Gnorth's Workbook

Ok, so here goes...

Reality Checks:
- Checking Clocks to see if the time is weird or changes
- Finger/Palm
- Checking to see if I am wearing my glasses: I always see clearly in my dreams, but I don't think I am ever wearing my glasses...

Dream Signs:
- I figured one out today! There is a particular bayou/ocean/river area that keeps re-occurring in my dreams. The place does not exist in reality, but I have it pretty well laid out in my head - trails, camping areas, boating, lots of fun stuff actually.
- Strange machines. If the machine does not look like it should be working, I should do a reality check.

Short-Term Goals:
- Keep a dream journal, regardless of whether I remember anything.
- Have a lucid dream and stabilize it.

Long-Term Goals:
- Control lucid dreams - use it to see fun and funny things.
- Learn to pose questions to my inner self (ask the dream)
- If necessary, be able to work out problems, questions and ideas subconsciously while sleeping.

Lucid/Dream Recall History:
I am fairly certain that I have had lucid dreams in the past, but my dream recall as an adult has been terrible. I would go for weeks or months without recalling a dream. Since I started keeping a dream journal, I seem to be able to recall at least a snippet the majority of nights, and am able to recall something really vivid maybe 1-2 times per week. It is a lot of fun to read my dream journal.

I think that many nights where I have no recall is because I am sleeping too hard. I exercise quite a bit, and on bigger workout days, I sleep like a brick. Also, I periodically have to get up early for work, which messes with the best time for dreaming.

Current Technique:
- Keep a dream journal to establish a recall habit
- DILD, use reality checks if I see dream signs (or so I hope that I can be alert enough to see them)
- I am trying to focus on awareness during the day. You see a lot of crazy stuff in the real world too if you are paying attention. Some people do strange things...
- Mantra/meditation in the future after I get the recall down. For now, it is enough for me just to be able to remember what I am dreaming. I can be patient and step into this slowly.

Welcome to DV and Intro class, Gnorth! :)

Let us know if you have any questions.

Any advice or "homework" on improving recall would be much appreciated. Seems like I will have 1-3 nights in a row with pretty muddy or no recall, and then follow it up with a night with one or two really vivid dreams. The last two nights, I have had pretty bad recall, which means I am probably due for a good one tonight, but overall, I would like to have good recall every night.

It seems like the best time is the last hour or so before I get up, especially if I wake up naturally right before that hour starts, and then lie in for a bit, but not always.

I have been logging sleep/wake times in my dream journal too if that would help with analysis.

And thank you - I appreciate that you are willing to give advice.

Have you noticed doing something different on your days of bad recall - like maybe not getting enough sleep on that night or the night before, sleep schedule changes, any food changes, etc. Recall does fluctuate from one day to another so perhaps this is just a normal variation?

Let me know when you get more data on this.

Good idea - I will start tracking how I feel when I go to bed, or if there are abnormalities during the day.

I had an odd experience on Friday night that is worth noting in the workbook too.

When I was falling asleep, I was trying some mantra activities - just trying to focus on repeating "tonight, I will remember my dreams". I kept getting drowsy, and my mind would start to wander into what I can only explain as random daydreams. My body started getting super-relaxed, and I could feel my eyes moving a lot beneath my eyelids. It almost felt as if my body was buzzing a little bit. I could clearly tell that my mind was having these random daydreams, and I would think "now this is getting interesting!", but then I would get all excited and pop back to all the way awake.

Eventually, I got tired and stopped the mantra for the night and just fell asleep regularly.

Saturday and Sunday I was just plain tired, so I didn't try, but I started reading up on this. Seems that I might have been dipping my toe into a wake-induced LD technique, somewhat by accident. It didn't seem all that terrible of an experience, so I I think I might try this some more and see how far I can hold it for without popping back awake.

Cool! There is a lot to explore about being on the verge of sleep. I'd say, 99 % of the stuff is really exciting and interesting and only 1 % is the scary part. And it is scary because we may not understand what is happening, but after a few experiences you'll feel more comfortable. There are a lot of misconceptions out there so don't get swayed by the folk stories. If you have any particular concerns, do ask. :)