Thread: Bharmo's Workbook

Tonight I remember one dream, I was in a pizza restaurant and then went to an airport, so I missed my #1 dreamsign: crowded places (I was born and raised in a 200,000 population city, but last few years I've been living in rural areas) When I woke up told myself "Next time I dream about a crowded place I will remember to realize I'm dreaming" I think I learned that at the DV Podcast.

About lesson I:
1: Ok (Workbook)
2: Ok (DJ moved back to Springpad, was using Dreamboard for a time, both have smartphone apps)
3: Ok (Sleep schedule)
4: Ok (Hope having signed up at DVA keeps me motivated with RCs)
5: Ok (Why I want to LD) Also, changed my avatar to remind me of a childhood fantasy, the peregrine falcon, fastest being on earth, evokes flying, freedom and thrill to me.
6: Need to keep improving my night time routine. This week I started to imagine myself dreaming, recognizing a dreamsign, stabilizing, and doing task of the month basic 1 I think, hugging someone (also a similar quick thing when RC during the day)
7: DV's DJ started some time ago, I will get my new lucids there. I might translate my other lucids from my digital DJ and put them there, will see.
8: No interesting dream to post at snippets yet.
9: I've done that in the past, but I need to work in getting regular at it (Awareness)
10: Ok (Dreamsigns)

Therefore, I need to work at:
a) RC consistently
b) Practice Awareness regularly
c) Consolidate a night-time routine and then work to improve it
d) Study Lesson II
e) Any suggestion is welcome!

Wow!! Got lucid last night! The second night enrolled at DVA, ending a 2 month dryspell. This DVA is really awesome!!

Before I post the dream, and analyze it, I need to try something. I suck at drawing. But there was some cheecky dancing touchscreen evil robots in my dream that at least I need to try to sketch. I don't think I can get it right, but I need to try.

Originally Posted by dreambh

Wow!! Got lucid last night! The second night enrolled at DVA, ending a 2 month dryspell. This DVA is really awesome!!

Before I post the dream, and analyze it, I need to try something. I suck at drawing. But there was some cheecky dancing touchscreen evil robots in my dream that at least I need to try to sketch. I don't think I can get it right, but I need to try.

Congratulations!! Great job getting lucid! You know, the same thing happened to me when I enrolled here last year. Something about this place.

I can't wait to hear more about this one. I mean, dancing touchscreen evil robots? With illustrations?

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

Congratulations!! Great job getting lucid! You know, the same thing happened to me when I enrolled here last year. Something about this place.

I can't wait to hear more about this one. I mean, dancing touchscreen evil robots? With illustrations?

Thank you CannisLucidus!!
I've read half through your workbook, and it's really inspiring. Can't wait to experience a lucid flying with war cry and epic soundtrack
That dream of yours and now mine made me wonder how much tv and movies mold our dream schemata. How different are our dreams from those of pre-tv people?

On the other hand, I'm sorry to say that I could not sketch the cheeky dancing touchscreen evil robots properly, I tried but came out childish, and did not look like a smartphone screen at all, which was the main point.
Anyways, I'm going to go on with posting my dream and my reflexions on it.

So as I said tonight had my first LD since I joined the DVA, the second night actually, after almost 3 months of dryspell, and it was quite interesting.
Cheeky fight with evil alien touchscreen robots

I'm obviously very happy about it, but there are a few things I'm wondering about:
1- Had nothing to do with what I had planned/incubated. I try to incubate first stabilizing the dream and then remembering a goal (right now: hugging someone) at night-time routine and in many daytime RCs, but those didn't show up at all at the dream. I have to improve these routines, I guess, or maybe that happened because of the low-level lucidity.
2- Low-level lucidity. From the very beginning I was so distracted with the dream plot, I did not even RC. I didn't feel like making real decisions most of the time. And my lucidity was wearing down progressively to the point that, well, a scene change blew it all up and ended the dream. Tricky subconscious!!
3- Short lucidity. That is not very important for me, right now high-level lucidity is what concerns me most.
4- Because of how I felt in the dream (low lucidity/conciousness) I cannot count my goal of flying as done, I don't know, I don't feel like I consciously did it, but more like I watched me doing it.

Any suggestions, specially on increasing lucidity?

Zero dream recall tonight. And I've been having trouble falling asleep, for the last three nights in fact, had something to do with drinking coke one of the days and noisy neighbors another, but I guess also need to be careful not get overly excited and wanting a LD too much.

Little update:

Dream Signs:
- Conventions and other indoor crowded places
- My hometown / neighborhood / parents' home
- Losing temper / Sense of shame or regret
- Fictional characters (from comics, games, etc)
- Going back to high school or similar

Originally Posted by dreambh

Thank you CannisLucidus!!
I've read half through your workbook, and it's really inspiring. Can't wait to experience a lucid flying with war cry and epic soundtrack
That dream of yours and now mine made me wonder how much tv and movies mold our dream schemata. How different are our dreams from those of pre-tv people?

Thanks, that's very nice of you to say! And I definitely think that the media we consume has a big influence on our dream content.

In fact, I went through a "boring dream content" phase and I appealed for help to people that were having more interesting dream content at the time (like NewArtemis, RareCola, and others.) One piece of advice that really worked was to consume more interesting media. Watch more interesting TV, play more video games, and just allow yourself to play and get into fiction. The impact on dream content was very significant, so I've got to believe that media influences us in all kinds of ways.

I do hope that our ancestors got soundtracks, though, because those are awesome.

Originally Posted by dreambh

I'm obviously very happy about it, but there are a few things I'm wondering about:
1- Had nothing to do with what I had planned/incubated. I try to incubate first stabilizing the dream and then remembering a goal (right now: hugging someone) at night-time routine and in many daytime RCs, but those didn't show up at all at the dream. I have to improve these routines, I guess, or maybe that happened because of the low-level lucidity.
2- Low-level lucidity. From the very beginning I was so distracted with the dream plot, I did not even RC. I didn't feel like making real decisions most of the time. And my lucidity was wearing down progressively to the point that, well, a scene change blew it all up and ended the dream. Tricky subconscious!!
3- Short lucidity. That is not very important for me, right now high-level lucidity is what concerns me most.
4- Because of how I felt in the dream (low lucidity/conciousness) I cannot count my goal of flying as done, I don't know, I don't feel like I consciously did it, but more like I watched me doing it.

Any suggestions, specially on increasing lucidity?

As I said in the DJ entry, great dream! Dream incubation is something I'm working on but it's very hit or miss for me. It's kind of a work in progress, but I know that some people are very good at this, particularly when they incubate pre-nap or during a WBTB. (My mother can actually do this.) I wish that I had better tips, but this is a skill I'm still trying to build!

As for increasing lucidity, I'm a big fan of soaking in the details of the dream scene as much as possible. Hit a good nose pinch RC, the shock of which tends to focus your mind. Then start touching the dream scene, look at your hands, marvel at the detail, and challenge your brain to produce as much detail as possible. This usually increases vividness for me and sometimes gets my brain working a bit better.

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

Thanks, that's very nice of you to say! And I definitely think that the media we consume has a big influence on our dream content.

In fact, I went through a "boring dream content" phase and I appealed for help to people that were having more interesting dream content at the time (like NewArtemis, RareCola, and others.) One piece of advice that really worked was to consume more interesting media. Watch more interesting TV, play more video games, and just allow yourself to play and get into fiction. The impact on dream content was very significant, so I've got to believe that media influences us in all kinds of ways.

I do hope that our ancestors got soundtracks, though, because those are awesome.

Cannot wait to get a dream with soundtrack!

My wife loves tv series, and we usually see one or two episodes before bed, and it's true it has soaked into my dreams from time to time, like in a dream where we were chased by the evil computer genious from 'Bones'. We usually see those crime investigation series (Bones, The Mentalist, etc) but I'm pulling her slowly to more "interesting" genres (Fringe, Arrow, Batman and Iron Man movies) Need to keep working on that, as you say, because my dreams are usually much more "ordinary" than this lucid.

On the other hand, let me share a thought here: I've been wondering lately if seeing tv fiction before bed could have a negative effect on lucidity. As I've noticed how easily one goes through the weirdest dreams in "spectator mode" I've been thinking on the concept of "Suspension of Disbelief" that refers to the fact that while we consume works of fiction we turn off our critical thinking (we stop disbelieving) in order to enjoy 100% what we see, as long as it's properly done (when it's not, it's when we say "OH C'MON!!!") Therefore, I've been thinking if we might be carrying on 'suspension of disbelief' to our dreams. Actually, I've set as a goal to reality check at least once at every piece of fiction I see on tv, and it's really difficult to remember!!

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

As I said in the DJ entry, great dream! Dream incubation is something I'm working on but it's very hit or miss for me. It's kind of a work in progress, but I know that some people are very good at this, particularly when they incubate pre-nap or during a WBTB. (My mother can actually do this.) I wish that I had better tips, but this is a skill I'm still trying to build!

As for increasing lucidity, I'm a big fan of soaking in the details of the dream scene as much as possible. Hit a good nose pinch RC, the shock of which tends to focus your mind. Then start touching the dream scene, look at your hands, marvel at the detail, and challenge your brain to produce as much detail as possible. This usually increases vividness for me and sometimes gets my brain working a bit better.

Thank you very much for your good suggestions! I think understand what you say, one might rush to perform any fantasy one may have instead of enjoying the dream state and its detail to increase clarity. I take note of that!

Originally Posted by dreambh

On the other hand, let me share a thought here: I've been wondering lately if seeing tv fiction before bed could have a negative effect on lucidity. As I've noticed how easily one goes through the weirdest dreams in "spectator mode" I've been thinking on the concept of "Suspension of Disbelief" that refers to the fact that while we consume works of fiction we turn off our critical thinking (we stop disbelieving) in order to enjoy 100% what we see, as long as it's properly done (when it's not, it's when we say "OH C'MON!!!") Therefore, I've been thinking if we might be carrying on 'suspension of disbelief' to our dreams. Actually, I've set as a goal to reality check at least once at every piece of fiction I see on tv, and it's really difficult to remember!!

That's a very good point! Great thoughts. I like the idea of taking the time to remind yourself that you're experiencing a work of fiction when you watch TV or see a movie.

When you think about it, this is really just an extension of self-awareness. If, at every conscious moment, you were aware of your own mental state, all dreams would be lucid. That's not realistic, of course, but we don't have to meet that high of a standard. All we have to do is get in the habit of being aware of what we are experiencing and considering the possibility that it is a dream.

So in that sense, your approach will enhance your LD practices by giving you more opportunity to practice that kind of self-awareness.

There's something else about the suspension of disbelief. It's very important for dream control powers! Believing that your dream control attempts will work is the single most crucial piece of the puzzle. Fiction expands our minds with awesome concepts like flight, the holodeck, stargates, you name it!

Originally Posted by dreambh

Thank you very much for your good suggestions! I think understand what you say, one might rush to perform any fantasy one may have instead of enjoying the dream state and its detail to increase clarity. I take note of that!

You're welcome! I think you'll love the experience of seeing how much incredible detail your mind can produce, even if it's not something you try regularly. I believe you're going to be very impressed!

I'm not having very good recall lately. Yesterday I used LaBerge's mantra "I wake up completely after every dream" and I woke up once and could remember one dream, but next morning I could only remember that one.
I thing I will focus only in dream recall and DILDing.
BTW, I see many people signing up for the Intro Class, and I have some little experience already. What do you thing guys, should I move to the DILD class?

Ok, today my recall improved, two dreams and one fragment. I'll keep working at it.
This weekend (starting tonight) I'm visiting some friends and staying with them. Don't know If they have an internet connection. I hope staying with them means extra alertness at night, but not extra forgetfulness during the day

Originally Posted by dreambh

I'm not having very good recall lately. Yesterday I used LaBerge's mantra "I wake up completely after every dream" and I woke up once and could remember one dream, but next morning I could only remember that one.
I thing I will focus only in dream recall and DILDing.
BTW, I see many people signing up for the Intro Class, and I have some little experience already. What do you thing guys, should I move to the DILD class?

Focusing on dream recall is often a profitable thing to do. Good recall just makes dream work more fun in general because even when you don't get lucid you've got all that great non-lucid material when you wake up in the morning. And it really helps you keep in touch with what your dreams are like in a given time period and, I believe, significantly raises your chance of a DILD. Things will more easily remind you of a recent dream that way.

Well, both classes are great! I'm still an Intro Class student to this day, ha ha... Ophelia and gab are both excellent instructors and accomplished lucid dreams so you cannot go wrong here. Check out the course materials for each one and see what you think!

Enjoy your visit with your friends! The novel stimuli of staying in a new place can make for great dream fuel, too, so bring your dream journal.

No lucids this weekend, so I'm close to 10 days without lucidity. My recall was good enough , and I did have one of those vivid, crazy dreams full of dreamsigns that I failed to recognize, but at least it was funny... I may post it later. BTW, how do you get that nice link ("Dreamviews - Dream Journal - Username - Dream Title") to the DJ? Is there a link/menu that I'm missing?


I've decided to go back to MILD because of two or three reasons:
- With all the excitement I did not seriously consider how I got my first lucid here at the DVA: It was a proper MILD, I had been doing it for two or three days in a row when signing up here.
- The technique I was using when I had that LD was exactly the kind of MILD/visualization that OpheliaBlue said she is doing (at the new podcast), and she is obviously someone to learn from.
- I've found I'm going to be very busy during a couple of weeks, which means less energy to keep up with daily LDing practices to induce DILDs.

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

Well, both classes are great! I'm still an Intro Class student to this day, ha ha... Ophelia and gab are both excellent instructors and accomplished lucid dreams so you cannot go wrong here. Check out the course materials for each one and see what you think!

I've decided to stay at Intro Class for now. I'm enjoying your feedback very much, CanisLucidus, and I was concerned about the Intro Class having too many students but I see by your answer you don't mind about that. On top of that I'm probably going to be too busy IRL to start over at the other class, although I checked and the guys at the DILD Class are really good, just as you said.

Originally Posted by dreambh

No lucids this weekend, so I'm close to 10 days without lucidity. My recall was good enough , and I did have one of those vivid, crazy dreams full of dreamsigns that I failed to recognize, but at least it was funny... I may post it later. BTW, how do you get that nice link ("Dreamviews - Dream Journal - Username - Dream Title") to the DJ? Is there a link/menu that I'm missing?

What I do is just paste the URL right into the editing window and usually (but not 100% of the time), the forum software changes it to have the fancy-schmancy title. I wish that I could explain those few times when it doesn't work, but it usually does the nice replacement.

Originally Posted by dreambh

I've decided to go back to MILD because of two or three reasons:
- With all the excitement I did not seriously consider how I got my first lucid here at the DVA: It was a proper MILD, I had been doing it for two or three days in a row when signing up here.
- The technique I was using when I had that LD was exactly the kind of MILD/visualization that OpheliaBlue said she is doing (at the new podcast), and she is obviously someone to learn from.
- I've found I'm going to be very busy during a couple of weeks, which means less energy to keep up with daily LDing practices to induce DILDs.

This sounds like a great approach! MILD is a solid technique. MILD w/ a WBTB is what I rely on for most of my lucids recently, so I like this approach a lot. OpheliaBlue's way with lots of visualization is also what I try to do. It's quite effective and makes the whole process very fun. Takes the pressure off of falling asleep because it's just your job to have fun and daydream. No waking life cares or worries allowed.

Originally Posted by dreambh

I've decided to stay at Intro Class for now. I'm enjoying your feedback very much, CanisLucidus, and I was concerned about the Intro Class having too many students but I see by your answer you don't mind about that. On top of that I'm probably going to be too busy IRL to start over at the other class, although I checked and the guys at the DILD Class are really good, just as you said.

Great, we are very happy to have you here!

Thank you very much CL.
Let me try with the crazy dream I mentioned:
http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/drea...ter-bbq-49357/
Tried even editing several times, and could not make it work. Nevermind, I'll leave it like this

Ha ha, I tried, too! I completely failed. I wish that I knew when DreamViews does and doesn't change the URL around like that. Funny how mysterious that is.

But cool dream either way!

This one, I mean:
http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/drea...ter-bbq-49357/

Tonight I had a quite long dream about having Superman-like superpowers, although the dream was more about my frustration, as a super-villain / terrorist was setting up explosives in a building where I was with my wife and I could not figure out how to save everybody there. I suppose it's related to the fact that this weekend I met IRL a guy who lost his wife at 11S, a really nice person who fortunately nowadays is happy again.
I remember being lucid at one point in the dream, but the emotional content made me quickly go back to non-lucid. I suppose I'm in the right track with MILD as this was my first night of doing MILD again (I was very tired yesterday, so I could not focus on it as I was doing it, and fell asleep quickly)

My duties and concerns are distracting me a lot from my daily LDing practices, so here I am, reviewing my workbook for motivation.

On the other hand I remember having what it seems to be a FA, I don't know if it's my being a newbie, but I find FA's somehow fascinating:
I woke up and check time 3:15am, I though I still had plenty of time 'til 5:30am... Then said to me if I'm taking LDing seriously I need to WBTB from time to time, I resisted but finally decided to make the effort to fully wake up to do a proper WBTB, checked time and it was 5:10am

Originally Posted by dreambh

My duties and concerns are distracting me a lot from my daily LDing practices, so here I am, reviewing my workbook for motivation.

On the other hand I remember having what it seems to be a FA, I don't know if it's my being a newbie, but I find FA's somehow fascinating:
I woke up and check time 3:15am, I though I still had plenty of time 'til 5:30am... Then said to me if I'm taking LDing seriously I need to WBTB from time to time, I resisted but finally decided to make the effort to fully wake up to do a proper WBTB, checked time and it was 5:10am

I'm with you on false awakenings, man. Totally fascinating. The first time that I had one post-LD where I actually tried to write in my dream journal... holy crap!! It just blew my mind.

Shows just what a formidable engine of creation the brain really is. It's cool that we get to have some fun with it.

I totally duffed my WBTB this morning, too. Stayed up a little too late playing video games, I guess, and I was overall just a bit behind on sleep. Your heart is in the right place and you'll get one put together! I'm going to make a serious WBTB push tonight as well. We'll get it.

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

I'm with you on false awakenings, man. Totally fascinating. The first time that I had one post-LD where I actually tried to write in my dream journal... holy crap!! It just blew my mind.

Shows just what a formidable engine of creation the brain really is. It's cool that we get to have some fun with it.

I totally duffed my WBTB this morning, too. Stayed up a little too late playing video games, I guess, and I was overall just a bit behind on sleep. Your heart is in the right place and you'll get one put together! I'm going to make a serious WBTB push tonight as well. We'll get it.

Thank you for your encouragement CL!
Actually I have some stuff related to WBTB and FAs from last night...

Ok, so second LD since I joined the DVA and first TotM (a very basic one) accomplished last night.

BTW, changed my LD count to "15 + x", 15=number of LDs before the DVA, x=number of LDs after enrolling at the DVA.
Here's the dream: http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/drea...k-month-49434/
Last night I went to bed at 10.00pm and some dogs were barking at the neighborhood, so they (or my wife complaining about them) kept waking me up until around 11.30pm when I got up to check on my parakeets (the dogs were near their cage sometimes.) Anyways, every time I woke up and tried to go back to sleep I performed a full MILD (mantras+visualizations) Then I woke up from this LD at 4:30am. Can we call that a WBTB?? Wether WBTB or not it worked!!! A BBTB, Barking Back To Bed!

On the other hand, I also remembered this fragment: http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/drea...ragment-49446/
It's not what you said, CL, but it's interesting because I was writing and I don't remember writing in my dreams, and then I was writing a dream. It felt crazy when I woke up so I cannot imagine how it would feel DJing your LD in a FA (this acronym thing is going insane )

It's also interesting I feel most of the time both in the dream and the dream fragment a part of me knew it was a dream, but only became lucid and acted accordingly for a brief period.

A last thought from that dream:
From the very beginning of the dream I knew it to be a repeating story, that is, I remembered I had already gone through what was about to happen, and I felt that I had to do all the same steps so that the story ended properly, just as I remembered. But I also knew I could be getting a different result if by mistake or by choice I did differently to what I remembered.
This has happened to me several times through my life, and when I wake up I always realize that the original story I was repeating in the dream and I could remember to perfection, was spontaneously created by my mind at the very beginning of the dream.
By the way, I usually feel like I'm in a movie or something like that when having this particular kind of dream.
I wonder if that is something that other people get or if it's a particularity of my dreaming mind... I may start a thread to know other people's thought on that.

No luck last night, although I had a good opportunity.
I remember a quite long dream in which I was at some kind of convention, and then I had some "privacy issues" at the bathroom as people was moving the walls and doors around (I might have to include bathrooms in my dreamsign list) and also losing temper with someone and regretting it straight away, among other things. So many dreamsigns missed!
I'm still working hard on MILDing, but only like 50% of the RCs I was doing one week ago, and have forgotten to review DJ and DS for a few days now, and I'm not writing many dreams even thought my recall is not too bad.
Looking at the positive side, with all the stuff that is going on IWL lately I probably would have forgotten about LDing at this point if I was not here at the DVA, and hey! my short term goals are one LD per week, which I have accomplished already.
But I need to keep up the work, at least the basics!

Originally Posted by dreambh

Ok, so second LD since I joined the DVA and first TotM (a very basic one) accomplished last night.

BTW, changed my LD count to "15 + x", 15=number of LDs before the DVA, x=number of LDs after enrolling at the DVA.
Here's the dream: http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/drea...k-month-49434/

All right!! Congratulations on the lucid, dreambh! AND the basic wings!

Originally Posted by dreambh

Last night I went to bed at 10.00pm and some dogs were barking at the neighborhood, so they (or my wife complaining about them) kept waking me up until around 11.30pm when I got up to check on my parakeets (the dogs were near their cage sometimes.) Anyways, every time I woke up and tried to go back to sleep I performed a full MILD (mantras+visualizations) Then I woke up from this LD at 4:30am. Can we call that a WBTB?? Wether WBTB or not it worked!!! A BBTB, Barking Back To Bed!

That's right, WBTBs can come all kinds of ways! After two months of trying, I finally got my second lucid because I had an accidental wake back to bed. That was when I finally admitted to myself that I needed to get serious about WBTB if I was going to maximize my chances of having a lucid. I really, really resisted it, too.

So yeah, accidental WBTBs can do the trick too. It's a good way to make the most of a frustrating situation!

Originally Posted by dreambh

On the other hand, I also remembered this fragment: http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/drea...ragment-49446/
It's not what you said, CL, but it's interesting because I was writing and I don't remember writing in my dreams, and then I was writing a dream. It felt crazy when I woke up so I cannot imagine how it would feel DJing your LD in a FA (this acronym thing is going insane )

Cool! Very similar experience. You keep at this for long enough and you are bound to have a false awakening where you try to journal your previous dream. It's happened to me a number of times, including quite recently! You get into the habit of DJing when you wake up and it becomes a natural part of your FAs.

Originally Posted by dreambh

From the very beginning of the dream I knew it to be a repeating story, that is, I remembered I had already gone through what was about to happen, and I felt that I had to do all the same steps so that the story ended properly, just as I remembered. But I also knew I could be getting a different result if by mistake or by choice I did differently to what I remembered.
This has happened to me several times through my life, and when I wake up I always realize that the original story I was repeating in the dream and I could remember to perfection, was spontaneously created by my mind at the very beginning of the dream.
By the way, I usually feel like I'm in a movie or something like that when having this particular kind of dream.
I wonder if that is something that other people get or if it's a particularity of my dreaming mind... I may start a thread to know other people's thought on that.

That's a cool dream structure. Very Groundhog Day. I haven't had that experience myself that I can remember but it sounds cool.

No LDs, no recall. Friday is the most stressing day of the week for me, so I wonder sometimes if I should just take it as a day off my dreaming practices. I had trouble falling asleep (stress+hot weather) Usually I fall sleep while visualizing, today I had to finish my MILD repeating my mantra synced with my breathing for relaxation.

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

That's right, WBTBs can come all kinds of ways! After two months of trying, I finally got my second lucid because I had an accidental wake back to bed. That was when I finally admitted to myself that I needed to get serious about WBTB if I was going to maximize my chances of having a lucid. I really, really resisted it, too.

Last night I performed MILD both at the beginning of the night and in a WBTB an awakening of 1-2 minutes I had. I guess should not call it Wake Back To Bed if one doesn't get out of bed at all... What can I say, still resisting