My intent was satire. If I missed the mark, let's attribute it to lack of skill on my part, but not ill-will. I think you actually agree with my premise: One cannot simply buy lucid dreams. Rather, it requires skillful effort.

Look, I'd really like to talk about technology (if any) and lucid dreaming. I just don't want to talk about gadget ABC or software XYZ because that's been done to death. Might as well read product reviews on Amazon. I am more interested in the how and the why instead of the what.

I apologize for offending. If you would indulge me though, I will relate how I use a particular piece of technology: my alarm clock.

My alarm clock is fancy model made by a brand name company. It sits on a stand beside my bed, but out of reach. I never use the alarm function and the face of the clock is turned away from my bed so I can't see it from a sleeping position. Of all the things I do for lucid dreaming, not using an alarm and not having a clock in view are the things I credit with most of my success. Why.

It took me a while to reason this out. I initially got a nice alarm clock because the main trouble for me and lucid dreaming was an irregular sleep schedule. I wanted to fix my schedule, so I created a plan with the alarm. But setting an alarm for a regular time has the opposite effect on me. It creates anxiety throughout the night and disturbs me at the end. So I stopped using the alarm and slept better.

So, I sleep well and wake several times every night. What would I do when I wake? Look at the clock. I would calculate how long I slept, how long I had until it was time to wake, and speculate about what REM cycle I was in. But none of that was productive either. I have more lucid dreams when I just focus on the previous dream, pay attention to my body, and look forward to the next dream, regardless of the time. So I turned the clock away so I couldn't see it. I initially still had the habit of looking toward it and reaching to turn it. But soon enough, I untrained that habit.

Now when I wake up, I still wonder about the time and whether it's a good time to lucid dream. I judge this by becoming aware of the light from the window. Coincidentally, light and the direction of the window are recurring dreamsigns for me. I also pay attention to cues in my body. It's how I judge, in a subtle and imprecise way, how long I have slept and whether my body is ready for WILD. Another coincidence, the sensation of weightless or the foggy feeling of confusion are other dreamsigns. I feel no anxiety and I don't have to move. I just think about my previous dream, and use my body and environment to judge if I might still be dreaming. If the dream was particular interesting, I turn and write some notes on paper. If not, I just continue on with whichever routine I've been using lately, WILD or MILD.

The story of my alarm clock is the story of how I learned that I don't need it. It wasn't useless or a waste. It was necessary to explore all the wrong choices and mis-beliefs before arriving at the skillful ones. My conclusion is that success comes from applying effort and attention to the things that matter and tuning out the things that don't. Nonetheless, it may be necessary to understand those distractions, so that you can reason about why they are unnecessary.