Having Trouble Getting Into A Lucid Dream?

[Danshan]

Hello Dream Views community. So I learned about LDing just 3 days ago, so that night I wake up really faintly and start saying "I am dreaming". I remember saying it twice then hearing an alarm then i was in a lucid dream. I continued on to have another one right after that. Then, the next night i was desperate to have another one so I can try what i've learned and have more control etc. I wasnt lucky, then last night I tried again and still, nothing. I want to be usseccful tonight, i have a dream journal right by the head of my bed and Im all ready to go. I have tried the FILD, WILD/WBTB, and taking a nap in the day. I have set my alarm for 12:30am, 2:15 am, and 4:30am. I wake up but then i dont fall right back to sleep and cant get lucid. I either cant find my REM cycle, or maybe my alarm is too disturbing and breaking the cycle. I tried taking a nap, and I could feel my eyes moving rapidly and my body felt like it was floating, but then its so intense i loose my focus. Should I trust my body to wake up in the middle of the night and become lucid from there? Or do you know something can help me get lucid? Please HELP

[Burke]

Just want to say congrats on the first LD and hopefully your next one will come soon! Be sure to keep that dream journal going, even if it's just notes. I would say that you should calm down a little bit and not try too many techniques. You will want to try a couple at a time, such as WBTB (wake back to bed)/WILD (wake induced lucid dream) which are commonly combined, and find out which one works best for you. Taking naps is a good way to try WILDs but they aren't for everyone, like me, i just can't get past the feeling of going from my waking body to my dream body. Also, you don't want to wake up multiple times in the middle of the night. I take it you go to sleep around 9:30/10? If so, you want to set your alarm for somewhere between 3-5 to find when your REM periods seperate. Waking up at midnight and interrupting your deep sleep can be detrimental to your dreaming/sleep. Don't over-work youself. I tried that when i first started and i never got a LD until about 2 weeks in when i slowed down a bit and just tried one technique at a time, and i got my first lucid in my 3rd week. That's about the best advice i can give you, since I mainly do DILDs/MILDs, but if you have any more questions I'll try my best to help you out.

[Danshan]

Thanks alot burke! Im always looking to have great tips so i definitely owe you one. I will for sure slow my self down and try one thing at a time. But what technique works best for you? and how often do you have Lds?

[Burke]

Glad i could help! I would say i have at least one LD a week, and sometimes i get 3 or 4 a week every once in a while. Personally, I like to use DILD/MILD. When using MILD though you don't want to straight out say it or keep it on the top of your mind the entire time. Maybe repeat it a dozen times and then just keep it in the back of your head. I also really enjoy DEILDs because you can just keep doing them over and over without much effort. It only takes a little while to train yourself to stay still when you wake up, which is also useful for dream recall. It's bets to find which technique works best for you though. Eveyrone is different. My first LD was a DILD, and one time i chained 4 seperate LDs together in a row one morning LDing is all about practice. It takes time to get good but it is well worth it. I'm not the best LDer here by any means, but i have had a decent amount of experience.

[Danshan]

Thats great burke! Im going to look into those techniques and try them out maybe one technique per week and see how i do. Thanks alot again! Happy dreaming!