Dragon's Workbook

[Zyangur]

Dragon's Workbook Heyo. So, like I said, I discovered all of this back in January, but I lost interest, and haven't been focusing, so I don't really have much of a start. I feel like what I've had before will come back fast however . Reality Checks: - Plugging Nose - Dream Signs: - Haven't focused on this yet Short-Term Goals: - Have a Lucid Dream within 2-4 weeks of this - In LD, be able to stabilize and stay in the dream long enough to do something Long-Term Goals: - Shapeshift - Have a successful WILD - Have at least one LD a week - Complete a task of the month - Complete a task of the year Lucid/Dream Recall History: - My recall is on and off. Sometimes I remember and sometimes I don't. Also, for some reason, I seem to have a better recall at my dad's house than I do at my mom's house... - When I do remember, 1-2 dreams a night - 5 or 6 LDs so far. In one, I was able to stabilize it, and then fly for a bit. My first, it got windy, and I was able to stop the wind blowing. Current Technique: - DILD - I want to focus on WILD + DEILD, but DILD is good enough to get the basics and stuff down I'm sure that everything will come back to me soon enough. I never really kept a dream journal, and so I plan on actually starting one. I know that keeping a DJ will result in better recall however, and I am going to make an effort to keep one. If I'm missing anything that I need to do, just tell me! Also, for all the work and all, do we just post everything in a new post in our workbook?

[paigeyemps]

Hey Dragon! Workbook looks good :3 Interesting about the recall at your parents' place though. I wonder why that could be? And you're definitely right, dream journaling really boosts your recall and chances of lucidity, so get that one going! And yep, just go ahead and make new posts in your workbook when you wanna share anything Good luck, and if you have any questions, ask away!

[Chimpertainment]

Welcome DragonMaster21, You are doing incredibly well for just starting! The only thing I would say is that you will start seeing common threads on your dreams. Whatever they may be, they are called dream signs. They could be images, sounds, feelings, tastes, activities, emotions, events, plots, scenery, etc. Once you identify your dream signs, you can use your reality checks whenever you see a dream sign in waking life. Of course, you already have the basis of reality checks down anyway, and that is to RC whenever something doesn't feel right. That is not always going to happen though, so regular reality checks are really helpful. Anyhoo, carry on doing amazing lucid stuff!

[Zyangur]

Thanks both of you . When I have some more dreams written in my DJ, i'll be sure to keep an eye out for those reoccurring things.

[CanisLucidus]

Your workbook's looking good! You've already got a history with lucid dreaming, which gives you a great head start. You know you're capable of it and you know what it feels like. This is especially powerful for having more and more DILDs over time. You're even doing some great stuff with dream control and flying came nice and early for you. Really impressive. Hopefully you've gotten a start on your dream journal, but if you haven't yet, go for it! Given your strong LD history, focused dream journaling may be all it takes for the DILDs to start trickling in more frequently. My first, it got windy, and I was able to stop the wind blowing. Nice!! I still struggle with changing the direction and force of wind in my dreams. What was your approach to this?

[Zyangur]

Well, a few things. First, that happened a lot before in my dreams where another force controls, or doesn't allow me to do something, mostly this wind thing, so I was somewhat familiar with it. When it happened I got 'annoyed' I guess because it was stopping me from exploring a bit in the state of lucidity. I had been reading about controlling your dreams after stabilization, so I thought that I would try what I had been reading. Since it was my first LD, I had a pretty big desire to get rid of it, so then I imagined the wind ceasing to blow and everything being calm around me, and then I saw that it had stopped, but I woke up almost right afterward. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, I'm making this my first official day doing what I'm supposed to be doing xD. Bed time: Around 9-10 pm Wake up: 6:00 am on school days, 6-8 on non-school days Why I want to lucid dream -The ability to do things that aren't possible currently in the waking world -Experience stuff that is unavailable for me, but possible in the waking world -Explore my subconscious and possibly learn a bit more about me Next LD Goals -Stay lucid and in the dream for enough time to achieve some things -Fly -Talk to people, and see what they say if anything -Do a little exploring Night Routine 1. Read DJ before bed 2. Leave it open and with a pencil nearby before bed 2. Keep a DJ and add into it when I recall a dream I'll also set up and maintain an online dream journal as soon as my recall increases.

[CanisLucidus]

Great tip, dude, thanks! Focusing on how calm and still the air around you feels sounds like a good way to go. I've tried powering through a couple of times (including my most recent LD) and the results are disappointing. (But usually pretty funny.) Everything you have here for your plan looks great. Your waking and bed times should give you a good 8-9 hours of sleep every night, which should be a great baseline. Your goals are good too. Really memorize them and think of them often! They are great for focusing the mind when you become lucid. It's sometimes a little easy to forget what you wanted to do but having a couple of very specific goals can help snap you out of any feelings of aimlessness. Of course, if the existing dream scene presents you with more interesting options, exploration is always a great option!

[Zyangur]

So things have been going well. I started up my dream journal again and started doing those reality checks during the day at times, etc. Yesterday was really the first day I remembered though. I actually had a LD last night though xD. I was in my driveway, and something (Can't remember what) made me realize that I was dreaming. I've also found that before in LDs, it's as if my brain or something decides for me because after I did the stabilizing, I just randomly thought to go jump in the air and fly. It wasn't really a decision, but I just did it. Not sure how to explain it. I woke up in the morning, and forgot all about it. When I came into my room after getting ready for school, I remembered having it.

[realdealmagic]

Well done on the reality checks and the DJ. And congratulations on the lucid dream! Don't worry about the whole not decision thing, chances are you just didn't have complete control. More will come with practice

[CanisLucidus]

So things have been going well. I started up my dream journal again and started doing those reality checks during the day at times, etc. Yesterday was really the first day I remembered though. I actually had a LD last night though xD. I was in my driveway, and something (Can't remember what) made me realize that I was dreaming. I've also found that before in LDs, it's as if my brain or something decides for me because after I did the stabilizing, I just randomly thought to go jump in the air and fly. It wasn't really a decision, but I just did it. Not sure how to explain it. I woke up in the morning, and forgot all about it. When I came into my room after getting ready for school, I remembered having it. Very nice, congratulations on the lucid! I'm really glad that you managed to snag it later in the day and bring that memory back. It sounds like you didn't wake up from the dream in the end but rather lost lucidity...? Does that sound right? I ask because although it can be a bummer to wake up from a good lucid, the positive there is that you are extremely likely to carry fresh, vivid memories of the dream with you. If you can get straight to your dream journal, you can usually write it all down and get it locked in forever.

[Zyangur]

Indeed, perhaps I lost lucidity. I'm not too sure as I don't really remember it. I've decided to work on WILD and DEILD together. They both seem like something that will work out for me. My recall has also been good. I've been remembering about a dream or two a night which is nice as before I didn't really have much recall.

[Xanous]

Hi dragon. Congrats on the lucid! WILD/DEILD often lead to a whole other type of lucid but it can take a lot of patience. I hope you nail it though. It's my favorite but I still love DILDs. DEILDs are a great way to keep the dream going when you wake up too soon.

[Zyangur]

Thank you

[Zyangur]

Just a quick question about WBTB and a couple other things. First is: How exactly (or in a general sense) does WBTB increase chances of a LD or recall? I'd just like to know, at least, the basic mechanics. I can tell my recall is improving. Last night, I woke up remembering many, many different dreams and fragments. Unfortunately, at the time I didn't have my DJ to write down the details. Maybe I'll start utilizing mine here on the forums . I've also found another person who is working on the same methods as me, and we've decided to start collaborate and share progress a bit, which I think will be both fun and helpful.

[L4xord]

Just a quick question about WBTB and a couple other things. First is: How exactly (or in a general sense) does WBTB increase chances of a LD or recall? I've just started with WBTB, but I think this way it works is when you wake up, you're tired and eager to go back to bed. So when you go back to bed after staying up for 10-30min (whatever you want) you obviously fall asleep faster. This is extremely useful for WILDs and MILDs. One thing I've noticed is the when you combine MILD and WBTB it becomes a bit like a WILD. For example, when I try to MILD after using WBTB I find (especially if I use visualisation) that hypnagogic imagery begins occurs.

[paigeyemps]

Just a quick question about WBTB and a couple other things. First is: How exactly (or in a general sense) does WBTB increase chances of a LD or recall? I'd just like to know, at least, the basic mechanics. In addition to the previous answer: When you WBTB, you are waking up at your REM period, which is usually 4-6 hours (may vary). Then you stay up for an amount of time, which also varies for everyone. What that does is make your mind awake, while your body is still kinda sleepy. When you go back to bed, you continue to sleep in your REM period (where most vivid dreams occur) but this time, you have a newly-attained awareness, and that can greatly increase your chances to realize you are dreaming.

[Zyangur]

Ah, thank you for the answers . I'd like to participate in the chat for the intro course, however whenever I get the PM from Ophelia about it, It's always in the middle of school so I can't make it D:

[OpheliaBlue]

Ah, thank you for the answers . I'd like to participate in the chat for the intro course, however whenever I get the PM from Ophelia about it, It's always in the middle of school so I can't make it D: Awww, sorry about that. What's a good time for you? I know it's hard for me to reach all time zones with just the 2 classes per week. But to let you know, there's one this friday night. I haven't scheduled the exact hour yet because I'm waiting to hear when the best time is for some folks. Know what, even better: I'll create a new poll thread for it. I'll link you in a moment. edit: here ya go - http://www.dreamviews.com/f151/vote-...-times-138878/

[Zyangur]

Thank you . I understand the thing with the timezones and such . My schedule is also a bit wonky ^^.

[Zyangur]

Yikes, last night did not turn out so well. I went to bed around 9:45, and set my alarm clock for a WBTB at around 2:30 (Which was a mistake I guess. I'll explain later.) I was then suddenly woken by my cat opening the door to my room at around 11. Put him out, and went back to sleep. I woke up from my alarm at 2:30, which was also very sudden. I remember reading somewhere, it's best to do WBTB when you wake up naturally at night because the alarm will pull you awake quickly and abruptly, and I think this is what happened. Stayed awake a bit and read, and then attempted a WILD. I feel asleep however...and woke up an hour later. Went back to sleep, and woke up by my alarm for school. I don't recall a single dream. I believe this is because of all the alarms Any suggestions for WBTB?

[CanisLucidus]

Any suggestions for WBTB? Hey DragonMaster21! I'm sorry to hear that your WBTB didn't go quite like you'd hoped, but I'm glad that you put in a great effort on it. I winced at the part where your cat woke you up at the wrong time. That sort of thing can be rough and do tend to throw things off a bit. As you alluded to, I do think that WBTB is best when done naturally, although I totally understand why this just isn't possible for everyone. I tend to have a brief natural awakening after 4-6 hours of sleep, and if I'm not too tired, I'll try to use this as a WBTB. There are a few things that you can do to make a natural awakening more likely. One is to drink some water, apple juice, or whatever you like shortly before bed. This will tend to help you wake up. In addition, you can cultivate the habit of naturally waking by resolving to be aware during your own natural wakings and get out of bed. I relied on drinking pre-bed "pee water" for a while until I just got used to waking up around that same time, however briefly. Now, any night that I get enough sleep I tend to wake up around that time and have the choice to pursue WBTB. If I skip this natural waking, it usually means that I was simply too tired to notice it and needed the sleep anyway. We don't want to burn ourselves out! So my best advice would first try to go to bed thinking that you will wake up at a particular time. If you got to bed at 9:45, say that you will try to wake up at 3:00. Your body may surprise you by complying! Secondarily, experiment with drinking some water or other drink before bed. Finally, if you can look into other alarm methods such as some kind of buzzer (Xanous uses his phone in airplane mode for this), you might find that this is more gentle. I have less experience with using alarms for WBTB. In my case, I simply realized that I was waking up, but simply rolling over, going back to sleep, and forgetting that it ever happened.

[Zyangur]

I will try that tonight . Thanks!

[Xanous]

In addition, you can cultivate the habit of naturally waking by resolving to be aware during your own natural wakings and get out of bed. I relied on drinking pre-bed "pee water" for a while until I just got used to waking up around that same time, however briefly. Now, any night that I get enough sleep I tend to wake up around that time and have the choice to pursue WBTB. If I skip this natural waking, it usually means that I was simply too tired to notice it and needed the sleep anyway. We don't want to burn ourselves out! I am guilty of burning myself out. I was having a hot streak there for a while. It's probably not the best idea. I find that when I don't use an alarm I tend to wake up anyway and have that same choice. Or when I am really rested I notice that I begin to wake up just before the alarm. CL is right. Waking up natural is preferred as I have better recall this way. It may just take some time to train yourself and find what works best for you.

[Zyangur]

Last night went quite well . One of my dreams, I suddenly just became aware I was dreaming. The feel sort of changed, nothing weird happened to made me realize it. I woke up immediately though :\. It was nice though. First 'lucid' dream since I got back into this. I woke up though eyes closed and perfectly still, and I just imagined where I just was. It was pretty much perfect, and I could feel myself starting to transition. I can't explain what I felt, and I remember hearing a couple beeps or something, not sure xD. I didn't pay much attention to them. Towards the end, I lost concentration though. Definitely the closest I have come to a DEILD. While I am disappointed it wasn't successful completely, I am happy at my progress .

[paigeyemps]

Great job, Dragon! I think that's a really great thing when you start getting lucid spontaneously. It means that your awareness is getting better! I often find myself getting lucid for no apparent reason, it's quite hard to explain. But I call it "dream atmosphere", where something in the dream just feels off, maybe the gravity or the air. But usually you don't really notice yourself gradually getting lucid, you just snap into lucidity at some point. You know what I mean?