Hirondelle's workbook

[Hirondelle]

There we go! A workbook, for me I guess another way to be busy in my mind with LD. "About three years ago I read about LDing and I remembered how I seemed to dream a lot more when I was a child. Vaguely I even remember having lucid experiences. Looking into it, I learned that I didn't dream more, but I remembered more and I with some work I would be able to get back to that" After training for a while I had a lucid dream (I decided to fly and it worked), but I was to busy in life and I stopped putting effort into it. Maybe a year later I did another attempt, after a while I reached my goal, breathing under water, and I stopped again....... I started again in the beginning of december 2015. Reality Checks: - trying to breath through my pinched nose - pushing my finger through my hand - looking at my hands - reading something twice Dream Signs: - My father and my mother - Primary school and university friend - The house where I was born Short-Term Goals: - Improving dream recall - Improving awareness - Being lucid more often - Free riding a horse in a LD - Seeing my (small) children in a LD (they are 18 and 15 yrs old at the moment) Long-Term Goals: - Being able to LD at least once a week - Use LDing to learn about my subconscious mind - Getting over fears Dream Recall: I guess that this is my priority at the moment. Some days I remember nothing at all. Other days it would be one dream, or one dream and some fragments. I think I've looked into the matter quite thoroughly, there are a lot of methods/tips that I can't use though because of my husband, who is a light sleeper. I can't write anything when I wake up during the night (not even without putting a light on) because that wakes him up. I really have to get up and write in another room, and I do that every now and then, but sometimes you it's too difficult. Often I drink tea/water/apple juice to make me wake up, go to the toilet and write down a dream when I'm up. Somebody gave me tips how to make yourself remember a dream in the morning but it doesn't work for me. (I'm too sleepy, or maybe my memory isn't as good as it used to be (I'm 49 yrs old)). Lucid dreams: - Some three years ago, after reading about it, and practicing, I had my first lucid dream; in which I flew, which was what I planned to do. - About a year later, after a new period of practicing a did what I planned again: I was able to breathe under water, in our own natural pool. There was a "extra" that I didn't ask for, a living miniature hippo (so cute) was on the bottom of the pool, I carried it out of the water to show it to my children. Since december, when I started again: - I have to go from one side of the city to another but there is a traffic jam. I realize I'm dreaming (don't know how) and decide to fly past the cars to get there more quickly. I arrive I the middle of an empty parking lot. A lot of people around me are looking at me.... - I'm dreaming about a classroom situation, in which a female teacher is teaching English (she speaks dutch, my native language). She says that's she's going to do a test to determine every-bodies level. I tell her that in stead she should just speak English with us, in stead of dutch, and that I'm sure that I'll do fine except for maybe some technical words like "vacuumkookketel". She's very, very, impressed.... and I wake up. - I tried to go to sleep by getting comfortable in my favorite sleeping position. In concentrated on my breathing, and repeated to my self: I'm going to be conscious in my dreams, I'm going to remember my dreams.... After a while I couldn't feel my body anymore. There was just this peaceful black void. I felt awake, but here was nothing..... I had the idea that I could have forced myself to feel my body and move, but that would have really woken me up. It felt nice, and I think I just went to sleep after a while. I wrote this experience down in the group "Lucid dreaming" on Facebook and somebody advised me to have a look at Sageous' thread about lucid dreaming in delta sleep. I think that's what it was! Have to stop now, bed time!

[Hirondelle]

Didn't remember any dreams when I woke up during the night, neither at 7.15 when the alarm went of. I didn't have to get up and I when I woke up again, it was like not waking up completely but still very close to a dream. A few weeks ago the same thing happened and I fell back into sleep and continued my dream, without being lucid. I really felt that the way I was this morning it should have been possible to go back to the dream in a lucid dream. I think I stayed like this for quite some time, but as it didn't work I decided to really wake up and get out of bed (it was 9.20). Found these tablets that I took for a while (quite some time ago) because I was very tired: Magnesium+vitamin B6. I'll finish them (one per day) because vitamin B6 is supposed to be good for dream recall. I'm starting to train my prospective memory from today, using the method from Laberge's book. Made myself a sheet to keep track of progress (hopefully I'll make some). I've added the sheet, maybe somebody else would want to use it. Should I propose it somewhere else on DV?

[Hirondelle]

Went to bed at 23.15, and slept until 7.15 without noticeably waking up. Only remember big grey square buildings and running from something.... I was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. Tried to take an afternoon nap with a sleep hypnosis track. Noticed that I was "in nowhere-land" for a short period, couldn't visualize anything. During the day I regularly stop and try to be aware of myself and my surroundings.

[Hirondelle]

Just read Sageous' DEILD. When I say I've gone back in a NLD after waking up (last week), would that mean I've DEID?

[Hirondelle]

Went to bed at 23.30 after smoking a joint. HI was much more interesting than on other days. Tended to go to scary but I forced that away. I was awake or a long time, tried to focus on intentions, eventually fell asleep. No recall of dreams at the time of the alarm. Stayed up for 30 minutes and went back to bed. Started to repeat intentions: I'll know I'm dreaming and I will remember my dreams but gave that up after a while and focused on my breathing, counting back from three hundred. It became difficult at 230, I started to loose track. Guess I arrived at about 90 and I slept for short while. Don't remember any dreams. Only noticed during the counting I heard somebody saying my name (There's no one in the house).

[NyxCC]

Welcome to the class Hirondelle! About the spreadsheet, feel free to start a thread in one of the areas of the forum and share it if you like. This may even spark more interest from others if they like to join you in your goal to improve prospective memory.

[Hirondelle]

Thank you NyxCC! I will start a thread and see what happens Went to bed last night at 23.15, put an alarm for 3.30. Just thought I'd try to see if it would bother my husband. I'd put the volume quite low, and woke up straight away, only one sound. Didn't seem to bother him much. I remember a fragment of a dream. I get up and write it down, read in my DJ for half an hour and go back to bed. I use my mantra: "I'll know that I'm dreaming and I'll remember my dreams". I wake up from a dream by the alarm at 7.15. Maybe my mantra should be: "I ask myself if I'm dreaming and I remember my dreams" (That would be linking it to the prospective memory of doing a reality check)?

[Hirondelle]

Went to bed at 23.00, set intentions to remember my dreams. I'd set the alarm at 4, woke up after the first sound, but seemingly not from a dream. Went to the toilet, back to bed and did SSILD (read the tutorial yesterday). Must say I felt quite "dreamy" after doing the cycles, but I didn't drift of straight away. When the alarm woke me up at 7.15 I woke from a dream but wasn't able to hold on to it. The alarm sort of startled me, and I had to move to stop it from going of. I still felt sleepy so I stayed in bed and started the SSILD cycles so that I'd be finished doing them when the house would be quiet again. The exercice really relaxed me again, after turning to my side (my most comfortable position) I realised when I got to the point of falling asleep. It's like a wave starting to roll over me. At that point I don't really know what to do, when I concentrate on it to much that seems to wake me up, when I do nothing......... I fall asleep. Woke up at 9.00 from a dream (that I wrote down ofcourse, in my handwritten DJ) Any tips on this?

[Hirondelle]

At the moment I do RC's at random moments (when I think about it, about 5 times a day). I try to look for dream-like things but my life's not very exciting at the moment. I also do them when something happens that's in the prospective memory exercise. I've been reading about RC's. It makes a lot of sense to me to do a RC when you come across one of your dreamsigns in waking life. The problem is....... I never do! My dreamsigns all seem to be in the country I left 10 years ago. I re-read the first part of ETWOLD and categorized my dreamsigns as proposed. The main category clearly is CONTEXT: people and places. So, does that mean I should concentrate during the day on being aware of where I am, and with whom?

[NyxCC]

Hey Hirondelle! Regarding the ssild question - just allow yourself to fall asleep. Also, with all the practices, don't forget to attach the expectation of having a lucid dream. So, for example, before you begin the SSILD practice, gently remind and reffirm to yourself that after the practice the next thing that is going to happen will be for you to fall asleep and have a lucid dream. I know this sounds very obvious, but sometimes we may be drowsy or forgetful, so it always helps to consciously link the expectation to any of these practices for better results. As far as dream signs are concerned, yes, being aware of the overall context of what is going on during the day and questioning the situation is the right mindset. Also, it may seem more difficult to RC if there are no DS in real life, but on the other hand - having a specific set of circumstances only happen in dream is a great opportunity to catch an ld. For example, I often dream of one of the places I used to live. If am aware of my surroundings during the day and know this place appears now only in dreams, there's a good chance to catch this DS.

[Hirondelle]

Thanks for your reply NyxCC! It's nice to have confirmation that your own way of thinking is the right one. Funny though, how just after writing this, for the first time since I started my DJ on dec, 5, I had a dream experience in the actual here and now. And also a first, a false awakening. I decided to follow the procedure proposed in ETWOLD (possible in the weekend). Went to bed at 23. Set the alarm for 5 o'clock. Got out of bed and stayed up for 2.5 hrs. Spent the last half our thinking about how I was going to dream, have a lucid dream, realise that I'm dreaming. Back in bed I did SSILD. Woke up out of a dream to go the toilet. Tried WILD falling a sleep again. Woke up, very heavy and drowsy, turned to my husband to make love to him. A car drives up to our house, somebody gets out and welcomes our dogs. Somebody opens the door( door is always open). A small dog runs into our bedroom, the door was slightly open. The dog puts its paws on the edge of the bed and licks my face. Someone calls:"Frika!" That's E-J's dog. E-J's face turns up at the door. My husband gets up. I'm just too heavy, too sleepy to get up. After a little while my husband comes back, pulls back his part of the covers. He's angry that I'm not getting up when there's a visitor. After that... I wake up for real... Later, at breakfast, my husband says something that makes me think of another fragment. Wrote that down in the snippets-thread because it was so funny.

[Hirondelle]

25-1 Bed at 23.15, setting the intention to have a lucid dream. The alarm wakes me at 7.15. I remember scenes of dreams. 26-1 Bed at 23, setting the intention to have a lucid dream. Wake up at 7, just before the alarm. I remember a dream and a fragment. I stay in bed, because I feel I can still sleep and dream. I drift in and out of sleep until 9.15. I feel these waves announcing sleep. Sometimes I get images that come with thoughts and I wonder if it's the beginning of a dream, or HI. When I think about that, I'm awake. When I don't think about it...... I wake up later, with our without the memory of a NLD. 27-1 Bed at 23, setting the intention to have a lucid dream. The alarm wakes me at 7.15. I remember 2 dreams. I stay in bed and it's the same thing as yesterday. Drifting in and out of sleep, trying to hang on to awareness wakes me up, letting go makes me fall in unaware sleep. I think I have to work more on questioning things/awareness during the day to make myself question my dreams.

[Hirondelle]

28-1 Bedtime 23.00. I wake up to go to the toilet at 3.45. I remember a dream. Try to fall asleep keeping my consciousness, wake up by the alarm at 7.15. I remember 2 fragments of NLD, and I'm quite sure that I've done a RC. I pinched my nose, but I wasn't able to breathe through it, so it wasn't a dream and I don't remember anything else.... 29-1 Bedtime 23.00. I wake up to go to the toilet at 5.30, no dream. I try to WILD. The alarm goes of at 7.15 and I remember nothing. 30-1 Bedtime 23.30 after smoking a joint. Alarm at 7.15.... My feeling is "uncomfortable", I remember 3 fragments of dreams. 31-1 Bedtime 23.00, setting intentions, to realise that I'm dreaming and remember my dreams. Wake up to go to toilet at 4.15, remember nothing. I try WILD, counting my body to sleep and keeping my mind awake. I think that for the moment it is of no use trying to continue this. I feel like I've woken up 10 times in between 4.15 and 9.00, and started counting again every time....... I listened to the new Dreamview podcast about DJ and recall, and try to read on the internet and in the books (pdf-files) I have. I know that since December 5 I've had some experiences that point in the right direction, but I'm becoming impatient. 11-12 Short lucid dream in which I fly 19-12 In a dream I realize that I'm dreaming and wake up 4-1 Not really about dreaming, but still remarkable: Watching this television "street magician" show, I understood what was happening during a card trick. Better awareness? 10-1 Fell asleep and kept my consciousness when I went to bed and was awake in a "void". Lucidity in Delta sleep? 11-1 I know I've had a lucid dream but I don't remember the dream 14-1 I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, and I don't know where I am, completely disorientated. Normally I can go without opening my eyes if I'd want that. This time I have to make light to know which way I should go. Never had this before. 20-1 Half asleep in the morning I clearly hear somebody say my name. (nobody did) 21-1 I clearly remember a smell in a dream, normally I don't notice smells. 24-1 FA 28-1 failed RC My prospective memory doesn't seem to improve yet, neither does my dream recall

[NyxCC]

I can see progress in your dreaming, keep up the good work. With more practice you should get more of these awareness moments. Your next lucid dream is on its way!

[Hirondelle]

I can see progress in your dreaming, keep up the good work. With more practice you should get more of these awareness moments. Your next lucid dream is on its way! I know, I know, have to stay positive and keep going! I can do it!!!!! Is it important to recognize in your dreams specific things that have passed over from the days happenings, or is this irrelevant, or does all just depend on what you want to think/feel about it? (hope I made clear what I mean). Workbook: 1-2 Bedtime 23.00. Setting intentions to realize that I'm dreaming and remember my dreams. I've been up to go to the toilet without looking at the time and woke up next at 7.05. Don't remember any dreams but I also think I haven't tried hard enough. Went back to bed after my husband and son left the house, remember several short dreams after that, one including a smell again, which is quite rare to me. 2-2 Bedtime 23.00 setting intentions.... Wake up 5.15 for toilet. Wake up 7.15 alarm, I know I dreamt but do not succeed in retrieving, it's like the part of my brain where the dreams are stored is closed and I CAN'T OPEN THE DOOR!!!! 3-2 During the day I installed subliminal messages on my computer (I figure either it works or it doesn't hurt). More about this in the prospective memory thread). Bedtime 23.00 setting intentions. Wake up during the night, don't know what time, setting intentions again. Wake up at 5.15 remember several short dreams and write them down in DJ. Wake up at 7.15 by the alarm and write down two short dreams. Fall asleep again and wake up with 2 dreams and a vague memory of a FA-dream. Since I restarted 2 months ago, I've never remembered so many different dreams in one night! 4-2 Hoped very much to continue like last night, but no..... 23.00 intentions 7.15 wake up...... no dreams. Didn't drink extra water so didn't wake up... Won't skip the drinking step again!!!

[NyxCC]

What's important is the remembering part, obviously, remembering that you are supposed to be dreaming. How you get to this realization can vary. It may be that you recognize that you are in the same dream situation you were couple of nights ago. It can help if you were thinking about this during the day. Or it may be that you have an RC fail. All of the practices you do during the day can help reach that moment of realization, but you don't need to look for a specific practice to show up if you are doing many of them (RCs, critical thinking, ADA, dream signs, etc). Keep paying attention to what is happening around you and keep questioning it and sooner or later things will click in the dream.

[Hirondelle]

Nothing's working at the moment..... I don't recall my dreams and forget my RC's, don't feel "dreamy". Maybe I'll watch Inception tonight, haven't seen it yet... maybe it will bring me in the mood

[Hirondelle]

Jeeez, I really had an off day yesterday..... Went to bed without doing anything than going to sleep. Didn't get up during the night. Woke up a few times and slept again. Stayed in bed after the alarm, no dreams... And then.. when I got out and started to get dressed....... a dream came to me!!!!! Sometimes simple things can really make you happy!!!!

[Hirondelle]

I've looked in my dream journal to see what I should write in my workbook after the last date that I described (4 febr.) I went to bed at about 23 h every night. Sometimes I have to get up to go to the toilet, try WILD when back in bed. Don't remember dreams every night. When I stay in bed after the alarm at 7.10 and in the weekend I drift in and out of sleep for a few hours, usually I remember dreams. But still not lucid. Going to sleep I usually lie still now, concentrate on my breath and start a countdown. I feel that I relax deeper en quicker the more I do it this way. The same when I do this in the afternoon in a reclining chair. I don't question my dreams...... I probably don't question reality enough..... have to put more effort in that. I've been reading about hypnosis ad wonder if setting intentions for dream recall and being lucid under hypnosis wouldn't be a good way. Watched this little video went with it, and was hypnotized, couldn't move my arm! I'll try to put a sleephypnosis track on an Ipod and listen to it when I wake up at 4 or 5 o'clock. At bed time it just makes me go to sleep.

[Patience108]

Nice update Hirondelle Realy interesting that you got hypnotised from the video - I will give it a try as I am a bit of a sceptic so it will be interesting to see Keep it all going - and remember when your drifting in and out of sleep on these 'lie in days ' ( when your able to sleep in after the alarm) you have - it's those times you need to get/work on the feeling inside that ' you are going tobe lucid very soon' and to be saying a mantra..Setting intention. A nice short one can work as you are drifting back to sleep like ' I m dreaming' or some thing. You may be doing this already

[Hirondelle]

Thanks Patience108, Instinctively I feel that when drifting in and out of sleep is the moment to "do it". Will follow your advice (mantra)! About the hypnosis: if you're sceptic I don't think it will work. Just look at it this way.... if lucid dreaming is possible, why wouldn't hypnosis be possible... When you look into the theory about hypnosis you'll see explained that all of us experience hypnosis regularly. For example when you get really "sucked in" to a book, or a movie. Maybe read a bit about it before trying, you'll see that it's not "magic". Spoke to a friend yesterday who told me that 20 years ago she quit smoking after one hypnosis session (in a group) in which she did thought she wasn't even hypnotized. Anyway... it's very interesting!

[Patience108]

Thanks I am one of those stubborn people that don't feel they can be or simply don't like to think of being under anyone's power - but I do believe I can work on my own self belief and empower myself and so I do my best to do that - that's what I mean by being a sceptic. If I allow someone to have powers over me that's different I suppose - but I don't do that often because of that stubbornness thing I mentioned Anyway it's all good - whatever you feel helps

[Hirondelle]

Ok Patience108, I do see what you mean. The thing is, you are still free in your reactions, you only do the things you don't object to. The hypnotist doesn't have really have power over you, it's you who's in control. People who do really funny things in hypnosis shows just don't see any harm in "making a fool of themselves", and if you look at it closely, aren't they right? He couldn't make you undress yourself completely or rob a bank.... Really, I'm not trying to convince you, when I was a student I was at a hypnotists show and I was also convinced that this couldn't happen to me.... And ofcourse..... it didn't! I'm more open to the possibility now :-)

[Hirondelle]

Hi again, don't feel there's a lot of progress, but I'm not giving up yet. Dream recall is difficult, I think that the only way for me to really improve it would be to sleep in a separate bedroom and not with my husband. When I wake up during the night and recall something (of a dream) I have to write it down. I can only do that (without waking my husband) by getting out of bed and write in a separate room. Sometimes I do, but it's to much of a hassle to do that every time. Another thing is that I was relaxed for quite a while but now some stressful things are happening again and I find it hard not to worry and focus on awareness and dreaming. What I did do, and I'm looking forward to it, is make an appointment with this group of people that I saw once a week for a while. We'd get together and discuss different topics. After several months I quit because it was getting to "spiritual" for me and I didn't feel at ease any more. I've contacted the group's leader and asked if she knows about lucid dreaming and if that couldn't be a topic of discussion for an evening. She asked the group and they agreed. Quite a few of them had never heard about it. So I'll be joining them to discuss on the 7th of March. Would be great if by then I can tell them about a new experience! If not I'll also be happy to maybe hear from people who've already experienced it, or explain to people who don't know about it. Most of them do meditation and I therefore think they at least need to know about the possibilities.

[NyxCC]

Hirondelle, regarding night journalling I have several suggestions that may work for you. One would be to keep a pad in an easily accessible well lit private place - for me that's the bathroom. So, if you wake up in the middle of the night, just take your time to write the details while not disturbing your husband. Another option, which I think is excellent for training recall is to mental journal. Start small by only mental journalling one or two dreams per night and slowly work your way up to more dreams. Basically, what you would do is to wake up, recall the dream and then in your mind, tell yourself the dream just as you would actually be journalling for real. Go over the plot several times, adding as much detail as you can. You will find that over time you will be able to recall long dreams even after days have passed. For best result combine this with at least some basic paper/pc journalling - add date, title of dream and key details the following day.