About me, and my questions...

[carlhungis]

Hello, new to the forum. This is hands down the most well put together forum that I have seen on this topic. I have been researching LD'ing only for a few weeks now, but the more that I learn about it, the more that I realize I have been wanting to do this all of my life. I am 29 and I have had vivid dreams most of my life. They haven't been as vivid lately though, but I hope to change that. So, on to the questions: 1. I see a lot of how to's and best method's... etc. But my question is, how did you get your first Lucid Dream? This is mainly directed towards the people who have had to actually try it, and didn't naturally have their first one. 2. How many of you have read books on the subject? Do you find them worthwhile? (I want to get the one by Laberge...*can't remember the title right now though) 3. If you could give only 1 tip that would help someone have their first Lucid Dream, what would it be? Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

[cocoastar]

Welcome to DV carlhungis! To answer your questions: 1. I actually had my first lucid naturally...sorry. I don't use any of the methods to have them. I just let them come naturally. I do reality checks and that helps...sometimes. 2. I have read one of LaBerge's books. I think they are interesting. You can probably check it out at a local library and read through it first if you are not sure if you want to purchase it. That is where I read it the first time. 3. I guess my only tip would be to try to not get too excited about lucid dreaming. Sometimes that can just stress people out. Keep a dream journal, also. It will really help your recall. Again, Welcome to the site!

[TygrHawk]

I'll pass on questions 1 and 2, since I had my first LDs naturally, and have never read any of the books on the subject. As for #3, my best suggestion is to have total confidence that it will happen! When it comes to dreaming, expectations are everything. Having even the slightest doubt about something will usually cause it to fail.

[mongreloctopus]

Exploring the world of lucid dreaming, by Stephen LaBerge...I have yet to find this book (I'm in Sweden right now but prefer to read books in english still...which makes it a little difficult..) I have been reading a lot of books by Carlos Castaneda which are all about his apprenticeship to a Yaqui Shaman. There is a lot about lucid dreaming in these books (there are maybe 10 altogether), but the book dedicated to lucid dreaming is called "The Eagles Gift". It is interesting to read about the toltec indians' methods of lucid dreaming, and a lot of the techniques are exactly the same as the ones described here. The first lucid dream I had was a recurring nightmare when I was very young, but since joining this forum I have successfully had two lucid dreams. For me, the path to success was to completely saturate myself in all things lucid-dreaming-related. It has been on my mind constantly, and that transfers to my dream consciousness as well. The more thought and energy you spend on it, the better and faster the results. The dream journal is probably the single most important aspect of the whole process, and after just under two weeks of keeping one I went from maybe remembering parts of one dream per night, to remembering three to four per night. I think also that working on patience and meditation is a great aid to being able to practice most of the techniques described here, especially the WILD technique with which I accidentally had some eye-opening experience. Good luck!

[carlhungis]

Thanks for the responses. I had 4 dreams that I could remember last night, so that is some solid improvement I have read that alot of people reccomend meditation, any tips or links to the basics of meditation? Thank you

[wombing]

i highly recommend you read 'exploring the world of LD'ing' by LaBerge. it covers almost every technique you will see here. after a couple years of trying to lucid dream without much success, i had one two days after i started using that book. if you want to lucid dream, you should 1. keep a dream journal, and record every dream, no matter how small. don't slack 2. as many times a day as possible, remind yourself that your reality could be a dream. do reality checks (these are covered in the book, and in a tutorial here) if you aren't completely sure you are awake. and even if you find you are truly awake, real-ize that the same mind that creates your waking life creates your dreams, and that dreams can be just as realistic. imagine you are dreaming, to acclimatize yourself to believing it is possible. my ONE tip is....positive thinking. good luck, and welcome

[ravenqueen]

Originally posted by carlhungis Hello, new to the forum. This is hands down the most well put together forum that I have seen on this topic. I have been researching LD'ing only for a few weeks now, but the more that I learn about it, the more that I realize I have been wanting to do this all of my life. I am 29 and I have had vivid dreams most of my life. They haven't been as vivid lately though, but I hope to change. I'm a little curious back when you did vivid dream do you remember what it is about? I'm coming across some interesting info from thoses who have vivid dreams when they were younger?

[carlhungis]

most of my vivid dreams were just random scenes with friends and crazy scenario's. I remember some dreams from when I was a small child, but they were your basic fear's manifested in a dream.

[carlhungis]

Well, I ordered the book. It should be here this week I am still trying to stay positive, but I will be honest that I am begining to lose a little hope. My dream recall is getting "slightly" better but not up to where it has been in the past. I am remembering about 2-4 dreams a night. The total number of dreams isn't my concern, it is the lack of clarity of them. I just don't remember them as well as I used to. I think that I am probably approaching this a bit to..... inconsistantly? I am trying WILD's, HILDS, DILDS, binaural rhythms, hypnotic mp3's..... etc. I am hoping to find a method that works for me or at least shows some improvement. So far the only thing that has really shown any affect on my dreams at all has been my dream journal. Would you reccomend that I pick one method and continue to try it alone for a while? Or keep looking for something that will work for me? Thank you.

[TygrHawk]

Originally posted by carlhungis+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(carlhungis)</div> but I will be honest that I am begining to lose a little hope. [/b] Don't lose hope! Confidence is one of the most important things in lucid dreaming. Even the slightest bit of doubt will usually doom you to failure. Try to keep a positive attitude! <!--QuoteBegin-carlhungis Would you reccomend that I pick one method and continue to try it alone for a while? Definitely! It can often take a week or two of trying one method before you see much in the way of results. Also, if you find yourself getting frustrated, you might try taking a break from attempting LDing for a few days -- sometimes they come when you least expect it. The good news is that your dream recall is improving, and that is at least half the battle. Keep it up!

[carlhungis]

Thanks for the encouragement. Although, the "DOOM YOU TO FAILURE" line was a bit..... discouraging. I will try to keep a positive attitude. I am just trying to decide which method to stick with. I think it will be the; constant reality checks throughout the day, and repeating in my head "I will have a lucid dream" until I fall asleep. I will give this method 2 solid weeks, then I will take desperate measures. (Not sure what those are yet though )