Hello folk of Dreamviews + little bit of advice needed!

Hi there everyone. I have just joined this fantastic website and I look forward to sharing and talking about lucid dreaming on here!
I first learnt about lucid dreaming a couple of months ago but didn't really understand it. But On Sunday 24th March 2013 I found out about it again and became so interested in it all. I started learning about the DILD and MILD techniques and methods and began on that sunday night. That first night I dreamt I was talking to someone about lucid dreaming but never became lucid so I think I am off to not a bad start. Obviously only 5 days in I have yet to have a lucid dream but the techniques I have been attempting are reality checks throughout the day, started my dream journal on monday morning and use the MILD technique before I go to sleep (I need to improve on my MILD though). I think my dream recall is okay as I can usually remember one dream per night (usually a lot of parts from it) and usually remember it throughout the whole day. The last 2 days I started the WBTB technique (for DILD). This is where I could use some advice from someone. My sleep patterns are usually mixed as I don't have a set time to go to bed. The first night I tried WBTB I went to bed at about 12 and set my alarm for 6am. I actually naturally woke at 5.30am which was really unusual for me to do that and then I went back to sleep for another 30 minutes till 6 am. I got up (did not wake up straight from a dream) and just visualized what I wanted my dream to be and after 20 minutes went back to sleep using MILD. That morning I actually remembered that I had quite a vivid dream and wrote it in my journal. I tried WBTB again the following night but instead I went bed at 1.30am and this time got up 5 hours from going to sleep (when the alarm woke me, I did not wake up straight from a dream again). I then for about 30 minutes went on my iPhone and just researched lucid dreaming and read people's experiences. I then went back to bed and because I am on holiday now I did not wake till 11.10am (Lazy I know!) I had a couple of pretty vivid dreams and for the first time, I remembered more than one dream (not everything about them though) but the parts I remembered were vivid and wrote them in my journal. So should I continue using WBTB technique and should I keep trying different times so I can wake straight from REM? Or keep at WBTB but just keep one constant time to get up regardless of if I wake up straight from REM or not? And I know It is still early days but I cant help feeling a wave of disappointment swoop over me when I wake up because I did not have a lucid dream. This is probably because I get so excited at night and during the day believing I will have one! So could anyone give me any advice about dealing with disappointment and about my WBTB technique? And I have yet to spot any dreamsigns yet but I do feel my recall is better with WBTB. Thank you if you read through the whole of this!! and a big thanks if anyone replies!

Many thanks, Marcus

First of all: welcome, MarcusT! Great to have you here. :welcome:

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Originally Posted by MarcusT

That first night I dreamt I was talking to someone about lucid dreaming but never became lucid so I think I am off to not a bad start.

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Good. Good! This is just the sort of thing that you want to have happen. It's good to have LD permeating your dreamtime thoughts. When the concept of lucid dreaming is on your mind, it's far, far easier for you to actually become lucid.

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Originally Posted by MarcusT

I actually naturally woke at 5.30am which was really unusual for me to do that and then I went back to sleep for another 30 minutes till 6 am... I tried WBTB again the following night but instead I went bed at 1.30am and this time got up 5 hours from going to sleep (when the alarm woke me, I did not wake up straight from a dream again). I then for about 30 minutes went on my iPhone and just researched lucid dreaming and read people's experiences.

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I like approach #2 the best. If you have a natural waking that is pretty close to when you would do a WBTB anyway, I suggest just rolling with it. There's no need to put yourself through any extra wakings. I always run my WBTB off of natural wakings and if you have the luxury of doing this, I'd recommend taking advantage.

An additional trouble with alarms is that they present a bit of a shock to the system. When an alarm goes off, it pulls your mind's attention to the waking world. It's easiest to recall your dreams if you focus on them (and only them) immediately upon waking. Don't even move. Just focus on what your last dream was. Reach back as hard as you can and many times you can grab a piece of a dream that you'd have forgotten. Move forward and backward in time from that point and you'll often be able to spool nearly the whole dream back into your memory.

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Originally Posted by MarcusT

So should I continue using WBTB technique and should I keep trying different times

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If you can, try to arrange things so that you can run your WBTB off of a natural waking. If that's not possible, that's okay. My second consideration would be to use whatever wake-up time feels comfortable and natural to you and allows you to get back to sleep.

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Originally Posted by MarcusT

And I know It is still early days but I cant help feeling a wave of disappointment swoop over me when I wake up because I did not have a lucid dream. This is probably because I get so excited at night and during the day believing I will have one! So could anyone give me any advice about dealing with disappointment and about my WBTB technique?

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It's understandable. Here's what I would keep in mind: it may not happen immediately, but if you put hard work into good LD practices consistently, you will succeed. Seriously. So many people just stop trying after a while.

My first lucid dream was accidental and it took me a solid two months of trying to have a second. Granted, I made a lot of mistakes, but because I kept at it, I still succeeded in the end. Keep getting excited during the day and at night because as long as you keep at this thing, you absolutely can and will have a lucid dream.

One thing that helped me on my journey was joining up with a class for more instruction and community. I am an alumnus of the excellent Intro Class that OpheliaBlue teaches on this site. If that's the kind of thing you think would work for you, I highly recommend it. Here's the link: Intro Class

And if you have any other questions, feel free to post them in this thread or to PM me or any of the other Dream Guides. We'll be glad to help.

Welcome to Dreamviews! :cloud:

I would definitely recommend joining the into class as CanisLucidus mentioned. It has been an valuable tool for me, the dreamguides are awesome.

so sorry for not replying! Just been real busy of late and couldn't concentrate on lucid dreaming! Thank you for the advice! I am gonna have to start my dream journal again as I haven't used it in 2 months!