DayDreamer12's Workbook

**DayDreamer12** · 04-13-2015 07:09 PM

I've been trying to lucid dream off and on for a few months and haven't had any luck. So when I found Dream View's podcast and heard about this academy I thought I would give it a shot. I'm currently in school so it's hard to get a lot of sleep, but most of the time I get 8 hours of sleep. This academy will definitely give me more motivation to get into a routine, which is what I need. Can't wait!

Reality Checks:
-Nose Plug
-Checking the time + date
-Looking at hands/counting fingers

Dream Signs:
-My car - I used to have a lot of dreams about driving, not as much anymore. Most of the time the brakes don't work when I'm driving.
-Lakes - A lot of my dreams will involve being in or near water.
-Friends - I'm usually with friends in my dreams, sometimes I can identify them and sometimes I can't.

Short-Term Goals:
-Get into a routine so I always get 8-9 hours of sleep and record my dreams right when I wake up in the morning.
-Remember at least 5 dreams a week.
-More reality checks

Long-Term Goals:
-Be able to have a lucid dream at least twice a month.
-Question consciousness and perform reality checks without thinking about it.
-Learn to WILD

Lucid/Dream Recall History:
I don't have any lucid dreaming experience. A lot of my dreams (especially on the weekend when I get to sleep in) are really bizarre and vivid. A few months ago when I was trying extremely hard to lucid dream I was remembering an average of 2-3 dreams every night that were really vivid and odd. After a month of recording dreams and having no luck with lucidity I sort of gave up, but I'm back and this time I'm going to stick with it!

Current Technique:
I don't really have a "technique", but I basically perform reality checks throughout the day and ask myself "How did I get here?" a few times a day. On the weekends, I recently start making peppermint tea (I read that peppermint increases dream vividness) before bed and perform WBTBs on Saturday and Sunday. I naturally go to bed around 10pm every night and wake up at 6:20am for school. An alarm clock wakes me up for school, which I have heard can hurt dream recall because instead of first thinking about my dreams when I wake up, the first thing I think about his turning off my alarm clock. Is there any way around this? Or does this not really affect dream recall?

**NyxCC** · 04-14-2015 11:52 PM

Welcome to intro class, DayDreamer12!

I like your current technique of doing RCs and critical thinking during the day, combined with wbtb on weekends.

An alarm clock wakes me up for school, which I have heard can hurt dream recall because instead of first thinking about my dreams when I wake up, the first thing I think about his turning off my alarm clock. Is there any way around this? Or does this not really affect dream recall?

I've been using alarm for my final wakes and sometimes for wbtb for as long as I can remember, so in the long term I haven't seen a negative impact on recall. However, rushing to get out of bed and hurrying somewhere can take away our focus from dreams and make us forget them. To avoid this, you can set your alarm for 5-10 mins ealier than your usual wake time. This should allow you to be more calm when recalling dreams and also give you the opportunity to write them down. Also, if your alarm settings are stressful - consider changing them. Hope this helps.