Brigid's Workbook

Here's my workbook! Woohoo! I joined DV a while ago and I've been interested in lucid dreaming for a few years, but I tend to get sidetracked; and therefore I haven't achieved many lucid dreams. I'm hoping that doing this class will help me to stay on track and figure out methods that work best for me. :)

Reality Checks:

I try to do reality checks whenever I happen to think about lucid dreaming. I admit, I haven't been doing a lot of them lately but I'm trying to pick up the habit again. I usually go for the finger-through-the-palm RC, since that's the one I feel works best for me. I also try to keep a general awareness going throughout the day, and try to question the reality of things happening around me. (I also tend to do RCs when I see something strange/unusual in my waking life.)

Dream Signs:

Stairs, museums, subways/trains, schools I used to go to (middle school, high school, etc.), family and/or family reunions, vacations/travel, my high school friends ... I don't have a lot of specific ones that I've noticed, but those are some that seem to appear fairly frequently.

Short-Term Goals:

- GET MORE SLEEP. :P This is probably the biggest problem standing in my way. I tend to go to bed later than I should, plus I'm a pretty bad insomniac a lot of the time. Probably going to bed earlier and trying not to be on my computer so late at night should help. Ideally I'd like to get around 8 hours of sleep a night.
- Increase my dream recall. I try to remember at least one dream per night, but I'd like to remember more than that. I've found that if I'm good about recording my dreams as soon as I wake up, and keeping it up for a long time, I can usually remember around 3 a night.
- Remember to keep still and try to recall my dreams whenever I wake up.
- Remember to do RCs every day.

Long-Term Goals:

Be able to have longer and more vivid lucid dreams. (I sometimes become lucid in my dreams, but I usually forget that I'm dreaming soon after the realization, or I wake up almost right away.)


Lucid/Dream Recall History:

Errrm, I haven't had very many that I remember. I've had a few dreams where I realized I was dreaming, but––as I said earlier––I tend to forget or wake up almost right away. But I've also had a few dreams where I was kind of observing something (kind of like watching a movie) and could control what was happening even though I wasn't physically a part of the dream, if that makes sense ... and those were pretty cool.

Current Technique:

At the very least, I try to keep my dream journal updated and write in it every day, even if I hardly remember anything from my dreams. I usually find that when I consistently update my dream journal, I remember my dreams a lot more clearly and they become more complex and vivid. I also try to make a habit of doing RCs every day, at least a few times a day. I've also tried waking myself up early and going back to sleep, and I've found that to be helpful; I may try that technique again since I haven't been doing it for a while.

Brigid, sounds like you got a good start there! I alas know all about the tendency to forget to RC, and I am also working on improving it again to make it more into a habit, but I find I have to be extra careful to not just do an RC mindlessly. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you good luck in your efforts!

Thanks Joanna! :D