Looks like it's not gonna be easy...

Well, firstly I'm new here, so I would like to just.... say hi, I guess.

Well, I'm about as new to LD as it gets, I have only known about it for about a week now. From everything I've read, observed and experienced, It looks like it's a long road ahead for me if I want to do this...

First things first, I currently have absolutely terrible dream recall, and don't remember having any dreams in the last 2 years or so... I have already read some comments by other people here and this seems to be a fairly common problem. I hope it can be solved without too much trouble. On the plus side, I know that I used to actually be quite good at it in the past, remembering a dream often every other night (at least). And, I do distinctly remember that I have even had a lucid dream once, a long time ago (I can't remember what it was now, and then I had no clue it could be done on purpose).

Second issue, from much of what I have read, I have found some possible problems that may stand in my way in the future. One is that I am a type of person who is nearly incapable of being comfortable. Just for the record, it routinely takes me about 1 to 1-1/2 hours to get to sleep at night, sometimes longer. Most of this time is spent trying to get comfortable, and usually only making myself end up feeling sick from moving around too much. Please also note that this is somewhat a recent development, as it has gotten worse in the past half year. I also find it extremely hard to relax, partially due to the aforementioned problem.

As well as this, I seem to have an undisciplined mind, and find it hard to focus on one thing, or convince myself of something. I can say "I will remember what I dream tonight", but I find it hard to actually mean what I say, much less believe it. Maybe that's just human and I'm making a big deal out of nothing.

Finally, though I am one of the most motivated people on earth in this particular subject, I am also one of the lazier people out there, and I find it hard to stay focused on anything. This I am sure I can overcome, but it just makes it that much harder. Not having much time to spare doesn't help, since I'm at university now.

Well, for those who have read this far, thank you for listening.

Please tell me if I am a hopeless case, or how I can deal with my problems!

(Wow, that's the most I've ever typed on a message board before!)

Hi, Welcome!

Well, we've certainly heard all the negative aspects of why you're not going to be able to now, so how about you explore all the positive aspects of why you _will_ be able to?

Welcome to Dream Views!
The only way you are a hopeless case, is if you give up hope. 8)

You know, the mind is funny. A lot of times, to acheive what you believe is impossible, you have to turn it around and look at it from the opposite perspective. Don't see that there is a long road in front of you, and you may take forever getting into lucid dreaming, focus more on your genuine Interest in LD'ing. Realize that it is only going to take as long as your mind lets it for you to have another one. A lot of people have their first lucid dreams within days of reading about them. I was so captivated by one of the books I was reading once, that I had 5 lucids in 3 nights, which is my highest record so far. DOUBT is going to do nothing but hold you back. This sounds almost cliche when talking about the waking world, but in the dream world lack of confidence and lack of awareness that Anything you will is possible is your biggest enemy.

As far as your habits, I am not exactly the most disciplined person in the world either. The best advice I can give to you is to keep a dream journal. Make it a habit to log Something in it whenever you can. Don't dismiss anything because you can only remember a sentence worth of a dream. Write it down. You will start to appreciate paying attention to the details of your dream, and this will help you figure out which details help you realize you are dreaming and become lucid.

Oh...and don't worry about long posts....some of us Never shut up. :sweat1:

Welcome, again!

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Originally posted by Oneironaut
Oh...and don't worry about long posts....some of us Never shut up. :sweat1:

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Hey - I represent that remark! :P

Kimpossible wrote:

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Hey - I represent that remark! Tongue[/b]

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Hehe. Oh? I had no idea. :P

Well, I just woke up this morning, again with no luck remembering anything whatsoever.

This makes a full week of trying, with absolutely NO luck at remembering something, not even the vaguest recollection that I even had a dream. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

I have to say, it's not easy to remain optimistic.

I agree with what the others said. But it seems that from your own description you wouldn't quite be able to put these advices to use. After one week you start and say "it's not easy to remain optimistic".
I'm not saying that it is impossible for you to LD with your current attitude. But if you want to be a successful LDer you have to approach the whole thing from a much more general side.
It's not a problem with LDing, it's a problem with yourself. It's a problem with you not believing in yourself. That doesn't have anything to do with me saying it. If you would believe in yourself, I could rephrase MY doubts about you a thousand times and you wouldn't be touched.
But I guess you are.

You said you are... undisciplined, unconcentrated, lazy...you find it hard to believe in what you say.
Please read that again and then think about it.
Then let me tell you that you are not "that kind of person". You chose to be that kind of person. The wonderful thing is that you can chose differently. And you can do so in every instant, you don't have to make a big deal out of it, you just have to do it.

If I were you, I'd start off with learning how to fall asleep fast. Getting to sleep is something that is, unless due to illness, a personal characteristic. It is not dependent on how much you have to do, it is dependent on whether you chose to let these feelings of stress overcome you in the only entirely quiet and private part of your life - sleep.
So you should learn to sleep.
I, myself, had phases in which I found it a bit harder to sleep. But when I noticed it I did my best to counter the problem. You don't only have to identify problems, you should counter them. Now I fall asleep in 5-10 minutes.

You should learn to relax. And you should learn to concentrate. Your best bet would be meditation.
You should learn to form a strong and clear intent and to believe in yourself and what you say. You should learn autosuggestion.

I sound much like a teacher, I know. Tell me what you think.

Hmmm... Well Korittke, what you have just said does indeed resemble some things I've read before. I think that your advice would be useful if I only knew how to actually do it.

For example: You recommended I "learn how to fall asleep fast". Any sugesstions as to how to actually do that?

Also, you said that I chose to be that kind of person. Unfortunately, this is a very real state of mind I'm in, whether I chose it or not. Also unfortunately, this state of mind is not one that is condceive to changing my state of mind. If I were a computer, I'd be stuck in a loop until the end of time.

I'm glad I'm not a computer

Also, just this very minute (while I was typing this!), I did remember something, I think. It was pure luck, as I happened to glance at something insignificant in my room that was in a recent dream of mine. All I can remember is a single image, though. No sound, no smell, no feeling, and just one frozen point of time. It is a remarkably clear (in colour) image, however. It's a start, anyways.

Thank you to everyone for all of your advice and opinions so far.

Well, the closest thing I've had to an LD is realizing I'm dreaming and then falling out of REM but that event made me realize (along with my seeming inability to WILD) is that WILD...isn't the only way...I mean, that's pretty obvious as it is but you seemed concerned about not being able to fall asleep fast...

That is exactly the same problem I have. It takes me ages to fall asleep :?

But I began training hard just a few days ago and I know that I'll achieve the height I need. Dream recall is the first thing to train I'm sure though...

Well, I guess I may have posted in haste earlier, it's working!!!!

Just last night I set an alarm for 7:30am, (got to sleep at 1:30ish, perfect timing). When I woke up, I remembered a very long, complicated and vivid dream in great detail, which I then proceeded to write down. Yay for persistence!!

Maybe if I can keep remembering stuff, I won't have to wait too long before I can get my first LD. Yay for Optimism!!

I would like to thank everyone here who has helped me so far. This is such a great forum!

Also, as an aside, I spent my time trying to sleep convincing myself that I would wake up from my dreams and remember them. I distinctly remember waking up at about 5:00, but not being able to remember anything at all. This seems strange to me, since I haven't woken up in the middle of the night (without good reason) for over 10 years that I can remember...

The mind is a strange thing...

From "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" by Stephen LaBerge:

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It is generally accepted among sleep researchers that dreams are not recalled unless the sleeper awakens directly from the dream, rather than after going on to other stages of sleep.[/b]

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As said in my previous PM, that book is, in my opinion, the best source of info about LD. I re-read it whenever I need an answer to a question or get doubts about something in relation to LD.

That's pretty cool that you got to remember a dream and even made yourself wake up. You seem to be on the right track. Just keep going. Autosuggestion is never a yes or no thing. If you keep training your desire to recall dreams you will not only wake up - but remember. And in one to two weeks you should remember 1-2 dreams a night no problem. Waking up shows that you're on the right way and that your subconsciousness accepted your motivation and your suggestions.

The brain tends to be an amazing relational database. If you can find the search keys, just about anything can be remembered.

Here's a technique I was using like 20 years ago when I was first getting into LD:

Take a glass of water to bed. Before you go to sleep, drink half the glass of water whilst repeating in your head "I'll remember my dreams I'll remember my dreams" almost a mantra.

Put the remaining half glass on the nightstand.

When you first wake up, drink the second half of the glass of water and let your mind wander over your dreams.

Basically creating an index into the database. ;)

Hmm...I drunk a glass of water before going to sleep several times and haven't woken up a single time because of it.
As Leo said in some other post 24 ounces of water are needed it seems and then another 18 ounces each awakening.
Perhaps it's more or less for different people though...

"needed" for what, exactly? I was going for a mnemonic to assist in recall. It could be one sip of water and also be effective, although repetition is important.

Are you talking about filling your bladder so it wakes you up to urinate? If so - that's *hugely* variable person-to-person. And is also going to depend upon your metabolism, prostrate activity, and similar factors. So it will change even for a single person night to night.

Also, no guarantee your bladder is going to wake you during REM either.