Hello,

Just wanted to make my introductions. I've been lurking on the forums for a while, though it's been a long time since I've been active in the practice of lucid dreaming.

I am 26 years old, and am just now rededicating myself to the pursuit of lucidity. I was a natural LDer as a child, but the lucidity seemed to fade as I entered middle school. For a while in high school I pursued the art, but I was never able to devote enough time or mental energy to practice to go anywhere with it. A few flashes of lucidity, and that was all.

About six months ago, I stumbled onto this website and remembered my childhood dreams. I started practicing. Within a few weeks I experienced one of the most vivid, extended lucid dreams I'd ever had. I was fully lucid, and though I reacted to the context of the dream, I was able to fly and enjoy the idea that I was dreaming for what was probably 15 full minutes. I've never felt anything like that total freedom.

Unfortunately, adult life got in the way (I never realized just how much time I had as a kid to really devote to hobbies until I got a real job ) and I grew distracted. I quit practicing, quit trying to find lucidity in my waking life. I had a few more natural lucid dreams, and then they stopped.

I'm posting this now as a promise: I am rededicating myself to the art. I hope that by joining this community I'll be able to draw on the support of others and continue to focus on something that is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult and mentally taxing practices I have ever seen. With lucid dreaming, I have found that you simply cannot succeed with half-hearted attempts. In order to dream, you must focus with all of your energy and truly believe that you have the strength to succeed.

It's daunting for me, but that instance of lucidity a few months ago burn in my memory like a promise: I can do this.