How do I get lucid!

This is my first post here so let me just say... HI EVERYONE!!

I've been dreaming for about a year now and I have gone lucid a few times in the past. Unfortunately, due to distractions from 'reality', i had to put all of that on a break..and now that I've started again, I just can't get lucid! I have dreams every night and i remember at least 3 or 4 each night.. i keep a dream journal and constantly ask myself "AM I DREAMING." I have read the tutorials and everything, but nothing seems to be working.. does anyone have any suggestions? maybe something really unique that will stand out in my mind?

thanks for any help..[list]

Hey, First of all welcome..
Have you ever tried Mild or Wild? how much sleep do you usually get? its recommended that you get around 7 to 8 hours sleep as it increases your chances of having longer period of dreaming states. Try waking up about 1 hour earlier than usual, stay awake for a bit then return to sleep. Usually you go straight back to rem sleep, once again increasing your chances of dreaming therefore LD'in too. When you do reality checks, set some goals for the day. Then tomorrow a diffrent set of tasks, i.e
monday --- everytime you look in a mirror, every time someone calls your name, everytime you check the time
tuesday ---next time you drink something, next time you write things down, next time u see a flower.
The more things you question "am i dreaming" the more chance you will while your dreaming.
I'm new too and havnt had a fully LD so im not really one to answer :D
those are just things i have read/ been told - hope there of help.

Yeah, he's right... I'll just add my tip..

I find I lucid dream when I really think about my dreams during the day... I'll write it down in teh morning, but then for the rest of the day I think about over and over again, different times of the day. It really takes a conscious effort for me, if I don't think about my dreams then I'll never go... Reality checks work too, but I find consciously going ove dreams through the day really work.
I assume because you're revisiting the parts of your brain you use during sleep, and it's like an excersise for the brain.hmm?

Just make sure you keep your dreams important to you.. If you neglect them and ignore them then so will you in your sleep. Its awesome you remember 3-4 a night, just start to look for your dream signs, write them down in a journal, how do all your dreams connect?? I have many war dreams and school dreams.. This morning I became lucid because I was leaving my old grade school as an adult but I saw some digital clock, that was in the middle of nowhere, and saw that it changed times 3 times in 2seconds and I became lucid and immediately started to fly and try to get to the moon, soo close too..... Anyways...just keep coming to this site, ask questions, we'll give you answers, and that will probably help you enough, if not, read all the tutorials, try WILD and WBTB methods, and you'll be golden.. Remember it takes hard word and dedication, your mind has been trained for years to think dreams are pointless it takes some work to alter that state of mind...Good luck and welcome to Dream views, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I'M WASTED......NEED ME ANOTHER CAPTAIN AND COKE!!!

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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I'M WASTED......NEED ME ANOTHER CAPTAIN AND COKE!!![/b]

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hahahaha...

I have tried do to a Wild before. That's when you wake up and then go back to sleep but try to stay concious while you do it, right? If that's what it is, it didn't work so well for me. I tried it a couple of times, but i would just think all these weird things and see really weird detailed images in my head before I fell back asleep, kinda hard to keep focused that way. Recently I haven't been able to get that much sleep. I usually get to bed between 12am - 3am and then I have to wake up for school at like 7. Do you think being tired could hinder my ability to go lucid? ..A lot of my dreams are usually in a video game setting most of the time I'm kinda in third person looking at what's going on.. I'll have to try some of your suggestions. Thinking about my dreams more during the day and asking myself if I'm dreaming when certain things happen.. I have kept a dream journal for many months now, which is probably why I am able to remember my dreams so often, i just can't make that big leap into lucidity =(...oh well one day...hey, thanks for all your help. i appreciate it =)

MonkeyElk, why do you have many war dreams? just curious..

Hey there, Pluto! I'm glad you joined us and I hope you've been enjoying yourself so far.

WILD is when a person goes from a waking state directly into the dream state. It's nigh-impossible to do directly when you're going to sleep since the longest non-REM time is when you first go to sleep. But yah... How many different techniques have you tried? How long did you try them? I think that a lot of people try something for a few days and then go on to something else. If you need some help with anything in particular (such as techniques not going the way they should) feel free to ask. :D

Anyway, I hope to see you around! Sweet Lucid Dreams!

-Amé :dreaming:

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I think that a lot of people try something for a few days and then go on to something else.[/b]

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Yea that's pretty much what I did when I tried to do WILD. I tried it a few times, but like I said, I just couldn't keep myself focused. In the past I have become lucid simply by realizing I was dreaming, not really using any dreamsigns or any technique. I had two significant lucid dreams that way, where I was actually able to run around and do stuff. I was just asking myself if I was dreaming a lot, checking onto this website a lot too actually. I remember my first LD came from using the "look at your hands" technique. I looked at my hands, realized I was dreaming, and then I tried to turn the light off... But now, I want to seriously get into lucid dreaming.. and I can't do it!!

Well if you are going to bed around 2 or 3 and waking up at 7, thats only 4-5 hours of sleep, you do most of your dreaming after 4 1/2 hours of sleep, the easiest time to become lucid is after that because your REM periods last a lot longer and its just easier to become lucid... Try to either go to bed earlier, or sleep a lot longer lets say on the weekends or something. I tend to do most of my lucid dreaming after waking up after 4-6hrs and then going back to sleep with the thoughts of dreaming in my head, i sleep another 4-5hrs usually and in that time I have most of my dreams/lucid dreams...Great way to have really vivid if not lucid dreams.

It also helps to keep yourself relaxed not only physically, but mentally. Finish all of your "meager" tasks before you try any techniques, as even the most careless people think about such things without noticing it. Try to keep an "ALL LUCID: ALL THE TIME" mindset throughout the day, and take care of your needs when possible.

Appropriate time slots are not necessarily a must, but they do help in keeping focus and certainty in planning. Even changing your sleep schedule may trigger some lucidity; you have to try different methods to put yourself in a confident state.

Hi
I fully understand your situation, I also remember dreams throuhgout the next day very clearly, unfortunately I never become Lucid in them yet, its almost like my dreams are on automatic pilot and I forget about becoming lucid, before I know it my dreams have come and gone and I wake up thinking, Shit!! next time I must remember to be aware and become Lucid. This is the hardest part for me also.
Kindest
Mark