Been here for a while, time to introduce myself

Hello,

I joined this forum couple of weeks ago in hope that I will find some useful advice for achieving LD, and later maybe to share my dreams with the others.

This is going to be pretty long post, so I understand that some of you do not want to read it, but I simply need to share this, even if it means that I will be just talking to the wind. Also, as I am beginner, I would welcome any piece of advice that anyone could offer me.

Before you start reading I need you to understand that lucid dreaming is something I am extremely passionate about. In a couple of seconds, you will see why.


It all started a month ago, when I woke up in the morning from a dream that was so beautiful that I actually felt very sad and angry that this is a reality, and not the dream I was in. This feeling lasted for couple of hours, until I decided to do something about it. I remembered reading somewhere on the internet about dreams that can be controlled, so I looked it up and found some basic information about it. I resolved I will do anything to get back in the dream I mentioned above.

I was lucky enough to come across the book ETWOLD by Stephen Laberge. I understand that this man and his book are held in high respect by most of those who practice lucid dreaming. The book was awesome to read, but I felt I needed something more than that. You see, I always try to gather all information about the subject, so that is when I joined this forum.

I started practicing techniques for achieving LD. I started with WBTB + MILD and I succeeded one time. It was the second time I tried that, but the dream itself lasted only for couple of seconds, as I woke up from sheer excitement.

Since then, I haven´t had a single LD. And I have been trying this technique for at least 10 times.

My biggest problem is that when I wake up from a dream and spend some time awake, it takes me an hour to return to sleep. It is particularly hard to fall asleep for me when I am reciting mantra in my head. So, that is one problem.

However, I have succeeded in some things. For example, if I resolve to wake up from a dream, I do it. This night I just once said to myself that I will wake up after some dream, and I did. I wrote it into my DJ, got back to sleep and fell asleep in less than 15 minutes (the reason I fell asleep fast could be that I was not trying to MILD and I avoided any sources of light during wake state).

I remember every dream I wake up from with no problem. I can usually remember details, like in the last dream there was a key, and I still remember every inch of that key, its color and shape and size.

So, my problem is that either I remember a lot of dreams and sleep well, or I try to MILD and stay awake for so long that I am too tired to do anything at all. Maybe I should try another technique, I do not know. As I said, any advice would be great.

So that is my story so far. I sincerely hope something will change.

Thank you for reading this :)

You should probably try playing with the time you spend awake during your WBTB. You need to try find a balance between waking up enough to avoid falling straight back to sleep unconsciously and not waking up so much that you can't sleep again. I know I find it hard to get back to sleep sometimes, especially when falling asleep for the first time after just going to bed. You could try reducing your "awake time" to like fifteen minutes or even less if needed. Ultimately you'll want to play around until you've found what suits you :) Also, the visualisation/mantra/mnemonic part of MILD can be done when you go to bed as well, not just during a WBTB. Breathing and general relaxation techniques may come in handy for you as well?

As for waking up from excitement, that's toooootally normal. It happens and it's annoying but don't let it bother you because as you get used to the feeling of being lucid in a dream you won't lose control as fast. Also, you'll come up with ways to help you stay in the dream and stabilize it. These techniques vary between people, so you'll also have to play around with coming up with something that works for you.

It can all be a long process (and can be frustrating) but you should recognise that you've already had one LD and therefore should be reassured that you can many more :) Nothing stopping you at all.

That feeling of longing...... I know exactly what you mean :roll:

Hey Oski, I completely understand your situation. I learned about lucid dreaming when I had one spontaneously. It was so bizarre to wake up from a dream without knowing anything about lucid dreaming before hand. I learned about LD'ing from a friend after telling him about the experience. I've been trying to get back to that dream ever since to get some answers.

My advice to you would be to start muuuuch simpler. When I first started learning about LD'ing, I did exactly what you're doing now. And it burned me out. I got so frustrated with being unable to reliably enter and sustain lucid dreams that I ended up quitting altogether for a number of years. I just thought I was unable to get back to that place.

It's very possible to try too hard to LD. It's like the elephant - the harder you try not to think about it, the more vivid it becomes.

My suggestion is to take a couple nights off and then try the ADA DILD approach. That's what I'm looking into now. KingYoshi has a tutorial on it called "All Day Awareness, a DILD Tutorial".

Good luck friend, I'm rooting for you!

~Iri

That is what I am going to do, I am ill right now so I definitely need to rest and that is not possible when I resolve to have LD, because it takes me much longer to fall asleep. (I normally fall asleep in 10 minutes max, but since I started with this whole dreaming thing, it can take me from half an hour to two hours to do so).

After that, I will do as you advise. However, I want to share one more fact.

Last week I was trying FILD, just for fun, and I again entered LD, but I woke up. It was a different feeling than before, I experienced some kind of vibration, maybe even shapeshifting, like leaving my body... Anyway, it was not excitement that woke me up, it was fear. I know there is nothing dangerous about LD, but those feelings came rushing to me and I could not stand it.

Sounds like you were experiencing some hypnogogic hallucinations, which are totally common with wake induced ld's. Nothing to be worried about.

Welcome Oski! :) I think you have been progressing really well so far, with around one month of practice you already got several lds.

At the beginning those dreams may be a bit shorter, but this will improve with more practice. Don't forget to always engage with the dream - touch any objects around you, examine the environment, etc. You can also come up with things you want to do in your dream so after becoming lucid try going for the tasks you have set to complete.