I am new to lucid dreaming. I had one a long time ago when I was a child. I recall this dream because I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't escape. I tried to escape by acting like I was going to fall asleep, but it didn't work. I eventually woke up, else I wouldn't be typing this today. At the time I didn't know what lucid dreaming was, but I eventually heard about it. I saw how one might go about learning to lucid dream, but the idea of having a dream journal seemed like it was mandatory. I tried once, but nothing happened, so I didn't bother.

As of January 9, 2013, I began trying to have lucid dreams. A friend of mine told me she had them because we were talking about dreams. So this kind of sparked my interest. I was curious if lucid dreaming was real or not. I wondered if one would actually be aware, or if one is just dreaming about being aware while not really aware. I decided to start a dream journal that night and have been writing my dreams since. I've been trying to go with WILD, even though I'm new to lucid dreaming. I hear WILD is for those who are a bit more experienced, but if I don't practice, how will I experience one?

Yesterday, early in the morning after I wrote in my journal, I went back to bed and replayed a dream, and I believe I experienced a lucid dream. In my dream I was on a bus, but I somehow ended up in a car with two other people in it. I looked behind me and saw the bus through the window. I got out of the car and saw that it was number 25. I thought, "I don't ride bus 25, but 26." Suddenly, the 5 became a 6 and then I realized I was dreaming. I said, "I am dreaming. I am dreaming!" Then everything became black and I woke up.

Through this journey so far, it has been discouraging for me. It wasn't until yesterday that I was encouraged by this lucid dream. I just need to continue to practice. I might have experienced one this morning as well, but I can't tell if I was thinking, "This is just a dream" when I was awake or when I was asleep. It wasn't easy to tell. Either way, I had been picking up unusual things in my dreams prior to my first lucid dream since I've been practicing, so I feel like that's helping.

I try to do reality checks every day and I try to be aware of my surroundings, asking myself if I am dreaming and even saying throughout the day things like, "I dream and I am aware." It's not easy! But I try my best. Anyway, I apologize for such a long introduction, but I'll be sure to check around and see what I can do to improve my chances of lucid dreaming.