Are some people not able to lucid dream?

Hi, I am new to the forums. I am starting to think I can't lucid dream, been trying for a year.

So here is the situation:

Dream Recall- excellent, can write pages almost every night, been doing that for years. Dreams tend to be very complex and very weird. Rarely a dream is repeated or similar.


The main problem is making lucidity happen, I have read about every technique and did a few.

DILD- Failed, did reality checks for a while. I don't think this technique will work for me, interupts day too much

MILd-Failed

WILD- Basically tried to meditate when going to sleep. And I have some experience meditating. I have tried this countless times, either:
a. I feel chills run through me, body feels real heavy. Then I am just stuck like that for a good 20-35 minutes until my focus gives out and lose meditative state.
b. I fall asleep
c.Can't concentrate random stuff like being uncomfortable or a thought blocks me

WBTB- I just fall asleep again, lol.



Let me know if you have any ideas. I would like to stay away from supplements (I do eat very healthy though). I would also like to focus on WILDs, since that does not require any consistency (my day schedule is very erratic).

Thanks

Well, in my experience reality checks never worked properly, so I seldom ever used them, and don't do now - they just fail too often, too bloody often did I push my finger through my palm in a dream and thought it was completely normal.
When I first started out with LD'ing, however, I was able to get numerous LD's consecutively for a week at a time; I thought I was a natural, and maybe I am, but something happened about half a year ago that made me think about what happened.
Basically, I gave up on LD'ing for a few long months and when I tried to get back into it, I couldn't get any, even after a couple weeks of trying and frustration. I asked myself, what did I do earlier that I am not doing now? Everything seemed the same. Same diet, same habits, lifestyle, no particular technique. And then I stumbled across the technique ADA, posted by KingYoshi.
(Dunno if link works, I can't do this kind of technicality :P) http://www.dreamviews.com/f49/all-da...gyoshi-113253/

Once I read that, I realised that this is exactly what I had been doing before that made me have tons of lucids. I did this technique without even knowing it was a proper technique, and was surprised to see a tutorial on it. Primarily, what it is is being aware of what's happening around you at all times, paying attention to the little things, and the surreality of real life. Really easy to do, to be honest, and although I think it takes more time than reality checks, you can fully enjoy doing it.
So, best of luck with your efforts, and I really hope this technique works for you every bit as well as it did for me :D

Quote:

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Failed, did reality checks for a while. I don't think this technique will work for me, interupts day too much

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That is the exact reason why it won't.
That is the whole point of a reality check. To break you out of "reality" for a second and make you doubt your surroundings. If you don't do it in waking life, you won't do it in a dream.

For reality checks, you need to get it into a HABBIT, a habbit that will carry over into your dream. But not just a mindless "go through the motions" habbit, you need to actually doubt your surroundings when you do the check. This is why it fails for so many people, they make it a mindless habbit and aren't actually mentally asking if they are dreaming.

It took me well over a year to have my first lucid as well, so don't give it up just yet. Try to get your motivation going again, and remember to put some real effort into it. I know that after a year, it is hard to put a lot of effort into it, because you feel like it just won't work. That is one of the biggest hurddles to get over.

Both of you kind of pointed to the same problem. I see what I am doing wrong now.

Most of my day I am kind of not lucid in reality, if that makes sense. So I need to question reality like insanekid said (like really question it) and possibly over time get the ability for full awareness most of the time (from that awesome all day awareness article).

Thanks Mystycal and InsaneKid.

I must admit it is a bit difficult to carry through, I am sorta worried that I am wasting tons of time on some New Age BS (sorry that is insulting). But I can push my doubts aside for another month or 2, plus the payoff is very very high if I make it.

Glad we could help, hopefully it will click for you. :)

As for the whole "New Age" idea, don't worry about that. Firstly, lucid dreaming has been around for HUNDREDS of years, only now is it getting a little more publicity. Secondly, all lucid dreaming is identical to normal dreaming with the sole exception of realising it when it is happening. That is it, prety simple.

I know it can be hard to learn if you are "iffy" about the concept. That is probably part of the reason it took me well over a year to first accomplish, I wasn't sure if it was even real for a while.

I have been trying LD for 3 years to no avail.
I'm kinda lazy now and the enthusiasms have already burned out.
But, I still try and try.
DO NOT GIVE UP!

Just gotta say ADA works! I have been trying ADA and also making sure I completly interupt my day if I am not in ADA mode so I can get back.

LD (direct from my DJ): I woke up in the middle of the night (b-room run). When I went back to sleep I noticed I was having the same dream (a semi nightmare-forgot). I stop I notice everything is off, do a RC, I'm dreaming! So I immediately try to fly, I am a bit shaky but I am able to do it, it is so awesome. But I'mstuck in some creepy mansion (so couldn't fly high). So I try to change scenery.

Now a quick note - Whenever I try to do something I almost see my severe doubt in my abilities hanging around my neck (in real life I do not have much general confidence either).

So I try to spin and change, the colors blure but stay stuck on mansion (I almost feel the environment resisting me-weird). So I really focus this time, all I can do is get outside the mansion. And then I'm like I should have sex, but there are no people. I start taking off very shakily but dream destabilizes, lots of random thoughts/colors/images (google maps,l sunny sidewalks, California). I wake up probably a few hours later (had some other dreams too, not lucide).

Overall, This was awesome even if it only lasted 2 minutes and was not very vivide/clear and I had almost no control. Also, I could not think very clear.

Also, this was kind of odd, when I woke up in the morning it was the best sleep ever, I feel like a million bucks right now.

Very cool, looks like LDing is possible. Thanks again, that was so awesome.
Quick note on ADA ing. I found what was helpful for me, it was like an epiphany moment sorta. Of course I highly recommend the link in mystical's post.

Basically throughout the day just make sure not to 'get lost' in anything always try to feel/see/smell/etc. everything, notice all your thoughts. But do not get lost in them, just watch them.

bdream, I merged your two posts together. Try and avoid double posting in the future. Now, back to the thread :) How long did you keep with each technique for? To see any development of a new technique you should stay with it for at LEAST a month or two. I'm trying out a new technique and it's taken me 4 weeks to have a first lucid dream induced by this new technique.
For all techniques, practice is crucial, just like any other skill. No one ever perfected anything on their first new tries now, did they? ;)

Thanks for merging the posts, sorry about that.

Wow, I didn't know it took 1-2 months. After about a week of trial runs I will usually ditch a technique to try a different one or at least alter it if it is failing. I will extend my trial time then.

Thanks