New to lucid dreaming!

[Captaink45]

Hello everyone! I just recently joined dreamviews and have been trying to lucid dream for 3 weeks no, with not even a hint of progress. I do almost constant reality checks (mostly plugging the nose to see if I can breathe), using a dream journal, reading LaBerge's book on lucid dreaming, and just thinking about it and saying I will have a lucid dream before I go to bed. How long has it taken some of you to have your first lucid dream?? Am I doing something wrong, should I be doing something more?? Thanks guys and hope to hear from you soon!!

[Binsk]

Heya Captaink! Welcome to the forums! Don't get discouraged, it can take a greatly variable amount of time between people. Some have lucid dreams on their first nights, some (like myself) have to wait over a year of trying until they get success. Just keep plugging away at your dream journal, that is one of the most effective tools you can have. However, don't let it become a chore or it might even have the opposite effect and prevent you from remembering dreams! Basically by keeping a dream journal you are doing two things, 1) telling your subconscious that dreams are important and worth remembering, and 2) keeping a record of all possible dream-signs that you can use to trigger reality checks. This brings me to the next thing, reality checks. Performing reality checks randomly has NEVER worked for me. You need to have an event trigger a reality check, or moreso, reality checks should be performed AFTER you are already questioning if you are dreaming. This begs the question, "Well how can I tell if I am dreaming so I can do a reality check?" to which my answer is, dream signs. After a few days of keeping a dream journal, you should be able to go back through your dreams and find common occurences, situations, or the like. You need to train yourself to doubt reality and do a reality check when these things happen in real life. If that habit sticks, then it will carry over into your dreams. Let me provide an example for ya. Let's say every once in a while in your dreams a friend of yours shows up and says hi. Every time you see this friend in real life, do a reality check when they say hi. Can't find anythign that specific? Ok, something more abstract can work. Let's say every once in a while in your dreams you get a nagging feeling that something bad is going to happen, or perhaps buildings are often yellow in your dreams, or maybe winter is a common theme. Whenever you have a nagging feeling, see a yellow building, or are reminded of winter try a reality check to make sure you aren't dreaming! Now the hard part that people overlook here is actually doubting reality when doing a reality check. Of course when you come across a dream sign in real life you may think, "Oh, well I know I am not dreaming, but I have to do a reality check." So you go through the motions, it fails, and now you are sure you are awake. The issue is that you will have the exact same mindset or thought process in a dream. As such, when it is time to do a reality check, actually look around, make sure things aren't a dream, try and think what you did earlier in the day up to that point, then do your reality check. This will help you to avoid just going through the motions, and actually performing a good reality check. If worst comes to worst and you are a few months in without lucid dreaming, take a break. Sometimes your brain just needs time to relax, so if you completely forget about lucid dreaming and don't practice it for a week it may trigger a lucid dream, or make it easier when you start back up. Anyway, I hope this advice helps! Good luck with lucid dreaming!

[roman67]

Welcome To Dream Views. Don’t worry. You will definitely get a dream very soon. You need to do more practice. It may take 1 year, 1 month, 1 week or 1 day for getting a lucid dream. I have got my first lucid dream when I didn’t even know what lucid dreaming is.

[melanieb]

**Thread moved to the Introduction Zone** Welcome to the forum! InsaneKid gave you some good advice and information. Many people who come here can't understand why they don't have lucid dreams. The truth is that some people just seem to be predisposed to it and some require a little nudging to get their mind on the right track. That's why we are all here. To help your mind figure out why dreams should be important to you and how to enjoy the experience. Dreaming really can be more than simply watching a movie you occasionally star in. Lucid Dreaming makes you the director. Keep up with the efforts (RCs, Writing in a DJ) and read up on the subject. Additionally try clearing your mind before bed and allowing the thoughts of the day to melt away. If you do ponder thoughts as you enter sleep let them be of only one or two specific things at most, in particular thoughts pertaining to whatever you wish to see in a dream. Keep the thoughts simple, something you can remember without even making an effort to put it into your mind. A word like "dream" can be enough if it means something special to you and has connected emotions. What you are trying to do is train your mind to retain dream memories as important ones to keep (recall) and then allow you to become lucid in a dream (awareness) so that you can control what you see or experience. Much like training in the martial arts this can take time. Some people will be naturals...others will require more effort to make the mind/body connection. Given time you will make progress...until one day, much like the skilled martial artist, you will break the boards with your hand and join the ranks of those who have learned to connect to something inside that most people never even knew existed. I know that may sound a little philosophical but the metaphor holds true. I am a staffmember here at DreamViews. If you have any questions or would like specific help please feel free to post your questions on the forum or send me a private message by clicking on my profile name. I wish you pleasant dreams!