hello everyone! help wanted on LD

Hi everyone i am new to lucid dreaming as long with this website i know it takes a long time i have been writing down my dreams for about a week now but i do not know how long it is going to take for me to lucid dream or if i am doing something wrong or just missing something all together. Every night before i go to bed i tell myself tonight i am going to realize i am dreaming, then i fall asleep, once i wake up i write down whatever is on my mind about my dream(s). during the day i also do reality checks, i look in the mirror and i try pushing my finger through my hand while i ask myself am i dreaming? i do these maybe every hour and a half to two hours. can someone who knows what they are talking about please help me out. I am a newbie lol but i just want to know if i should do something different or if i am doing just fine.

Hi dalton, welcome to DV!

Sounds like you doing it right, let's just tweak it a bit.
1. Keep writing your dreams in a dream journal.

2. Keep saying mantras as you falling asleep. Try to make it your last thought before dozing off, that's the time when mantras ar most powerfull. Make sure, all of them are in present tense, never future.

3. Try this basic mantra + RC and basic awareness technique:
- Couple of times during day, no matter what you doing, ask yourself a question 'Am I dreaming'.
This question has to give you a jolt, has to startle you and you really have to consider the answer. Don't just automatically answer 'of course I'm not'.
Look around and notice details. Pretend, you already had a bunch of lucids and they were so realistic, you had hard time telling them apart from waking reality. So, that moment could also be a dream. Look at your hands and count your fingers. Do you have the right amount? Do they look normal? Do a reality check. Tru to put your thumb through your palm. Is it going through? Pinch your nose and expect to be able to breathe. Can you? Can you levitate? If not, it's safe to say you are not dreaming. Repeat this mantra a few times "Next time I'm dreaming, I look at my hands and realize I'm dreaming", while looking at your hands. Repeat this mantra also as you falling asleep.

4. Make sure, that you are enthusiastic and happy when doing RC, mantras and awareness technique. Try not to use any reminders to RC. There will not be any in your dream.

5. Nobody can predict how long it will take you to have your first LD. The main factor is, how enthusiastic you are about lucid drems, how strong is your intention and if you believe in yourself. If you believe that you will have one tonight, then you just might!

Happy dreams:)