I'm 16 years old, and have absolutely no prior experience with lucid dreaming. As I said in one of the stickies above, I was directed here by the StumbleUpon add-on for Mozilla Firefox. The title caught my attention, and as I read the introduction, I couldn't believe it. I had always tried to imagine what it would be like to have control of a dream, and what all one could do with it. I didn't know such a thing could be taught.
So yesterday I read all of the articles on the front page, a few of the induction techniques and tutorials, and some of the forum threads on the experiences during lucid dreaming some people here have had. I was still in amazement over the whole concept, and decided to start learning myself. I've already noticed a difference.
I got up, grabbed a notebook and pen, and set them next to my bed. While lying in bed, I started counting and alternating breaths, as in the HILD Technique. I would trail away every few seconds, but I remember getting to around 55 before finally dozing off; I never had to move on to step 2 of the technique. I had decided earlier not to attempt lucidity at all yet, so I fell asleep easily after counting.
I woke up after every dream that night, which happened around 2 to 3 times; I had never done this before. I remembered one dream, but never wrote it down in my journal. The rest were forgotten.
I will attempt the same thing tonight, except this time I plan on using the journal when I can remember to.
One problem I have is with the reality checks. I will double-take at my watch, flip a switch, or touch my left index finger to my right palm every once in a while, but I don't feel it developing into a habit that will continue into dreaming. I think I read about someone writing "RC" on their hand; I may end up doing this, while at the same time avoiding freaking out any of my school friends, because I haven't really told anyone about what I'm trying to learn here, and I don't think I will until I'm sure I can do it. Encouragements and words of advice are greatly appreciated! :)
I'm intrigued and extremely eager about the possibilities of lucid dreaming, so I'll continue working on dream recall tonight.
Wish me luck!
