SUMMARY
For those tl;dr people.
90 days of techniques that are supposed to induce lucidity in the average beginner. Results will be recorded and analyzed to see if the methods do, in fact, work - when compiled.

BACKGROUND

I've been practicing lucid dreaming for a few years (since the end of 2008) and have had moderate success. I've researched and compiled a few simple methods that are supposed to help beginners, and have decided to implement them in a 90-day trial to see if they boost my success rate.

I welcome others to also participate, but ask that their results are recorded in a separate thread, to keep things neat.
Post a link in this thread so I can follow your success as well! Please don't begin the experiment without having the intention to dedicate yourself and follow through.

Fun fact: A third of the way through the experiment, it should be less difficult to motivate yourself, as it takes approximately thirty days to develop a habit.

INTRODUCTION
  • It's been proven that waking up in the middle of the night and walking around the room increases the likeliness of a lucid dream.
  • Focusing on lucid dreaming for an hour or more before falling asleep has also been observed to improve the rate of success.
  • Reality checks greatly improve the likelihood of experiencing a lucid dream.
  • If awoken in the middle of the night, dreams are more likely to be remembered than if not awoken.
  • Keeping a dream journal helps to identify dream signs, which help to induce lucidity in the DILD (Dream Induced Lucid Dream) method.
  • Repetition with purpose of a statement about dreaming throughout the day improves likelihood of lucid dreams.

Assuming all of the above, I believe that if all of the techniques are implemented, lucid dreaming will be accomplished quicker than if only one or a few were used.

My first goal is to use each of them daily, and record each night's (or day's, in the case of naps) dreams in the hopes of seeing an effect on the amount and quality of lucid dreams.

THE EXPERIMENT

DAY PORTION
  • Reality checks are to be used frequently - such as the nose-pinch, looking at hands, general awareness (shadows facing the right direction?), and electronic checks.
  • Write down dreams and update an online dream journal daily (or whenever possible, considering the state of my laptop).
  • Hourly make a mnemonic statement of sorts - "I will be aware of whether or not I am dreaming."
  • For as long as possible before going to bed, thoughts should be centered around dreaming. Suggested activities include reading through previous entries in the dream journal and/or identifying dream signs, as well as identifying goals or intentions that are aspired to be followed through with upon lucidity.


NIGHT PORTION
  • An alarm will be set for halfway through the expected amount of sleep. (i.e. out of 7 hours of sleep, 3.5 hours into the night). Upon waking, the extent of dreams will be recorded by a voice recorder to be interpreted and written down in the morning.
  • At the same time, a reality check will be performed followed by getting up and walking around the room or visiting the restroom, then going back to bed.
  • A mnemonic device will be repeated (same as is used during the day) until sleep resumes.
  • Again, upon waking, dreams will be recorded via voice recorder to be interpreted later.


DREAM CONTROL
Each time a lucid is achieved, the dream will be 'grounded' by feeling the textures of nearby objects and closely observing the surroundings for long enough to stabilize the dream. Then, tasks will be completed, such as the Tasks of the Month or something else.

I will be using the 'logical' method of dream control. There is probably another name for it, but this is where instead of forcing things to happen (which can disrupt the stability of the dream, as has often been the case in the past for me) a reason for things to happen is thought of and the dream responds accordingly. i.e. You want to shape-shift, so you think "Of course I'll shape-shift, because it's a full moon and I am a werewolf." You want a hot person to show up at your front door, so you think "I just heard the doorbell ring, ______ is probably here looking for sugar for a recipe!" And so on. However, doubt often invalidates this method.

SOURCES/RECOMMENDED

Lucid Dreaming Guide for Beginners
How to Lucid Dream - wikiHow

KNOWN PARTICIPANTS

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