Hello and welcome to my Introduction Thread and First Post.

So what brought me here? Just a general interest for lucid dreaming?

Well yes, that, but also the fact that I'm looking to learn more about the subject since I'm writing a "novel" about an LDing detective. It is an idea I have had for some time, but I still haven't figured out the best way to pull it off. But I digress.

So I have experienced sporadic lucid dreams in the past, but it doesn't happen often. Or, shall I say, I don't remember them often. I started keeping a dream journal in 2011, and since then I have only one documented lucid dream. And, according to my notes, I woke up after realizing I was dreaming. I think I first heard of LD when I read KISS Guide to Dreams, which must have been some time before I started keeping a journal.

So... I suppose the first thing I need to do is to improve my dream recalling ability. I do toy with the idea of setting my alarm on 4:30, but... I don't know if I want to do that... Yet... I have heard of the Looking at the time RC and Looking at your writing RC. But the Plug your nose and Fingers through the palm are both new to me, so I shall be doing those repeatedly throughout my day from now on. And really try to focus on some mantra as I fall asleep. (Do I have to say a mantra out loud or is it OK if I just think it? And can the mantra be anything, or does it have to be related lucid dreaming? Does it have to be (something like): "I will become lucid", or can it be "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down"? Is the idea that the sentence will remind me to become lucid, or is it supposed to serve as a sign that I am dreaming? If I have "A spoonful of sugar..." in my head as I am already dreaming, will I then think: "Hey, that's my mantra so I must be dreaming!"? I hope I'm making sense, I'm not very eloquent.)

Although I do believe it is possible to improve ones Dream Recall (and even lucidity...), my biggest obstacle is lack of discipline. But I did borrow two books on the subject of dreams this week, so dreams are definitely on my mind right now, so hopefully it will affect my actual dreaming.