Quietness's Workbook

Quietness's Workbook

Reality Checks:
- Read words twice
- Asking "How did I get here?" and attempt to remember.
-

Dream Signs:
- High school
- Mall
- The sea
- Dragons
- Escape

Short-Term Goals:
- Fly
- Maintain lucidity for at least 70% of the dream
- Converse with dragons

Long-Term Goals:
- Consciously do LD at will, anytime and anywhere
- Continue LD adventures across several dreams
- Write a story based on the LD adventures

Lucid/Dream Recall History:
- I've tried WILD, DEILD, DILD, MILD and WBTB, and they become effective only for a very limited amount of time. After that, I guess my subconscious becomes bored and they barely take any effect anymore. I was hoping to use my DJ to explore my dream signs, but for some reason I can't access the DV DJ anymore :(

Current Technique:
- Just focusing on remembering dreams for now, but my last one was a mix of DEILD and WILD: I count from 100 to 1 on the way to sleep and try to remain as aware as possible, then I try to be aware on the onset of waking up, when the colors and sounds seem more vivid.

Hi quietness, welcome to the Intro Class!

Finally, another Pinoy I can talk to! :banana: Oh, and some aspects of the site, including the Dream Journal system, are temporarily closed due to a current issue which you can read about it the Announcements area of the forum. No need to worry though, you can keep doing your physical DJ and update later on. Just curious, around how many dreams do you normally remember every night?

Kita-kits :D

Thanx for the welcome and the info, Paigeyemps! ^_^

If I write them all? An average of 3. But I tend to get lazy, especially with the longer dreams. (@_@) I'm practicing writing just the keywords to remind me when I write the full story later on, but it usually takes days before I can write the dream on my DJ, and by that time, I have forgotten most of it, even with keywords.

So now I'm barely remembering 1 dream a day (>_<)

Ahh, well that's alright. As long as you continue paying attention to them. I guess there are still some dreams that are very memorable that even some keywords can remind you of the whole story, right? I get lazy to DJ as well x)

Yes, there are. :) I just have to make sure I write then as soon as I can. (>_<)


[] Write a list for why you want to lucid dream (for motivation)

1. I want to connect directly to my subconscious and influence it in a very positive way.
2. Enjoyment: I want to fly, travel, explore, and make love <3
3. Inspiration: I want to go to sleep and wake up inspired everyday
4. Learn: I want to gain from the wisdom of the subconscious
5. Practice: Develop skills in dreams, such as speaking and martial arts

[] Plan out what you want to do in your next lucid dream.

1. Sit in half-lotus position and chant the Manjushri Mantra


Nov 20, 2012

I don't have a set schedule for sleeping and waking up, so I'll decide one now: I will start sleeping and practicing LD 10 p.m. each night, wake up at around 4 a.m. for WBTB. Read about LD for an hour. Go back to sleep and use MILD.

RC tends to be a bore to me. But I'll still try. This time, I'll push my fingers through my palm to test instead of the usual test of reading twice. I love reading, but that exercise made me dislike reading for some reason.


For two weeks (Ends on Dec. 4, if non-functional):

Tech: 100 countdown + MILD ("I am aware in my dreams") + WBTB after 6 hrs + MILD ("I am aware in my dreams")

Sleep: 9:50 p.m.


Nov 21, 2012

4:13 a.m.

It felt like there was a guide getting me to do a lucid dreaming exercise within the dream. It was more like a presence than a visible person. The last thought that came to my mind as i wake up was that we were delivered into this world.

Dream: (Remembered this when I woke up and opened the computer at around 6:51 a.m.) {I was walking in a mostly empty street. I was going home. It was night. At first it was a street in the current city I'm living IRL, but as I walked, I got lost. I passed by the street I should turn. I walked back and saw the streets were already too dark. One street has a bridge and the other has a big dog hidden in the dark. There's no light. I walked on, and chose one street. My 'mind' went ahead of me and saw my destination: our home in our hometown (not the current city IRL). That's where I will end up. I continued walking, and I'm seeing the familiar locations of homes even in the dark. There are lights inside the houses.}

Will do sensory awareness as I fall asleep.

Sleep: 4:50 a.m.

6:51 a.m.

Dream:

(I was traveling with mom. She asked where to buy gasoline. I pointed at the station nearby. We went there and the guy charged 1000 pesos. We think he overcharged, and mom thought it was simply horrendous, but instead of disputing it, we moved on.

I was shopping in a grocery/bookstore. I was looking at a Combos pack that uses Graham as its 'shell.' I only had a few hundred to spend, and it costs over 50 pesos, but I took it anyway. I also thought of buying Kopiko Brown coffee. I'm not sure if I did. I kept walking around. I saw some interesting books on self-development and magick. I think some tarot decks as well. I passed by a stall with some interesting mantras. A man was also interested and was checking it out. The saleslady/owner asked me to hold on to the paper which may fly away.

Sasuke was put in a machine. It's supposed to copy his Sharingan. Somebody traded something for it. A scroll? We pulled him out of the machine, alive fortunately, and the guy who traded for the sharingan is already 'wearing' it on his eye. He thanked us for the trade, although a bit smugly if you ask me.

I was near the sea. The beach. I was with a friend, and I was carrying my trusty, point-and-click camera. We saw a HUGE fish very close to the shore; it looked like a huge 'sapsap,' almost like a sunfish in size. Its 'dorsal fin' is above the water level, but I can see very clearly underneath, and it wasn't deep at all. At first I thought it was dead. It was moving but maybe it was just the waves. Then it positively swam parallel to the shoreline, to our left (away from us). After that, we saw more, and I took more pictures. One was a long fish, and there are other fishes bigger than a person.

I was in a gym. We were either exercising, doing aerobics, or having a workshop of sorts. I never really figured it out. Everything was fine. I think it was my second time there. It was not 'light,' and most of the lights seem to be off, but there are enough for us to see each other although we're dominated mostly by shadows. After some time, I realize I was naked. This didn't bother me, but it obviously bothered most everyone else. Slowly, they distanced from me. I then noticed most, if not all, of them are females. I thought, if they were offended by my genitals, I could just cover it or wear my boxers. And they could just say so. They were wearing in exercise clothing. After a while, I just looked for my boxers and wore it.

Outside the street, we were talking of how to get home.}

Woke up and stayed in bed for a bit, after turning off the alarm. I wondered if I'm really awake. I pushed my right index finger through my left palm. Nothing happened. Woke up to drink coffee.

Didn't do sensory awareness. Did self-awareness.

I think this was the longest dream(s) I had for some time. I hope I can get my momentum back and continuously practice the exercise. (^_^)

Ooh, good job with the recall. Wooot how strange, I also had a dream fragment where I was thinking of buying Kopiko, though it was the candy, not the coffee.

I was wondering, do you have school or anything? And how do you manage your time with the WBTBs?

No, I'm working :) I schedule it strictly and clear my day as much as I can for it. i usually stay awake for just 45 minutes, reading about LD and the posts of others in the Dream Snippets thread. :) By 10 p.m. I should be on the bed, so I can wake up at around 4 a.m. If I don't do it consistently, the WBTB might fail, like it did before, so I have to be strict on myself on this >.<

Oh, and I use an alarm. I know some say that it is not very good or healthy, but I tried not using it before and I couldn't wake up for WBTB, and I got demoralized and gave up. I have to use it as a crutch for now, at least until i can LD consistently. :)


Nov 21, 2012

11:58 a.m.

Decided on Tech:
- Finger-palm RC
- 100 countdown + MILD
- WBTB
- ADA

1:31 p.m. - Sleep; Countdown + MILD

2:59 p.m. awake

{I was hanging out with friends in our high school gym (on the first floor) which is attached to a hospital (second and third floors). I went 'home' to our dormitory after a mission, and ate at the attached restaurant. I was talking with a different set of friends inside a room, when I used remote viewing and saw a problem arising with my other friends. Apparently, they were playing with mind control and the subject (a friend of ours but no idea irl) started to act wildly, as if possessed by something else. I rushed there and got his attention. I used a feather fan to keep him at bay, but I don't want him to run away either. I shouted for another ally, 'Chihung' or 'Hungphet,' to come to our aid, but he's taking his sweet time. The possessed person was about to run, but I used web-string to catch him.}


10:30+ p.m. sleep


Nov 22, 2012

5:28 a.m.

Found it hard to sleep last night. Tossed and turned. Choose 100 count down and MILD but I found it hard to breathe. Daydreamed, but can't focus.

Dream: {Talking with a sibling. "Be a part of the solution, not part of the problem." I think someone was again teaching me to be lucid. But it's still more of a presence than a person.}

Read DDA and Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep.


6:00 a.m. sleep, filled my mind with thoughts of 'I am aware in my dream.'

7:49 a.m.

(A war. Kingdoms challenging each other. I am more of a watcher, and then I see from the first-person perspective once in a while. I see the top view of the map, of how things changed. An escapee princess and her little brother, hiding in a nearby town near the sea. The little one has abilities. He jumped down from the high cave and crawled down the rocky cliff near the sea. He was told not to show himself or they'll be found. A man 'fell' down into the murky water of the sea. (First person) The boy jumped down, for what reason? Then he found the man who fell down back on the docks. He pulled him up and left.

(Third person) The princess was asked whether it was wise to stay so close to the 'portal' where the war is most active. The portal is some sort of realm with a red sphere. It seems magic becomes powerful or weaker near it. There are two kingdoms currently fighting near it. One has a general who is highly skilled in technological warfare. He transformed his his flying ship (flying boat) into a deadly weapon that throws cannonballs and blades. I am not sure what held them back from conquering the portal completely.

A sick king or lord hiding in a kingdom, protected by an ally was found out. He was using his troops to infiltrate the nearby kingdoms, but this probably raised the alarm. A passing band saw his insignia or banner floating in the building (he's an idiot for doing that if he did), or maybe the owner was already under suspicion. (First person) When he saw the troops outside, he immediately jumped off the high wall to the other side, and looked for a place to hide. First-person. The place looked like a nice park, with trees scattered all over and nice, green grass. He was parkouring his way out. At last, he ran and ran into the dark forest, until it was night.

Light was 'chasing' me from behind, creating shadows in front of me. I felt ecstatic, wild. I jumped and rolled in the dark forest, lied down, and stared up at the moon. I howled. I was a woman. A witch. I can feel my dark, tattered dress.

(Third person) Wolves and a lion are fighting. The lion asked why the wolves are fighting them. They paused. It seems they were controlled. It was time to hit back.

I was in a ship. (First person) I am the general with technological skills. I said, it's nice to be able to use powers again. I raised a ball of energy with my left hand and threw it into the air.}

This reminds me of Game of Thrones. I can't wait for season 3. Only, the 'lion' is the princess's symbol here, the Targaeryan, instead of the dragon. No dragons in sight of this dream.

Strangely, I watched a bit of The Walking Dead before sleeping. I thought that would go into my dreams.

Nov 22, 2012

2:30ish pm

Countdown + MILD

4:00 pm:

{I was in a van. I think it's the same location I go to when I'm in Cebu, in Mactan. A couple went down. One has marijuana. The driver and a passenger wanted it as well. It seems I was a dealer of sorts. I told them I can't give them those, somebody already bought them, or something.

I experience something like SP in a dream. I can't see but I 'know' I am in a school of sorts. I was finally able to move around. There's J.C., high school classmate, talking about something. He asked about the name of our high school Filipino teacher. Or the fourth year janitor name. I was unsure, but I gave him the first year Filipino teacher's name, but he already said it was wrong because he was asking for the janitor's name.

I was traveling. Not sure if it was with a companion. I was walking in a dusty road. Need to hide. I was on a skateboard and using an umbrella to push/pull me through. I was in the bus station. 3 days and I have to leave.}

Details lost since i only wrote this Nov 23, 2012, 6:30 am.


Nov 23, 2012

12:02 am

MILD, no countdown (too distracting), day dreamed and tried to stay aware.

6:28 am

I woke up before sunrise, but was too tired to write what I dreamed. I woke up again around 6:28.

{I was in a school that looks like our elementary school, but the mood reminds me of college. It's going to second semester and we're hurrying with the enrollment. R was there (a president of an org), also trying to catch up. They announced that they're extending. R explained that he called and asked if they're gonna be open. They said they they would, but he also asked if there are supervisors in case they need one. I didn't understand why he had to call when we're in the school already. I looked at a list on a board.

Somehow connected, I was in the school still. I was talking to a woman who asked me what group I'm in. She mentioned I couple, but I told her I'm with +. She said she remembers now. I was wondering how, when I'm not very active in +. I got a vision of her name in the group. Primrose or Rose something. And an image of black. She has short, black hair. She went behind some low wall to take a piss, and out of nowhere, a couple of high school kids appeared and tried to peek on her. I told them to back off, but she knows they're there. She handed them a short chain. They didn't know how to react, so they just accepted it. When she was done, she asked for it. They gave it back to her and they ran. They knotted it, and it's hard to un-knot. It's some sort of necklace. I told her that was expected; they're kids and don't know how to handle important stuff.

Night. I was in Quezon Ave, crossing the bridge to the other side.}


7:15 a.m. - day dream + MILD

9:23 am

{An initiation in Tibetan Buddhism? (no idea what an initiation in Tibetan Buddhism is like, or even if there's one) I was lying face down on the floor/mat. One man stepped on my back to massage me as well. It didn't hurt, and I barely felt anything. There was chanting that I don't understand, and an instruction that I should hold the paper with some characters on my toes. I find it hard to hold on to them, but I persisted. Then I was taught the first character: "Ba". I was shown how the character is written, but one of the guys there is blocking my view, with his legs. I think it was unintentional. I was asked what it means, and I think I know, but I simply forgot. I was chastised, and reminded with clues. It ended with the meaning 'store,' like a place where you buy stuff, but it seems it has also the meaning of 'storing energy.' It was just one character out of a whole set. I think 'te' means hands, like kara-te. But I never got to that point.

I was in a place where people are racing in toy cars. Supposedly for kids, adults are the ones driving them in a race track.

I was at home in our hometown. People were talking inside the house. Outside, I noticed some peculiarities. It was barely visible, but I saw the shadows of planets on the sky, and one huge planet in particular. Or maybe it was a black hole. All I know is that there are small black circles and one huge black circle on the sky. I tried taking them on my trusty camera, cursing myself for not charging the battery before. Fortunately, it still works. I captured the photos. The sky looks different. Instead of the usual blue sky and white clouds, it's mostly dark violet, with a ranging yellow and orange sun that looked more like a moving painting, a few points of lights that must be the stars, and the black spheres that must be the shadows of the planets, or probably black holes. And there's the huge one. I'm positive it's a planet, and not the black hole. I showed everyone, but they can't see them. I showed them the pictures, but they said they're tricks of lights or just unclear.

Some friends and I are playing a computer game. A shooting game with robots and all in first person. We were losing to an opponent who can summon small robotic allies that have low health but are annoying. Together, they can defeat every single one of us. I think my robot was defeated and I watched a friend's robot trying to escape the small black robots. I got so irritated, I brought them out in real life. They were standing on a ledge just under the roof of the mall. I challenged them and threw a basket at them. It almost reached them. I saw the traffic nearby. There's a cop stopping a car for something. I was thinking of grabbing that car and throwing it up. I just walked away.

I think there was some sort of panic. I am looking at a blonde boy. He received some sort of package, but were told (not sure by who) not to open it. Then everything just went wild, with friends and allies walking around in some sort of middle-age market, along with the people already present. The 'owner' of the town was talking with a guy, both friends of mine (don't know them irl), and the guy asked if there's lotion around. The owner just talked mostly nonsense. He talked so much he didn't notice that guy already went away. He talked about how rude that was, etc. We met with another friend, who owns a caravan, and we talked a bit. S/He looks dressed in maroon, looking very rich. He reminds me of an image of one of the reincarnation of a Hindu deity, except that of the usual blue, he's brown. After a while, we came across the guy looking for a lotion, and he just smiled shyly and walked away. Then the owner met with two of our fiercer friends who enjoy challenges, and who challenges each other quite often. They ran around the market fighting (not sure how), overturning and/or destroying everything in their path. One reminds me of Hercules, not the cartoon one. He has long, dirty-blonde hair, a strong almost-wild face, and muscular body. The other guy was not so clear, but I think he has black hair. Both have incredible strength. At this point, the owner's features are clearer. He has a mustache, with a top hat? His clothing reminds me of Steampunk, and I think he was riding a vehicle that is very much Steampunk.}


I seem to recall more of the dreams I have after the WBTB. Unfortunately, I still can't get lucid (T_T)

I was so tired last night, all I did was fall asleep after some random daydreaming in bed. But I was doing ADA often during the day. I fell asleep around 2:15 a.m. Was thinking of doing WBTB after 6 hours (8 am), but I have a lot of stuff to do (>_<) So I'll skip today's WBTB and hopefully can catch up with that tonight.

Dream: The Llama, the Peacock, and the Princess

I slept around 1:19 a.m. A friend gave me AlphaBrain supplement which I took at 11 pm. I ate dinner at 11:30 pm. I did MILD before sleeping. As usual, I do ADA.

I woke up at 7:14 am, but I cannot recall anything clear from my dream. It was very confusing. I performed calm-abiding meditation, and fell asleep (WBTB) seeing the earth-touching Buddha at 7:44 am.

At 9:13 am, I woke up with a fascinating dream related to Tibetan Buddhism.

I forgot my dream almost immediately when I woke up (T_T)

Same here. I only remembered two dreams some time in the middle of the day. I posted the first one in the snippets thread. The second one was about Vice Ganda LOLOLOLOL :lol:

LOL! Will check it out :)

The last dreamed I remembered also happened when the sun was up (morning). The last two nights, I couldn't remember the dreams. Just a feeling of frustration and confusion. (T_T)

Very short recall of dream today.

I did calm-abiding meditation before bed and read from Tibetan Yoga of Dream and Sleep. I did MILD, thinking "I am aware/lucid in my dreams."

Overall, dissatisfied :( I had a lot of long dreams recently, although no lucids, and now almost zero recall.

I was doing mostly ADA and also did calm-abiding meditation when I woke up. I slept around 2:50 pm and woke up around 4:35 pm. I was shifting in and out of consciousness until 4:55 pm.

I had this dream in the forest.

As usual, I did calm-abiding meditation before I slept and also ADA as much as I can. It's still challenging, but I do my best. :panic: I also did MILD as I went to sleep.

For the first time in a long time, I chose not to use an alarm with my LD experiments. I slept at 11:35 pm and woke up at 5:02 am. I hope this continues.

I was rewarded with an interesting dream that said: "The only teacher is experience."

Tried editing the previous post but can't (T_T) I should add that I also slept on my right side, as per suggestion in the Tibetan Yoga book.

I lit sandalwood incense before sleeping at 3 pm. I woke up around 6:20 pm with a long and interesting dream. I think I almost had a lucid, but I wasn't very aware. I was going on and off ADA all day.

The dream also includes a ghost.

Slept at around 11:35 pm, but only because I waited for the damn lunar eclipse. i couldn't see it and got frustrated, so I went to sleep. I also had to deal with a flying nightmare in my room after I did calm-abiding meditation.

I can only remember the latter part of my dream as I woke up. I just heard this as I woke up: "That's the problem with you people. You only aim to get certificates." I seem to remember the Quiapo area.

WBTB, MILD, but I get distracted by daydreaming too much. Still had this dream about the forest and the beach.

Ohey I was wondering. Do you usually dream in Tagalog or English?

I rarely hear the words, but when I do, they're in English. :) Most of the time, I just receive "telepathic" ideas, not exact words.

Ahh I see what you mean. Thanks :)

No prob. :) Do any of you use incense, though? I'm experimenting with incense, but the result are still the same :/

Not I :(

Haven't really experimented with stuff. Though I do plan to do it in the future.

Great news! I had another LD last night after a looong time. I used a new sandalwood incense I bought yesterday from Divisoria, in a candle shop. Found it purely by accident. :D

The dream involved mostly of my achieving my dream goal: Meditating on the Manjushri Mantra.

Congrats quietness! :party:

Do you find any difference in your dreams when you sleep on a certain side?

Yeah. I have better recall when I sleep on my right, and the stories are more consistent, I think (I have to track back and check my dreams since I started sleeping on my right side). :D When I wake up on my left side or just plain on my back, I have a hard time remembering my dream. (T_T)

Nice! I noticed I sleep better on my left, and with my arms over my head. x) When I lie down that way, my dreams are somewhat more vivid.

Nice! I noticed I sleep better on my left, and with my arms over my head. x) When I lie down that way, my dreams are somewhat more vivid.

That's awesome! :D Are you female? The Tibetan Yoga book said that guys should sleep on their right and ladies on their left side. So I guess it does have merit. (O_o)

Also, I just realized I already had 13 LDs written on my DJ here! (>_<) I thought I only had 4! I can read them back to see what I did right.

I drank apple juice an hour ago, so hopefully that will also help (^_^) No incense tonight though, so I can see how effective just taking apple juice will be.

That's so funny, I'm a woman and I sleep better on my right. Why do I always gotta be the weird one :P

Anyway, good luck with the apple juice. It really helps increase how vivid dreams are, and subsequently dream recall. And anytime you increase dream clarity and recall together, you just up your chances for lucidity.

Also, I looove sandalwood, it's my favorite scent. I have a bunch of sandalwood soap from Caswell Massey and I find it really calming. I bough sandalwood incense from a renaissance festival earlier this year, but I haven't lit them yet. We should do an experiment on it! After your apple juice one, of course.

Yep, I'm female. :3

@Ophie: you're weird!!

/me shuns Ophie

:lol:

After the apple juice, I wasn't able to remember my dream (T_T) I guess it wasn't as effective for me. (T_T) But at least I got an interesting dream the day after (^_^) I'll post it soon. <3

LOL @ Ophelia (>_<) I didn't use to like sandalwood. Maybe because I was using a bad quality one. (^_^)

Here's the link for my latest dream (^_^) Not lucid, but I'm working on the ADA every single day. I keep forgetting doing MILD though, and I had to skip WBTB a few times because of some conflict in sched.

Your last dream was certainly interesting and seemed very enjoyable, which is a reminder to not only look for LD's, because ND's can be really fun too.
About ADA, it's great that your presistent and hard working. ADA can have amazing results. You just wait and see for yourself!
Keep on Dreaming !

Thank you, Areyoume (^_^) I tried ADA before, I think via Sageous' tutorial, but I couldn't hack it (@_@) For some reason, I find it easier now, although I have to make sure I don't make it something mechanical :)

I've been having a hard time remembering dreams lately. I drank fresh apple juice but not much difference :(

I had an interesting dream/daydream while trying to fall asleep for an entire hour. I had coffee around lunch, forgetting that I was planning to sleep. :roll: So I keep partially waking up (that in-between state of sleeping and awake, but more awake then asleep), and I keep diving back in the dream, but still hazy.

I think you should keep plugging away at ADA. Some days will be harder than others. There is no need to wear yourself out over it. Just back off when you feel like that. Besides, I am not sure the true ADA is possible but its the TRYING that is important.

Thanx ^_^ Actually, I'm doing ADA kinda fine. Better than before, I think. I just find it ironic because I thought it will help me become more aware in my dreams. :/ Maybe I'm too mechanical about it, but I'm not sure. I think this trouble started the night when I started studying Enochian in depth. I've been having more difficulty remembering dreams since then. But I couldn't be too sure.

Zombies and stuff. Strangely, I was not afraid. It was more adventurous than anything, although the smell was simply ghastly o.O Dreams that smell are probably the worst kinds, unless it's a good smell.

I said this in your DJ already, but would it be cool if in your next lucid dream, you find that t-shirt that acts as a portal. I wonder what all the different things/props/devices that dreamers have used as a portal or to transport. I've used phasing through mirrors or walls or the floor, but nothing fancier than that.

Anyway, cool zombie dream.

Yea I agree with Ophie. I have done this little trick one time:

I took off my shirt. That moment while it's halfway off and covers your face? I used that moment to change dream scen, do by the time I got it completely off, i was in another place.. It worked quite well. i haven't done it again though, as i dont see the need to because of other possibilities. But that was a cool experience.

:D nice dream!

*dream scene, so by the time

Thank you. (^_^) I've been too busy lately due to a major event, and I think the stress discouraged me from remembering my dreams at all (T_T) But last night, I had an interesting dream. :)

I think my exploration and practice of the Buddhism morality might be affecting my ability for dreams, but that's just my amateur opinion. I notice that my dreams are mostly composed of fantastical events, violence, etc., and the Buddhism mindset advocates kindness and peace. However, that's not something very memorable (@_@). I recently found myself reading Demons: The Fallen, Eyes of the Dragon, and a few pages of DarkTower, and I start to remember my dreams again, in all their fantastically violent colors. Try this dream for example.

My dreams also had peaceful ones, where I just walk and travel, and those were fun. But even those mostly disappeared during the time I've been exploring Buddhism. I like the religion very much, but I'm just concerned that the tenets and teachings might be affecting my dream recall, dream quality, and/or lucidity. I've been doing ADA mostly, but the lucidity wasn't that great either. I'm also thinking of writing dark stories, which will also evidently affect my dreams (and as mentioned in the Tibetan yoga book, what I see in dreams are supposed to be reflection of my mindset; hopefully, that doesn't mean I have some sort of a violent mindset :shock: ).

At this point, I'm not sure where to go. There are dozens of techniques I can try, and I'm at a loss where to start. Oh, and with the dreams last night, I went to sleep daydreaming.

I think that you dreaming about violent events doesn't necessarily reflect a bad nature. I think that it is inherent to have those thoughts, and usually you just don't reinforce them. Another thing is that it's totally normal for those kinds of themes to occur. Since you focus more on peace and happiness, there has to be a reference to it – something that can make you know that that is peace and happiness, and those references are the opposite of those things. It's
like: you know it's good because it's not bad, therefore it is inherent that bad thoughts are somewhere in there, you just don't focus on it.

Gahn I hope that makes sense, lol. Anyway, about the techniques: what do you think fits your lifestyle best? It all comes down to your comfort and preference. Or if you can't decide, no worries. You don't have to be tied down to a
particular technique, just keep up your dream recall and I'm sure you'll do alright with however you go about having your lucids.

Thanx, Paigeyemps (^_^) I think I'll continue sticking with the Dream Yoga + ADA, although the awareness is becoming a lot more challenging. It was easy the first several days, but over time it becomes challenging. Also, rather than exploring Tibetan Buddhism as a whole, I think I'll just focus on the Tibetan Dream Yoga for now. I was tempted to go into another technique, but it might set me back again to square one because it's a mostly different style. (T_T)

Hey Quietness! I'm sorry about all of the unpleasant dream content you've had lately, but I actually have sort of a different perspective that I hope will help you. See what you think.

First, nightmares are by definition terribly unpleasant experiences. If you're particularly distressed or ashamed of violent dream content, this could be creating a bit of a feedback loop where nightmares contain more and more of it. Nightmares are fantastic at pushing our buttons, and if you're repulsed by violent dream content, nightmares may be obnoxious enough to give you more of it. :) For that, I think that the best thing you can do is to simply take your dreams without judgment and consider them, as Dream Yoga would advise, "without grasping or aversion". They aren't you. They simply are. Try not to cling too tightly or push away too aggressively.

Now I'd like to see how you can turn this to your advantage. These nightmares sound like they are very different from your waking life thoughts and patterns. While this makes them feel shocking, alien, and unpleasant, it also makes them world-class dreamsigns. The only way that you can change them is to become lucid. So in a sense, your subconscious is offering you an opportunity to be shocked out of the complacency of dream. If you can translate your natural revulsion into a kickstart of your lucidity, you'll have everything you want.

So I would recommend the following. Any time you think of these dreams (or violence of any kind), give yourself a hard jolt of awareness. Look around you, almost frantically, and make absolutely sure you are not dreaming. You must get used to proving it to yourself any time thoughts or memories of this nature occur to you. You know that feeling of momentary panic when you forget to pay an important bill or forget to feed a pet at the usual time? That is the feeling you want. You need to leave yourself a hard kick of prospective memory that's pinned to these violent dreams. Any time you have an image of violence, you should instantly be thinking, "Holy crap! I forgot to make sure that I'm dreaming!" Habits like this can and will permeate through to the dream world.

Speaking from personal experience, there's nothing like the feeling of flowing from nightmare to lucid dream. You really could have an opportunity here! Ultimately, the choice is up to you, and I wish you luck in whatever you decide. Keep us updated on how you do!

Oh, I think there's a misunderstanding. I don't mind nightmares. Although some dreams are unpleasant, I never thought of them as draw backs, but more, as you have suggested, as dream signs.

My trouble is that my dreams have stopped becoming memorable, i.e. 'nightmarish,' and has thus become forgettable. That's why I mentioned that my exploration of the peaceful ways of Buddhism might be interfering with my LD attempts by making my dreams more peaceful.

Thank you for the tips. :) I am continuing with ADA and Tibetan Dream Yoga less the whole bit about Buddhism.

Reading Sageous' WILD technique, I think this may be a reason for my relapse:

Quote:

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Meditation is always an excellent tool for awareness, but it can be difficult to master and, in my opinion, tends to build goals unto itself that might obscure or supersede your LD targets.

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I've been using meditation for self-awareness, but maybe it created a different goal because of my reading of various Buddhist materials. Maybe I should practice it separately from my LD practices? On the other hand, my last LD ended with the result that I did meditate during my LD (which was a goal I intended).

Note to self:

- Will be practicing reverse RC as described in Sageous' WILD technique for this week.
- I will also work on dream recall.
- No particular technique aimed at LD for now.

I made it SNOW! <3 I completed two basic TOTM (even though I really don't want the other one (-____-)).

Dream: Snow Making and a Christmas Song

I failed the advanced TOTM, though. I can't even fly. (T_T) A usual problem for me in my dreams.

Good dream recall this afternoon. Also read a weird real-world news that seems to correspond with the dream.

Have you tried using a portal to reach the northern lights? That way you can bypass the whole flying thing.
Congrats again on the snow TOTM. I love how popular it has been http://fourthirds-user.com/forum/ima...smiley-035.gif

Thank you, Ophelia! (^_^) It's a FANTASTIC idea! Rather than losing lucidity, the TOTM gave me a certain focus for the LD. I think that was the longest LD I ever had, because I had a goal.

No, I haven't tried using a portal. Thank you for the suggestion! I think I'm better at portals than I am with flying in dreams. (>_<) Although I really want to fly. I think the last successful flight I ever had was when I was riding a dragon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by quietness

Thank you, Ophelia! (^_^) It's a FANTASTIC idea! Rather than losing lucidity, the TOTM gave me a certain focus for the LD. I think that was the longest LD I ever had, because I had a goal.

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You're welcome :) I know that I personally have accomplished SO much more in my lucid dreams when I've had either had a TOTM on my mind, or even just a set of my own goals that I pre-memorized in waking life.

Quote:

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No, I haven't tried using a portal. Thank you for the suggestion! I think I'm better at portals than I am with flying in dreams. (>_<) Although I really want to fly. I think the last successful flight I ever had was when I was riding a dragon.

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Oh well cool, that's another great idea! Fly on a dragon, or Pegasus, or get a jet-pack.. whatever gets you into the atmosphere :happy:

Awesome! (^_^) So it doesn't have to be on my own? I'll try it!

Meanwhile, my dream recall is on a roll, just as long as I don't try dividing my attention between dream recall and attempts at LD, I think. (>_<)

This afternoon's dream includes a waiter-assassin, who wasn't very good at it.

I will not consciously attempt LDs this week until Monday. I will focus on fixing my dream recall. I will still practice Triple Gem (morning and night), zhine breathing (morning and night), 9 purification breathing (before sleep), and reverse RC/ADA.

I try to do reverse RC/ADA every hour, but time often flies when I'm just in front of the computer working, when one hour to the next I don't make a lot of changes. It's a different matter when I am outside, though. The breeze, the fresh sights and sounds almost immediately throw me into an ADA.

I was able to do 9 purification breathing and dream recall quite okay. The zhine breathing meditation was tricky, and my mind tends to jump around. I had better experience with focusing on the earth-touching Buddha, but then during that time I was also able to do ADA almost every hour that I was awake. I'm not sure if the challenges was because I shifted from the Tibetan Yoga book to reading the Just Be Good booklets, or something completely psychological on my end.

Plan of action:

- I will continue with 9 purification breathing, zhine breathing meditation, and reverse RC/ADA for another week to see how it fares
- For LD, I will do WBTB WILD: I will wake up around 4-6 hours after sleeping, stay up for 45 minutes, and go back to sleep while observing HI.
- If there's no improvement, I will go back to focusing on the earth-touching Buddha from the zhine breathing, cancel reverse RC, and read Tibetan Yoga every night for 15-30 minutes before sleeping. Continue LD WBTB WILD.

I hope I can still make it for the December Advanced TOTM. (>_<)

I forgot I was supposed to do zhine breathing still, and changed to focusing. My ADA immediately improved. I guess my change to breathing was the culprit. Will go back to focusing now. I wasn't able to do WBTB because I had to work.

So now my sched is:

- ADA
- focusing on ETB (earth-touching Buddha)
- 9 purification breathing
- WBTB after 4-6 hours (question whether I am awake or in a dream)
- go back to sleep after 45 minutes
- WILD focusing on HI

God, I haven't updated this in a long time. I missed the TOTMs too. Well, now's a good time as any to get back.

Presently doing meditation into sleep (Sam Harris' 26-minute mindfulness meditation). Not much else as I've been busy learning a lot of other stuff (parkour, Español, Deutsch, Coursera stuff), but I plan to experiment with melatonin soon. Strange thing is that when I search for melatonin here, people use it with other stuff. The people I've personally talked to, on the other hand, didn't need to; they had vivid dreams, if not lucid dreams.

My schedule has been wonky lately, and is still going to be in the next few weeks due to overtime (willingly done for extra moolah). I've been sleeping at various hours, e.g. 3 a.m. to 12 nn, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., 12 mn to 10 a.m., etc., all in a span of a week. So yeah, wonky. I've also been trying to stabilize my gym schedule. I was thinking of doing it after I wake up (supposedly 6 a.m.).

As per my dream goals, I listed them here.

In short:

Test 1: Melatonin alone, no other practices, e.g. meditation or WILD techniques. Sleep before 12 mn.
Test 2: Melatonin with meditation before sleeping.
Test 3: Melatonin with WILD technique.
Test 4: Melatonin with LD-related alarm.

The next tests are the same except that I sleep at different times. I've had quite vivid dreams when the sun is up, either morning or afternoon (though most if not all of my SPs happen during the afternoon).

I plan to do each test (e.g. Test 1) maximum of twice each week as taking too much melatonin might accumulate and skew the results. I planned to start by Wednesday, August 6, but maybe Monday (August 4) won't be too bad.

I was unimpressed with my first use of melatonin.

Dream here.

Next, I'll try melatonin + meditation.

Hey quietness! Welcome back! Did you do any inductions techniques with the melatonin? It might help to do some mild pre bed, focus on expecting to have an ld and then strengthen the intention during a wbtb later on.

For this one, I didn't. I'm planning to do meditation with the next one though.

Just a bit frustrated because people I know who've tried even just 1mg of melatonin claim to have experienced vivid, if not lucid, dreams. :/

I'll try the next one within the week with meditation, and then after that the MILD and WBTB. Thanks for the suggestion! :)

I recently got very frustrated with a lucid dream where I know I was dreaming but still couldn't go through the wall or fly out. It wasn't the first time this kind of thing happened: Lucid: Cannot Escape.

Hey congrats on the ld! :) I've also come across some phasing issues in a number of dreams. One was actually quite funny as I tried to phase through a table but just hit it hard and turned it over and made a big mess. Sometimes the things we want to do may not work in a dream, but we should not allow ourselves be overcome with frustration. The best thing to do is keep on trying and especially to treat each dream as a fresh beginning, where we are confident that whatever we want to achieve will work. :goodjob2:

Thanks! :) I get to fly/float once in a while, but it usually happens in a non-lucid dream. Phasing, on the other hand, seems to be a different matter. I remember one dream where I tried to phase but got stuck in the wall. (T_T)

Anyway, I'm recently working with Tibetan Dream Yoga, but not the practice yet. I'm still reading the book. My recent dream: Red Cloaks and Robots.