Pickman's Workbook

[Pickman]

Hi, this is my workbook in which I will attempt to log my efforts on a daily basis. I like this method as it holds me to account and keeps me working on this regularly. Reality Checks: -Checking clocks (the time is always wrong) - Finger through the palm of the hand Dream Signs: -The Moon (if visible in the sky, the phase of the moon seems to change each time I look at it in my dreams. Often the phase is completely different to waking reality.) -Seeing pets that have been deceased for years Short-Term Goals: -At least one lucid dream a week -Find the right technique for me Long-Term Goals: -The ability to lucid dream on a regular basis -Master WILD Lucid/Dream Recall History: -I have had sporadic lucid dreams over the years, but they have started to become a little more frequent as I take an interest in the subject. I had one success with MILD which I haven't been able to replicate since I didn't persist with it. Current Technique: -DILD

[Chimpertainment]

Welcome Pickman! glad to have you here

[Pickman]

14th August Update I turned in at around 12:40, although it is difficult to place when I woke up, because I kept on waking up at around 7am. This would have been a perfect time to practice the technique where you go back into the dream from waking up (forgotten the acronym). Unfortunately I was concerned about my neck muscles which I have recently strained. I woke up to find myself lying on my side instead of my back, which does not help. I felt the pain in my neck, which also didn't help. So I had to move myself to put my body in a better position, and disrupted what could have been a transition into a lucid dream. Better luck tonight I suppose.

[Pickman]

15th August Update I turned at 1am, which isn't ideal. While lying in bed, I think I nearly accomplished a WILD. I started seeing dream images in my mind while lying still on my back. But then I dropped off. At first my dreams were non-lucid. I was in a passive state for the first dream, where I was sending e-mails and text messages to an old flatmate from my University days. Then I started taking a more active role in my dreams, when I dreamed that I met another ex-flatmate from Uni and we were setting up a catering business. As soon as business came into the picture, it's like my mind just switched on and I started coming up with ideas to discuss with him. I woke up at around 7am, but then I had what might have been a success, I'm really not sure. I think I dropped off, and I found myself walking along a path that runs alongside a building in my city. It was night and there were no street lights on. It felt more like a daydream, because I was still aware of my body lying on the bed. I knew this wasn't waking reality, but when I tried to turn the streetlights on with the power of my mind, I couldn't do it, which suggests that it was more than a daydream. Then I found myself further up the path at the local bus station. In the distance I could see 3-4 tornadoes. One of them came across the car park in my direction. I didn't feel any strong winds that would have suggested the close proximity of a tornado, but instead of asking myself "Is this a dream?", I just thought "RUN". I think my survival instinct got there before my desire to check my surroundings. So what was this? A success, or a near-miss? I think it was at least a near-miss, but I would appreciate any input on this.

[Pickman]

16th August Update Not much to report. I turned in at around 1:10am, which again, is not ideal. All I remember about my non-lucid dream is a crumbling old house (possibly a reflection of my state of mind due to poor sleep) and a short set from Bill Hicks. There was no lucidity, although I wish I could remember what Bill Hicks was saying.

[Pickman]

17th August Update Another non-lucid dream, too boring to mention. There was the possibility of going into another WILD state when I woke up early this morning, but I seem to have this automatic reaction on waking to turn on my side, breaking the dreaming state. I think it is because I always want to check the time on my alarm clock, or reach down and write my dream down on my notepad. This is something to work on.

[Pickman]

18th August Update This morning I had the same problem as the previous morning - my instinct to move out of position as soon as I wake up. This is something I will have to work on. I think that if I can lie still I should have some chance of achieving a WILD after a dream. Other than that, just another non-lucid dream that I can barely remember. I have noticed that my dream recall seems to get worse as my diet turns to crap. I wake up feeling drained of energy as well. I have spent the past week overindulging, but since I am back at work tomorrow I can start to clean up my diet and my routine.

[Pickman]

19th August Update. I am still experiencing the same problem with poor dream recall, and moving upon waking. The best I can do right now is work on my night-time routine, as I have been turning in at 1am a lot recently. I am sure that my dream recall should improve once I stop browsing the internet at night and eating food that bloats me.

[Pickman]

20th August Update. There was some progress last night. I turned in at 12:50 instead of past 1am, which is a small change in the right direction. I did some stretches in the dark before bed and that seemed to help. Dream recall is getting better since my diet cleared up. I still think there is a link, even if I don't have the science to back it up - just a pet theory of mine. Not only was dream recall better, but the colours in this dream were vivid and amazing. I saw a beautiful sunset that seemed to shine right into my house. One of those sunsets that has a pinkish-orange glow to it. My bedroom had a huge canvas painting behind my bed that looked stunning, and gave me ideas for redecorating my room. There were some other weird moments involving other dream characters - a flirtation with someone from work, my brother trying to kill a group of people with a bomb and failing, seeing my nan's dog who died about ten years ago (this should have made me lucid), and getting some great advice from an African-American guy that I wish I could remember. The dream ended with three huge blimps from the old Command & Conquer: Red Alert games that were coming to bomb my city. I looked out my window at the sea to see five black helicopters emerge from the water and fly overhead. No bombs fell, everything was fine, and I woke up. There were so many things that should have made me lucid but didn't. I'm not sure if we are supposed to use these workbooks as dream journals - is that okay?

[Pickman]

21st August Update. Dream recall is still going well, even if I did turn in at 1:20am. I still need to get this bedtime routine thing in order. I had to get up early this morning, so I couldn't just lie in bed and attempt a DEILD,because I knew that would make me oversleep. I did, however, note down the strange symbolism of my dream and spend the rest of the day trying to unpick it.

[Pickman]

22nd August Update. Turned in 1:20am again, which is not ideal. I'm going to have to spend this weekend settling down to a better schedule. Dream recall was minimal - I remembered a few parts here and there, but it was fragmented. I woke up early at 7:30am. I attempted a DEILD, but it just wasn't happening.

[Pickman]

23rd August Update - My first successful lucid dream! I turned in at 1am (again, not ideal, but I have this weekend to sort this out). After having a non-lucid dream that I recall much of, I woke up at 5:40am. I got up, went to the toilet, and went back to bed again with the intention of inducing a WBTB. It really worked. I found myself sat on the edge of the bed, as if it was early in the morning, but I was about 80% sure that I was dreaming. I completely forgot to do any reality checks, but I was mostly sure that this was a dream. I walked out into the hallway to visit the bathroom like I normally do and saw my mother in the doorway of a bedroom. I spoke to her, and she seemed uncharacteristically docile, just answered my questions with yes/no answers. After returning from the bathroom, she was just stood there looking at nothing. I was certain that this was a dream. But by the time I got back to my bedroom and started thinking about what I was going to do with my lucidity, I woke up. But this still counts, right?

[Pickman]

24h August Update. Not much to report. I turned in much too late (2am). I didn't sleep very well and woke up at around 7:30am. All I remember of my dreams is seeing tunnels filled with water, and being told by someone that the dead have to travel through water to reach the "other side".

[Pickman]

25th August Update. Once again, I turn in on Saturday night at 1am, and wake up the next morning at 8am. I only remember a dream about seeing old school friends, and not much else besides. I need to get my sleep routine in order, so here is what I am planning to do: First, I should start to record my dreams from my bedside notes into my DJ. Second, I need to have some kind of stretching routine to improve my flexibility. When I used to do yoga, I would have a routine that I would for for 15 minutes before bed, and my sleep was really deep and restful. I'm going to start off with something a little less time consuming. I intend to do a workout from MobilityWOD | All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves. , which is a little less time consuming, but I could ramp it up for a bit longer as the time goes on. Third, I need to get back into meditation. Ideally I would like to do 30 minutes before bed, but I think 10-15 minutes would be more realistic, since I need to get back into it. I have a few meditation podcasts to listen to, so I could start there. The stretching and meditation could be interchangeable, but the DJ work should be out of the way first, since it is more cerebral and I will need a break before getting to sleep. Assuming that anyone is actually reading my workbook, what do you people think? Any suggestions? Is it good/bad?

[Pickman]

26th August Update. Turned in at around midnight, woke up at 8am. I can barely remember any of my dreams. I finally got around to making a list of reasons why I would like to lucid dream. After getting all the fun stuff out of the way (flying, basejumping from skyscrapers, etc), I would like to do the following: - See if I could practice and learn a new skill during a lucid dream session. - Try and meditate, and see how this is different from meditation in waking life. - Experience transformation into something non-human. - Face a fear. It has also occured to me that I have not been recording RC's in this workbook like I am supposed to. I suppose I had better start doing that in the future.

[Pickman]

27th August Update. I turned in at around 12:30 - an improvement on what I have been doing lately. I woke up at 8am. I had a dream about still being at University and trying to figure out where myself and my flatmate (ex-flatmate in real life) were going to live next year. This was going to involve discussions with a Japanese businessman who was a landlord. I performed RC's throughout the day, mostly at work. Mainly the finger through the palm thing, although I did try reading signs, looking away, then reading them again to see if they still read the same.

[Pickman]

28th August Update. I turned in at around 12:50 (starting to slip again). I had a dream, but I can't remember it. I woke up for the first time at 7am. Between 7am and 8am when I finally got up, I had a series of dreams where I would doze off and wake up briefly. There could have been some great opportunities for DEILD's here, but I was so tired I that I never quite managed to take advantage of them. I practiced the RC's throughout the day, as usual.

[Pickman]

29th August Update. Nothing much to report - I turned in at around 12:50, I had a dream that I could recall about half of, then woke up at 8am. Spending too long looking at a PC screen before turning in probably didn't help.

[Pickman]

30th August Update. Turned in at 1am, and I can't remember any dreams. After waking at 7:30am, I had a near-DEILD experience. I was in one of those daydream like states while lying in bed, when one of the dream characters started acting independently, moving behind me. I took this as a sign that this could be the start of a lucid dream, but it never happened. I just woke up, and managed to get out of bed at 8am.

[Pickman]

31st August Update. Turned in at 1am again. I woke up at 7am, but I didn't have the time to record my dreams because there was some emergency with a burst water main to deal with and I didn't have the time to go back over my dreams. That's all I have to report I'm afraid.

[Pickman]

1st September Update. Another crazy night - turned in at 1am, spent too long looking at a monitor screen, regretted it the next morning. I have a vague memory of attending a lecture in my dream, but that's it. I'm pretty knackered today after a few days where I haven't had any proper sleep, so hopefully I can get back on track.

[Pickman]

2nd September Update. Turned in 12:50am (getting better), and I recall some of my dreams. I was probably too tired to have the presence of mind to dream lucidly. I remember dreaming about a former colleague opening a comic book shop in my local city centre, and hiding from something in a cramped cabin in the woods. I woke up at 7:30am, and I could have gone down the DEILD route, but I had to get up early this morning.

[Pickman]

3rd September update. Turned in at 1:10am - not my fault this time. I had to deal with an annoying customer on ebay. Not what I needed before turning in. Having said that, my dream recall seems to be back on the up. I woke up twice in the night after a dream cycle, which seemed to revolve about going back to University. I woke up at 5:40am, and decided to attempt a WBTB. It didn't work. Woke up again at 7am and attempted a DEILD. Again, failed. I finally got up at 8:30am.

[Pickman]

4th September Update. I turned in at 1am, again, thanks to ebay. I woke up at 6:55am, well-rested, but I didn't have the time to record my dreams as I had a doctor appointment to get up for. I know I did have a lengthy dream but I couldn't remember any of it. Sorry for yet another boring report.

[Pickman]

5th September Update. Turned in at 1am. Slept okay through to 7am, good dream recall, but I attempted to DEILD and failed. I needed the toilet so I thought I would try WBTB. This also failed. It was getting close to 8am and I was about to give up, when I started to have this light dream, almost like a daydream, but I was in my local pharmacy which I don't generally daydream about. Then I saw a new character just emerge from a back room, and I realized that this could be more than daydream. But I had to get up soon, and so I couldn't do anything with it.