LucidNightmares Workbook

Actively started Lucid Training: February 28, 2014

Attained first Lucid Dream: March 17, 2014

This workbook is mainly to keep me motivated and to give me something to read over during WBTB.

Short-Term Goals
x REMEMBER TO REALITY CHECK
x Have my first Lucid
x Make dreams more vivid and less "blurry" around the edges
x Build landscapes/scenery in which I can play out the goals I'm wanting
- Consistent LDs at least once per week

Long-Term Goals
- Full lucidity or at least 90% (multiple LDs per week)
- Interact with dream characters. Preferably gaining insight, and to contact recurring dream characters to ask who they are/what they want with me/etc
- Practice real life skills and exercises pertaining to art and creativity in the dream world
- Explore my inner creativity and my inner artist/gaining inspiration through my own subconscious alone

Reality Checks
- Looking at hands: Look at hands and observe their detail. Count fingers.
- Pinching Nose: I take normal breathes, and during an exhale/beginning of an inhale I pinch my nose and expect to be able to breathe. If I can't, obviously I'm dreaming
- Pressing thumb through palm: I rub my thumb on my palm, I gently push and imagine my finger can go right through my palm. If it can't, I'm not dreaming, but I imagine how it would feel if it could

Dream Signs
- Fiance
- One or both of my little sisters

Dream Recall
- 4+ dreams recalled if woken up throughout the night
- 1 and 1/2 dreams recalled if I sleep all through the night

Current Technique
- MILD while going to sleep
- WBTB (tried waking up after 6 hours, had too much trouble going back to sleep, trying 4.5 instead)
- Trying to accomplish DILD
- Dream Journaling to identify dream signs and for own reference. During the day I'll go over each dream again. Important objects, people, feelings and places are bolded and colour coded, and then listed at the beginning of each dream along with the type of dream (ND, WILD, DILD, etc.) and the amount of lucidity experienced

Future Plans
- Try to find the technique that works best for me personally

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Mantras To Try
- Tonight when I dream, I’ll realize I’m dreaming
- I am aware and my dreams are vivid (during meditation)

[reserved]

I think I almost experienced a WILD last night? (if anyone can confirm that'd be great!) I woke up from a very light sleep after dozing off while during my MILD, and started repeating my mantras again (I didn't know I had dozed off for a second so I continued my MILD) and observed how my body felt. I felt very numb and slightly tingly, but it faded because of the noise and light of the computer my bf was on. I ended up just trying to get to sleep normally

I tried to do my MILDs again last night. Does anyone have any advice on how to stay relaxed while sleeping with someone else? Unfortunately my SO often gets slight sleep twitches as he's falling asleep, and it jars my concentration. I managed to get fully relaxed and got to my visualization part, I started imagining me and my little sisters in our dad's backyard playing with our dog..but then I got knocked out of concentration again by my SO's dog needing in the room. I've been very pissed off and frustrated trying to do these exercises at night only to have to get up to let in or out this darn dog (he wants in and out of the room CONSTANTLY through the day or night. I know it's normal dog stuff but it's pretty annoying when I'm trying to do something important, especially at night when I'm trying to sleep).

Anyway, I ended up just trying to get to sleep normally, again. My alarm went off at about 4:00 a.m for WBTB. I laid still for a moment to remember what I had been dreaming about, then started some light mantras and fell back asleep. I woke up about 3 times last night, each time during/after a dream, I didn't get up to write these down like normal, instead I laid still and thought about them until I felt I had enough mental notes down to fall back asleep. I had 3 very short dreams but only remembered 2, so when I got up for the morning I wrote them down.

I have figured out that my little sisters may be a dream sign for me. One or both of them have been in 3 out of 7 of my dreams the past 3 days. This may or may not be hard for me to get used to using as an RC because I am currently away from my little sisters? I'll need a lot more dreams written down before I decide.

I don't know if I'm just doing it wrong or what, but MILD seems to be doing nothing at all for me. The first time I did it and was able to do it uninterrupted I did have a very long detailed dream, but it may just be because the last few nights I've been interrupted and haven't been able to do it properly? My dreams are no more or less vivid than they normally are, and I haven't RC'd once in my dream, regardless of doing them throughout the day and meaning it when I do them. Should I try some other method instead? I have no idea what I should do next, or if I should just continue trying my MILDs. I'll wait and see.

Super frustrated. Only time I was able to perform a full technique properly and without interruption was the first day I tried, after that just one interruption after another. I'm glad that I don't have to add in any dream recall techniques, because I don't think I'd be able to handle more mantras being interrupted than I already do! Since I don't have any trouble remembering dreams so far, I think I am actually going to save WBTB for weekends (not counting naturally waking up during the night), I don't need to do it otherwise. Going to try doing mediation today and from now on though and see if that doesn't help me become more aware when in dreams.

Still no lucids last night. Did MILD as I went to sleep, however the SO stayed up late again. He agreed to be quiet, but the light from the computer kept taking away my focus, even though my eyes were closed. Seriously considering sleeping in the extra room every once in awhile so I can actually properly complete my MILDs. I managed to get to sleep, but an hour and a half later than what I wanted. Had a short funny dream, woke up for WBTB. Still no lucid. I have figured out that my SO could probably be a pretty reliable dream sign, though he's not in every one, but I'm guessing dream signs rarely are in every single dream. Got up for about 20 minutes to skim the forums, write down my dream and try listening to some golden flow meditation music to help me get back to sleep. I tried some light mantras also. It took awhile but I did end up falling back to sleep. Had another nice long detailed dream and remembered it upon waking. However this one started out very normal. At one point I was putting on some makeup in the mirror, which I've read of people using mirrors as their RC because normally you look distorted, but I looked completely normal, so I didn't RC..I'll keep trying. It's 10x more frustrating when the seemingly normalcy of the dream when starting convinces you it's not a dream, so when things get weird you don't even question it, bluh. I'm still going to wait about 2 weeks before I try different methods. I recently read about RILD (reward induced lucid dreams), and I may try that at some point, if I ever have my first lucid.

I think today I'll use my SO as my RC reminder. It'll be interesting since I see him literally all day, and I don't want to start doing RCs when I see him just out of mindless habit because I see him so often. I'll figure something out.

Does anyone find doing daily mantras AND RCs during the day helps more or less?

Welcome to the intro class! Sorry no one has talked to you yet. :P

Looks like you are off to a great start. It is nice to see people actively start LDing. Normally when people start trying to LD, it will take a month or so to get the first one. Time can differ depending on person. After a few LDs they will start to get consistent and you can start having like 1/14 days or 1/week. It is a difficult start up, but if you keep consistent, your LDs will get consistent. If you have any questions please ask. :)

Thanks for the welcome C: I'm bummed I wasn't one of the lucky ones to LD the same day I started practicing, but it's no big loss. I've been trying to stay consistent definitely, and I HAVE noticed that on the nights I'm able to successfully (or at least 80% successfully) perform my MILDs, I have very long detailed dreams, I'm guessing this is a good sign?

Yea. Dreams are required for lucidity. The longer dreams you have, the more chances you have to lucid. :)

Took a day off today to fix my sleep schedule. Going to attempt WILD either tonight or if I end up taking a nap today. Problem I need to fix: Trying to go to sleep while hungry. Makes it way too hard to sleep, and then when I try doing WBTB I'm too hungry to even think about doing more MILDs or WILDs. Going to try eating something hearty before bed as a snack like a peanut butter sandwich or something.

Damnit. I was attempting a WILD from cold last night for S&G, and I got really close (I think?). I don't think I experienced full SP, or if I did I didn't notice. I was getting into that hazy like state, and I started hearing birds chirping (how relaxing) and small whooshing noises every once in awhile, and I heard a dog bark once. So I started imagining myself in a park setting. However I got jolted awake by something and, well yeah. Just ended up going to sleep normally. I invested in some earplugs and an eye mask for the days my SO stays up later than me. If the noises I hear when doing WILDs are always birds, then that's cool with me though.

I tried doing WBTB with help of my SO by waking me up at 5:30, however after getting up to use the restroom and lying back down, I was unable to feel tired enough to maintain my in between state, plus my dream I had been having wasn't one I wanted to really put myself back in, so that probably didn't help. I guess I'll need to start waking up earlier for WBTB, maybe after 4 hours of sleep so I'm actually still tired enough to go back to bed quickly.

You should read some tutorials around here and forget about SP, it is a useless goal, your goal when WILDing should be to sleep.

Aah no I have actually read them. I'm aware SP is in no way a goal for WILDs, I was just taking note of how my body felt, and the way it felt was like a half in half between SP(?)

Ah, but it isn't sp, what you are feeling is actually just the sensations of falling asleep! It is good and progress, but be careful, because when you get to thatnpoint you want to start thinking more about a dream body than your waking, so you kind of have yo ignore it.

Have you been trying any DILD?

Aah okay. I have been trying MILD when going to sleep to try and induce a DILD, but so far no luck. Been doing RC's during the day (looking at hands, counting fingers etc. thinking about where I was/what I was doing 10-15 minutes ago) I've identified a few possible dream signs, but while dreaming my mind never makes the connection. Either it's too early for me to tell if these methods will work for me in the long run, or these just aren't working with my dreaming mindset(?) I think it may be too early to tell.

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Lucids from now on will be written to my dreamviews DreamJournal.

Congratulations on the lucids! So naps seem to be your prime lucid time. That's actually very common. Afternoon naps are great for me too. You seem to have really great recall, even from the dream that ended up non-lucid. Bravo! Keep going like that. Whatever you're doing, it's working. :)