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- I don't think you really did anything terribly wrong. Sometimes, luck plays as important of a role as anything else in determining whether or not you get lucid. You can do everything absolutely right and still not get lucid - or sometimes you can do nothing right and spontaneously have a lucid. Eventually, more and more practice will help reduce luck's influence on it, but for now, rest assured that it sounds like you did everything as well as you could.
- The one thing I would personally change is how long you focus on LDing during your WBTB. I'm not exactly sure how long you "thought really hard about LD", but I've found that if I stay up too long stressing out about it, it does more harm than good - your thoughts start to shift from LD-related to "holy crap, I've been awake for how long??". So once you've been focusing on it for a while (about 15-20 minutes from my personal experience), just know that you've done all that you can, then just focus on falling asleep normally. Because like I said in chat, the #1 killer of lucid dreams is not falling asleep - because obviously you can't dream if you can't sleep!
- Like I said in chat, ultimately it takes a bit of experimentation to find the right time. But usually, setting an alarm for 4.5 hours after you go to sleep works pretty well. After you've tried it a few nights, you might try bumping it forwards or backwards in 5-10 minute increments until you find what works best for you.
Yeah you're right about the RCs. It is helpful that when doing them, pretend like you are in a dream. Lets say you trying to do the finger through palm RC, pretend like you are in a dream and think that your finger will actually go through your hand.
And about your questions. I don't think you did anything wrong actually. What I would do differently though is to wake up after about 4.5 hours (3 hours is a little early) and stay up longer, such as 30-60 minutes (but it's alright if you can't do that since you said you have a slight case of insomnia). When going back to sleep though, I would be relaxed and vizualize a lucid dream I want to have and set an intention that I will have it. After that, I wouldn't think too hard about it, because it's harder to fall asleep for me that way. So I just go to sleep normally after thinking about lucid dreaming. To find the best time for REM for you, you would have to test yourself by waking up at different time each day, and you'll find what time works best for you.
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Long WBTBs are when a person stays awake for at least 2-3 hours but that isn't necessary. 30-60 minutes is fine. And yes, lights and electronics tend to "kill" dream recall. I don't think light has much effect but electronic screens definitely have an effect on recall. What I've actually been doing lately during WBTBs is reading a book. A lucid dreaming book to be more specific (Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge). Reading lucid dreaming books during WBTBs are really helpful because that is enough to get your mind to think about lucid dreaming and it is easy to fall asleep normally right after reading. I would prefer to read articles and posts online but that involves using electronics so that's why I just got myself the book on lucid dreaming.
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Was the light in your dream or did you just see it behind your eyelids while you were falling asleep? I don't really have much of an idea to what that white blinding light meant, as it's the first time I've heard of it (so sorry I can't answer that question). Yes, your dream journals are actually looking better. I see that you are finding dream signs now which is great. So by "why didn't I recognize my DS," I'm assuming you are talking about why you didn't recognize it in your dream. So a dream sign of yours is definitely animals. So since that is a dream sign, it is best to really pay attention to it. By that, it is important to reality check everytime you see an animal. Like you said you have a bunny, you should reality check every time you see your bunny. And set an intention that anytime you see an animal, you might be in a dream and reality check to double check. Set an intention "The next time I see an animal, I might be in a dream and I will reality check." And the white blinding light you saw, it had to be before or right at REM stage since you only had almost 4 hours of sleep. If you find that you recalled a dream or so after you woke up, and the time worked out well for you, then I guess that is a good time to wake up, but no earlier. You could try waking up 10-15 minutes later the next day to experiment.
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Did it flash while your eyeballs were perfectly still, or were your eyeballs moving sharply either up/down or side to side? I think it could possibly be a closed-eye hallucination.
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- It sounds like the white light was probably just some Hypnagogic Hallucinations. Sometimes HH kinda creeps in, but sometimes it can appear suddenly like that. It's nothing to worry about, as HH is totally normal as you're falling asleep (you just usually only notice in when you're trying to lucid dream.
- I didn't get a chance to fully read your DJ, but it does look like the length of your entries is improving, which is always a good sign. For one, the more dreams you remember, the more you'll learn about how often your dream signs show up, and possibly even find new dream signs. In addition, remembering more dreams means more chances to remember when you become lucid (since it is very possible to have a lucid and completely forget it).
- KingCobra pretty much summed it up. You have to be fairly specific in your intentions when training yourself to recognize your dream signs. But in general, just having those dream signs appear in your dreams is a good sign (no pun intended) - that means you're thinking about them and it's starting to influence your dreams. It's most likely just a matter of time, as you've only been really training for a couple days.
- Since the white blinding light was most likely HH, I'd say that was a good time to wake up, since being able to have that HH means you're close to a REM period where you can go right into a dream (and possibly even do WILD eventually).
Also,sometimes the dream signs you have aren't really good dream signs,or are the elusive variety. Like,I thought traveling was a dream sign for me,and it is,but it isn't an effective dream sign,since Even though I don't travel too often,especially by the methods in my dream,it never seems odd,because it isn't that odd an event. As your awareness picks up more though,your chances of noticing these types of dream signs increase aswell though. I think your animals dream sign,like my traveling one,might be too loose to be reliable,but it'll eventually pay off,and you'll find more signs as you progress,no worries.
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So you woke up at 4:00 and recalled a long vivid dream. I would say 4:00 is a good time to wake up. But keep in mind that you went to sleep at 11:00 and woke up at 4:00, which means you had about 5 hours of sleep. So that means a good time to wake up for you would be 5 hours after you fall asleep. So lets say you go to sleep at 12:00 one day; a good time to wake up is 5:00 (basically 5 hours after going to sleep). I also noticed on your DJ entry, you said you woke up at 3:00. Was it 3:00 or 4:00? Either way, if it was 4:00, you know to wake up after 5 hours. If you did wake up at 3:00 and went to bed at the same time (11:00), then that would be 4 hours after falling asleep.
It can be upsetting to wake up and forget a good dream you had. The reason you forgot your dream was probably because you didn't write it down after waking up. Yeah it can be hard to get up and write down your dreams in the middle of the night. So what a lot of people do is that they recall their dream fully in order, then they just jot down on paper the main key points in their dreams (this is what I do). And I make sure I play the whole dream in my head at least once or twice before going to sleep again. When I wake up in the morning, I look at the brief notes and play the whole dream in my head again, and will most likely recall the whole dream again completely. Then thats when I go on DreamViews and write down the full recalled dream(s). But if you find that it is still hard for you to remember your full dream(s) in the morning after jotting down a few things at night, then it would be best to just write the whole dream at night right after you wake up and recall it (which can be hard, but its worth it).
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- If you remembered a long vivid dream after waking up for a WBTB, then that is good. So I'd say 4:00 is a time that actually works for you. You usually end up recalling a vivid dream around that time, so 4:00 is best for WBTB.
- Of course you are getting closer to LDing! The more effort and practice (RCs and intentions) you put into it, then the more likely you are closer to a lucid dream. Just keep up the RCs and intentions, along with patience and motivation. I know you will have a lucid dream soon!
- Your reality checks and awareness seem to be going well, if you are doing them often throughout the day. Most dreams that end up lucid are due to awareness of your surroundings. So it is important to keep awareness throughout the day and RC on unusual moments and RC usually throughout the day.
- After a WBTB when going to bed, it is up to you what you want to do as you're falling sleep. A lot of people do an induction method to enter a lucid dream (MILD, WILD, FILD, etc). But I'm assuming you are working on DILD as of right now. What you can do is think about lucid dreaming and then just normally go to sleep. DILD is just becoming lucid during a non-lucid dream, so there shouldn't really be a technique to induce as you're falling asleep, other than just thinking about lucid dreaming and going to sleep normally. If you want to, you can mix part of the MILD technique (LD vizualization step) before you fall asleep.
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Yes, it's still very possible to LD without having LDing occupy your every waking thought. In fact, dialing it back will probably help a bit, since it'll keep you from getting over-stressed about "making it work" and let you feel more relaxed and positive about lucid dreaming as a whole. Fun fact - it's even a fairly common scenario for people to try really hard for weeks or months to LD before giving up, and within a week or two of giving up entirely, they end up having their first lucid without actively trying for it (I'm not saying you should give up, I'm just trying to show that it's still possible to LD even without exhausting yourself with effort).Quote:
Originally Posted by KaliCo
No, you're not going downhill. If one bad night was all it took for you to have to start again from square 1, no one would be able to get lucid, because they'd be restarting everything over and over again. Everything you've been practicing for is still well in your mind - you won't lose that overnight. Sometimes it's even best to take a night off to just rest and recharge, especially if you're feeling exhausted or you won't have enough sleep if you WBTB (you might even have a random lucid like I mentioned above).Quote:
Originally Posted by KaliCo
Even the best lucid dreamers sometimes have "dry spells" now and then, where they notice a dip in lucidity or dream recall. So having a bad night now and then is not just you - everyone has them every once in a while. The key is to not let those temporary setbacks convince you that you're doing something horribly wrong. In this case, you recognized that the tea may have cause your lack of dreams since you didn't sleep as well, but sometimes you might be set back by something entirely out of your control. So obviously try your best to control what you can control (but don't overly stress, like I said before), but don't think that you've destroyed your chances if you don't see the results you expect.
Go back to that list of things you want to accomplish in a lucid, and take a minute or two on each one to kind of imagine in your head. As you do, imagine all the senses that go along with them. For example, as you imagine yourself flying, think of the cool wind blowing across your skin as you soar, the sight of the world appearing so tiny beneath you, and the freedom that you feel of no longer being tethered to the ground. Remind yourself that all of the senses that you "imagine" will feel incredibly realistic once you're in the dream and lucid. It might even help if you start your visualization with one of your previous dreams - then, imagine yourself noticing a dream sign, becoming lucid, and then accomplishing that goal as described above.Quote:
Originally Posted by KaliCo
Another thing that I've found is good motivation is to read some other people's DJ entries - particularly the lucid ones. Some of my favorites include:
Hyu (If you never read another DJ, read this one - it's incredible, and really shows you the extent of what's possible in lucid dreaming)
Sensei
CanisLucidus
JadeGreen
~Dreamer~
spellbee2 (What? I have cool dreams every now and then...)
I understand you when you say "i'm not into LDing as when I first started." That is my main cause of not having lucid dreams often. At some points, I would really thinking about it and put effort, and then later I think to myself "It's alright if I don't focus on lucid dreaming right now. I got other times later on." Things like that which got focus off of lucid dreaming. Yes it's still possible to easily lucid dream without thinking about it much such as with certain techniques. It doesn't have to be all you can think about during the day (that's not the case). Just simply keep up the reality checks and WBTBs and your progress. Don't frustrate over it and stay patient. I'd say to avoid drinking too much caffeine (caffeine = harder to sleep = going to sleep later = less time in REM sleep = fewer chances to LD and less recall). Try not to lose interest in lucid dreaming and keep up your progress.
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<@gab^> the clown face was most likely HH
<@gab^> when her hand shut up, she was on the werge or already dreaming
<@gab^> so back to kalico, she said she knew she was dreaming, so she was aware just before the dream and perhaps after she entered the dream, but she lost lucidity quickly
<KingCobra> so it was still a short lucid
Nice job! Congrats! :goodjob:
Hope you're also feeling better :)
Congrats on the ld! :)
Hope you're feeling better.
That definitely sounds like a DEILD, congrats! See, I told you you could do it!
This is the void.Quote:
Originally Posted by KaliCo
The moment you are in the void, smack your hands together and begin rubbing, listen for the sound of your breathing, maybe even begin to give verbal commands. Kick off you shoes feel the ground/floor beneath your feet. Walk until you come to a door handle and turn it.
Never just give up :)
If you find yourself apparently having awoken in bed, don't believe it
Verify it. If you can't verify it your still dreaming you have survived the void.
Of course you may come out in a same or similar lucid instead of bed, or even in one you are wanting to go (thinking of going) to.
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- This was another lucid dream. A DILD. :goodjob2: Even if you didn't have much control or thinking properly, it was still a lucid dream. Remember a lucid dream is any dream in which you are aware you are dreaming. Since you knew you were dreaming, it was a lucid dream.
- From what I read, it was most likely a real lucid. You probably didn't recall what triggered your lucidity though. But you still knew you were dreaming.
- Sometimes, after you put too much effort into lucid dreaming, and then don't really try for a while, you might have lucid dream(s). It's common.
- If you still get lucids without much effort later on, then that would be luck. I suggest to at least keep putting effort.
- Yes it would be helpful for a DJ, as it will help your recall and with your lucid dreaming.