Thread: Tenacious' Workbook

Thanks, Canis!

Yeah I usually day dream while drifting to sleep, but I usually daydream about something that I've done previously. For example, if I've played a game of football that day, then I'll daydream about things I could've done differently. But last night I daydreamed about something that's never happened to me, not sure if that played a part.

I've started doing a reality check when I go through a door way, and last night in the dream I became Lucid after walking through my bedroom door way, so that may have helped. And I still remember the feel of the dream pretty clearly, makes it easier for me now to really feel the difference between the dream world and the world I'm sitting in now.

Congrats Tenacious!

PS, there's something different about you...did you change avatars or get an achievement recently? Lol

^ I changed both my avatar and the little flag from Great Britain to Scotland if that's throwing you off.

I managed to get my sparring partner for BJJ involved in LD'ing, he was skeptical at first, but then after reading up on it, he's really interested. He sent me a text the other day saying how easy he found it recalling his dreams after thinking he didn't dream at all. I'm going to try and convince a few others to give it a shot.

As for myself, I've continued my practices, I need to get back into MILD'ing before bed though, been slacking on that front. Also, not done a WBTB in a while, so I'll do one soon. ADA is still being practiced, I've decided for now - to focus on a couple of senses rather than focusing on all of them.

I've also noticed more things from my day are seeping into my Dreams, like the other night after walking home from a nightclub I had a dream about being back in the club. TV Shows are doing the same, I've had a few Game of Thrones and Walking Dead themed dreams recently.

One of my goals for February was to recall thirty dreams. I've had a couple of days where I've been busy and not been able to jot stuff down, but the majority time I was able to, and thus I stand at 34 for the month.

I've got four nights to get four Lucid Dreams to complete my LD goal for the month, and I'm thinking why the hell not?? I can do that.

Anyway's, apologies for not updating sooner but I hope that covered all bases.

Since I started actively trying to Lucid Dream late last year, the nightmares that I used to have suddenly stopped. I had the odd one here and there, but nothing major and they wouldn't last long. I had one last night, and I should point out that nightmares don't bother me any more, but this one did. It was a combination of what happened in it, and the fact that I had many, many false awakenings, which I think amplified the nightmarish feel. I'm going to write it up and post it in the Dream Journal system here in a few minutes.

Tomorrow, I'll post what goals I achieved in February and what ones I didn't and also get a March goal list sorted.

Hey Tenacious! I'm so happy to hear your nightmares pretty much stopped. Too bad about the disturbing one you recently had though It's probably just normal to have some bits resurface every now and then, so I hope you don't worry about it!

Thanks, Paige.

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I've finally managed to update my Dream Journal on this site, and intend on keeping it updated, I won't post fragments but I'll post Dreams that are memorable/substantial to me.

I recalled around thirty five dreams last month, so my goal for this month stands at getting over forty dreams recalled which shouldn't be so difficult. I didn't meet my goal for five lucid dreams, I only had one but I know I can get more than that per month so I'll be keeping my goal as five for this month.

Goals for March:

- 40 Dreams
- 5 Lucid Dreams
- Have an in depth conversation with a DC
- Practice levitation.
- Practice fire manipulation.

The reason for the last two, is I want to ask a DC to tell me something about myself that I don't know, I'm interested to see the response, also I may tell them they don't exist for giggles. And the water thing, is because in a previous LD I was able to, rather easily, levitate a car and throw it at something. I figured I'll attempt to practice that some more and add in the fire bending/manipulation as well.

I'm going to scour through the 1000 things to do in a LD thread and add some more goals to this so check back in a few days for more goals.

I'm going to attempt to MILD every night before bed for the month, and seeing what focusing solely on one technique will do for me. I'll continue my ADA and attempt WBTB a couple of times per week but MILD will be the main focus.

Great update. First of all, congratulations on getting those nightmares stopped! That is huge all by itself, even setting aside your lucids and your high level of dream recall. I'm really pleased to hear this.

Your goals for march look perfect. It's great to have several concrete goals to work toward, and things like levitation will come in handy over and over.

I hadn't realized that you had an early car-tossing experience! The great thing is that once you have done anything once in an LD, you know that somehow you can make it happen again. Think often of your success with that mega-levitation and it'll give you confidence for your next attempts!

MILD before bed should be great. You're probably already intending to do this, but I'd run another round of MILD after the WBTB. That is when it's at its very best. Your chances for lucidity rise dramatically on those WBTB nights.

Thanks, Canis.

Now that I've been Lucid a few times I think that's making it easier for me as I can now feel the difference between a dream and reality. And I do plan on implementing MILD whenever I do WBTB. I'm just going to experiment with how long I stay awake for, I've read some people only stay awake for a few minutes while others stay awake for hours.

Oh, and I just noticed, congratz on the green.

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As for what happened last night, I only recalled fragments, which included eating ice cream on a rollercoaster and finding a sword in my bathtub . Tonight, I'll continue my MILD attempts and do a WBTB also, planning to stay up for longer than I usually do and see if that changes anything.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Now that I've been Lucid a few times I think that's making it easier for me as I can now feel the difference between a dream and reality. And I do plan on implementing MILD whenever I do WBTB. I'm just going to experiment with how long I stay awake for, I've read some people only stay awake for a few minutes while others stay awake for hours.

Yes, experimentation is the way to go! OpheliaBlue pointed me to this great study from Steven LaBerge where they were trying to determine optimal WBTB length. WBTB of >30 minutes showed some excellent results. The paper's a good read and is what ultimately convinced me to try a longer WBTB: Wakefulness Makes Lucidity More Likely (I do about 30 minutes these days.)

But as you said, nothing trumps practical results. Finding what works for you is what it's all about in the end. The theory just helps guide us there and makes us consider things we might not have otherwise.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Oh, and I just noticed, congratz on the green.

Thanks buddy, I appreciate it!

Cheers for the link, was very interesting to read.

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The WBTB that I attempted a day or two ago, I slept right through my alarm so I'll need to up the volume on it. I downloaded an alarm from the google play store to my phone, and you don't need to press a button to stop it, you simply need to wave your hand over the phone, as the front facing camera will detect the movement and that will stop it. I'm not sure it will work as well as it says but if it does I believe that could help me as I won't have to look at blinding light to turn my alarm off.

I wasn't able to recall much of any dreams last night, I wasn't staying in my regular bed so I don't know if that played a part or if it was something else.

I've been struggling recently to remember my ADA practice, as I keep getting caught up in what I'm doing, not thinking about it and going on auto pilot. And when I'm going somewhere, I usually start to daydream as I walk, so I was wondering if there's anyway I could use that to my benefit?

Originally Posted by Tenacious

I've been struggling recently to remember my ADA practice, as I keep getting caught up in what I'm doing, not thinking about it and going on auto pilot. And when I'm going somewhere, I usually start to daydream as I walk, so I was wondering if there's anyway I could use that to my benefit?

I wouldn't worry too much about this. I'm like you -- I don't practice true "all-day" awareness. My job and my life requires me to often turn my attention to other things, so it's very common for my awareness to ebb and flow.

The way that I used this to my advantage is to simply notice those moments when my awareness has slipped. I give myself this little mnemonic jolt like I forgot to pay a bill or pick up something important at the grocery. Then I immediately prove to myself that this isn't a dream by quickly going through a series of question to myself about whether my circumstances make sense, whether my identity makes sense, whether my body feels right, whether I even have a body, etc.

I recommend taking those moments to prove to yourself that your place in the world makes sense. That habit is, IMO, far more likely to carry over to the dream than the practice of truly paying attention to everything throughout the day. Perhaps I'm just not a high enough level practitioner, but until that day comes, I like the idea of using these moments as a further boost to my LD practice.

Does that make sense?

Edit: I posted some related thoughts here: http://www.dreamviews.com/attaining-...ml#post1996498

Thanks for the advice I've started doing what you do instead of attempting to be aware all day.

I have the day off tomorrow, so I'm going to attempt a one hour plus WBTB and see if that changes anything. Will report on the results tomorrow.

My recalls still in good shape, the odd day where it's difficult to remember much but I'm not really worried about that.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Thanks for the advice I've started doing what you do instead of attempting to be aware all day.

I have the day off tomorrow, so I'm going to attempt a one hour plus WBTB and see if that changes anything. Will report on the results tomorrow.

My recalls still in good shape, the odd day where it's difficult to remember much but I'm not really worried about that.

Great, sounds like everything is on course then!

Yeah, while it's possible to try to be aware as much as possible, I find that there is just no realistic way for me to have total awareness throughout the day. It simply fades out at times when I become engrossed in a problem, a conversation, some concern, etc. What makes all the difference, I think, is taking advantage of the situation so you can practice getting that awareness back. Once I know I've lost it, I regain it. Losing it is inevitable for me, but it presents a great opportunity to feel that moment of regaining it.

When you think about it, this is what DILDs are always like -- one moment you're on rails, going wherever the dream plot takes you, and the next something has made you remember that your awareness has slipped. Those are the moments we're practicing for!

Good thinking taking advantage of your day off by trying the slightly more "extreme" length of WBTB. It's always nice if you can take the "OMG I've gotta be ready for that big presentation tomorrow!!" stresses out of your LD attempts. Looking forward to hearing how this goes.

I'm only just able to report this now, but in regards to when I done that longer-ish WBTB: I managed to have a brief Lucid Dream , but it was cut short because my new puppy somehow managed to get in the room and jumped on me, waking me up. I'm still happy I managed to achieve a Lucid Dream, even if it didn't really get a chance to get started, and I'm going to attempt another longer-ish WBTB tonight and see if I get the same results.

My recall continues to be steady, I usually manage to recall a few fragments and at least one full coherent dream every night. I had an interesting experience last night, where I was in a car where Nate Diaz, of all people, told me that I may be dreaming, for some reason I ignored him and woke up. But I didn't really wake up, looking back I now realize it was a false awakening, so I really need to start doing reality checks when I wake up, to make sure I start to catch these FA's.

I feel like, I've made some good progress since I started in November of last year. My recall has improved a lot from when I started when I could only remember a feeling or a small fragment, I've had a few lucid dreams, not as many as I'd like but I'm getting there I feel. It's even helped me in regards to my sleep schedule, aha. Just gotta' keep that motivation up, lol.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

I'm only just able to report this now, but in regards to when I done that longer-ish WBTB: I managed to have a brief Lucid Dream , but it was cut short because my new puppy somehow managed to get in the room and jumped on me, waking me up. I'm still happy I managed to achieve a Lucid Dream, even if it didn't really get a chance to get started, and I'm going to attempt another longer-ish WBTB tonight and see if I get the same results.

My recall continues to be steady, I usually manage to recall a few fragments and at least one full coherent dream every night. I had an interesting experience last night, where I was in a car where Nate Diaz, of all people, told me that I may be dreaming, for some reason I ignored him and woke up. But I didn't really wake up, looking back I now realize it was a false awakening, so I really need to start doing reality checks when I wake up, to make sure I start to catch these FA's.

I feel like, I've made some good progress since I started in November of last year. My recall has improved a lot from when I started when I could only remember a feeling or a small fragment, I've had a few lucid dreams, not as many as I'd like but I'm getting there I feel. It's even helped me in regards to my sleep schedule, aha. Just gotta' keep that motivation up, lol.

All right, Tenacious!! Right on! Congratulations on that LD!

While it's still only a single experiment, it certainly looks like the long WBTB was a success for you! About how long did you stay up for this WBTB?

And LOL @ ignoring Nate Diaz. No worries there, dude. Recently, I totally ignored my own dad when he told me multiple times in a non-lucid dream that I was dreaming. Dreaming brains just don't quite work right sometimes. Good idea on integrating more reality checks to catch those false awakenings, though. Those things can be unbelievably convincing but they are total lucid dreaming freebies if you can catch em. OpheliaBlue catches tons of her LDs because she has gotten so good at catching false awakenings.

And yes, you have done very well with your progress. Glad to hear that the sleep schedule has improved as a side effect. I got the same benefit myself and finally got a sense for how tired I was before I actually tried getting some sleep every once in a while for dream work.

I know that you were planning on giving the long WBTB another go tonight, so I'm looking forward to hearing how it went. Will you have the opportunity to implement this fairly regularly?

^I won't be able to do the longer WBTB on a regular basis, perhaps at most once a week, which is unfortunate because I've had some really good results with it. I done them for about an hour and fifteen minutes, spent most of the time looking over my dream journal and reading some threads on here on my phone, then I do MILD for ten minutes and eventually fall asleep.

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Pleased to report that I had another Lucid Dream as a result of the prolonged WBTB that I attempted for the second time! This time I wasn't awoken by the dog, I'd say it lasted around five minutes, and it consisted of attempting to fly and eventually succeeding. I continued to fly around for a bit, thinking of what to do next, but I woke up, and made sure to do a reality check to make sure it wasn't a FA.

So all in all, it's been a good week for me.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

^I won't be able to do the longer WBTB on a regular basis, perhaps at most once a week, which is unfortunate because I've had some really good results with it. I done them for about an hour and fifteen minutes, spent most of the time looking over my dream journal and reading some threads on here on my phone, then I do MILD for ten minutes and eventually fall asleep.

Sounds great. There's nothing wrong with making the longer WBTB more of a "special thing" that you reserve for nights where you have a little more slack in your schedule and a little bit less to worry about the next day. I think you'll find yourself really starting to look forward to those nights!

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Pleased to report that I had another Lucid Dream as a result of the prolonged WBTB that I attempted for the second time! This time I wasn't awoken by the dog, I'd say it lasted around five minutes, and it consisted of attempting to fly and eventually succeeding. I continued to fly around for a bit, thinking of what to do next, but I woke up, and made sure to do a reality check to make sure it wasn't a FA.

So all in all, it's been a good week for me.

Tenacious!! This is great stuff, man. It's awesome that this worked twice in a row for you and resulting in these quality LDs. That's something huge to remember -- you are very likely to have a lucid dream on any night where you give it your all and choose to have one.

Indeed, what a week for you! I hope that this is giving you an idea of what you're capable of. I'm glad to see you experiencing the depth of your own potential. Very exciting!

^Thanks! I know what you mean about making it a special thing, because I know I've had some success with it, I'm looking forward to the day I can do it again, which hopefully will be pretty soon.

I haven't been able to dedicate much time to MILD this week before I go to sleep, I've got my first professional MMA fight coming up on Saturday, so I've been working really hard in the lead up to that, leading to me being exhausted by the time I get to bed. After Saturday, I should be able to dedicate more time to Lucid Dreaming after this weekend though, and I'm really looking forward to attempting more WBTB's and getting my MILD back on the go.

I don't know if this is because of how tired I am when I go to sleep now, but my dreams lately have been extremely vivid. I'm kind of disappointed that it hasn't resulted in a couple of lucid dreams but they've been entertaining in their own right despite being normal dreams.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

I haven't been able to dedicate much time to MILD this week before I go to sleep, I've got my first professional MMA fight coming up on Saturday, so I've been working really hard in the lead up to that, leading to me being exhausted by the time I get to bed. After Saturday, I should be able to dedicate more time to Lucid Dreaming after this weekend though, and I'm really looking forward to attempting more WBTB's and getting my MILD back on the go.

Wow, man, that is awesome!! :bravo: Congratulations on taking your first fight as a pro! Dude, this is huge. I am really, really excited for you.

You're doing everything right -- preparing for that match is exactly where your focus should be. Let your body get loads of deep sleep. If you're exhausted, your body will naturally gravitate toward the type of sleep that you need the most. During this time, it probably goes without saying that any middle-of-the-night alarms should be discarded. You'll want to be as fresh and well-rested as possible when you step into the cage. (Ring?)

Really awesome, man. When I was watching the first UFCs as a kid I totally wanted to fight MMA! (I guess they called it "no holds barred" back then.) Then I realized that I didn't very much like the idea of being punched, so that was right out the window. But you're living one of my childhood fantasy jobs! Next you have to be a firefighter or a ninja to do the rest of em.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

I don't know if this is because of how tired I am when I go to sleep now, but my dreams lately have been extremely vivid. I'm kind of disappointed that it hasn't resulted in a couple of lucid dreams but they've been entertaining in their own right despite being normal dreams.

That's interesting. Just one theory to throw out there is that if you go to bed very tired but then get plenty of sleep, you may be getting a load of deep sleep, then REM rebound in the morning.

Best of luck with the dreaming and the punching / choking / submitting of your opponent this weekend! Hey... it's not Carlos Condit again is it?

Haha, thanks a lot! I'm fighting in a four sided cage so it's a bit different from the norm. I was the same as you, the first time I watched a UFC event I was instantly hooked. I believe it was UFC 47 was the first event that I saw, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz headlined if I remember correctly. I remember thinking, "I could take these guys" Do you still watch it now? Any favourite fighters or favourite weight class to watch? If I ever make it to UFC or Bellator then I'll make sure to have a DV logo on the poster that they hang on the cage . I'm not fighting Condit unfortunately, he was too scared so he took on Hendricks instead.

Last night, even though I didn't attempt to, I managed to attain another Lucid Dream (), I didn't do WBTB or do MILD, it just happened. Nothing really happened, as I forgot every single goal, I couldn't remember a thing aha. Thanks to you, Canis, I now have another lucid goal - create a ninja army for myself to set on any one I want. It can go with my dragon army.

Anyways, hopefully I'll report back on Sunday morning with a win, and then I can get back on the Lucid track with some prolonged WBTB's. I've just realized I used an abundance of smilies, apologies for that. ()

Hey congrats on another lucid!

I would recommend that every night before bed, recite 1 or 2 goals and make yourself memorize them. You can do this too when you WBTB, but I realize you didn't this last time. Anyway, it really helps you remember them if you think about them right before going back to sleep.. even fantasizing about them during the day. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Haha, thanks a lot! I'm fighting in a four sided cage so it's a bit different from the norm. I was the same as you, the first time I watched a UFC event I was instantly hooked. I believe it was UFC 47 was the first event that I saw, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz headlined if I remember correctly. I remember thinking, "I could take these guys" Do you still watch it now? Any favourite fighters or favourite weight class to watch? If I ever make it to UFC or Bellator then I'll make sure to have a DV logo on the poster that they hang on the cage . I'm not fighting Condit unfortunately, he was too scared so he took on Hendricks instead.

Awesome. No, the four-sided cage configuration is a new one on me. Wow, I could see a fighter wanting to get his/her opponent trapped and beaten down in the corner. It seems like it'd be much tougher to escape from that sharp of a corner. Very interesting...

I catch UFC updates on the net but I haven't watched too many shows lately! We used to be a lot more into it (kept up with The Ultimate Fighter and all that) but as we had kids, it got tougher to stay caught up!

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Last night, even though I didn't attempt to, I managed to attain another Lucid Dream (), I didn't do WBTB or do MILD, it just happened. Nothing really happened, as I forgot every single goal, I couldn't remember a thing aha. Thanks to you, Canis, I now have another lucid goal - create a ninja army for myself to set on any one I want. It can go with my dragon army.

Beautiful!! indeed! I tell you, you've gotta love those "freebies" that come from out of nowhere. Of course, these aren't actual freebies. They're still very much a product of your intent, awareness, and the work you've put into LD in the past. Ophelia's advice about having a couple really exciting goals in mind is perfect. When you've got that "short list" of stuff that you just can't wait to try in an LD it's very motivating! And for me, it's a lot easier for these really exciting waking life memories to pierce through to the dream world and get me heading in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Anyways, hopefully I'll report back on Sunday morning with a win, and then I can get back on the Lucid track with some prolonged WBTB's. I've just realized I used an abundance of smilies, apologies for that. ()

Looking forward to it! You don't need luck of any kind, but good luck nonetheless.

And don't worry about the smilies. They're free, and besides... you definitely earned em all with that LD last night!

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

Hey congrats on another lucid!

I would recommend that every night before bed, recite 1 or 2 goals and make yourself memorize them. You can do this too when you WBTB, but I realize you didn't this last time. Anyway, it really helps you remember them if you think about them right before going back to sleep.. even fantasizing about them during the day. Good luck!

Thanks! And thanks for the advice as well, I'll make sure to do that from now on.

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I've got a couple of days off later in the week, which I've earmarked for two prolonged WBTB attempts, so I'm hoping the last couple weren't just flukes and I can pick up at least one from these attempts. With my schedule easing up, I'm not as tired when I get to bed so I can MILD now without getting distracted because of tiredness or whatever.

I've noticed recently, my dreams switching from first person to third person quite a bit. I usually always dreamt in first person so it was a bit strange seeing myself from a far doing dream things.

Sadly, I have no Lucid's to report but some surreal dreams such as playing fetch with a great white shark, and running around telling people that I'm a ninja, which I think Canis inspired.

On a sidenote, one of my friends who I told about Lucid Dreaming, told me that she had "one of those lucid thingy's" and woke up with a feeling of euphoria. So I'm glad I got one of my friends involved in lucid dreaming.

On another side note, I won my fight. All I need now is another Lucid to close out a pretty good month.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

I've got a couple of days off later in the week, which I've earmarked for two prolonged WBTB attempts, so I'm hoping the last couple weren't just flukes and I can pick up at least one from these attempts. With my schedule easing up, I'm not as tired when I get to bed so I can MILD now without getting distracted because of tiredness or whatever.

I've noticed recently, my dreams switching from first person to third person quite a bit. I usually always dreamt in first person so it was a bit strange seeing myself from a far doing dream things.

Good! Prolonged WBTB opportunities will give you that extra bit of juice that can help you get lucid. You're doing the right thing by listening to your body and tackling these when you're fresh. I sometimes get a little too aggressive and attempt WBTB when I shouldn't. Lucids are mighty tempting things for me!

The 3rd person switch is interesting. You could try integrating this just a bit into your awareness practices. As you reach one of those moments where you realize awareness has slipped, this is when you question your reality. One of the basic things you can check is whether you have a dream body. After that, you can move on to things like whether the world makes sense, the plot you're following makes sense, whether you remember how you got there, etc. But something physical like being separated from your dream body is pretty quick to check!

Originally Posted by Tenacious

Sadly, I have no Lucid's to report but some surreal dreams such as playing fetch with a great white shark, and running around telling people that I'm a ninja, which I think Canis inspired.

LOL. That is awesome! You are living every one of my childhood dream jobs, man! Every last one!

Originally Posted by Tenacious

On a sidenote, one of my friends who I told about Lucid Dreaming, told me that she had "one of those lucid thingy's" and woke up with a feeling of euphoria. So I'm glad I got one of my friends involved in lucid dreaming.

Sweet! I am "okay" at getting people interested and non-horrified at the idea of lucid dreaming, but it's very rare that I actually inspire anyone to really put in the work necessary to have a lucid dream. How'd you share LD with her in such a way that she was receptive enough to try it? I'd like to get better at this.

Originally Posted by Tenacious

On another side note, I won my fight. All I need now is another Lucid to close out a pretty good month.

Congratulations!! I'm super happy to hear that! Didn't doubt it for a second. Great work, man. Any chance we can get a fight description?