Sup :P

Hey all,

Alright, so I've been a lurker for a while. I first came across this site through a few questions I posted on Google I believe, a lot of answers were from this site. Anyways, I've been very interested in LDing for quite a while now, I don't quite remember how exactly I came across it but I am pretty sure it was on Wikipedia after a boredom-induced search on "dreams." :P But it seemed too good to be true!! Dream control! I've always been one with a VERY wild (sometimes a bit too wild, take that how you may) imagination and the very POSSIBLILITY of being able to have complete freedom in a world created by YOU of all people seemed AMAZING. I kept at it for a while but lost motivation concerning my dream journal and whatnot and kinda got distracted by a lot of other things...

But that was then. I recently procured another copy (I lent the other to a high-school friend. I believe she STILL has it and never even finished it =/) of Stephen LaBerge's Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming and am totally motivated to stick with it this time. I'm finally employed and my waking time is quite uninteresting and pretty boring, honestly, and I've had some pretty close brushes with depression about my current economical/political/metaphysical, even, status and decided it's time for some REAL excitement NOT involving mind-altering substances. Not AS much, anyways ;)

So to my dreams...

I have been doing quite well with recall already. In "Exploring the World...," LaBerge states that your dream journal should be attractive to you. Previously I was using an old composition book I never needed in school. Plain as shit. At one point I decided to write "MuthaFuckin' Dreams" on it accompanied by a pentagram to make it look badass, but it was still a piece of shit. So I recently acquired (Thanks to the wonderful thing that is Amazon.com) a nifty, leather-cover journal the perfect size to keep bed-side. It did do the trick, and I've been a lot more motivated to keep record of my dreams. About 2-3 a night over the past few days, I'm sure it will get better. I was to the point of 3-4 a while back so I'm pretty optimistic. I've also been keeping an informal day-journal after reading a thread illustrating the quite positive effects of such on recall and I can say it has been working for me.

I've mostly been focusing on DILDs, as reality checks are starting to become a nice habit, but MILDs and WILDs (I know, a toughie) haven't been met with much success so far. I find I try a bit too hard when reciting mantras and trying to stay "focused," and I think I need to take a more laid-back approach, as I keep myself awake most of the time, only to fall asleep shortly after "giving up." One thing I did experiment with last night was keeping my blinds open. In the early morning I can squeeze some memories out of my REM periods as dawn rouses me nice and naturally. Alarms usually make me jump out of the covers and make the horrible noise stop :P I lose any fragments of dreams pretty fast after that. But yes, I think I need to somehow exercise my visualization and concentration so instead of trying mantras, I can just "daydream" myself to sleep and form a nice scene to dive into while WILDing.

ANYWAYS, I'm kinda rambling :D I'm glad to finally be a part of DV and I hope these forums will keep my will alive (I'm sure it will, you bastards won't let me quit, will ya?). Also it's gonna be nice to have some peeps to actually talk to regarding dreams, as my parents or friends or whatever usually don't give the slightest hint of a fuck about my "dream endeavors" haha

I'm an awesome dude. You guys should feel privileged to be graced by my virtual presence :P

I'll stop being an asshole now ;D

Nice to meet all of you.

Welcome CapnFathead47! Finally you decided to join us it seems ehehe, it's nice to meet to you at last :)

That's a great book indeed. I believe it has competition now, as Daniel Love wrote Are you dreaming?, which is simply amazing book, and it only came out in 1st January of this year. I totally recommend you the read :D

Quote:

---

I've mostly been focusing on DILDs, as reality checks are starting to become a nice habit, but MILDs and WILDs (I know, a toughie) haven't been met with much success so far.

---

A small misconception :) DILDs aren't really a technique, or reality checks something that is bound to DILD. DILD is a type of lucid dream you induce while dreaming (as opposed to WILD where you already start the dream conscious). You can achieve a DILD with techniques like MILD, ADA, Tholey, etc etc. But reality checks, they're an exercise that you should do regardless of the technique or method you're using to lucid dream. They are helpful in all circumstances :) It's nice to read your plans, shows that you are committed to this!

Quote:

---

(I'm sure it will, you bastards won't let me quit, will ya?)

---

Try the door...if it doesn't work...well, you can always camp here for a few more weeks until they fix it. (you'll never leave muhahaha :D)

See you around ^^

Welcome welcome, indeed what a pleasure it is to meet you old bean.
That book sounds really interesting I shall have to take a gander. Oh and the thing about making the dream journal appealing is so true, when i got mine it had nothing on it, just a plain light brown cover but then I decorated it with colourful bits of paper and shit and now it looks great, if I do say so myself. Anyways, sounds like you'll fit right in, we'll 'see' you around very soon hopefully :)

Thanks for the open arms, I feel so loved.

Alright, so I could use some advice on some focus-points...
My main focus has been on trying to habitually do reality checks throughout the day. I have stuck with double-taking text and digital clocks and trying to breathe through a pinched nose. I have never attained lucidity through the latter, but a few years back I did have a short lucid dream where my trusty digital watch showed me the truth :P The realization was amazing and I proceeded to get engaged in a firefight with a few "peace" officers, but I digress ;)

My question is, what else should I be focusing on that will have a healthy impact on my quest for lucidity? I have been pondering meditation and visualization to name a couple. In "Exploring the World" LaBerge was cool enough to include a couple exercises on concentration and visualization. One involved concentrating on a flame to the point where you can cut off all external input and visualize a flame and all it's intricacies whenever you please. The other involved practicing your visualization by staring at various objects for several minutes and examining the afterimage over and over until you can see a very detailed object behind closed eyes without even having to look at it beforehand. What would these help to achieve? Coming up with a dream scene to dive into or conjuring? Do these skills need vigilant practicing? I haven't been truly lucid in a very long time so I have yet to test my abilities.

What else should be toyed with in your opinions? Does meditation play an efficient role in successful WILDs? As I said before, my WILD attempts usually just succeed at keeping myself awake. In dreams and waking life I usually forget to RC when I'm "distracted," I'm sure that's a common obstacle for most would-be LD-er's. Is there any way to help remember to RC or keep awareness other than just diligent practice? Probably not, but suggestions are coolio.

And on the topic of recall, as far as I understand, it gets better the longer you keep at it. I have been keeping a detailed-as-it-can-get day journal to exercise my memory, are there any other things to help with recall?

My summer break from school is coming up and I'm VERY excited at the prospect of getting all the uninterrupted sleep and waking free time I will need to flex my... dream..muscles..and junk.

Good shit.

Quote:

---

what else should I be focusing on that will have a healthy impact on my quest for lucidity?

---

Oh, there's literally more than a dozen possible answers for that question :P Lucid dreaming is a pretty ample concept, because not everyone induces lucidity in the same way. I'll give you a few examples just to let you get a grasp of the variety of stuff that can aid you in your lucidity quest:
- Meditation is extremely helpful for WILD, because you learn how to abstract yourself from external output and even your thoughts in order to focus on one aspect and relax at the same time;
- Mindfulness exercises are great to develop awareness. ADA is one of those techniques based in this principle and can not only help you with lucidity, but also with your dream recall;
- Prospective memory is one of the core aspects of lucid dreaming. It's exposed in the MILD technique, but applies to almost single DILD technique. Improving it has many advantages towards lucid dreaming. Practicing retrospective memory is also relevant ^^
- Visualization can be a skill to practice which has many rewards. Not only you become clearer on your intention of becoming lucid (you can visualize the task you want to perform in your lucid dreams), but also inflates your brain with new thoughts and memories about lding, which can then show up in your dreams.
- Mantras can be a good exercise for several things, from DILD to WILD, from dream recall to lucid tasks.

In the end, awareness memory and knowledge of your dream world (what works and what doesn't) are the fundamental aspects of any techniques. Master them in whatever way it works for you, and you'll be able to lucid dream frequently and with good results. Good luck!