Thread: Reddite's Workbook

Nice to have you here, Reddite!

*Why* is the WBTB method actually needed in order to get a "proper" LD? I mean, from all I've read I've seen that pretty much everyone promotes it, as well as guides shunning the idea of doing a WILD at normal bedtime.

If I had to distill the secret to lucid dreaming down to one word, it would be "awareness". Lucid dreaming practice is all about building and promoting awareness in the dream.

Spending some time awake brings your waking awareness back online. When you fall back asleep, some of this waking awareness will carry on with you into your coming dreams.

During the late morning, you have your longest cycles of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which tends to be the period of sleep during which your most vivid dreams occur. REM is less frequent and quite short at the beginning of the night. By waking up right before your richest REM cycles begin, you give yourself the best odds of waking up into a long, vivid lucid dream.

So if lucid dreaming is all about awareness, think of WBTB as a powerful awareness booster!

Dream Signs:
Not entirely sure what this section means/how to fill it out .. Sorry o-o

As you continue with your dream journal, you may start to notice common themes or elements that keep popping up. Are you always at school? Do you see a particular set of friends or fictional characters all the time? Do you tend to get much angrier in the dream than in waking life?

All of these things are dream signs that you can eventually collect and keep track of in order to become familiar with what your dreams look like. Keep up the journaling and hopefully these patterns will begin to emerge over time.

So if lucid dreaming is all about awareness, think of WBTB as a powerful awareness booster!

Ah, thank you for the clearest answer so far!

And thank you for the explanation on dream signs as well, have journaled way to few dreams so far to see any specific pattern just yet, but as you said, I'm sure they'll come!

-

Nov 24 - Nov 25

Went to bed at 02:08. Fell asleep maybe half an hour later.
Woke up at around 09:30.
Two dreams achieved! Worth mentioning, that I've been remebering my dreams for 3 days straight now, which for me, is very unusual.

[b]Why do I want to Lucid Dream?[b]

Mainly because of the freedom, to be able to do things I could never do in real life. I remeber vivid dreams I've had of flying on objects, and that was really an experience, even if it weren't lucid.
I want the ability to create what I want, in a world completely my "own"!


What is my plan for my next/first Lucid Dream?

As it would be my first 'on-purpose' Lucid Dream, I'd want to just explore a bit, getting used to the feeling of being control of the dream, as it surely will be a bit odd at first. I'd do reality checks, maybe attempt to summon objects, or create small shapes out of nothingness. The main issue, would probably be if I get too excited and wake up from the rush, need to read on how to stop that.

That would be all my homework done for lesson 1

Hi reddite, welcome to the Intro Class!

Canis pretty much explained it, but I just wanted to add that WBTB is not absolutely necessary for a lucid. It is however, as Canis mentioned, a really great booster. You can still have lucids without WBTB, but with it, you give yourself a much better chance.

As for the dream signs, they will indeed come with time. It would also be good to reevaluate and check for new dream signs every few months or so, because dream elements tend to change over time. When you have sufficient DJ entries, you can check out this little guide I made: http://www.dreamviews.com/f11/cant-f...s-read-135497/


Good luck!

Thank you Paige .. Or, Paigey .. ? >~>

Oh, so it is possible without a WBTB? How good, that means I can sleep my normal 6 hours during school days and still have time to try a WILD!
.. And it leaves plenty of time during the weekends to try WBTB/WILD's

But hm .. For now, I think I'll carry on with WILD. I'm currently doing both Reality Check's and following the ADA guide for a few minute sessions a day,
so in case I run into a dream, there's always a chance it turns into a DILD!

Hehe, have to admit, I've never been as excited about going to bed as I have since I joined this forum! ^-^

Yep, though I do have to say that WILD rarely works without WBTB or initial sleep. But it IS still possible to have a WILD upon initial sleep. I'm not sure if it was Xanous or CanisLucidus who recently achieved this, as well as some other members. x)

And yes, EVERY time you sleep is an opportunity to DILD, remember that!

Personally, I do MILD on schooldays and I do WBTB+MILD or WBTB+WILD on Fridays and Saturdays where I don't need to wake up early the next day.

Oh, okay! So, I guess I should be more comfortable with getting LD's before focusing solely on that
Sounds like a great schedule actually! Since last night, unfortunately, went like this:

Nov 25 - Nov 26

Go to bed at 11:30. Before, and while in bed I do some ADA excersise. Once I feel drowsy I try the counting while doing my mantra (I am dreaming, in Swedish).
Unfortunately, it took very long for me to fall asleep, and by then I'd gotten tired of counting. I also had an alarm in place for WBTB, as well as my regular 3 morning alarms,
although I turned them all of in my sleep, as usual, heh ..
And no dreams I can recall when I woke up, sigh :c

Some updates!

Nov 26 - Nov 27

The day went pretty much the same as the day before, with the same routine. No dreams I can recall.


Nov 27 - Nov 28

Went to bed at 11:15, have an alarm set for WBTB at 4:00, again. This time I actually wake up when the alarm starts sounding! And,
I didn't really feel tired, despite it being 4 in the morning, is this a sign for something?
Either way, once I woke, I remembered that I had to stay up for a little bit in order to get my brain awake again. Problem is, I forgot that it had to
be for around 20 minutes, and just ended up turning a bit, then falling back into sleep .. o-o

But hey, when I woke up, I remembered 3 dream fragments! So we're going the right way!

Been practicing my RC's during odd situations as well!

Also, I have a question for the lucid masters of the forum!

If my routine goes like this:
- Go to bed, attempt WILD
- Hope for DILD during sleep
- WBTB, and try WILD again

Will any of the techniques 'interfere' with eachother? Should I focus solely on one? Or is it possible to do several without any noticeable effect?

That routine sounds alright. I don't think those techniques interfere with one another. In fact, you're even maximizing your chances! However, don't force it. If it will start tiring you out, then I would suggest toning it down. It's always best to take care if yourself among everything else.

Okay, thanks for clearing it out paige (y)!
I'll give it a shot tonight, as my first class starts late. And my motivation isn't an issue, I'm as eager as ever to get it working, mehe!

Originally Posted by reddite

If my routine goes like this:
- Go to bed, attempt WILD
- Hope for DILD during sleep
- WBTB, and try WILD again

Haha, you actually described a fairly common night for me! As paigey already said, they don't interfere with each other. You will eventually just naturally settle on a method or methods that work best for you as you experiment, and ask questions, and follow other members' progress etc. I used to only DILD on accident, like you mentioned. Now I will quite often DILD, or maybe not, then do a WBTB and WILD or DILD again.

Let us know how it goes. I always do better with lucid dreams when I can sleep late too, since I guess that's what you are trying to do when you say your classes don't start until later tomorrow.

Greetings Ophelia!

Oh really? Guess the routine isn't very rare then, hehe. But for now, I'll stick to it, as it's the one that makes the most sense right now.

One odd thing I've noticed.. I did two 'successful' WBTB's the last nights, as in I woke up, stayed around for 10-20 minutes, then tried WILD again. Thing is though, I can recall dreams I had before the WBTB, but so far, none after it.
Do you think I'm setting my clock wrong?
Also, I've 'finally' woken up feeling a lot more tired than usual after a WBTB, is that supposed to happen?

Gosh.. So many questions ._.

Welcome Reddite!
very norse sounding name, I like it...

The name of the game for WBTB is relaxation + awareness...Its tricky because if you are too aware, it will be hard to fall asleep and if you are too relaxed, you may fall asleep too quickly. However, what you describe seems like a bit of stress, perhaps some anxiety about being able to do what you are planning. Stress in any form can reduce recall and make sleep less restful. So the best thing in my mind is to be as relaxed as possible.
I was reading the other day about WILD and they suggested counting numbers in your head after you have chosen your sleeping position. Visualize the numbers as you count and that will keep your mind occupied while your body falls asleep. This will also distract from itches, dry mouth, or fidgety muscles.

Hope that helps!

Hrmm... it's possible that you are setting it too early. It might be worth it to experiment with a later time. In my experience, I don't feel tired after WBTB. But I would be if I set my alarm for say, 5am after going to bed at about midnight. I set mine for 6:45am. Something else that probably helps is the fact that when I have my WBTB, it's already getting a bit light out. I bet that triggers serotonin a bit, making you awake enough to enter a dream from a more aware state (aiding in lucidity), and subsequently less tired.

Just my experience though, you gotta experiment and see for yourself. Let us know how it works ok?

@Chimpertainment - The name Reddite is actually Latin! I am from Sweden though, so a bit of it's right!
That I can understand, my dream recall hasn't been the best lately, and I've been stressing a lot with school/other things going on in life.
I have been practicing my awareness as well, although I definitely need more of it, I can recall several things in my dreams that are very "out of place", I just don't notice it while in them yet, heh.
I'll definitely give your WILD practice a try! I've been doing the "1 - I am dreaming, 2 - I am dreaming", and it has worked out a bit so-so.

@OpheliaBlue - Okay, I've put mine on 5 hours after I went to sleep just to try, and I've either woken up and attempted WILD, and woken up tired, or just turned my alarm of in my sleep.

So, here is my, new and improved list of things to do:

- Practice more ADA.
- I've set up a little rule to help me out in doing RC's. Whenever I see something red or blue, I perform a quick RC. This is just
to get a pattern down, as the "whenever you see something out of place" is somewhat hard to do.
- Bed routine is:
- Attempt WILD at bedtime
- Together with ADA/RC, try to induce a DILD
- Experiment with times, in order to get a WBTB working without waking up very sleepy

Maybe these points will work better, I'll report back as soon as I notice changes!

Sounds like a plan!

Huzzah! We have progress!

This night I got three very vivid dreams, and I even performed an RC in my last, very short, dream! Unfortunately I must've been too unfocused, because I didn't look at my hand, and just assumed it didn't work, bleh!

I also had the absolutely coolest feeling I've ever had from a dream. I could spin around in the air, with the coolest environment I've ever seen around me!

Gosh I'm excited!

Nice!

Juuuust a little more! Remember to double check your answers when doing reality checks irl so you do the same in the dream!

Good luck

Yaaaay! It happened! Finally got a lucid!
It didn't happen very much in it, the setting was pretty normal, and I can't really remember what I tried to do, but damn, I don't even care, I was completely aware!

Anyone interested on how it happened, feel free to read my DJ! A quick 'tl;dr', is that I saw something that was really stupid, and then started to slip out of my dream, in my awake state I realized how stupid the sign was, and then slipped back into the dream! Only difference is that now, I knew I was dreaming! I checked my hand, and it was .. Weird. It looked ghostly/'unfocused', and had like seven fingers.

But hey, I had an LD!

Awesome dream! and good call with the spinning! Those stabilization tools will provide a great foundation for future LDing.

Thanks! Was short and sweet, hehe
I'll try my best to keep those in mind, and increase my awareness during the day!

(And a big thanks to the DA community, hell, I wouldn't even be recalling this many of my dreams otherwise!)

A second lucid was had tonight as well!

I've noticed an odd pattern though .. Both my lucids have occured after 'almost' waking up, and then falling back in the dream again. In this one, I was suspicious of the fact that there was this narrator talking, and the voice even told me it was a dream. After doing the hand check here, I had three fingers .. o-o Not that it seemed to bother me in the dream though, heh ..

Full version, not that it was very long though, since I lost control in the end, is going up soon in my DJ!

Also! I need some advice!

I basically knew I was lucid, but got 'pulled' back into the dreams stream somehow. Is there any way to stop this and stay Lucid longer? Thank you

Originally Posted by reddite

A second lucid was had tonight as well!

I've noticed an odd pattern though .. Both my lucids have occured after 'almost' waking up, and then falling back in the dream again. In this one, I was suspicious of the fact that there was this narrator talking, and the voice even told me it was a dream. After doing the hand check here, I had three fingers .. o-o Not that it seemed to bother me in the dream though, heh ..

Full version, not that it was very long though, since I lost control in the end, is going up soon in my DJ!

Also! I need some advice!

I basically knew I was lucid, but got 'pulled' back into the dreams stream somehow. Is there any way to stop this and stay Lucid longer? Thank you

Sounds like you DEILD nicely. Congratz!

One thing I used to when I first started was to repeat "I am dreaming" over and over while I was in the dream. It seemed to help me keep my focus. FAs are a bit more tricky. I am still fooled by them a lot but one thing I try to remember is to get into the habit of doing an RC with each awakening. Don't worry. You will get better with practice. I hope that helps!