Intrigued and looking for some advice...

I have been intrigued by lucid dreaming ever since a good friend of mine informed me about the endless possibilities harnessed within dream lucidity. Since then, he has successfully progressed with his technique, so he obtains lucidity quite regularly. Now with some free time in the summer, I hope to do the same.

I figure that discussing and thinking about lucid dreaming as much as possible will help me along in the process; therefore, I have registered with DreamViews.

Before I begin my journey, I was just curious about others views on the topic for a newbie. Pretty much, I would like to know one suggestion or comment in regards to lucid dreaming that you would give a beginner. Your comments are appreciated.

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Originally Posted by dreamweaver33

Before I begin my journey, I was just curious about others views on the topic for a newbie. Pretty much, I would like to know one suggestion or comment in regards to lucid dreaming that you would give a beginner. Your comments are appreciated.

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dreamweaver33, first.. welcome to Dream Views!

I actually have three suggestions/comments:

1) Read all you can on this forum,
2) Believe that lucid dreaming is attainable and
3) Be patient.
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well, lucid dreamign is a vast universe... hopefully, internet is your ally

as you might no this far, lucid dreaming is a dream in which yo uknow that you are dreaming. since you do, you can exert control over what you dream

first thing to point out is that there are 2 kinds of Lucid Dreaming techniques
* DILD (Dream induced LD), in which you simply realise yo uare dreaming, once you're inside a dream
* WILD (Wake-induced lucid dream) which consists of staying conscious until dreams form in your sleep

DILDs can be quite funny. simply because, when you're in a dream, you think that what you see is reality (that because your logic is twisted by a sleep hormone called serotonin)
Right now you are probably sure you are awake. but when you are dreaming, you will be sure you are awake as well... so you simply can't trust yourself
It may happen that you're dreaming now, who knows? dreams can be really vivid you know
Hopefully, there is a way to know whether you are or not dreaming. This is because dreams are not perfect: they have little imperfections called Dream Signs, which, seen consciously, can tell you what you see isn't real.
A good example is seeing a fish swimming out of water. If you saw that at the best of your logic, you'd sure realise you're in a dream. But in a dream your perception is twisted, so you will treat that as normal.
Some other things that are imperfect in dream are pain, mirrors, watches proportion etc

Since dreams have imperfections, you can tes treality to see if you are dreaming or awake. For example, try to provoke pain by biting you tongue - if you do feel pain, you are awake; if you don't, or if it takes you too long to conclude anything, you are dreaming.
These "tests of reality" are called Reality Checks (RCs), and it's good if you do them some times on yoru daily routine. You never know when you are really awake or if you just had a false awakening.

Systematically, that's how DILD works - you get used to recognising the Dream Signs through reality testing. If you make Reality testing a habit, that habit will be take nto your dreams as well, and so you will notice you are dreaming in your dreams.




WILD is completely different though. It consists of going through all the stages your body does while asleep, and doing all that consciously, until dreams form. Therefore yo udo alerady enter your dream lucid. WILDs can be really realistic, and alhtough they are hard to master, once you learn it it's arguably the best technique

if yo uwant to know more about WILD, check my own WILD tutorial. there you will find everythign you need

I geuss I covered every aspect of it... any further questions feel free to ask

Most importantly, don't try too hard; such is the path to failure.

i just wanted to say thanks to those who replied. i will heed your advice and continue to research and think about my dreams...without trying too hard of course, haha.

thanks again