Thread: RAISE YOUR HAND!! - Intro Class Q&A

me: teacher!! how do i make a workbook?? do i just make a thread that is called workbook??

Hey, goldenphoniex. Yep, you make a workbook thread! More info here: http://www.dreamviews.com/intro-clas...sons-i-iv.html You can also have a look at other workbooks as examples if you're stuck on what to put in yours.

Originally Posted by ColdRusalka

So I've been going for about three weeks, my dream recall is way up. I've been doing WBTB pretty religiously, but simply. Any tips or readings on how to get WBTB to work better for me? Check out my workbook if it helps.

Hi ColdRusalka! Congratulations on the increased dream recall. That's a very important step on the way toward regular lucid dreaming, so you're doing important work there. I'd say that it's one of the most important foundation skills for LD.

The direction of my advice would depend on what kind of trouble you're having. If you're having trouble falling back asleep, I'd push things more in the direction of keeping WBTB shorter and working to really relax your mind as you drift back to sleep. For situations like this, clearing your mind and employing tricks like backward counting should be helpful.

Now if the issue is more that the results just don't come like you'd hope/expect, the most important thing would be to focus on the idea of lucid dreaming while you're up and during the time you're falling asleep. Spend that time thinking about lucid dreaming or reading about it, and as you fall back asleep, let yourself marinate in the idea that the very next thing you experience is going to be a lucid dream.

The idea is to really saturate your mind with the idea of lucid dreaming as you prepare to go back to sleep so that it becomes more and more likely for the idea of lucid dreaming to occur to you at the right time. When this notion strikes you at a moment of high awareness / high recall, you are very likely to become lucid at that point.

The second thing you can do in this situation is play with a longer WBTB period. Stephen LaBerge's experiments at the Lucidity Institute showed that longer periods of wakefulness led to an increased likelihood of lucidity in general. In some cases, the difference was dramatic! Here's the study:
Wakefulness Makes Lucidity More Likely

Ophelia showed me this one a while back and it was eye-opening. A lot of people do well with short WBTBs, of course, but this shows that a longer period could be well worth experimenting with, particularly if the results haven't been what you'd hoped.

So overall: play with WBTB length, and spend that time carpet-bombing your brain with the concept of lucidity. That makes it so much more likely for your brain to remember, however vaguely, that you were about to have a lucid dream. Good luck!

no one has posted anything on my workbook. have i done anything wrong with my workbook??

Originally Posted by goldenphoniex

no one has posted anything on my workbook. have i done anything wrong with my workbook??

No of course not.

I replied in there, and so did Fuzzman, if you want to go check it out.

I have a question. If someone with (hypothetically) no natural way of gaining lucid dreams or even vivid dreams, so basically someone who has to learn A LOT before getting any results, would consistently use and practice all the guides and rules and tips from others on this site. Do you think that he/she would be able to come to a point where he/she gets an LD daily?

So TL;DR: Can ANYONE get an LD daily?

From what I have seen, what I have read and from experiences what I can tell you is it really depends on the person. If a person is very focused on being an LDer, practices ADA (all day awareness), does constant RCs (reality checks) and always gets plenty of sleep then maybe, MAYBE he or she could have an LD every day.

For the most part I would think the normal amount for someone who practices LDing and is decent at it is a few to several a month. I think just about every on this site wishes they could have an LD every day but usually it is the select few natural LDers on here that even have a chance.

When I first started my research in this area I was hopeful that I would be able to have one every night but to this point I think I have had two nights in a row as my maximum.

I do remember reading someones journal who was practicing a lot and really really trying to have an LD every day and it seemed they were making good progress. I believe their screen name started with dolphin.

Good luck on your quest!

I have a question. If someone with (hypothetically) no natural way of gaining lucid dreams or even vivid dreams, so basically someone who has to learn A LOT before getting any results, would consistently use and practice all the guides and rules and tips from others on this site. Do you think that he/she would be able to come to a point where he/she gets an LD daily?

So TL;DR: Can ANYONE get an LD daily?

It is possible but it does require work and persistence. We have some very frequent lders here that have started from close to zero lds to lots of lds, some on a daily basis. We hold competitions from time to time (DVA, General Lucid dreaming) that give a glimpse of what's possible.

I think the key to more lds is never give up on lding and slowly work your way up. It may take a while to get there but it's totally worth it!

A lucid every day is something that for most people takes a lot of work, but it can be done. (Not by me yet, though! )

A good example of a super-frequent lucid dreamer is hukif, who typically experiences multiple lucid dreams every night. He was not a natural lucid dreamer but spent several weeks obsessively trying to come up with a technique that made him constantly aware of his state. (Whether he was dreaming or not.)

His personal technique was to in the back of his mind be constantly aware of how gravity felt. His dream gravity had a slightly different feel that he could reliably discern from waking life, and he took advantage of that by making it a rather constant background process in his brain to see how gravity felt.

This may almost sound easy when you read the description, but from what I gather he was extremely obsessive and focused during this time, also trying and rejecting several other ideas that just didn't have a high enough success rate. It takes serious work and dedication (more than I think I can personally afford), but it can be done!

Thanks for the replies.
Awareness is also the thing I am going for. I've yet to have my first LD though. But once I get it I plan to work on my dream awareness so that I can find out what the differences are for me personally. And what I should be focusing on. It's good to know that it is possible And don't worry I am in no rush. I'm still working on my recall as of now, and I have some other things I probably have to work on, like stabilization. I'm just taking things steps at a time. At this point I'd be thrilled with 1 LD a month.

Since this is the Q&A I'll just be dropping another question I have here if you guys don't mind. Basically I have started my DJ 4 days ago. And I can recall about 3 dreams, on average, a night. Though this seems to get higher and higher. Two days ago I knew I had 5, though I forgot 1 or 2 of them, because I didn't write them down immediately.
Google says the average Joe has 3-5 dreams a night. With 7 being really high. So does this mean I somehow already remember every single dream? I also seem to wake up after each one automatically. Could that have anything to do with it?

I guess it's a good thing. But knowing why seems important to me, so that I can possibly abuse it

Thanks!

Again everyone is different and this totally depends on your sleep cycles and how much sleep you are getting. Sleep cycles are usually about 90 minutes and your REM periods get longer during each sleep cycle. It is possible to have dreams in non REM but REM is where a majority of your dreams occur. If you get 6 hours of sleep a night that is about 4 sleep cycles and its a good chance you will have some sort of dream during each of those. If you get 9 hours of sleep then you should get around 6 dreams. A lot of my dreams chain together very strangely so what may seem like 4 separate dreams is actually just a chain of dreams with a strange type of transition between them. Sometimes I lay very still after I wake up and just think what I was just doing, then I work through my dream backwards and try to remember key points and then build the details off of those key points.

While it is good to remember a lot of dreams a night try to think about details in your dreams, colors, smell, touch, taste, really describe what you see around you, absolutely everything you can remember. I have slipped in this a bit but the more you try to remember about your dreams the more likely you will spot something that isn't quite right and maybe become lucid. I can sometimes get a good 6 or 7 pages of detail from a single dream.

Great job keeping up the journal, try not to let it slip even when it gets time consuming. Start looking for dream signs in your journal as well, so if you see that in real life you do a RC every time and there is another good way to get lucid.

It is good that you wake after each cycle, just remember to either write down your dream or jot some notes at least.

Well there is my two cents!

I'm at 9hours of sleep most of the time. So I guess I have some room for improvement

Originally Posted by 501

Great job keeping up the journal, try not to let it slip even when it gets time consuming. Start looking for dream signs in your journal as well, so if you see that in real life you do a RC every time and there is another good way to get lucid.

It is good that you wake after each cycle, just remember to either write down your dream or jot some notes at least.

It's good that you mention that. I was just thinking today that the Journalling was getting quite tiresome. I had about 2 pages 2 nights ago. Mostly 2 dreams. I can easily imagine it getting to a point where it is 5+ pages every morning. I'ts quite hard to start writing down a dream in the morning when you know you will be writing for while.(I am quite lazy in the mornings ) Then again, I know I regret it when I don't write them down, because I really wanna know what it was about Also I love reading them again. That's enough motivation for now.
I hope it get's easier when it's more routine though. Or that I find other ways to make it more enjoyable.

Anyways, thanks for your 2 cents!

In the first lesson, it says to list the times you naturally go to sleep and wake up. I wake up to an alarm every day, so how would I list that? Also, it says to do an RC when you notice something weird in the day. I don't really know what would be considered weird, and can't you just do an RC whenever? Also how and where would I list the RC's in my workbook as well? For each, would I just make a new post in my workbook each day and list all my RC's and the weird thing I noticed and then the times I went to bed and woke up?

Also, it says to establish a night time routine, how would I go about doing that?

Finally, I read that Hukif created his own RC that works for him. I think it was the Gravity RC or something like that. In this course, are we encouraged to do and create new things that work specifically for us? And would we get help with that?

Thank you for the help.

EDIT: Also, in the dream journal, do we have to list every single detail and write it like a story? Because I remember multiple dreams a night in detail and once it took me 3 hours to write all my dreams out, and I don't have time for that everyday. So is there a different way to do it?

Originally Posted by Sharpshoey

In the first lesson, it says to list the times you naturally go to sleep and wake up. I wake up to an alarm every day, so how would I list that?

If you always use an alarm, then don't worry about it. I'm the same way.

Also, it says to do an RC when you notice something weird in the day. I don't really know what would be considered weird, and can't you just do an RC whenever?

Personally I do both! But it's nice to practice RC when something really freaky happens, or when you notice a dream sign, as well as just randomly throughout the day.

Also how and where would I list the RC's in my workbook as well? For each, would I just make a new post in my workbook each day and list all my RC's and the weird thing I noticed and then the times I went to bed and woke up?

Yes, that's how I would do it. The workbook can be anything that helps you, so you can customize it how you want.

Also, it says to establish a night time routine, how would I go about doing that?

Here's an excellent guide: http://www.dreamviews.com/attaining-...-lucidity.html

Finally, I read that Hukif created his own RC that works for him. I think it was the Gravity RC or something like that. In this course, are we encouraged to do and create new things that work specifically for us? And would we get help with that?

Oh yeah, the gravity RC is a great one. But basically, an RC is just anything that increases your awareness in a particular moment, including sensory and thought.

Thank you for the help.

EDIT: Also, in the dream journal, do we have to list every single detail and write it like a story? Because I remember multiple dreams a night in detail and once it took me 3 hours to write all my dreams out, and I don't have time for that everyday. So is there a different way to do it?

I know what you mean, I have long ones too alot haha. I would say, write every detail down if you have problems with dream recall. Since you don't have that problem it seems, then you have the option of recording your dreams if that's faster, or what I do sometimes is just bullet point a bunch of important bits.

Thank you for the reply. You helped me out a lot.

Originally Posted by Sharpshoey

Also, it says to do an RC when you notice something weird in the day. I don't really know what would be considered weird, and can't you just do an RC whenever? Also how and where would I list the RC's in my workbook as well?

Everything Ophelia said!

To add though, the anything weird part is pretty important since dreams are often very weird. If you find yourself during the day asking "why is that like that?", "why is that person doing that?" or even "hmmmm. thats weird." just do a good RC to make sure its real. Believe me the first time you do this in a dream and realize its a dream is quite an exhilarating moment and you will be in utter amazement that this is actually a dream. I was so excited for my first 15 or more that I would usually wake myself up almost right away.

I do random RC throughout the day, usually asking myself questions about the environment or checking my hands (has been my favorite). If you notice that sometimes you get very angry or emotional very easy or you cant find stuff. If I am really mad or stressed all of a sudden I always do an RC and when I cant find something I do an RC.

This is another reason that dream journals and dream signs are so important so that when you see them you will do an RC. For instance one of my dream signs is water. So when I am by a pool, in a pool, or by any water I do an RC.

Good luck to ya!

Firstly, I'd like to say that this is my first post on Dream Views and that it has been a wonderful resource thus far. Anyway, last night I had what I'm fairly certain was a lucid dream, because I was completely in control of my actions in the dream world. I kept checking my hands and telling myself that I was dreaming so that I didn't wake up, but maybe 5 minutes into the dream, I could feel myself in my physical body. It was as though if I did anything in the dream, I would do it in real life, like I woke up but could still see the dream as a foggy image. My question is whether or not this was due to me not properly stabilizing the dream, and also I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else?

Originally Posted by morrilet

Firstly, I'd like to say that this is my first post on Dream Views and that it has been a wonderful resource thus far. Anyway, last night I had what I'm fairly certain was a lucid dream, because I was completely in control of my actions in the dream world. I kept checking my hands and telling myself that I was dreaming so that I didn't wake up, but maybe 5 minutes into the dream, I could feel myself in my physical body. It was as though if I did anything in the dream, I would do it in real life, like I woke up but could still see the dream as a foggy image. My question is whether or not this was due to me not properly stabilizing the dream, and also I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else?

Welcome, morrilet! Congratulations on the lucid dream! This is a huge milestone. If you stick with your practices, that was just a taste of all the cool stuff that's ahead for you!

I've had this sensation of losing my connection with the dream and becoming more aware of the physical body. In general, the best advice is to just remain focused on the dream. Think only of the fact that it is a dream and do something intense and sensory, like touching some part of the dream scenery. Really take in the detail of the experience and draw yourself into the dream world. Something as simple as rubbing your hands together can be a good way to stay locked in.

If you still see the dream as a foggy image, this may also be a good time to perform what's known as a "DEILD" (or dream exit-initiated lucid dream). Sometimes upon waking from a dream it's easy to slip back into dreaming. You can try just holding on to your awareness and focusing only on the scene that you were just in. If all goes well, a new dream will begin with your awareness still intact. From there, just go have more fun!

Congratulations again and let us know how you do! Keep up the good work and enjoy the journey.

Hi everybody! Long time no see, hope everyone's doing fine.
Anyways, I have noticed lately that I can't shake the feeling of being pulled down by gravity, not even when I day dream let alone when it's an actual dream and, because of that, I can't fly in my lucid dreams. So what's the trick here?

Hey Haithem! Always great to see you around here!

I've actually never tried shaking the feeling of gravity in day dreams, interesting. That is probably a difficult thing to manage because in a day dream, physical reality is there acting upon you and would be very hard to ignore. In dreams, though, the only gravity that matters is what we do or do not allow to influence us.

If I have a little flying glitch, I find that the most effective thing is to just pretend the problem isn't happening. Seriously. I'll think, "Nah, I'm flying just fine..." and things will start heading in the right direction.

Focus all of your thoughts on success. Keep yourself so busy thinking about what IS working that it crowds out doubt. You simply won't have space in your brain to accommodate the fears that might hold you back! The whole dream experience is created by you, and if all you can think about is success, success is the only possible result!

Another fun trick is to point at what you're flying toward to really focus yourself on your goal and destination. Concentrate your mind on that, your goal, and again leave no room for the other things that are distracting you. Don't worry about avoiding thoughts of failure. Just bombard yourself with thoughts of success and it will all happen naturally.

If you find yourself really getting hung up, other wonderful modes of transportation like the "Hulk Jump" are extremely viable too. (This is a super high amplitude jump in the style employed by The Incredible Hulk!)

Good luck! I assure you that you can fly like a bird in your lucid dreams. If you believe that, too, you'll soon get to see it for yourself!

A little while ago, I laid down on the couch and closed my eyes. When I did, my eyes began spazzing out and moving automatically. And it moves faster and faster every few seconds. And what is weird is I can feel something on the sides of my head when my eyes are closed for too long. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is this normal? Is it anything related to sleep or anything? Or is it just my imagination? And the feeling begins to press against my cheek if I close my eyes for a very long time.

Hey nexus, welcome to intro class!

I have heard from a few members that they have noticed that their eyes begin to move before entering a dream. Personally, I don't notice my own eye movements. This seems to be something natural, especially if you think that one of the sleep phases is called REM (Rapid eye movement).

How long should I keep a DJ before actually LDing or trying to do the methods such as DILD and WILD?