Tom's workbook.

Hi there!

I've never had a lucid dream, at least nothing that I can remember... However, of course, I would love to start ASAP!

I have pretty average recall, but I'm working on improving it with a journal and changing the way I think.

I have goals to recall at least 3 dreams per night, recognise a dream sign, have a lucid dream (surprise!), update DJ and workbook religiously.

Long term goals can be revealed at a later date :)

Thanks for having me! I expect to become a rather regular member on this forum.

Welcome, Tom! It's great to have you in the class. :welcome:

I'm an alumnus of this class, too, so I think you've come to the right place. I started out with less recall than you, so you are starting from a fine position. Your goals sound great, and I'm looking forward to watching your progress.

Check out the lessons when you get a chance and feel free to ask any questions that come to mind. We'll be happy to help you out.

Lesson One:-

Hmm, so:

Started a dream journal on Sunday, remembered at least one dream both nights since then which is good. However they were only partial parts of the dream I suspect (should I be posting these somewhere?)

Naturally, I go to sleep around 11PM (+/- 1hr) and wake up at around 8 (+/- 1hr)

I'm trying to perform reality checks like push hand through other hand, hold nose, ask myself If I'm dreaming, etc. Not sure when to do these, I've just been doing them whenever I remember.

I want to lucid dream to just live out fantasies and the like, exploring a world of your own imagination seems incredible. I'm also interesting in lucid dreaming because I love psychology, have been studying it for a while and sleep was one of my most favourite topics.

I only remember snippets of my dreams at the moment, I've been writing them down when I wake up during the middle of the night (2-3AM) and will read them before I go to bed.

I've neglected to start a DV Dream journal as yet, not until I can properly remember a whole dream or two in one night. For the mean time, I'll just use my physical book for snippets.

You signed up! Awesome! Don't worry. That recall with pick up soon. Just make sure your write out as much detail as you can remember. Even if it is just snippets. And you don't have to post it online, of course. Paper's fine. :D

Not so much a setback, but annoying - that I was unable to remember my dream of last night. I was on a roll!

Anyhoo, I'm currently learning about the different induction techniques. I think MILD combined with WBTB/WILD would be most beneficial to my goals, I suspect DILD has too much to do with chance at the moment... Maybe when I develop some proper dream signs, it'll be useful.

It happens. I couldn't remember any last night myself. :whyme:

Hello! In respect to thinking that DILD is too chance related, I can tell you that I, personally, don't use any Dream Signs as I practice DILD, I just use a whole load of Reality Checks throughout the day to keep my awareness up. It's given me 1 lucid per week on average since I started, so don't write it off too quickly!

However, of course, everyone is different, and should you choose to aim for WILD then good luck to you! Remember to try and stay with the same technique for a while since they can take a while to start to work. And don't worry too much about your Recall dipping in and out, sometimes you just can't remember anything. It happens. As long as you continue with the main elements (steady sleeping pattern, dream journal, focusing on dreams as you wake up) you'll be just fine!

Ugh, following two nights of remembering one dream each (earlier this week), I've now had 4 consecutive nights where I've been unable to remember my dream! It's frustrating because I'm unable to better my dream recall if I can't write other dreams down...

Any ideas about what I should do?

Have you tried the daytime journal I mentioned?

Nope, must have glossed over you mentioning it sorry. Can you elaborate on that please?

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Nope, must have glossed over you mentioning it sorry. Can you elaborate on that please?

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Take a look at this: http://www.dreamviews.com/dream-sign...ml#post1357389

Edit: This is interesting too: http://www.dreamviews.com/dream-sign...ml#post1888966

Will have a look now, thanks Xanous!

I remembered one dream last night which is a good thing.

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Jay-Z bought 400million dollars worth of cocaine and gave it to 40 people who then overdosed and died. He was found by police but he committed suicide before they took him into custody.

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Well, that's just great, isn't it? You dream of Jay-Z, I dream of Beyoncé. If I have to dream of celebrities, why can't it be someone cool or funny?

Are you going to set up a dream journal, btw?

Soon enough I'll make one. It's not really worth it for me at the moment, my recall is really poor :roll:

My recall is on and off. The previous two weeks I had incredibly detailed recall, then this week almost nothing. Still, writing down anything you do remember is supposed to improve recall.

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Originally Posted by Sibyline

Still, writing down anything you do remember is supposed to improve recall.

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Already doing this on paper :) Just not online.

A paper journal is probably even better. :)

Ok, so last night...

I went to bed not really with the intention of having a lucid dream of any type. At the moment, I'm just focusing on bettering my dream recall as it's pretty poor. This was later than I usually go to bed too, about half past midnight. As I was falling asleep, I rolled over onto my side, which I don't normally sleep on. Anyway, shortly after I rolled over, I started hearing sirens, like police sirens, and they gradually came closer until I heard them (imagined?) them speeding down my street with the sirens on. I was a little bit worried at that moment, as to the nature of the sirens, but anyway I somehow thought about lucidity and felt like I was dreaming of these sirens. I tried to 'roll' out of bed, it didn't happen immediately but I did roll onto the floor after a while. The next part was weird, it was as if I was experiencing an OBE, (this part was hazy) and I tried to fly and it seemed to happen. I then imagined a forest, and watched myself observe the forest. After this, I don't remember anything.

The part where the sirens were, it felt very odd... I *think* it was sort of what I imagine HH to be like. This whole experience was very hazy, I don't know if I was dreaming of being lucid, or if I actually was lucid.

I went to sleep at half past 12, and woke up with this dream at 1:05AM. This sounds very odd, having a WILD being so new to LDing. It didn't really feel like I thought a lucid dream would, but then again, it was a really weird experience.

Anyone able to shed some light on this? I'm at a loss as to whether it was a real lucid dream (keeping in mind my recall is really poor and I'm a beginner at LDing) or whether it was something else? :?

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Ok, so last night...

I went to bed not really with the intention of having a lucid dream of any type. At the moment, I'm just focusing on bettering my dream recall as it's pretty poor. This was later than I usually go to bed too, about half past midnight. As I was falling asleep, I rolled over onto my side, which I don't normally sleep on. Anyway, shortly after I rolled over, I started hearing sirens, like police sirens, and they gradually came closer until I heard them (imagined?) them speeding down my street with the sirens on. I was a little bit worried at that moment, as to the nature of the sirens, but anyway I somehow thought about lucidity and felt like I was dreaming of these sirens. I tried to 'roll' out of bed, it didn't happen immediately but I did roll onto the floor after a while. The next part was weird, it was as if I was experiencing an OBE, (this part was hazy) and I tried to fly and it seemed to happen. I then imagined a forest, and watched myself observe the forest. After this, I don't remember anything.

The part where the sirens were, it felt very odd... I *think* it was sort of what I imagine HH to be like. This whole experience was very hazy, I don't know if I was dreaming of being lucid, or if I actually was lucid.

I went to sleep at half past 12, and woke up with this dream at 1:05AM. This sounds very odd, having a WILD being so new to LDing. It didn't really feel like I thought a lucid dream would, but then again, it was a really weird experience.

Anyone able to shed some light on this? I'm at a loss as to whether it was a real lucid dream (keeping in mind my recall is really poor and I'm a beginner at LDing) or whether it was something else? :?

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Sounds legit. Congratulations! :rockon: I think you doubt yourself too much. It was probably an nREM WILD / OBE exerience then you lost lucidity. I have had a few of those myself and they don't have the same feel to them as regular LD's. I'm really excited you went straight into a forest instead of just being in your house. Keep that skill as that will help you out when you have specific places you want to go to. Now do this after a WBTB! :goodjob:

Hey! Welcome to the class. Sorry the welcome is quite late :p

Anywhooo that sounds like an OBE indeed, one question though. When you tried to fly after rolling over, were you aware in any way that it was just a dream? I noticed you mention controlling it but i wasnt sure if you had the realization. :)

Thanks guys for weighing in with your opinion! This is well exciting then. I'm still a little skeptical seeing as it was so hazy, and the likelihood that a beginner has a WILD is very low (from what I've read).

Anyhow, this is really cool. Gonna keep at it, and it's reassuring to know that I'm capable now :banana:

I keep reading that WILDs are difficult, but I don't know why. I have been having them all my life. From your description, that is exactly what you had. Don't believe the hype, it really isn't as difficult as people make it out to be. You have achieved lucidity, and now you just have to find out what works optimally for you, and then work on stability so that you can achieve your dream goals. :offtobed:

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Thanks guys for weighing in with your opinion! This is well exciting then. I'm still a little skeptical seeing as it was so hazy, and the likelihood that a beginner has a WILD is very low (from what I've read).

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I'm with Sibyline on this -- WILD isn't necessarily difficult so much as slightly different for each person. All that WILD asks of a person is to stay aware while they fall asleep, and hold on to that awareness long enough for the process of dreaming to start.

Easier said than done, of course, but it really is that simple. :)

WILD is something that took me a very long time to achieve because I simply hadn't developed the proper mental model for what it would feel like (smooth and peaceful for me) or what I should be doing (not much besides stay aware).

Accidental WILDs count, too, so big congratulations! :D Remember what this felt like for your future attempts! Nothing beats practical experience, because WILDing is a tricky thing to describe.

Doesn't WILD only work if the person falls immediately into REM? Can someone explain this please?

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

I went to sleep at half past 12, and woke up with this dream at 1:05AM. This sounds very odd, having a WILD being so new to LDing. It didn't really feel like I thought a lucid dream would, but then again, it was a really weird experience.

Anyone able to shed some light on this? I'm at a loss as to whether it was a real lucid dream (keeping in mind my recall is really poor and I'm a beginner at LDing) or whether it was something else? :?

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WILD is difficult for beginners to accomplish true, but it does sometimes just happen randomly. And you can fall directly into REM if you're a little sleep-deprived or something. But are you sure it was a WILD? Seeing as an hour went by while you were asleep, are you sure you fell directly into the dream, rather than some time in nREM first?

Anyway, I've definitely fallen asleep and woke up within 5 minutes from vivid dreams (not lucid unfortunately). So it's definitely possible to fall straight into dreams.

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Originally Posted by Darkmatters

WILD is difficult for beginners to accomplish true, but it does sometimes just happen randomly. And you can fall directly into REM if you're a little sleep-deprived or something. But are you sure it was a WILD? Seeing as an hour went by while you were asleep, are you sure you fell directly into the dream, rather than some time in nREM first?

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Ahh I'm sorry I missed this, been pretty busy at the moment - exam time :roll:

It was a half hour of sleep, as opposed to an hour. I was pretty sure I went straight into it, but hey, how can I be sure? :P

I've been pretty lazy at the moment with my dream journal. I've been waking up early a few times in the past week with fragments of dreams in my head but have neglected to write them down, :( . I suppose it's because I'm still 'half-asleep' and the effort to write down notes is too high, LOL.

I'll try harder from now on, however I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next few weeks so we'll see how we go.

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Doesn't WILD only work if the person falls immediately into REM? Can someone explain this please?

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That's certainly the easiest way to make the transition, which is why WILD is so much more effective with a WBTB. Some people have successfully WILDed into nREM dreams, which often have a bit of a different feel. This is usually considered a more "advanced" maneuver, and not one that I've pulled off myself, but many have done it successfully.

Good luck with your exams!

Another interesting experience last night! :biggrin: Again, I didn't really try to induce a lucid dream of any sort, but this is what happened.

I went to bed around 11:30 I think, and like I said, didn't really try and induce an LD. But, for the sake of it, I just thought in my head a few times "I want to have an LD" (or something similar). After a while of running through thoughts in my head, etc.... (This part I'm unsure about) I was dreaming/thinking about a train station that I often pass on the way to uni. I saw a nice girl at the station and started talking to her for a while once we both were on the train. We go a few stations towards the city while looking out at the passing suburbs. After this, the dream fades and I suddenly become aware of my body. I start to feel a shakiness and then I felt a million pinpricks all over my body, so I become a little excited. I thought that this might be HH or SP or something that occurs right before a WILD. Afterwards, I pretty much knew I wasn't LDing, but I tried pushing fingers through my hand and failed. So I got up and wrote down some notes.

I have MANY questions!

Firstly, I'm really unsure about whether I was 'dreaming' the first part or if I was 'thinking' it? I know for sure that I didn't intentionally bring up the thought at all. But, on the other hand, it was super vivid and I could remember our conversation as well. Usually my dreams are hopelessly vague and unclear.

Second, seeing as I perhaps 'had a dream' before going into first stages of WILD (sounds silly, lol), what's going on there? If anything, isn't it supposed to be the other way round?

Was what I was going through HH/SP?

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If you can answer or provide your input as to what you think happened of any one aspect, it would be greatly appreciated! :shadewink:

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Firstly, I'm really unsure about whether I was 'dreaming' the first part or if I was 'thinking' it? I know for sure that I didn't intentionally bring up the thought at all. But, on the other hand, it was super vivid and I could remember our conversation as well. Usually my dreams are hopelessly vague and unclear.

Second, seeing as I perhaps 'had a dream' before going into first stages of WILD (sounds silly, lol), what's going on there? If anything, isn't it supposed to be the other way round?

Was what I was going through HH/SP?

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If you can answer or provide your input as to what you think happened of any one aspect, it would be greatly appreciated! :shadewink:

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Sounds to me like HH. I get those pretty frequently. The physical sensations might have brought you out of it. That's the main reason I haven't be enable to have a WILD. I start to get strange physical sensations and they scare me awake, even though I know they're normal, LOL!

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Originally Posted by Interestingness

Doesn't WILD only work if the person falls immediately into REM? Can someone explain this please?

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That is usually the idea yea. That is why it is best attempted after a WBTB several hours after falling asleep. From what I hear, it is possible to have dreams during non-rem sleep, however for whatever reason dreams happen most often in rem sleep. Even if you stay awake for a couple hours after waking in the morning, you can go back into rem sleep for a dream. Also, if you are attempting a wbtb after a few hours of sleep, going into rem happens automatically.