Hello

[evan56780]

hi everyone! I'm completely new to lucid dreaming and i just started my dream journal. For the dream journal, sometimes when i wake up i go back to sleep for like 30 min, but in that time i have a dream. should i wright this down, or is it me thinking i woke up in my dream? also when i was a little kid what i would do when i had a bad dream is i would pretend i was watching TV and just change the channel, and it would work (the only problem was the TV only had like 4 channels), is this lucid dreaming? Evan

[Binsk]

He Evan! Welcome to the forums, we are always glad to see new faces here. (Figuratively speaking. ) For your dream journal, I would write down everything you can remember about every dream. If you are unsure if it was a dream, wright it down anyway, it may come back to you later. Also, Lucid Dreaming is simply knowing that you are dreaming when you are dreaming. Lucid Dreaming itself is not what you should be going for, but rather the control you will have as a result! Good luck with your future lucid dreaming!

[evan56780]

for my dream journal i was wondering, what do you do with it? i get the part that you put down your dream in the book but what happens after. Is there a point where you say iv done enough now i can have a lucid dream? Or do you stop keeping a dream journal after you have a lucid dream. Also i keep on waking up right near the end of my dreams is that OK? evan

[Amethyst Star]

Welcome to DV, Evan I hope that you enjoy your stay here and I wish you many wonderful lucid dreams! To answer your first post, when you wake up in the middle of the night, write down the dreams you can remember. If you're not sure you're dreaming, then do a Reality Check. Try pushing your finger through the palm of your hand or plug your nose and try to breathe, and if you can do those then chances are you're dreaming. There's a Tutorial with more ideas if you want to take a look. Also, as far as treating a nightmare like a TV show, I wouldn't necessarily call those Lucid Dreams unless you knew you were dreaming. Control and awareness are not the same, but each can be attained without the other. I'd say that if you didn't know you were dreaming, you were very close! Taking control is a sign of some level of awareness, so you would just need that extra little push to know you're dreaming. You're on the right track, though. for my dream journal i was wondering, what do you do with it? i get the part that you put down your dream in the book but what happens after. Is there a point where you say iv done enough now i can have a lucid dream? Or do you stop keeping a dream journal after you have a lucid dream. Also i keep on waking up right near the end of my dreams is that OK? There are a couple functions of the dream journal. One is to build your recall - your ability to remember your dreams and their details. The more you write down, the more likely you will be to recall dreams in the future. Second, you may begin to notice certain elements appearing in your dreams on a regular basis such as a person, an object or set of objects, being in a certain location, or performing a particular action. It's called a Dream Sign (DS) and if you notice a DS, then when you see it or go through that particular action, it will tell you that you're dreaming. There are "Recall" and "Dream Sign" tutorials under the Tutorial section. Actually, that section alone has a lot of information, so feel free to check there first for a good overview of different techniques and general information. And you will always wake up during a dream. Where you are in the dream just depends, but the good majority of people seem to wake up when it "ends" or towards the end of the dream. It just depends on the person, but what you're experiencing is quite normal. Now that I've finished this essay, I bid you sweet lucid dreams! Feel free to persue the forums and if you have any questions, you're more than welcome to ask or send a private message to one of the Dream Guides (members with the green names) and they can point you in the right direction. -Amé