Porcupine's New Workbook

Introduction
I've been trying to get back into lucid dreaming for maybe five months now, but it is not really happening. I'm hoping that starting a new workbook here will help me with focus and self discipline. Let's see. At my last attempt I did not last very long.

Besides lucid dreaming, I've also become interested in OBEs. I really want to experience this, and since I think these two topics are related (actually I'm not entirely convinced that OBEs are not a type of lucid dreaming, but that's me, ever the sceptic), I will combine my attempts and record them here.

History of dreaming
I've always had vivid dreams and good recall. As a child I had many nightmares, and for this reason my mother would often ask what I'd dreamt. This probably made me more aware and interested in return.

I remember having a small degree of control and a faint awareness of the fact that I was dreaming throughout my childhood, especially during nightmares, but I never had actual lucid dreams.

Some years ago, during a nightmare where I was running from a monster in a factory-type building, I decided to hide in a room, close the door and just decide that the monster couldn't get me in there, since it was a dream, and I could control it. This worked, and when I woke up I went on the internet to research lucid dreaming. Shortly thereafter I had my first real lucid dream, and it was a very powerful experience. Since then I've had maybe ten to twenty lucid dreams (all DILDs), but both lucidity and recall have severely declined the last few years because of my lack of self-discipline.

History of OBEs
There's not a lot to report here. I think I had an OBE as a child. I remember sort of floating from the top bunk in my bedroom and down to the floor, turning slowly in the air, feeling weightless and disoriented. After it happened I actually thought for years that I had crawled into my brother's bed during the night (I usually slept on the bottom bunk) and really had fallen down, and then crept back in my own bed, but in retrospect this seems very unlikely.

I used to have a really bad nightmare, which only consisted of sounds and feelings. There would be incredibly loud noises, deep and monotone, all around me, accompanied by an intense feeling of horror and fragility (I descriped it to my mother as "standing in a bright yellow canyon, holding out my arm, a fifteen cm needle standing on one finger and balancing a boulder on top of the needle"). But the interesting thing about this nightmare was that it didn't stop when I woke up. As soon as I would lay down and try to fall asleep again, the noises would return followed by the feelings. Nowadays I suspect it was really some sort of sleep hallucinations.

So hopefully I'm still capable of these types of experiences. I'm optimistic!

Short-term goals
- Improve recall
- Have a lucid dream
- Have an OBE
- Try different induction tecniques in both areas

Long-term goals
- Have regular lucid dreams and OBEs and explore the possibilities they offer!

Reality checks
- Nose pinch
- Count fingers

Dream signs
To be honest these never really seemed to work for me, maybe because my dreams are often very unrealistic, and I'm accustomed to this. But I'll try:
- Kittens
- Apocalyptic scenarios
- Identity changes
- Flying

Current recall
A few fragments per night.

Current tecniques
- DILD (the only one that has ever worked for me)
- WILD (I'l give it another go)
- Meditation (I'm a blundering beginner who has no idea what she's doing, but I really want to explore this too)
- Visualization for OBEs

Day 1
- No lucids or OBEs
- One dream, four fragments
- Vibrations

The night
I went to bed around 23. I did a relaxing tecnique with moderate success. I have to do something about the tension in my shoulders. I went to sleeping position and tried to drift of to sleep while keeping a little awareness on what was happening. I noticed my thoughts "floating away" a few times and each time I had a surge back to full conciousness. But that's okay, it will hopefully help my awareness of different stages of conciousness.

At one point I felt faint vibrations in my body, mostly in the torso and the thighs. I'm very encouraged by this, since I've never noticed before.

I fell to sleep without further progress. I woke up a few times during the night, but was too out of it to write anything down. My sleep was deep and it is a bit difficult for me to remember anything clearly.

In the morning (around 7:30) I recorded one dream and four fragments.

I failed to do reality check upon waking, which I really should do, as I have a history of false awakenings.

Today
I will meditate, practice awareness and reality checks and read up on DILD, WILD and other induction methods. I will read my books on OBEs. I will not have an afternoon nap today, since I rarely remember any dreams when doing this and it prevents me from being tired in the evening.

Day 2
- No lucids or OBEs
- Three dreams
- Vibrations

The night
Went to sleep at 00:00. Used relaxing tecnique with success. Used energy-focusing tecnique, maybe some effect. Tried drifting off to sleep while aware, which went worse than yesterday, though I did notice very faint vibrations a a couple of surges.

In one dream I was trying to have an OBE. I was lying down and doing excercises different places. I even did several reality checks (nose pinch) which told me that I was dreaming, but I didn't believe it! Very, very frustrating. I also wrote in my dream journal a few times in my dream...

Today
Meditation, awareness practice (really get into this one), read more. I will do reality check every time I wake, record a dream, look at the time.

Welcome to the class, porcupine!

That OBE dream sounds so close! Next time you will catch it.