hello @all + help with "dream signs"

[stuetzl]

yeah, i don't really like those standard introductions but it has to be... ^^ i'm 20 years old and some years ago i read coincidentially about the wild-technique, i suppose, tried it once but then dropped it... However, about 2 weeks ago i had an accidental wild-experience during an afternoon-nap (no actually i woke up during the transition phase, because i didn't know what it was) and the following day i began to gather information about lucid dreaming began as well to keep a DJ... jup that's about my LD-experience 'til now... and i haven't yet had a lucid dream but i'm eagerly trying... and else... i have some difficulties with identifying my dream signs, because some definitions say dream signs were unusual or imposible things in dreams, or dream signs were frequently appearing dream patterns rather than signs... and yeah, i've read the LD quick start tutorial by Seeker, but that was even more confusing because he has developed another definition compared to the one in my mind...

[skysaw]

WILDs are hard in my opinion. I've been LDing on and off for about ten years, and almost all of them were DILDs. Of course, I hadn't even heard of the WILD technique until recently, but I did think up the idea independantly, and had managed a small handful of them. In any case, I would say don't get discouraged by not being able to get lucid by this means. A dream sign is anything you condition yourself to trigger the thought "am I dreaming?" The easiest signs to establish are the ones that include both an element of improbability and frequent occurance. I have several dream signs, but the one that is most reliable is an old-fashioned rotary phone whose dial has too many holes, misnumbered holes, and/or no end catch for your finger to stop. I often dream of having to use such a strange phone when having to call the police in an emergency. I actually had such a dream last night, and because I've been reminding myself in waking life that this is a dream sign, I remembered it in my dream as well. The end result is I can then pop into lucidity and take control.

[stuetzl]

alright... however, e.g. i dreamed once of some members of my family tortured and enchained but only once... in contrast i dream often about a female companion who helps me, who gives hints or who simply accompanies me... now i think the first one is no dream sign but the second one... isn't a dream sign rather a pattern than a sign, that occurs frequently in my dreams (as my example number 2)

[skysaw]

Anything that makes it "click" for you could be called a dream sign. The reason we look for things that happen often in dreams is that we can condition ourselves to react to that sign. In your second example, you could try to associate help from female companions in general with dreaming. Every time you get such help in real life, try to remember to do a reality check. Even if you are 100% positive you are awake, do a check. Eventually, what happens is that you start to do that check in your dreams, just by force of habit. Remember that what you do in your waking life you often do in your dreams as well. If you automatically do a realitiy check every time a female helps you, gives you "hints" about something, or just accompanies you somewhere, you'll start doing this in your dreams as well. The only difference is that when you do the check in the dream and it fails, you will know you're dreaming... then you're almost there!

[stuetzl]

OK got it... i'm trying hard doing those reality checks, i've even started to have my watch ringing every hour to remember doing reality checks... Anything that makes it "click" for you could be called a dream sign. The reason we look for things that happen often in dreams is that we can condition ourselves to react to that sign. so there's not really an objective definition of what dream signs are... OK and thanks btw for replying that fast

[skysaw]

so there's not really an objective definition of what dream signs are... OK I guess you could say that. However, there are many signs that happen for a large number of people that are worth thinking about. Here are the ones I can think of that seem common: Phones that don't work Light switches that don't work Teeth falling out of your mouth Difficulty reading and writing (can also be used as a reality check) Dead relatives alive and well The house you grew up in Cars that are difficult to drive, especially brakes that don't work well Finding caches of rare coins or other collectables

[stuetzl]

thanks for the hints... now i think i'm going to refresh my journal