Thread: plmnko098's Workbook

Originally Posted by plmnko098

Thanks for the tip. I will have to try that out soon.

I think I have started to grasp DEILD. I have found that using a mantra has helped help me a whole lot. I have never used a mantra in the past but surprisingly it has worked for me. It could all just be some sort of placebo effect but I think it’s helping.

I can pretty much get myself to wake up after a dream and when I do, I can remember to stay still and keep my eyes closed. However, my problem now is that when I do I forget why I’m doing this. Then, out of habit, I go back to sleep because I know my alarm hasn't gone off yet.

Heh, that's great! Don't worry about forgetting why you're doing all of this. If you keep practicing this, that'll come to you. One way that you can help address this is with a pre-bed mantra of some sort that drills into your head why you will be holding still after waking from a dream.

You're already using a pre-bed mantra, it sounds like, so maybe all it needs is a little tweak on the wording? While you're saying it, you could imagine yourself effortlessly and calming sinking back into the dream with your awareness still intact.

Honestly, the holding still is usually the trickiest part for people and you've got that down, it seems! Even though there's still a little hill left for you to climb, you are doing great!

I followed your advice and i got a lot closer last night. I tweaked the mantra i was using to include something about remembering why i was waking up. I only woke up once during the night but i did remember to stay, still keep my eyes close and remember what i am meant to do for a DEILD.

I was lying in an uncomfortable position and it was distracting me. I remember reading that guide by Dutchraptor and it mentions that after a few seconds it would feel extremely uncomfortable and that i should just persist. So i lay there for about 5 minutes not focusing on my body and thinking about the dream i just left.

Nothing much happened and i lost hope that this would work this time. I'm not quite sure what i was doing wrong but it's a step forward.

Originally Posted by plmnko098

I followed your advice and i got a lot closer last night. I tweaked the mantra i was using to include something about remembering why i was waking up. I only woke up once during the night but i did remember to stay, still keep my eyes close and remember what i am meant to do for a DEILD.

I was lying in an uncomfortable position and it was distracting me. I remember reading that guide by Dutchraptor and it mentions that after a few seconds it would feel extremely uncomfortable and that i should just persist. So i lay there for about 5 minutes not focusing on my body and thinking about the dream i just left.

Nothing much happened and i lost hope that this would work this time. I'm not quite sure what i was doing wrong but it's a step forward.

Good work, plmnko098! Yeah, it does sound like a very nice step forward then.

The discomfort thing may just be down to luck and the position that you happen to wake up in. For what it's worth, I have not typically experienced a great deal of discomfort in any DEILD attempts. The occasions where I've woken up in any kind of discomfort have definitely not led to successful DEILDs.

Anyhow, it sounds like you did exactly the right thing by just forgetting about your body and thinking only about the dream. To make the transition, you are ultimately going to want only two things: your self-awareness and your dream. Your physical body is only a distraction, so trying to achieve total focus on what matters is the way to go.

Keep trying and don't give up! I got my first DEILD right away for some reason but it took me 2-3 months to have my next one. Persistence and patience paid off, though, and DEILD has saved my bacon a bunch of times. If you have trouble sinking back in, you can try the repetitive motion trick as well. It helps to have something already in mind to try before you get there, preferably something exciting. For me, it was swinging a sword. You may be more mature than I am, so go with whatever suits you best.

I haven't replied for a couple of days because I haven't had much to report about. The past 3-4 I had really hard time falling asleep. Consequently I didn't get much sleep during those nights and I didn't get much chance to have ago at a DEILD. However, last night I got to sleep pretty easily so I hope that everything goes back to normal.

Man I've been having a hard time sleeping lately too. But for me it's because it's getting hotter in Texas, and I can't sleep at night when I'm all sweaty. But I doubt that's your problem since you live in England.

Why were you having a hard time sleeping, something stressful happen? Anyway, I'm sure you'll have more success now that you finally got some sleep.

The past few days have been surprisingly warm here in England. Well at least compared to the rest of the year so far. Feels like it's the first time i have seen the sun this year. Either way temperature doesn't really affect me when trying to get to sleep. I guess i'm a little stress due to having exams in a couple of weeks.

Originally Posted by plmnko098

The past few days have been surprisingly warm here in England. Well at least compared to the rest of the year so far. Feels like it's the first time i have seen the sun this year. Either way temperature doesn't really affect me when trying to get to sleep. I guess i'm a little stress due to having exams in a couple of weeks.

I'm totally with both of you guys on the heat thing. When it's too hot I just feel way too engaged in the physical world to properly slip under. I always get that ceiling fan cranked once it starts getting warm. Do you have access to any other fans you might be able to add to your room to keep you cool?

Sorry to hear about exam stress! Just do the best that you can to wind those thoughts down before bed and fill your brain with something else instead. That'll help crowd them out from crawling back into your brain and bugging you. Focusing on an LD goal that you're really excited about is a method that works for me.

I'm glad to hear that you got back to sleep okay this time, though. I'm sure that next LD is on its way!

You know... just a thought... you too CL... but I always find that I sleep lighter when its warm and I tend to have better luck. I think there is always a way to take advantage of a bad situation. Of course, I'm a really heavy sleeper so maybe that's just me. But you seem to be unaffected anyway.

It doesn't really get warm enough in England for it to affect me. But I took your advice CanisLucidus and I decided to get back into the habit of reading a book before I go to bed to take my mind off the day. I used to read every night before bed ever since I was about 12. For some reason I stopped about a year ago. After about 30-40 minutes of reading at night I normally feel really tired and I can get to sleep pretty easily after that.

Originally Posted by plmnko098

It doesn't really get warm enough in England for it to affect me. But I took your advice CanisLucidus and I decided to get back into the habit of reading a book before I go to bed to take my mind off the day. I used to read every night before bed ever since I was about 12. For some reason I stopped about a year ago. After about 30-40 minutes of reading at night I normally feel really tired and I can get to sleep pretty easily after that.

That's a great idea! Reading for pleasure is one of those activities that I'd like to make more time for as well, so I think that this is a great method.

Plus, I'd imagine that some fiction you're really into could lead to some great dream content as well!

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

That's a great idea! Reading for pleasure is one of those activities that I'd like to make more time for as well, so I think that this is a great method.

Plus, I'd imagine that some fiction you're really into could lead to some great dream content as well!

I've read quite a few books that would make awesome dreams, especially of i was lucid in them.

I've not had much luck with DEILD this past week but i think i'm getting there. I find it way to easy to accidentally lose focus and just fall back to sleep.

Originally Posted by plmnko098

I've read quite a few books that would make awesome dreams, especially of i was lucid in them.

I've not had much luck with DEILD this past week but i think i'm getting there. I find it way to easy to accidentally lose focus and just fall back to sleep.

Yeah, it can be tricky to get the hang of things! My very first DEILD came really naturally. After that, I spent a couple of months flailing around trying to do it again! There's a whole section in my Intro Class workbook where I bemoaned these troubles for a while before it finally clicked.

Hitting just that right mix of interest and engagement without being so interested that you fail to fall back asleep... it's a tough balancing act, and it's not a 100% play, even for the very skilled. (And I do not count myself among the "very skilled" but among the "adequate".)

Give yourself time to master it and experiment with different approaches. The idea is to hold on to your self-awareness and identity long enough for the dream to re-form. If quiet observation doesn't quite get you there, consider trying a simple mantra, at least as an experiment. I like "I'm dreaming" or Sageous' "Here and now".

Did you manage to see a new dream scene begin to form or get any hypnagogic imagery or half-dreams? You don't want to get too excited or hung up on this stuff, but it's interesting to note its appearance.

Normally i get distracted by my thoughts. An example is when i am thinking back to the dream i just had and something reminds me of something and i start thinking about that and lose focus.

A couple of times i have got to the point where i start to see a dream start to from but i did get quite excited which i need to work on.

Originally Posted by plmnko098

Normally i get distracted by my thoughts. An example is when i am thinking back to the dream i just had and something reminds me of something and i start thinking about that and lose focus.

A couple of times i have got to the point where i start to see a dream start to from but i did get quite excited which i need to work on.

Yeah, I definitely understand getting caught up in random thoughts like this. The best advice I can give is that when one of these "stray" thoughts arise, recognize it, set it gently aside, and go back to your DEILD attempt -- holding on to your awareness while drifting gently back to sleep as a new dream forms (or the old dream re-forms, whichever it is.)

This gets easier with practice. It's a process of gently course-correcting yourself back onto the desired train of thought without stressing about any of it. Definitely took me a while to get. Keep going for it, though, and you will nail it eventually!