Thread: moonlightress' workbook

Hey moonlightress, thanks for joining!

A quick sidenote, I JUST had a nonlucid dream last night where I was not only naked in public, but also showering with 2 other people. In a classroom full of students. I was prettttty uncomfortable lol. Though it may have been sparked in part due to the TOTMs.

Anyway, it's good that you regularly get about 7-8 hours of sleep. It might be tricky to time your WBTBs if you don't know exactly when you'll be falling asleep each night, but you might be able to do it naturally and without an alarm. Especially if you normally have to get up and pee (which can be induced by drinking water before bed ).

I don't think the sleeping tablets will harm things completely. If anything, they could hinder recall if they're too strong. But you could always lower the dosage later on if you think your efforts are suffering as a result.

Let us know how the WBTB goes. It looks like you kinda did that before, when you were able to wake up and go back into the dream nonlucid. If you bump up that daily awareness, I bet you'll have no trouble getting to the point where you can enter the dream AWARE. My mom and brother were the same way, and eventually got to where they could DEILD. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for your reply, OpheliaBlue. This really feels like an adventure.

I write an exam today, so my mind was on that and I didn't remember anything from last night, except for two sentences I must've written in the middle of the night, which I have no recollection of. They were just there in my DJ this morning.

After the exam I will go and read lesson 1.

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

... it may have been sparked in part due to the TOTMs

And I suppose it doesn't count if it wasn't lucid?

Welcome Moonlightress! Looks like you already have a great foundation for some lucid dreaming adventures

Im looking forward to watching your progress!

Hey, hey! Good to have you aboard moonlightress. Some pretty solid goals you have there. Work on getting that dream recall up and maybe check out All-Day-Awareness, its kinda a tough technique to get started for some, but it really pays off. =]

And lucid dreaming is definitely an epic adventure! Just remember this. The world of dreams is largely affected hy your beliefs and expectations. Believe you'll succeed and you will!

Thanks so much. I think it is pretty awesome the way you experienced dreamers welcome and encourage beginners like me. I'm keen.

I even remembered to RC during my exam this morning - if it had been a dream I would have made damn sure I got a good look at the paper!

I am copying the homework for lesson 1 in here so I can keep track.

Your Homework For Lesson I is to:
1. Start your own workbook thread in this subforum (here) - done
2. Start a Dream Journal and record each dream. - done and doing
3. Record the times that you naturally go to bed and wake-up, and list it in your workbook. - varies, will record in my paper DJ
4. Do reality checks whenever you experience something weird throughout the day, and list it in your workbook. - ongoing
5. Write a list for why you want to lucid dream (for motivation), and plan out what you want to do in your next lucid dream.
- because I think it would just be totally awesome!
- because I think I will feel happy in my waking life, knowing the sorts of things I can do while asleep
- because of the freedom from restrictions and social inhibitions
- because I enjoy dreaming and want to be more aware of them
- In my first LD, I just want to become conscious, stabilise and watch the scenery.

6. Establish a night-time routine (Include reading your dream journal, making sure to leave your DJ open to a blank page for quicker dictations) - ongoing. There's not much to read yet.
Optional:
7. Start a DreamViews Dream Journal (here). - done, but keeping a paper DJ mainly ços it's right here in bed with me and quicker to write in
8. Start posting snippets from your dreams in the Dream Snippets Thread to get feedback on your dreams! - will do
9. Start practicing awareness from Lesson III
10. If you notice any recurring elements in your dream journal (aka dream signs), list it in your workbook. - done, will keep watching

Well, I attempted the WBTB, woke after 6 hours (and couldn't recall anything), but I can see that I won't get back to sleep now, I am wide awake. I often have trouble falling asleep, it can take me up to an hour, sometimes longer. If I wake up early I often don't get back to sleep. So that was a bit discouraging. So was something I read that Sageous wrote in another thread (can't post the link but it is under General-lucid-discussion > bleh-tell-me-im-right-track-please)

Originally Posted by Sageous

...The first LD might come easily, based on placebo effect and heightened expectation, but consistent LD'ing after that can be difficult, and certainly requires more than a bit of discipline, dedication, and real work.

Will it really be so difficult? Maybe I am just easily discouraged.

Dont get discouraged, discouragement only feeds further discouragement

With a positive attitude and confidence, it shouldnt take terribly long to have some LDs. Once you have a few under your belt, youll start to get a feel for the dreamscape and awareness will begin to improvre. It helps a lot to read some LD books, too. Try Stephen LaBerges book on LDing if you can.

Oh, and for the wbtb, try cutting it back to 4.5 hours or so if you cant fall back asleep. If your naturally alert upon waking up, dont even get out of bed for you to WBTB. The goal is to gain some alertness or awareness. If you can do that within a few minutes of waking up, go on back to sleep.

Thanks for the encouragement Alucinor. I was acutely disappointed when I wrote the above, at 5am. There was a point, when I was aware while half-awake, when I could probably fallen asleep easier, but I had read that you need to be awake for at least 10 mins or so, so I struggled myself awake. Too awake. Next time I won't wait that long and will catch the wave of sleepiness while it washes over me.

I know that being discouraged and doubting of myself will just lead to failure. I am just having some trouble mustering up the belief that this is something I am capable of doing. I have never believed it before. It's just to change that mindset. A few days ago I had the idea that 'hey, I can do this! It's just a matter of learning and practising', but I lost that feeling over the last few days.

I'll try an alarm for earlier, tonight. Meanwhile I am reading all I can. Being positive. I'm determined to do this.

Just a tip for wbtb: exposing your eyes to any light will wake you up much faster. So when you do wake up, try to st in the dark as much as possible, or at least your eyes. You could even wear some sunglasses if you want to turn on some lights or look at a screen. That is one of the more important tricks for wbtb. The idea is to stay somewhat sleepy but still aware. That will make it much easier to get back to sleep. Congrats on being able to get out of bed btw! It took me months to get over the zombie mode whenever i did wbtb.

Originally Posted by Chimpertainment

Just a tip for wbtb: exposing your eyes to any light will wake you up much faster.

Thanks for the tip - I've noticed this! I've read quite a bit about the use of light (and even dark) therapy for depression and bipolar disorder. Apparently it's the blue spectrum light that does the awakening and alerting, so if I had orange goggles I could turn on the light and still retain the sleepiness. Anyway I have a small light - like a penlight - that gives just enough light to see the page to write in my DJ and it helps me not wake up too much. It is much better than turning on my bedside light which would definitely wake me too much.

The WBTB this morning didn't work as I just slept through it. I set the reminder function on my cell for it but it is quite soft. (Tonight I am going to use the alarm function which is more startling.) But I woke up naturally in the early hours, jotted a few things down, went back to sleep and when i woke up later I had recall of quite a few scenes.

But I have trouble with staying aware and trying to go to sleep at the same time. It feels like they are mutually exclusive for me. It's as if I have to lose my aware grip on things in order to drift to sleep?

Anyway, this month I want to work on my recall, mainly. And because I don't have to work or study for the next few weeks, I will do WBTB and try to MILD when going back to sleep and see how that works out for me. (As well as the waking life stuff. I have notes pinned up around my flat reminding me to RC.)

The adventure will continue tonight.

Just as a matter of interest, is oneironaut pronounced Oh-nair-roh-nought or Wun-eye-roh-nought?

WBTB failed. Will keep trying. Ophelia is right, it is going to be hard to know when to set my alarm for if I don't know when I am going to fall asleep. I woke twice in the night, the second time I looked at the clock, it was close to the time my alarm was going off (after 4.5 hrs), so I changed the time to 90 mins later, but then didn't get back to sleep. It's 3.40 now and I am awake now and up for the day. Maybe I should just rely on the fact that I seem to wake naturally early in the morning and do WBTB that way? Is that possible?

I believe oneironaut is pronounced oh-nigh-ro-not

Waking up naturally is definitely possible. One thing that can help is using self suggestion before falling asleep. Telling yourself to wake up at a certain time usually works. If not, there is always the alarm.
For wild, its good to have an anchor to help carry you through the transition. Whether that is an external anchor like a fan, or binaural beats; Or an internal anchor like counting, being aware of breathing, and singing in your head, that can really help with wild. Internal anchors are a bit tricky because they can keep you awake. So practice the anchor until you feel aware and ready to fall asleep. There is an element of letting go during wild. Eventually you have to fall asleep and if your anchor works, it should hold your awareness just enough to carry through the transition period.

Screw the doubt. This is going to work. If everyone else can do it, I can too. And I am prepared to do the work.

I am waking naturally about 2-3 times a night, since I got serious about recalling dreams. I am glad because I really dislike alarms. The first time seems to be after several hours (not sure how many, but it could be about 4). I think about the dream to try and get it into short-term memory. I then record a few key words from the dream, then MILD back to sleep. I haven't tried WILD yet, will just stick with MILD and WBTB for a while to see if it will work for me.

I am also going to try some of the subliminal stuff I found here.

Thanks everyone, especially Chimpertainment. I'm reading and filling my head with LD thoughts. It's just a matter of time now.

Sounds like you have an excellent plan and are off to a good start! Im glad we could help out, its always a pleasure to see people learning lucid dreaming.
And Im lookin forward to seeing your progress!

OK, something happened last night (early hours of this morning actually) that I would love some feedback on. It was after a Wbtb. I put on one of the LD mp3's that I found here and set it to play on a loop (It just says 'Ï am aware that I am dreaming/in a dream' and 'you will remember to do a reality check' over and over.0 It seems to work like saying a mantra for me, better even, as I really listen intently. Then I lay back down again and fell asleep with it playing.

I think it was probably just a dream about LDing, but nevertheless: I felt like I woke up. Something (don't know what, I wasn't feeling very alert) made me think "is this an FA?" (I have experienced one of those.) So I did a noseplug RC and found I could breathe... I started feeling a tingling all over my body but my mind was very foggy and I couldn't see anything. I thought "wow, is this it?", and got excited. Then I thought "calm down, calm down". Then did another noseplug. This time I couldn't breathe. I don't remember what happened after that. This happened in, like, seconds. It was practically over before it even began. I don't think I got lucid, but am I on the right track? I SO much want to experience this, maybe I just dreamt about it happening?

What made me so happy was that the daily WL RCs had made it through to a dream. And I haven't even been as diligent about them as I should be. But I do stop to really wonder if I am dreaming and not just do the RC. I am going to do them even more now.

What do you think?

^^ Would still love some feedback on what happened here...

The last two nights have been disappointing LD-wise, Tuesday I woke up every hour in the first half of the night and didn't get my deep sleep, so I felt totally wrecked all day Wednesday. Then last night, I slept a straight 8 hours, right through a planned WBTB. Recall was also dismal.

I can't seem to remember to RC when I wake up. I have several mantras and will make one for this, but how many mantras is it feasible to have?

Many times when people attempt WILD or a WBTB, a dream starts in the person's immediate surroundings. What you experienced sounds like a FA in which you were lucid. You did the right thing in doing a reality check and it looks like it worked. If you are still not sure, its probably best to try a different reality check since our minds can easily simulate anything it wants. For example, try something that is impossible in waking life. Or see if you can float out of bed. It sounds like you are on the right track for sure!
As far as mantras go, you can have as many as you like and use them as often as you like. Just make sure they retain their efficacy. There has to be an element of belief in the mantra for it to work. That is how it sets the intention. Then later on that intention resurfaces and its power usually is determined by the amount of energy invested in the intention. Hope that helps!

Thank you Chimp. I will try this. I really want to learn to catch the FAs since it seems a good way of getting a DILD. It's the second FA I've had in the two weeks I have been doing this.

Your Homework For Lesson II is:

Study up on all of the induction techniques listed here and find one that suits you.: DILD, using MILD and WBTB
Practice your chosen induction technique for at least 2 weeks (although longer is preferred) before changing it to something else or ruling out that it's not working. It's been 13 days. I'm impatient, I know. I have read up a lot about CosmicIron's SSILD and it's on my list to try next. I can always come back to MILD
Continue to post all of your experiences, even failed ones, into your workbook. Yes

Optional:
Discuss your chosen technique with the teachers by posting in your workbook. There are lots of ways to go about each technique, we will be able help you find a method that suits you! Yes
Choose a second (and possibly third) induction technique that compliments your first. For example, if you chose DILD you will also be able to perform WILD. Going to use SSILD
If possible, it is highly advised to include WBTB into your routine. Yes, I do this

The last 2 nights haven't been good dreaming-wise. On Thursday night I slept 2 hours before waking up and was unable to go back to sleep for the rest of the night. It's like my intention to wake up to record dreams and do a WBTB goes into overdrive and keeps me awake. Then last night I slept a straight 10 hours to compensate and now feel rested. Only got one snippet of dream from each night, though.

On Friday morning after not sleeping all night, I tried to WILD, as I was so tired, I thought I could hold my awareness while sleep overtook me, but that didn't work. Hanging onto my awareness just seems to rule out falling asleep. But I am not going to pursue the WILD now, it was just that one circumstance that I thought might be conducive.

I am now doing SSILD. Finding it hard to concentrate on doing 4 repeats of the cycle - my mind slips and slides everywhere and I keep having to start again. I guess it will take more practice?

Do others remember dreams that took place before others? If I don't wake up right after each dream to record it, then it is gone by morning. And the trouble is that once I have woken up to record, I struggle to get back to sleep. That transition from awake to asleep is a difficult one for me.

Any advice about what I have written? Comments? Pep talk?

I forget most of my nonlucids, but I have more than one LD a week anyway. I journal what I do remember, and if I wake up in the middle of the night remembering something, I quickly record it on my phone, so I won't have to worry about writing it down until the morning. I think and read a lot about LD, and I am constantly thinking about new strategies. For me, that takes the place of other practices, such as all day awareness and lots of reality checks. Anything that keeps the idea of lucid dreaming in your mind throughout the day is going to help you at night. If you can't find the time to think about it during the day, then use the time just before going to sleep instead.

I'm also using SSILD now, and I too have trouble keeping focus. From what I have read, that is not a problem, though. Just finish your cycles and go to sleep. It seems to be working for me, as I am now beginning to have regular DILDs.

Keep posting a lot. It helps with the thought process necessary to make LD'ing part of your everyday life, and feedback from others is so encouraging! I think you have just the right attitude, and you will experience quick progress if you keep this up.

Thanks for your reply, Sibyline. (Jeg er ogsaa dansker. )

Originally Posted by Sibyline

I think and read a lot about LD, and I am constantly thinking about new strategies. For me, that takes the place of other practices, such as all day awareness and lots of reality checks. Anything that keeps the idea of lucid dreaming in your mind throughout the day is going to help you at night.

I have also soaked myself in LD thoughts and read so many tutorials and threads here. A big part of my day is spent on gathering LD information. But it hasn't seeped through to my dreams yet.

Another frustrating night. I woke up just before my alarm to do a WBTB, but could not fall asleep again. Interrupted sleep just doesn't work well with me and I guess it will take practice to be able to go back to sleep. Maybe I should wake earlier? After 6 hours, if I wake up then, my body thinks I am done for the night. And dammit, you need to sleep to dream; it's frustrating.

Keep posting a lot. It helps with the thought process necessary to make LD'ing part of your everyday life, and feedback from others is so encouraging! I think you have just the right attitude, and you will experience quick progress if you keep this up.

I really hope you are right.

Stealthy . What are you doing in ZA?

Successful WBTB is indeed all about the timing. How long did you sleep for? I usually wake up naturally after 4,5 hours, unless I was already sleep deprived. I believe that corresponds with the third REM period of the night. Before I got back into LD'ing, I would just go back to sleep immediately, but now I often use it to attempt a WBTB WILD or DILD. Try to find the right time for you, and then work on how long you need to stay up. I just get up, go to the toilet, have a drink of water and then lie down again. Weekends, I might stay up longer before going back to sleep. Try to figure out what works for you.

My parents emigrated when I was a lot younger. I ended up staying.

Thanks, Sibyline. I think I slept for 6 hours. Tonight I will try and make it 4.5 and then just hope I can get to sleep again after that. Then I can try the SSILD. (Apparently there is no point in doing it at the beginning of sleep?)