Thread: moonlightress' workbook

What subliminal audio is this? Where can I get it? (I found two bits here, one is not subliminal, it says "I am aware that I am in a dream/dreaming" and "you will remember to check your reality" over and over, the other seems to be just music, but perhaps there is something subliminal in it.)

Didn't sleep well, again. Took about 1.5 hrs to get to sleep. Woke up after ~90 mins and again after ~4.5 hrs (before my alarm, at least, I really don't like alarms). Then did the SSILD cycles but struggled to get back to sleep. I think the mistake I made was to get out of bed and go to the toilet. That woke me up too much. In future I am going to stay in bed and just rouse myself enough to do the cycles and then try to drop off again. Also, I had no recall from last night.

I have always had trouble falling asleep, it can easily take me 1-2 hrs. I have tried doing the cycles then, but they don't make me sleepy, my mind just drifts, but doesn't switch off. I agree with you that it can't hurt and will continue to do them then as well as later.

Tonight is another night. I'll get there.

Here's the link: http://www.dreamviews.com/lucid-aids...epository.html
There are a few to choose from. It just sounds like music and nature sounds, but that's what makes it subliminal... oh GOD I just typed "subliminable", like George W. Bush used to say. I hope I haven't written that anywhere else around here. It's late, I feel stupid. Goodnight! I hope you get a good night's sleep, moonlightress.

P.S.: Some people do well with a mantra to wake them up, rather than an alarm. That might be a more gentle method for you.

Thanks for the link - I will check it out. So far I have woken up before my alarm, I only set it just in case I don't wake up, so it looks like setting my intention works alright.

Sibyline: I looked at the link. I had already downloaded the two EILD files (Lucid Remix and The Ultimate Lucid Dream Induction ) and I play them while I sleep but the links to the subliminal audio don't seem to work - could you get them to work? I'm talking about the ones named Subliminal Lucid 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and Subliminal Recall. I was keen to get those.

^^ Could anyone get those links to work?

I have hit a bout of insomnia for the last few nights. I lie awake for hours or wake up very early and can't get back to sleep. So I'm not trying to LD, just DJing. Hoping it doesn't last too long.

You have to right-click and save the files instead of trying to play them in your browser. Let me know if it works.

AHA, that works, thanks. (Except for one which keeps giving a network error. But I think that must be my internet connection.)

That is great. I am going to play these in the evening.

I am not having any luck. Sigh.

In better news, my copy of Laberge's EWLD has arrived! Started reading it last night.

That's a really good book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. It's a cornucopia of LD information.

I can wake up after dreams to write them down, but if I do that, it takes some time to get back to sleep and the interrupted sleep (3-4 times a night) just makes me feel wrecked in the morning. If I decide to make sleeping the priority, I can only remember the last dream of the night and thus my recall suffers. Do others remember your earlier dreams of the night? How do you strike a balance? Going to sleep is never easy for me so any kind of waking to do anything makes it harder to fall asleep again.

Originally Posted by moonlightress

I can wake up after dreams to write them down, but if I do that, it takes some time to get back to sleep and the interrupted sleep (3-4 times a night) just makes me feel wrecked in the morning. If I decide to make sleeping the priority, I can only remember the last dream of the night and thus my recall suffers. Do others remember your earlier dreams of the night? How do you strike a balance? Going to sleep is never easy for me so any kind of waking to do anything makes it harder to fall asleep again.

This can be a tough puzzle to solve. I can make a couple of recommendations for things to try and you can see what works for you.

The first suggestion might be to just write down a series of key words that will help you remember the dream later. Once I have played a dream through in my head, I write down a series of keywords and keyphrases in a stream of consciousness format. I just comma separate them and try to write down enough that it'll jog my memory later. If you're having issues with falling asleep, this may be a little easier for you.

If I'm seriously unable to get out of bed (just too zonked), I will try to mnemonically file the dream away in my brain before falling back asleep. This is tough but it usually works at least okay. I use something called the "Method of Loci" or "Memory Palace". It's worth reading about on its own, but the gist is to imagine a walkthrough of a very familiar place (usually my childhood home). As I'm doing this, I add dramatic, absurd elements to the scene of my childhood home that will instantly remind me of the dream. In the morning I mentally repeat this walkthrough to help me recall the dream. It takes some practice, though, and I used it for other things (grocery lists and stuff) before that.

Those are a couple of ideas to try. I suggest experimenting a little and seeing what works for you! Maybe pick a method, try it for a week or so, and see whether it fits. Good luck!

Or you could record your dream on your phone. I have done that when I knew I wouldn't be able to journal until later in the day. Just telling the story to the voice recorder really commits it to memory as well.

Thanks both, for the suggestions.

Unfortunately my phone is an old one with no voice recording ability. Maybe it is time to do a serious upgrade, I will have to see what I can afford.

I have tried the keyword thing, but I tend to wake up to find that the keywords are cryptic, mean nothing to me and I can't remember anything related to them; it's as if someone else wrote them. Nevertheless I like this idea and will keep doing it. The trick lies in finding the balance between how much I can write and how awake it makes me. If only I didn't have such trouble falling asleep!

I am not quite sure I understand your other suggestion, CL but I will read up about it. I really have to find something that works.

I have woken up after 6 hours for a WBTB but feel wide awake and will have trouble getting back to sleep now. How long can the waking period be before the chance for long REM sleep is lost? I might get tired in about 5 hours time, will that be too late?

Originally Posted by moonlightress

I have tried the keyword thing, but I tend to wake up to find that the keywords are cryptic, mean nothing to me and I can't remember anything related to them; it's as if someone else wrote them. Nevertheless I like this idea and will keep doing it. The trick lies in finding the balance between how much I can write and how awake it makes me. If only I didn't have such trouble falling asleep!

Heh, I know what you mean. I took to scribbling out crummy little sentence fragment things. Pretty stream of consciousness and awful handwriting. Basically try to write down all the high points I can remember while engaging the least brain power possible, if that makes sense.

I like Sibyline's suggestion about a voice recorder, so that's good to keep in mind if you get a phone upgrade at some point!

Originally Posted by moonlightress

I am not quite sure I understand your other suggestion, CL but I will read up about it. I really have to find something that works.

Yes, I completely understand. It's a very exotic suggestion, actually. I have a rather unreliable memory so I've learned a few mnemonic tricks to help me memorize lists or numbers. The "Method of Loci" or "Memory Palace" technique is my favorite, and I've taken to using it for dream recall.

You know how people memorize really long strings of numbers, such as the first few hundred digits of pi? Some variant of the memory palace is a way to go about doing that. I'd stick with simpler ideas starting out, but if you have interesting in memory work or have done memory work in the past, it may interest you.

Here are a couple of links on this:
Method of Loci - Memory Techniques Wiki
How to Build a Memory Palace - Memory Techniques Wiki

Originally Posted by moonlightress

I have woken up after 6 hours for a WBTB but feel wide awake and will have trouble getting back to sleep now. How long can the waking period be before the chance for long REM sleep is lost? I might get tired in about 5 hours time, will that be too late?

Laberge's research seemed to indicate that at least an hour was optimal. Some people have great luck with lucid napping, although it's always been a tricky thing for me. It's certainly worth a try on those days when you can't get back to sleep post-WBTB and could use a good nap anyway!

Thanks so much for the help, CL!

That memory technique is very interesting and makes a lot of sense. I am definitely going to use it for my studies, apart from dreams. I tried it last night. I just placed two things in a room. But by morning I couldn't even remember which room it was, let alone what the two things were. Anyway, I am going to keep trying.

Woke up to do a WBTB this morning and couldn't get back to sleep again. Once I am awake it's like i get too alert to sleep again.

My dreams are so fantastical and yet I swallow the whole unlikely story without questioning it, or seeing that it is totally impossible. So I am going to stop trying to SSILD and go back to MILD which I never gave a proper chance. Try to increase my daytime awareness and hope it carries into nighttime

My Castaneda and Daniel Love books have arrived, so I have plenty of dream-related material to read before bed.

Originally Posted by moonlightress

That memory technique is very interesting and makes a lot of sense. I am definitely going to use it for my studies, apart from dreams. I tried it last night. I just placed two things in a room. But by morning I couldn't even remember which room it was, let alone what the two things were. Anyway, I am going to keep trying.

One thing that I find helps is to always make the objects that you place there part of some kind of outrageous, unforgettable story. Make the scenario as funny, odd, beautiful or offensive as you can so that you'll definitely remember it.

For example, I have a grocery list that I filed away more than a year ago that I still remember. Eggs were smashed all over the couch, leaving this stinking, rotting mess that I had to walk through. I represented batteries by a huge car battery hooked up to the sink, sizzling and sending sparks everywhere, and I imagined myself having to skirt carefully around it.

Originally Posted by moonlightress

My dreams are so fantastical and yet I swallow the whole unlikely story without questioning it, or seeing that it is totally impossible. So I am going to stop trying to SSILD and go back to MILD which I never gave a proper chance. Try to increase my daytime awareness and hope it carries into nighttime

My Castaneda and Daniel Love books have arrived, so I have plenty of dream-related material to read before bed.

Yeah, we all suffer from the universal affliction of "dream gullibility". Don't feel bad!

Enjoy the new books! You'll have to let us know how you like them. I am actually reading the Daniel Love book right now and finding it excellent!