Trouble Causing Lucid Dreams

I have had several lucid dreams over a period of years. As far as i can tell, there is no pattern or specific stimuli that causes them. I would really love to have lucid dreams more often, or even be able to cause them by choice. I have read a lot of threads on the site on tips for how to induce things, but i haven't tried much of anything yet. I would love for someone to help me out, because i am very interested.

I will add that i have trouble reaching a state of middle conciousness. I have "sleep mindset," and "awake mindset." I can reinforce lucid dreaming in my mind for a long while without reaching sleep. I am very open to suggestions, as long as they are within reason, and some degree of efficiency. I don't do drugs either. hehe. I would really appreciate a lucid dream in the near future.

I have started keeping a dream journal, but it only has one entry. Is it important to keep writing regularly? How can a dream journal be of assistance to me? I must give a hats off to all lucid dreaming masters. Bravo everyone.:banana:

A dream journal is a good start, it will help you remember dreams better, and it will help you discovery dreamsigns: objects or experiences that are frequently found in your dreams. That way, after some practice, you know you're dreaming when you recognize one of those objects in your dream and you'll become lucid! If you're making a dream journal, try to write down your dreams immediately after waking up.

Another way to become lucid is to use the WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming) or the FILD (Finger Induced Lucid Dreaming). The second one worked great for me so far!

Even if you don't become lucid a dream journal is still kinda of fun!

Greetings, Keenya! I'm a couple of days late in welcoming you to DV, but nonetheless, we're glad to have you here :)

As far as deciding which methods to try, I'd just advise browsing through the Tutorials and seeing what strikes your interest. Try a method for a week or so. Don't give up if it doesn't work right away, as sometimes it may just take a little while for your mind to get used to something. If you find that one method isn't working for you, though, try something else. You'll find that if you just keep trying and don't let yourself get stressed out, you will see yourself progressing.

I also have a hard time realizing when I'm dreaming, even if something so off-the-wall happens and I should think that something is off. Alas, it is usually not so. :) Again, it just takes time, practice, and dedication. One other thing I'd advise is to figure out what exactly you would like to do first when you become lucid. Make a plan and run through it before you go to bed so that when you do become lucid, you're not standing around trying to come up with something to do. It will save you some time and frustration.

As far as keeping a DJ, it will help. As others have said, it will help you to build upon your recall if you stay diligent in your writing. I used to have great recall without having to write my dreams down, but then things changed. I started getting into LDing after that and found that writing down my dreams helped me to remember more dreams as well as more details. You might be surprised just how much you can remember once the whole thing is on paper (or typed on the computer, or however you choose to record your dreams). Also, it gives you a chance to look for dream signs (repeating patterns, themes, characters, etc.) and also go look through what you might have missed so that you will be better able to recognize when something is off next time.

I wish you the best of luck as you strive to be lucid! :) Also, let us know if there's any way we can help you. If there's something you're having trouble finding or if there's something we can do for you, also feel free to contact any of the members of the Dream Guide Team (you'll find us with green names) and we'll see what we can do. Happy dreaming!

-Amé

Alright, thank you everyone. In the past week, i have taken cinnamon before bed two nights, as i was told on another thread. Both these nights i, very effortlessly, recalled two dreams in great detail. I recorded them in my journal. It's really good to see some results. I have begun trying WILD, with not much luck. I have a lot of doubts about effectiveness. Usually, i crave movement so much a good 20 minutes in that i simply give in. Is it the idea of the technique that i work through the movement craving? I am thinking so, but it be really nice to have some reassurance. What is FILD? I would really like to know more.

Well, if you like one technique and feel that it will work, I'd advise that you stick with it for at least a week before trying something else. If you're not getting anywhere, move on to something else, but don't get discouraged that you're not becoming lucid right away. Recognize the progress that you are making and enjoy your dreams, be they lucid or not. I'm not an expert on WILDs and have stayed awake for an hour or two trying to fall into a dream, but since each person is different, that doesn't mean the same will happen to you. If it's taking away from your sleep and is more trouble than you care to deal with, feel free to move on to another method. There's no reason to stress yourself out :)

As for FILD, it's Finger Induced Lucid Dream and here's one Tutorial on the subject. I haven't tried it, so I'm couldn't offer you much advice, but there are also a number of other posts floating around about FILD, so feel free to take a look at those and ask questions if you need to.

That is very interesting. Im gonna go try that tonight! Glad i looked into it. I'm having a lot of fun with this. I hope i can really master it like a lot of people have :) Thanks again.

what are the benefits of posting my dream journal online?