What I remember...

I just got on here, and before I proceed, I'd like to figure out an experience I remember having when I was about 5 years old.

The only lucid dream I remember occured then, right after I saw a familiar image:

I don't remember a whole lot about it, I was at the banister area where the stairs started, and the lights were bright. I then remember picturing the cups our family (actually, just my parents) drank out of. They were just clear plastic ones, short and wide, and tinted pink and blue. I clearly saw the image of about 6 of them just sitting there, overlapping, and a couple stacked on top of those. It was upon seeing this image that I told myself "You're dreaming, you know". Now, this image really wasn't out of the ordinary, though those cups seemed to be juxtaposed on top of the image of the stairway.

To this day, 12-13 years after, I not only clearly remember this instant, but I also think of those overlapping cups each time I hear about a lucid dream, even a dream at all.

My question is, should I draw upon this image? Should I stack these cups up next to my bed and stare at them before I fall asleep?

I know it sounds weird, but I do know that there is simple word association that happens at an early age. I even have picture associations with the words "yes" and "no" that I took in when I could first look at picture books. So is that image a worthy way to attain lucidity?

Thank you in advance.

I'm by no means an expert... but I would say that a strong image such as that could definetly be useful in attaining lucidity. Many people advocate concentrating on a simple image as a method to meditate and concentrate - while practicing mental control. The cups could work perfectly for you, especially considering you already associate them with lucid dreaming.

I wouldn't go as far as to stare at them before you sleep, but I would definetly say you should meditate on the image as you fall asleep. Strengthen the tie between the imagery and the thought of dreaming as much as possible.

From my own personal experience, I have used a similiar technique while working on going lucid. In many of my early lucids, it was the image of stairs, or climbing stairs that triggered me to realize that I was lucid. I've come to associate this image closely with going lucid, and the image has been appearing more and more frequently in my dreams - with increasing success at gaining/controlling the lucidity.