501's Workbook

[501]

Hey Everyone! Well I just joined Dream Views yesterday since the more thought that goes into lucid dreaming the better. Reality Checks: I try to do several reality checks a day, usually looking at my hands and analyzing my surroundings. - Looking at hands counting fingers - 4 LD - Jumping and floating - 1 LD - Rubbing palm - 1 LD - Surroundings - 2 LD Dream Signs: I haven't had any luck recognizing dream signs but I have identified a few through my journals. - Bodies of water (pools, ocean, rivers, really any body of water) - Groups of people (usually large groups of people I am walking around with) - Emotion (extremely frustrated or upset) Short-Term Goals: - Anchoring (Maximizing the LD length) - Consistent LD at least once per week - Use WILD/DEILD methods - Work on LD bucket list Long-Term Goals: - LD a couple times per week Lucid/Dream Recall History: - I have been journaling off and on for awhile now and can fill up a journal in about 2 months. My recall is really good when it comes to the dreams and can usually get 3 pages or so in a 6" X 9" ruled notebook. I can usually obtain some form of lucidity at least once every week or two, as long as I am focused. Current Technique: - DILD (Only technique that has worked for me thus far)

[501]

So I will be focusing on the DILD and MILD techniques. I started to get pretty good at DILD but since I found myself wanting them to happen closer together I found myself trying many different things instead of staying with one technique. For instance I tried many different supplements, some helped a little bit while others seemed to inhibit my recall and REM sleep all together. I also tried audio induction devices which also seemed to inhibit my recall, keep me up and mess up my sleep all together. So right now I will focus on these two techniques without the additional aids and really practice anchoring myself once I achieve lucidity.

[501]

Ok so I had a lucid last night, 1 in 4 of the dreams I remembered. I worked on anchoring a bit and it seemed to do the trick. I just need to remember to keep doing it and not even fathom the idea of waking up. The lucid part lasted maybe 2 minutes and is probably comparable to my longest lucid. I am going to change short term goals into practicing anchoring along with DILD and DEILD methods. I will save WILD and MILD for a later time since they seem to keep me awake.

[501]

Just got back from a short trip and didn't have access or much time to post. I did have one more lucid on the 30th, two days after my last. I could really get used to that consistency. The lucid was a pretty good one and I actually was able to check something off of my bucket list. I practiced anchoring much more and am getting more comfortable on dream control, the surroundings and not whirling right out of the dream when I realize I am in one. Posting dreams in my dream journal for the last few nights. I will start linking when I get the hang of it.

[NyxCC]

Hey 501, welcome to intro class! Congrats on your recent lds and a happy lucid new year to you! If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or in our http://www.dreamviews.com/intro-clas...o-class-q.html thread. I suppose with anchoring, you are referring to dream stabilization. What kind of tech do you use to anchor yourself?

[501]

Thanks! Yes I am referring to dream stabilization when I say anchoring. I read a good article on dream stabilization on this web site and it was referred to as anchoring a few times. The method I have been using is to really look at my hands. Try to see as much detail as possible in them, the tiny hairs, wrinkles or any other detail oriented items on my hands. I am going to try to start remembering to use the scene, touch, feel, smell and as many other senses in the scene I am in at that point to further stabilize without using only my hands. I realize I am only really just scratching the surface with all of this and I have so much more to learn and do.

[501]

So I went against what I said I was going to do and I took 100 mg of B6 2 hours before bed. This made me very restless for most of the night and the recall and vividness of my dreams were sub standard. I am sure the fact that my wife is sick and was coughing quite a bit made it a little rough on my REM sleep as well. So back to what I was doing, practicing on DILD and DEILD along with dream stabilization. I also plan on finding a travel type corridor similar to Matrix style travel. I want to find a long hallway with many doors that lead to anywhere I want to do. I am going to use this as my method of long distance travel until I am good enough to teleport on a whim. I figure if I can imagine what is on the other side of a door and open the door it should be similar to what I picture. I am really looking forward to the TOTM and TOTY to come out, since I only joined a week ago I didn't bother trying to do either of the last ones.

[NyxCC]

Thanks for the explanation, anchoring sounds good too. I've read a number of great journal entries and had the chance to implement this as well a number of times and the results have been incredible. CanisLucidis refers to this as boosting dream vividness. Everytime you take time to fully immense in the dream, it gets much more vivid and from quite a few entries I have seen it also nicely prolongs the dream. I really enjoy looking at all sorts of detail, so generally find this very pleasurable as well. About B6, I have to double check with my notes, but if I am not mistaken it reaches peak plasma (maximum level) 1-3 hrs after ingestion, so it might make you extra alert just at bed time. Most of the people would take it during wbtb. I've tried it both at bed time and wbtb, and for me it still works best at bed time, although it might give me insomnia because of that. So, some options would be to lower the dose and/or play with the timing. By the way read your latest ld, some really good dream control there! Good luck with the new Toty and Totm!

[501]

So I had every intention of having a lucid last night (don't we all every night?). I really felt like it was going to happen, just a feeling. I set the intention and did a chant as well as tried to remember the totm, toty and other things I wanted to do. I think with doing all of this I created almost an anxiety in me while I was trying to go to sleep. Tonight I will try to relax more let it just happen, it almost seems the more you want it the less likely it is that it will happen. I spent quite a bit of time on dreamviews doing more reading last night too. I think I was spoiled by having two lucids only a day apart at the beginning of the week.

[501]

Well I am still waiting for another lucid to happen. I think being on vacation and being off my sleep cycle as well as being a little sick has really messed me up. I slept through once cycle last night and got up to the bathroom like 15 times since I drank a bunch of water for bed (felt good on my throat). Anyways I remembered some dream fragments and It revolved around someone on dream views helping me out in one of my dreams. At about 130 I tried to get back to sleep and it just wasn't happening, I got up and dilly dalleyed around until around 3 and then went back to bed. It was hard to get comfy and I was very restless. Hopefully tonight I can get some good shut eye and hit some good REM rebound. I still think that the more you are focusing on a lucid at night before you go to sleep the less likely it is that it will happen. Seems every time I do have one I am not really even trying for it.

[NyxCC]

I think this part of the year has been distracting for many people. Hope you get better quickly and get a good night's sleep and some awesome dreams! That's a cool dream you had! Lucidity is really on your mind!

[501]

Ok so I didn't take any of my vitamins yesterday and took some melatonin and some nighttime cold stuff before I went to bed. I had some nice sleep with no waking up and I could really remember my dreams without really trying, which is how I am normally with recall. I am going to take the same tonight and hope for the best.

[501]

A little update. Recall has been pretty good, haven't had any really cool and no lucid dreams. I think my cold and being on vacation has realy messed up my sleep schedule. I think that the last two lucids that I had were on my first couple days of vacation where I was used to being awake at the time when I was still sleeping. I haven't done my last couple of dreams in the online journal since they were average dreams. I will save the online journaling for cool non lucid dreams and lucid dreams. Yesterday I had some free time in the afternoon so I decided to try wilding a bit. I read through the tutorial online one more time just to refresh since I hadn't tried one for awhile. I layed down about noon. I was very relaxed and could not really feel my body too much, kinda just floaty. I dont think I really experienced any HI but felt like I was close to something, but I seem to always be 'close'. I got up around 1250 and did something productive. Last night I woke up at 1230 or 1 with a really stuffy nose and I was very restless. I went ahead and got up around 1 and headed out to the couch so I wouldn't keep my wife up. I was pretty much wide awake and thought I might try to wild again. I took a little galantamine for the hell of it, about 3mg, since 4mg usually really winds me up. I couldn't get comfy at all and just gave up since I couldn't even breath out of my nose. I watched tv for a bit and found myself getting sleepy again around 430 and dozed off a bit and lucky me I get up at 5 when I am working. So hopefully back on my normal schedule hopefully I will have some progress.

[NyxCC]

I hate sleepying with stuffy nose, it really is hassle for lding too. Hope you are back on track soon! G tends to increase insomnia for some people. Maybe next time take it while you are feeling really sleepy so it doesn't interrupt sleep patterns too much. Take care!

[501]

Well yesterday when I got home I got a little nap it. Since I was so tired I decided to try to WILD for a bit, was going to do it for a bit and then if I didn't get anywhere I would fall asleep naturally. Anyways I think I was successful kind of. I was very relaxed and scenes were drifting in and out of my vision. All of a sudden I found myself on an odd thought that became very real, I was for the most part there and had the 'feeling' that I knew where I was and what was going on. It was a weird one about being hillside in Germany during a war and the Germans would come and fart on your head while you were there. Very strange. As soon as I had this realization I realized it was a dream forming and this jerked me right out. I need to let it form further and let the dream develop around me. I read Thomas Yushaks book Lucid dream power of supplements and his section on what to expect from WILDS helped. I also grabbed some 5htp from the store yesterday since I have wanted to try it for awhile. I took 100 mg of it last night and I think I slept pretty good and had a fairly vivid dream this morning. I want to take it again tonight and I might WBTB and take G and C along with a tiny bit of melatonin. This was one that worked for Yushak and I figured I could try it out. I don't know if I am going to take a full 4mg or dump a tiny out and take 3mg. 4mg makes me really awake and jittery so we will see. I was also thinking of taking some valerian root at bed and at WBTB, although I might save this for a different night.

[NyxCC]

It sounds like you were on the right track with the wild, very good! Best of luck with your supp trials!

[501]

Well I tried all the supplements like I said I was going to try along with Valerian root and wow. Not sure if it was solely vitamins or some vites and some placebo but it worked wondering. Many long lucids and DEILDS and even completed TOTM. Did not WILD with vites. Full dream below First TOTM and many Lucids courtesy of supplements? - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

[NyxCC]

That's awesome! Congrats on the many lds and Totm! :bravo: That was really nice and long dreaming and you did so many tasks! I especially liked the opposite day task, where you reversed gravity.

[501]

An update. I tried some supplements during the week and I decided I would only try them on the weekends when I don't need a full nights sleep. They seem to inhibit my sleep when I know I have to get a good night sleep and I dont have to get up at 5. Tried similar supplements last night except I bumped up the G by 1mg and took the full 4mg pill. I also now have 500 mg of Valerian per pill. Took those and I did have a couple very short lucids but nothing to write about. I did a lot of observing before I tried to jump into the dream. A few times I was pulled straight out as soon as I was in the dream and did anything. One time I was able to interact with a DC for a second and another time I was able to fly for a few seconds but nothing concrete. I still need to stabilize longer. I think after my super long one last week I thought of myself as an expert who didn't need to stabilize, that's what i get for getting cocky. I am going to reduce the G to 2mg and see how that works. I think I was definitely too awake after I took it last night to get into a good dream. I might try it both days this weekend. I have still been doing RCs throughout the day about 3 or more times an hour. Still working on figuring out what makes my lucids tick. I still haven't had any lucids at all that weren't supplement induced, even for a second. I just haven't gotten that moment of clarity to cause me to do RC or haven't done one out of habit in the middle of a dream. I only WBTB on certain nights but may try it throughout the week and drink a little bit of caffeine or just read dream views or old dream journals for 15 to 30 minutes. My goal is to have a good supplement plan and a good WBTB method. I have tried to WILD a few times when I have been very tired and have only had some floaty and some HI but other than that I either fall asleep or just keep myself awake. I have realized that I am more likely to have lucids at times when my body is normally awake in the morning. So if I get up at 5 all week then maybe my lucids will start at 5. I may just save weekends for lucids since I am usually unsuccessful during the week. We will see as I continue to experiment with the supplements and my sleeping schedule.

[NyxCC]

Tried similar supplements last night except I bumped up the G by 1mg and took the full 4mg pill. I also now have 500 mg of Valerian per pill. Took those and I did have a couple very short lucids but nothing to write about. I did a lot of observing before I tried to jump into the dream. A few times I was pulled straight out as soon as I was in the dream and did anything. One time I was able to interact with a DC for a second and another time I was able to fly for a few seconds but nothing concrete. I still need to stabilize longer. I think after my super long one last week I thought of myself as an expert who didn't need to stabilize, that's what i get for getting cocky. I am going to reduce the G to 2mg and see how that works. I think I was definitely too awake after I took it last night to get into a good dream. Supplements tend to influence our sleep and dreams a lot, some more than others obviously. They can make your dreams more vivid, evoke different types of emotions, dream contents, etc. Some are quite useful for making you lucid, although you still need to do some work. G generally facilitates all sorts of lucid experiences, but as we already discussed, it can make you quite wakeful. I think it really super boosts your brain (it's primarily used to help older people with Alzheimer's outside of ld communities), so that may make it harder to get deeply into the dream. Therefore, dreams can be a bit shallow and more unstable (this may also be similar with wilds after a long wbtb). Some of the more experienced users of G here have seen a gradual increase in dream lenght over time. I guess it's a mix of stabilization skills & experience plus a slight desensitation over time. Hmmm..Was the ld on the 30th also supp induced? What supps did you use then? As far as techniques are concerned, I find that a proper wbtb coupled with mantras and expectations for an ld has ben most effective for lding. Another thing that I liked doing a lot in the past was looking at my hands and repeating autosuggestion like "I realize that I am dreaming" - very nice for random dilds. Also, have tried out different supps with B6 and caffeine being my favorite for easier induction. G's a bit too strong for me at the moment (it did result in lds but they were quite short too). Another supp I like is Gingko, it's quite nice for increasing dream recall and boosting vividness. Anyways, if you are interested in different combos, you can check out a few threads like the menthol and caffeine research threads. Xanous and CL, and more recently Highlander use G more frequently, so you might consider asking them for a few tips on that supp or other supps. http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...-enhancer.html http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...e-trigger.html Good luck!

[501]

The lucids I had on the 28th and 30th were not supp induced. These two happened on the first few days of vacation where I was sleeping in longer than I normally do. I believe this is what happened. My brain was used to being active by a certain time in the morning so that is when I got my 'moment of clairties' and decided to do a RC in them. I have had a few dreams with random hand checks and I will have to go back through DJs to find out if those were on weekends or when I was sleeping in. I don't think I have ever tried a true WBTB without any type of supplements. Maybe I will try that tonight and just get up and read DV for a half an hour or so. The main thing I seem to be missing in my dreams is that 'moment of clarity' where I realize something just isn't right. Throughout the day I have been trying to ask myself more the question if I am dreaming and look to see if I see anything weird around. I was going to try a form of ADA but seems pretty difficult if you have other things that you need to focus on during the day. I wanted to mostly do it while I was going from one place or the other since I am often very busy in my dreams. Thanks for the links. I looked at the caffeine one a bit and I will go through and read it all sometime. Just wish peoples bodies didn't react to things so differently. I seem to be really really sensitive to G and some of the other supps that make you alert like B6, they tend to give me insomnia.

[NyxCC]

Throughout the day I have been trying to ask myself more the question if I am dreaming and look to see if I see anything weird around. I was going to try a form of ADA but seems pretty difficult if you have other things that you need to focus on during the day. I wanted to mostly do it while I was going from one place or the other since I am often very busy in my dreams. I think it takes time for these things to sink in. Good opportunity to practice RCs or questioning your reality are when you wake up, restroom/shower - you can do RCs or autosuggestion of your choice without worrying that it will look weird or being disturbed. I have a list of DS that I like to go over whenever possible. Also, you can slow down and concentrate a bit more when starting and finishing new tasks. This helps bring more focus to the task at hand plus is an RC. What was I doing just a moment ago, done, what am I going to do next, ask yourself does it make sense? Also, take a min off just noticing the little details etc. Thanks for the links. I looked at the caffeine one a bit and I will go through and read it all sometime. Just wish peoples bodies didn't react to things so differently. I seem to be really really sensitive to G and some of the other supps that make you alert like B6, they tend to give me insomnia. Hey, that doesn't necessarily have to be bad. You can turn things to your advantage, lding always require a bit of personalization. I'm quite sensitive to these too, but that's not a problem. You just have to find the things plus practice that work for you, adjust the timing and dosage accordingly. Also, if you do get insomnia, as long as there is enough time before the get up alarm, you can still remain in bed and try to relax, pretend to be wilding, experiment with all sorts of induction techs. I can be quite an insomniac and previously just got up whenever I felt too wakeful, but later changed this, as I said, if there is enough time left, just stay in bed and relax. If you have two hours left to alarm and spend 1 hour or 90 mins in bed, you may still fall asleep in those last 30 mins and become lucid. These long wbtbs have very strange effects with or without supps. Another thing that people have found useful for ld induction as well as helping you fall asleep is the SSILD tech. http://www.dreamviews.com/induction-...eam-ssild.html Keep the spirits high, I think you've got some really good ld potential and sooner or later you're going to nail the technique that gives you best results.

[501]

Well I actually had an unintentional lucid dream last night. I planned on just getting a good nights sleep and since I felt so awake at bed time I decided to take some sleep supps. I took valerian, 5htp and melatonin. I also took a multi vitamin. I woke naturally at like 130 for some reason, I seem to wake between REM cycles more often now. I went back to sleep shortly but was picturing me seeing my hands in all my previous lucids and this led to a lucid. Not sure if this was supp induced or not, maybe with the melatonin and 5htp it put me into a massive REM rebound, not sure though. Also after my lucid I had a little insomnia since I thought I would be able to have another. Oh and before I went to bed I set the intention to remember my dreams since I haven't really focused on recall when I haven't had a lucid, just smippits. I am for sure in the experimental stage for what works best for me. I know some people never really do any better than a couple a month so I am at least on track forh that. I plan on continuing supplement trials and WBTB techniques as well as RCs throughout the day. I think I have the RCs down pretty good and have really been focusing on details more than just doing a blind RC. I also still need to focus staying in the dream once I realize. While I have gotten much much better at this I need to continue to do it every time and begin to realize when the dream is starting to fade so I can do it more and prolong the dream. I do believe being on DV has helped me with the unlimited knowledge and having others who are interested in Lucid dreaming.

[NyxCC]

Oh, nice! Just read your dream, I like it even if you don't think it's much. Walking around and stabilizing is a great practice in any dream. The part with the shadows sounded interesting too and scaring the lady was cool!

[501]

I haven't posted for awhile since I haven't had any really odd dreams or lucid dreams. I did have a short one last night but nothing to rave about. The last week I was on travel and didn't sleep well really the whole time. I did try a few supplement combinations with little to no success. It did make some of my dreams a little more vivid and memorable but other than that they usually messed my sleep up a bit. That along with different sleeping situations made it quite difficult to get into any sort of routine. I may try some supps tonight but lay off for the rest of the week depending on how well I can get to sleep. Still working on consistency of lucid dreams. I have been good with RCs for the most part. I think I need to work on a better wake back to bed routine. I may try some caffeine and really do some reading about lucid dreaming for about half an hour. I just am afraid I will wake up too much and not be able to get back to sleep. There is that fine line that needs to be walked and it is quite hard to do sometimes. I hate messing with my sleep.