guys I finally had an unbelievably clear ld!!!!
The dream begins with me getting into a random Chrysler with 3 men. We speed off into a spiral parking garage and I roll down my window to throw some coins to a poor beggar. Suddenly hundreds of beggars start to swarm to our car and so we speed off through the parking garage. I desperately try to roll up my window so that the beggars don't reach their hands into the car. After this I somehow end up on top of the roof of a giant hotel. Everything is pretty dark and I for some reason push my fingers through my palm. I realize that I am dreaming and so I continue to push my fingers through my palms a couple times. Interestingly I had to do it a couple times because I felt like I was on the verge of waking up or losing the dream or something and that I had to focus myself into the dream. Now pretty lucid, I look around the roof of the hotel. I begin to fly and realize how much I have wanted to have a crystal clear lucid dream. So I contemplate looking at my hands in the air but instead I see a little ledge with some plants. I decide first to examine a leaf and start to notice the details of the leaf very well. Then I decide to look at my hands. I stare at my palms and notice the lines on them and also notice a giant gash or something on my right hand that is not there normally. I also notice that everything has become extremely clear and vibrant like nothing I have ever seen. The light and colors around me seem even more colorful than in real life and I feel exhilarated in knowing that I have finally achieved the highest level of lucidity. I decide that I want to fly into the clouds and that I want the dream to surprise me with something as I fly. I also notice that it isn't all that easy to fly. I still manage to do it and as I look into the sky a vibrant and colorful spiral staircase appears above me. I touch it and it kind of bends. It is not made out of stairs but instead out of flowers in one part and a cool type of material that I have never seen. In seeing all of this I just woke up and I'm not sure why? My guess is that I got too excited. Nevertheless I am so happy to finally have a REAL lucid dream with full control!! I have worked very hard for almost a year and finally experienced the real deal last night!

Awesome, James! Sounds like an amazing, clear, high-level lucid dream. Great stuff! I love it when they hit like this and you just enjoy the product of your mind, not distracted by excessive emotion, lingering dream plots, etc. Just pure enjoyment!

May you have many more like this one!

Wooot it must be lucid day because lots of students are having a blast of lucidity! Congrats!

Hey guys was wondering if any of you had tried Calea Z! I tried it last night and the night before with no luck!

Originally Posted by balinup13

Hey guys was wondering if any of you had tried Calea Z! I tried it last night and the night before with no luck!

Haven't tried any supplements or herbs but I found this, hope it helps somehow: http://www.dreamviews.com/lucid-aids...ream-herb.html

Thanks Yeah i tried it twice with no luck. Was just looking for something to get me going again! Haven't been able to have a dream for like 4 days now and am not sure what to do

THANK GOD finally remembered a dream yesterday and a couple this morning! The dream recall is coming backkkkkk!

niiiice! great job