Thread: How long does it take?

helloo.It took me a week, it takes others months or years. Everybody varies.
Just try to put a lot of effort into it and don't give up. Do lots of reality checks. and yes, that was a lucid. if you knew you were dreaming for a second, it is still a lucid.

Dude if it took years that'd suck

ATM I'm checking times and counting my fingers (if I remember). Four days ago I was pushing my nails into my palm to see if I was awake and that worked well, but yeahhhh lol it kinda hurt.

Should I up the ante or just check clocks/hands? BTW, how often are you meant to do so?

It took me about a month, which seems to be about the norm. It certainly varies from person to person, but many usually fall within the 1-2 month time period. The more effort you put into it, and the less bad habits you develop, the faster you'll become lucid.

I prefer the nose pinch RC. Pinch your nose shut and try to breathe through it. Also, the clock test works best with a digital clock, rather than an analog one. The rule of thumb is to reality check as often as you need to in order to become lucid. Some people rarely need to RC, some do it as frequently as every 10 minutes or so. It varies from person to person. The main goal of RCing is to boost awareness, too, so that when you recognize something unusual, you can identify it as such and check reality (RC) to determine if you're dreaming or not.

The idea of it taking a month seems awful

Were you good at dream recall before you started to think about LDing?

took me four months, and i've been considerd a "natural" by someone with 200+ LD's under his belt

and i've heard of people who devote 4 years of thier life to LD's

Originally Posted by lilacalil

The idea of it taking a month seems awful

Were you good at dream recall before you started to think about LDing?

Dream recall isn't all that hard to build up, really. Just repeat a mantra to yourself every night (I WILL remember my dreams), and you should start seeing a dramatic increase very shortly.

Yeah, a month may seem like a long time, but the rewards are so worth it. It really isn't even that hard, for most people. A couple of reality checks, perhaps a few mantras, and the rest kinda follows.

Originally Posted by Majinaki

took me four months, and i've been considerd a "natural" by someone with 200+ LD's under his belt

and i've heard of people who devote 4 years of thier life to LD's

Yeah, 4 years is an exception to the rule. By the time you hit the 4-year mark, you should be right about a natural LDer, but again, it varies from person to person.

I seem to be very lucky and maybe partially natural - I've had my first real lucid two nights after discovering Lucid Dreaming. Now after month and half I've had six so far (and maybe another one today, I'm writing this during second today's WBTB) and the awareness seems to raise very quickly, I've done RC yesterday in a dream (posted it in the Stupidest ways you've missed becoming lucid thread ) and I think I've had 3 LDs today, waking up after RC in each, but the last DEILD was successful (my first DEILD, yay!) and bringed me the longest, best and busiest LD so far.

It's definitely worth it, keep trying!

Took me over two and a half years to get anything worth mentioning. Persistence is the name of the game.

100% of the people I have taught LDing to have had them the first night so don't be discouraged :p I had my first is about 1 week. Increased awareness is where it's at :p Make sure you're being aware through ALL of the day, not just every time you're in a car or something.

IMO, these are the things should know for having an LD a night:

1. Awareness (read Naiya's tut. The most helpful thing for LD's not matter what)

2. MILD

3. WBTB

4. Good dream reacall (like 3 or 4 a night. It comes with practice. I started off remembering 5 a week and now remember about 3-4 a night)

5. WILD (Just a good thing to know. Can be uber successful)

6. CONSISTENCY FIND A METHOD THAT WORKS, AND STICK WITH IT!!!
Screwing around trying other methods is bad. You can get an LD a night with almost any method as long as you practice it a lot.

With those under your belt, expect at least 1 a week within the first month then you'll progress at whatever rate.

I would really recommend WBTB+MILD combo. Easy and effective.

I like MILD...it's nice to me.

Also, bow down to Naiya...she is the lucid dreaming queen of the site. Her advice is sound...I have learned much from her, and continue to learn.

Some people are natural lucid dreamers, but most have to learn and develop how to lucid dream. So time to becoming lucid for the first time is different for everyone, I learned in 3 months.

Prepare, and make yourself more aware of dreams, and your dreaming state.

You have great recall, so you are so close.

Keep trying to totally immerse yourself in the subject of lucid dreaming.
hang out here, read books about it.
Good luck & have fun with it

TY for all the advice, everyone

I often recall 2-3 dreams per night, so I think it'll make it easier I'm also REALLY optimistic, so I'm sure that'll help too.

I just got really excited about the prospect of LDing and told my mum, but as a christian she thinks stuff like that is demonic lmao.

I would do WILD, but I'm so scared about SP atm after all the things I've heard about it. Another thing I'm frightened about is looking in mirrors while dreaming, but that'll pass.

I'm going to try asking myself if I'm dreaming everytime I go through a door and looking at my hands and repeating things to myself before I go to sleep, and I'm going to purchase a digital watch to wear/take with me to check everytime I see my hands.

After a few months do I have to keep on doing dream checks?

Again, TY for all the help, it's really appreciated

Originally Posted by lilacalil

TY for all the advice, everyone

I often recall 2-3 dreams per night, so I think it'll make it easier I'm also REALLY optimistic, so I'm sure that'll help too.

It certainly will!

I just got really excited about the prospect of LDing and told my mum, but as a christian she thinks stuff like that is demonic lmao.

Some parents just never understand...believe me, you're not alone.

I would do WILD, but I'm so scared about SP atm after all the things I've heard about it. Another thing I'm frightened about is looking in mirrors while dreaming, but that'll pass.

SP is just too strange for me...besides, I'm too lazy to get up every night for the rest of my life whenever I want to lucid dream.

I'm going to try asking myself if I'm dreaming everytime I go through a door and looking at my hands and repeating things to myself before I go to sleep, and I'm going to purchase a digital watch to wear/take with me to check everytime I see my hands.

An excellent strategy! Just be careful of falling into the habit of passively accepting your reality tests, or expecting them to fail. Excessive checking makes it easier for this to happen. You must constantly question your surroundings while you RC.

After a few months do I have to keep on doing dream checks?

This also varies from person to person, but for the vast majority, they don't become a "natural" LDer until a few years into the whole routine. After a few months if you find you can become lucid without as many RC's, feel free to eliminate some from your day, but I'd really stick with it in the long run.

Again, TY for all the help, it's really appreciated

You're welcome! That's what we're here for.

I had the world's worst sleep, arghh

Dog woke me at 5am, then 6am, and then kept me up until 8am. I managed to fall asleep between 8-10:30 (was woken by barking at 10:30 gdhdfgdfg, dogs moving out of my room), however, and I remember the dream from that period.

I typed the dream up and writing it down is really, really good for catching details Normally I wouldn't write and would remember it, but writing it down I catch a shitload of details, such as the brands of foods in the store around me and the markdown prices It also helped me catch a place I'd visited before in my dreams, dubbed 'Urban Store' (real creative, right? lmao).

I had three dream parts in the two and a half hours I actually slept for (I went to bed at 2:30am and cannot remember the dream between then and 5 as of yet.), and I'm really stunned at all the details writing put into focus. I even recall the flavors of chips on the shelves and what kind of peanuts they had, which changed during the dream (which pissed off DC me lol)

No lucid, even though I realized I was dreaming within the dream. Twice

Took me 1 day!

Lucky!

I suppose you could say I got a LD in a day, if a few seconds counts lol.

What was it like?

Depends on your focus... I got my first LD a week after hearing about it. That was also the day i joined DV. TRY AND YOU SHALL SUCCEED!!!

Originally Posted by TechDreamer

Depends on your focus... I got my first LD a week after hearing about it. That was also the day i joined DV. TRY AND YOU SHALL SUCCEED!!!

An Ld is when you become lucid in your dream, even though you can't control it you're aware that you are dreaming so your lucid. Right?

Basically. Control will come with time, but merely the fact that you realize you're dreaming is an LD, and cause for celebration!

Had an unusually hazy sleep (only three paragraphs, compared to last night's three page long word document), but it it I dreamt I was lucid, but I wasn't really

I'm thinking of starting a DJ, but my dream's are really weird sometimes sooo.

New thing I'm doing: randomly blocking my nose during the day. I really should observe my environment as I do and question things, but I'm so lazy I have to really stretch myself to do so.

Still tired, so I might take a nap and hopefully have a more vivid (and hopefully lucid) dream

longer than you think but faster that most expect

It sounds like your dreams are already borderline lucid. If you keep trying, you should get lucid soon.

Often, If you have knowledge of what to do to attain control, you will gain it. Make sure you know the dream spin tech, and other stuff like yelling commands. You will have contol.

peace,
tech

To achieve lucidity the only things required is a great deal of patience, and a strong well focused mind. and of course you need to get a good amount of sleep too (about 7.5 hours or more) or just enough to reach your REM phase.
just keep going with it, if you believe you can do it you will achieve it just give it time..... well unless your a natural at it.