Herculean's Workbook

Reality Checks:
Questioning phrase: "Am I dreaming right now?", "Is this a dream?"
A push of the fingers through the opposite palm.
Two consecutive glances at the time separated by looking away.
An attempt at breathing through the nostrils while they are constricted.

Dream Signs:
Friends

Short-Term Goals:
Achieving lucidity.
Sharpening my lucidity.
Increasing my dream recall.
Developing a daily routine to increase lucidity.
Properly executing induction techniques.
Achieving OOBE's alongside Lucid Dreams.

Long-Term Goals:
Achieving consistent lucidity.
Maintaining a powerful sense of lucidity.
Perfecting my dream recall.
Perfecting a daily routine to increase lucidity.
Applying all induction techniques.

Lucid/Dream Recall History:
Daily

Current Technique:
WBTB?
MILD?
DILD?

Welcome Herculean! :)

Why is there a question mark next to the techniques? Have you tried any of these so far? At any rate, they seem like a good choice, especially adding wbtb.

Update #1

I started a hand-written dream journal that I keep beside my bed. Each night I record any memories of the dreams that I may have had in this personal record. I have been using it on a consistent basis. I have a total of nine entries. Two of which have included the time that I have woken up.

Just to understand, what is the distinction between a non-lucid dream and a lucid dream? Usually, I am able to recall a good amount of substance of the dreams I have when I wake up. Either as I wake up, within the hour that I wake up, or throughout the day with careful thought. That being said, I believe that could simply just be dream recall. Is a lucid dream essentially a state of dreaming that feels as we do in our waking moments? Where we are entirely aware of everything that is going? As in I close my eyes and enter an entirely new world? Or is it simply when you remember having a dream and remember knowing within that dream you were dreaming.

Usually before bed I attempt to enter a WILD. I will remain perfectly still, listen to binaural music, and attempt to clear my mind. I practice MILD techniques to increase my chances of having a lucid dream. I will speak to myself positively about having a dream, as well as listening to binaural beats/theta waves, etc. I routinely practice ADA and RCs. When I feel the urge to do a RC, I make sure to thoroughly perceive the world carefully and precisely through all of my senses. One thing I enjoy doing is attempting to push the air around me as if it were water, to see if it has anymore weight. Most of the time I will wake up before I am truly energized, so I'll go back to asleep and attempt a WBTB WILD. However, I have yet to successfully transition into the dream-world without losing consciousness.

A lot of the guides on this website are vague in regards to concentration and focus techniques. "Clear your mind of thoughts." Your brain is designed to think how do you prevent it from doing so? "Do not focus on imagery that appears, let it naturally go by." Where else am I supposed to look when things pass by my eyes? (lol). Ontop of that, it is incredibly hard to keep your eyes focused on one point when there is nothing to focus on in the darkness of your eyelids. How do you stay conscious without losing it and entering a dream? The idea of entering a WILD truly fascinates me and I am very eager to achieve one, but I believe I'll need a rather in-depth guide other than general suggestions to achieve it.

Other than that, I feel as though my dream recall is improving and I am better able to understand these dreams. I am also learning to "second-nature" my ADA and RC's throughout the day! :)

Sounds like you're on the right track with the practices. :)

Regarding the differences between lucid and non-lucid dreams, in lucid dreams you would know that you are dreaming. Everything can look exactly the same as a normal dream or even real life, but you would be able to still spot a difference, you would know.

A lot of times, one may be able to catch a dream sign, something very unusual, which can then prompt the dreamer, lead to increased awareness and the famous aha moment when you realize it's a dream. At other times it can be much more subtle and without any other reason you would simply know it's a dream. It may sound quite vague or mysterious but our brains really know how to do that, some people are able to have lucid dreams even from an early age without being told what a lucid dream is. And now that we all know about this possibility, there are even more resources and ideas how to go about inducing lucidity.

I have to say I laughed when I read those quotes from the guides. Teaching someone what to do with their mind isn't an easy thing as you well found out. As far as "clear your mind" is concerned, I would recommend to try to relax instead. You can focus on different areas of your body and feel the tension go in each one, etc. Feel free to explore any relaxation guides, these should definitely help with WILD.

When wilding, the main idea is to find a small point of focus, such as your breathing, the darkness behind your eyelids (there doesn't have to be a specific point there, just overall), the feel of your body, or even the sound of your environment. That is being done for the purpose of keeping a portion of you gently awake (while you still properly fall asleep), so that you don't miss out the transition. But even if you fully fall asleep in the process, there may be the benefit of a DILD shortly thereafter as you are already in the mindset of having a lucid dream.