http://www.dreamviews.com/dreamviews...ml#post2176901
Just finished listening to the audio Sensei made and it made me think a bit about my future with lucid dreaming. I'm ~1 year in with 35 lucid dreams, and one day I think I'll be able to make it to that '1000 lucid dreams' milestone. But I don't know when I'll get there, I don't have a clue how long it'll take . This is fine with me because like Sensei said, the time is going to pass anyways so it doesn't matter how long it takes to finish a goal. But in saying this, I want to do it sooner than later .
So now it's time for an update of how things have progressed over the past 3 months (last one was #42). Motivation, goals, success, etc. How much has changed and where am I headed?
Since booting up LDing again:
Dream Recall
Then: My dream recall was terrible. Dream recall was basically this: IF I woke up after a dream then I would think about the dream and 'cement' it to memory. Then I would probably write it up once I got back home after a long day of university. I started with the goal of writing my dreams up 3x a week.
Now: I recall 2-4 dreams a night by making notes after every dream cycle. My dreams are pretty vivid and I tend to lack the literary skills to articulate everything sometimes. I make sure I journal my dreams every morning prior to starting my day so that it's fresh enough to add unwritten details too.
Lucidity
Then: Usually I'd just use SSILD to obtain lucidity, and I have even had quite a few stress-induced lucids. I wasn't particularly interested in learning any new techniques.
Now: SSILD is still the only technique I can use with some level of proficiency. I've started practicing DEILD (though I'm terrible at it) and haven't had any lucids from it yet. I've also started using meditation and All-Day-Awareness (ADA) as a way to increase my mindfulness to achieve more frequent DILDs (just started this within the past 10 days so the fruits of my labour are yet unseen). I plan to start Dream Yoga soon too.
Sleep Cycle
Then: My sleeping pattern sucked and this made any and all attempts to practice LDing much more difficult. Late nights finishing assignments, watching too much anime or talking to friends until past midnight... I also suffer from mild insomnia, just like my mom. It took me 2-4 hours a night to fall asleep, coupled with the late nights and the necessity of getting up early for university. I have tried many times to fix this by doing things like reading before bed, dimming light before bed, no computer for an hour before bed, etc. It just didn't work. So I began experimenting a bit on how deal with it.
Now: I feel tired when I sleep in too long and I feel tired if I go to bed late and wake up late in the day. So I get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time . I've settled on using running as a way to burn myself out, along with just spending time in the sun and keep away from the computer throughout the day. Also I think the whole Brainbuddy thing has helped a lot too. It's taking me like 1 hour to fall asleep now, which is incredible to me.
Motivation
Then: I had previously lacked the motivation, focus and perseverance to properly stay on track with LDing. I didn't know why at the time but I couldn't motivate myself for ANYTHING. I found it hard to stick to anything for a long period of time. I could DO things, I just couldn't continue doing those things (I think Sensei's audio mentions something about this too).
Now: All I can say is "Brainbuddy app". It hasn't been long since I started it (11 days) but I've noticed changes already. I've just found a lot of energy lately and I've started taking up more hobbies to fill the time instead of idling in front of a computer screen. Also the meditation + ADA I've been doing has helped my focus and desire to persevere in everything.
Health
Then: I had my first 'serious' injury last year in July, spraining my ankle really badly after falling 15-20m off a cliff. The time spent unable to walk was pretty crucial for kindling my motivation to start running. I started running more seriously around this time and wanted to be able to run to the peak of the mountain I live at the base of, without stopping to catch my breath. I had also started eating way healthier, just because money was an issue (I completely stopped buying all sugary things and learnt a lot about frugal living).
Now: About 1-2(?) weeks ago I ran to the top of the mountain I live next to without stopping for the first time, and have done it several times now. Also my food habits have improved and my sleeping has improved (as mentioned before). I spent a lot more time outside in the sun and have been doing more activities in general. The use of Brainbuddy has aided me quite a bit since I started using it as well, and I think it will pay off health-wise even more later on. Another thing to mention is that I think last year I found a dwindling interest in video games. Over the past month I just dropped all interest in watching anime too and started reading manga instead. Now I barely glance at manga and I started reading ETWOLD again.
Awareness
Then: Not much I can say other than that I was conscious of how every day just seemed to slip by. A friend once said to me a few years ago that he was suffering from depersonalization disorder, and said he felt like a backseat driver to his own life. While I was never like that, I still feel that it sums up how a lack of awareness can leave you.
Now: I've started meditating straight after waking up (6:30-7:30ish) along with doing other mindfulness + breath meditation throughout the day. I've just started with ADA and it's pretty hard . There isn't much I can say with how it's affected me since I just started though. I'm keen to see how it will affect me and whether I will attain more lucids from it. One thing's for certain: it feels good to meditate.
A lot has changed I guess, and hopefully it's uphill from here.
Goals:
- Bump up my lucid count and practice dream stability. I want longer lucids
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