How long does it take?

[lilacalil]

How long does it usually take to attain lucidity? I've heard about lucid dreams through movies etc., but in the past day or so I've become really interested Four days ago I had just started looking into it, and I had a somewhat lucid dream.I dreamt I was travelling in Paris, and then I was lying on my bed in the middle of this field, with a man talking to me. I was scared of UFOs that were flying above me, and I would move so I was under the top bunk every so often so I couldn't see them, and then I'd peek out to see blurry UFOs. I told the man next to me about them and he said I was been silly, but I knew that there was something up there. Then I realized it was stupid I was in my bed in the middle of a field, and that I was dreaming. I became extremely excited and thought “I’m lucid already!”, and then tried to transport myself to a cafe in the middle of the universe to meet my subconscious, as that was the first thing I'd planned to do. I felt myself waking up and things when black and fuzzy, and I kept on trying to pull myself back. Things fuzzed out, and I don’t know if I actually woke at all or just lost control. Would that count as lucid? I really started looking into things last night, and I was so convinced I'd become lucid. I went to bed at 3am (stayed up studying lucids), all psyched and instead of actually becoming lucid I dreamt I was a girl trying to have a lucid dream. lmao thanks subconcious. I usually remember my dreams (it is incredibly rare if I don't), and I can recall dreams from when I was as young as four. I often realize I'm dreaming in dreams, but don't attain lucidity. I think that's actually one of my dream signs lmao. Given I remember things I've already compiled a list of signs that occur frequently (mostly it's knowing I'm dreaming, thinking i'm dreaming but hoping I'm not and Rainbows End, a shitty 90s style theme park in NZ lol). Because of this will it easy for me to start LDing? I've had about three lucid dreams before, mostly when I was younger. When I did LD I was able to control things with ease, but I was much younger. BTW, the past two days I've been awoken at about 6am, I've just moved house so I have to keep the cat at my room for the night and he scratches at the door in the morning. IDK if that'll have a bad effect or not, but it's only for a week. Also, lately when I dream I have a series of dreams, and remember all of them. Last night was a really hazy night, but I remember I had two separate ones. The one where I became lucid I had three dreams, and I remember them all. Is this usual? Sorry for the long post, I'm just really excited at the prospect of been able to control my dreams Nice to meet you all BTW, I'm 16 and from NZ

[eppy]

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.

[lilacalil]

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?

[Maria92]

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.

[lilacalil]

The idea of it taking a month seems awful Were you good at dream recall before you started to think about LDing?

[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

[Maria92]

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. 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.

[Automaton]

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

[Nufeather1]

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.

[Puffin]

I got a vivid lucid dream a few weeks ago, and immediately found this forum. Following the DILD techniques (with reality checks, etc), I got my second within three days. It's important not to make them routine, however; you just have to be skeptical about the world around you. This consciousness will follow into your dreams eventually. Now, I don't even have to RC in order to attain lucidity. I just know because of how powerful my skepticism is.

[Bizarre Jester]

How long does it usually take to attain lucidity? There is no simple answer to this. A lot of it is up to you. You have the desire to lucid dream, which helps. You also need to follow the techniques and keep a dream journal. I get lazy, I keep a dream journal, but in the morning, sometimes I make the mistake of choosing to sleep an extra 10 minutes rather then write. Getting lazy with your lucid dreaming keeps you from having them.