Thread: Becoming a Natural Lucid Dreamer

I saw results after 6 days, 2 weeks and 3 weeks after starting. It doesn't mean that I'm any close to mastering ADA or whatever, but those are results too. It's not going to be like this - you are training ADA, don't have awareness triggered lucids at all and then BAM! once you've mastered it you have them everyday. There are steps in between those two.

I've been really busy last 4 days, didn't even write in DJ, but had two LDs due to awareness training beforehand I think I'm making some progress with that.

Just in case if anyone interested.

As MischiefManaged said, I would imagine that at least some results would occur in as little as a few days or a week after starting continuous ADA. The same goes for people who just start out lucid dreaming; of course the techniques such as DILD and MILD aren't going to be embedded deeply into their subconscious in a short span of time, but they can normally expect to have their first lucid within a week or two if they use the technique correctly.

@Mischief, are you using any other techniques in addition to ADA? Also, are you somewhat aware prior to realizing that you are dreaming? If you are, then that would show that the LD's are not just spontaneously occurring, but are occurring as a result of having constant awareness.


Again, I want to stress to anyone attempting this technique that you should also try be aware of your absolute location at all times (in addition to paying attention to the aspects of your environment). From my experience, I have found that the majority of dreams take place in unfamiliar environments.

Oh, I forgot to mention that last night, I was very close to becoming lucid in a handful of my dreams. At times I was aware that I might have been in a dream, but I was predisposed to the fact that I was actually awake. I am convinced that if I had paid more attention to the likelihood of my environment, then I would have been more likely to realize that I was in fact dreaming.

Originally Posted by MindGames

@Mischief, are you using any other techniques in addition to ADA? Also, are you somewhat aware prior to realizing that you are dreaming? If you are, then that would show that the LD's are not just spontaneously occurring, but are occurring as a result of having constant awareness.

At the step I am right now - I don't have constant awareness. I am fully aware few times of the day (in my case now about once every hour, in the beginning it was 4-5 times a day), when I make a conscious decision to do so. I stop doing whatever I'm doing and proceed with my awareness "practice". My goal is to do that all the time non stop - which is exactly what this thread is about

So, I'm not aware in the dream before the moment I become lucid. I don't have constant awareness, I have some soft of boosts of it. Just like I train IWL.
I concentrate on DILDs and MILD, but the MILD part of what I do is having motivation/intention for which I use the plan for lucid. It contains certain steps that I need to do after becoming lucid - grounding/stabilization and then task for the lucid.
It's really hard to explain that, but I can tell apart lucids, that occurred due to awareness training and those that I induced.

Now I'm reading what I've written and it hardly makes any sense X)

I also don't see the problem with the name of the thread. It can probably be slightly misleading, because yes, literally you can't become natural, but I agree with MindGames - it is the result that matters. And the result here would be - having exactly the same skills that naturals have.

Yeah, I see what you're saying. You become lucid whenever you decide to increase your awareness. Those results pretty good; that's how I have the majority of my DILDs. I'm wondering if awareness usually starts to drop off after the point that you initially become aware.. If this were the case, then we would need to periodically increase our awareness (given that awareness is a constant behavior); at least until we develop a sufficient level of passive awareness. So we should make this a goal: Once you have developed constant awareness, or nearly constant awareness, try boosting your awareness periodically throughout the day. This should help eliminate any problems of having a lower-than-required baseline awareness, and should provide some insight as to whether or not an insufficient level of baseline awareness is a factor in becoming lucid as a result of passive awareness.

I've been trying to do this for about 3 months now. I got to a point where I was having LDs almost every night, like 5 days a week. Once I started DEILDing out of my lucids I was able to have a lot every night too, sometimes as many as 10 in one night, though most were short. Then I started getting stressed out about school, spring break hit and I picked up some weed, so I haven't been as consistant with it lately but I'm getting back into it again.

Once summer hits I'm very confident that I'll be able to do this.

That's pretty impressive. That would almost qualify as being a natural lucid dreamer (in terms of quantity and consistency of ld's) for the span of time that you practiced. How often did you have lucids after you stopped practicing your awareness?

At first about 2-3 a week, then less but thats because I get stressed out and smoke way too much weed which in turn kills my recall. I probably only had 5 all through March, but maybe more and I just don't remember them.

The only reason I wouldn't call it "natural" was that I was MILDing, I was putting in a lot of effort. I feel like this is necessary at first, just so that you get used to LDing all the time. THen I think you can just sense it sort of, it becomes intuitive and second nature.

You might wanna read Dreams and How to Guide Them by Hervy Saint Denys(probably spelled his name wrong). I dont' think he was a natural but he developed the ability to be lucid in almost all his dreams. He didn't use any kind of induction techniques since they hadn't been come up with yet, he just dream journalled a lot and spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of dreams.

Yeah I agree that you weren't a natural while you were developing awareness, but you were starting to approach it. I'm unaware of anybody (without regard to the guy you mentioned) who has developed their abilities to an extent that they have lucid dreams as frequent as naturals do. But that is the point of this thread.

As for Hervy, I am unsure as to whether he developed the same abilities that naturals have. For instance, I believe that naturals devote more attention to their environment, and in becoming familiar with the aspects of their environment and habitually analyzing it, they are better able to tell apart dreams from reality. In Hervy's case, obviously I'm not him so I don't know for sure, but it's possible that he developed different traits than naturals have. There are many ways to become a frequent lucid dreamer. However I'm focusing on the traits that natural lucid dreamers have that allow them to lucid dream so easily and frequently as opposed to focusing on other traits which may bring the same results, but not necessarily the best way to do so with minimal interference on your functional life.

I've been having some success with this technique lately. 2 lucid dreams in the past 4 days, using nothing but this. Anyone else seeing results?

I noticed that when yesterday I decided to really practice this technique during my entire walk to and from Starbucks and for a few hours afterward, that night I had a lucid dream. I usually don't lucid dream unless I have been practicing a technique pretty diligently for awhile, so this technique does show some promise in giving you relatively quick results directly related to the amount of effort you put into practicing it. Other than that I did have one lucid dream a few days ago that I forgot about the following morning, but just recently recalled.

Just a couple tips that I've learned in my research:

When practicing constant awareness, you should always be aware enough that if you were in a dream, you would recognize that you were in a dream. This means that you have to pay attention to your environment and always know where you are. This will definitely help get you lucid, since it requires you to activate your logical thinking. I speculated this when I made this thread, but I'm beginning to believe that it plays a key role in becoming a true natural.

You should always be paying attention to whether or not it feels like you're in a dream. You can better tell the difference by always being aware of all of your sensory input. KingYoshi has a good description of this in his ADA tutorial.

When you remember to become aware after you've forgotten, (common when starting out; I still do this) take a moment to become aware of where you are and how you got there. Try to remember the last time you were fully aware. If you notice nothing unusual, pay attention to your sensory input and decide for yourself whether or not it feels like a dream. If after you've become aware you're still unsure whether or not you're dreaming, it's okay to perform a reality check since all this does is establish which reality you're in. Over time you won't need to use reality checks anymore, since you'll become familiar with the feeling of being in a dream.


As always, good luck in becoming lucid!

I agree with your advice MindGames, but would just like to add that I don't think anyone should stop doing reality checks.
We use reality checks simply to make sure we don't try to fly or kill some one IRL.
It could be fairly dangerous to not use RC's if you think you're dreaming.

EDIT: Wait, wtf lol I knew there was something wrong with that.

I see what you're saying. When I say you won't need to use reality checks anymore, I mean that you won't need to use them to be able to tell when you're dreaming. Over time as you become more familiar with the feeling, you shouldn't have to use them for that purpose. However, you should always use reality checks if you're not completely sure that you're dreaming, such as when you're only starting to learn how to lucid dream or when you're in a vivid, familiar environment. Even then, however, gradually you will most likely have to use them less often, as you'll become more able to be completely sure of your reality.

Originally Posted by MindGames

I see what you're saying. When I say you won't need to use reality checks anymore, I mean that you won't need to use them to be able to tell when you're dreaming. Over time as you become more familiar with the feeling, you shouldn't have to use them for that purpose. However, you should always use reality checks if you're not completely sure that you're dreaming, such as when you're only starting to learn how to lucid dream or when you're in a vivid, familiar environment. Even then, however, gradually you will most likely have to use them less often, as you'll become more able to be completely sure of your reality.

Yeah I agree then. So you won't use them that much, but if you believe you are dreaming, it would be a good idea, but it wouldn't be necessary in a lot of circumstances.

Haven't been on DV almost for two weeks, haven't been thinking about LDing that much like before and my last DJ entry - 9th of April. Still having lucids!

So I don't do anything apart from awareness training. I have almost no time to train it the way I did before, so now I'm doing it like MindGames mentioned earlier - aware all the time while I'm on the bus or on my way to classes or something similar. I also do a lot of RCs, but only because I see strange things all the time and have a lot of dreamlike situations, so I just feel like I have to do a RC.

By the way, about "the strange things" - I think it's not that something unusual started happening, it seems like it's been there all the time, I just never noticed it before and I believe that now that I do it's all due to being more aware.

Dreamlike situations is a big topic too. There are more and more moments when I feel like I'm dreaming, when I'm actually awake. One part of it is because it so hot now where I live, like it's the freaking July! So I just noticed that because of the heat pupils go wide, I feel really dizzy, the colors get very bright and in most of the cases it hurts my eyes. Strangely enough these exact cases make me sort of half conscious as if I'm on the edge of passing out, but at the same time I become super aware. It's like I can use all of my senses to the highest extent possible - I hear, see, feel just everything, as if my brain perceive every single bit of information there is. I don't particularly like this situations, but, I guess there is nothing I can do about it. And I'm already dreading the summer, when almost every single day is going to be like this. Damn, I hate our climate.

So, yeah, I don't think I will ever stop doing RCs - seems like they can be vital to keep my life out of danger X)

A little bit of statistics, just for the sake of it ^^
17/01/2011 found out about LDing
1st month - 4 LDs
2nd month - 4 LDs
At the end of the 2nd month - 12/03/2011 - started awareness training
3rd (now) - 10 LDs (4 of them - coffee induced , 6 - awareness)

Also, some significant things for me that I've noticed since starting awareness training:
- I have more and more semi-lucids. I don't count them as LDs, because I'm not in fact lucid, but I start feeling this "dreamlikeness" - that makes every non-lucid experience really great.
- When I got into LDing my usual dreams got mundane and boring. Now I brought my epic-crazy-bizarre-psychedelic dreams back and I'm super happy about it
- Awareness triggered LDs are more vivid, stable and LONG!! than those that are induced in some other way
- Quality of my waking life perception is just inexplicable. Sorry if it sounds cheesy - but I really do see things in a different way now.

I apologize for this hugeness, just thought it's relevant and felt like writing it

Thanks for your contributions, Mischief. It's apparent that having constant awareness is having some positive impact on your LD frequency. You should really keep at it and continue to get better. Have you tried what I mentioned earlier, namely always knowing where you are and how you got there? Doing so should increase your brain activity; the type that makes you become lucid.

I can certainly relate to not having the time to practice constant awareness throughout the entire day, and sometimes I just don't feel up to practicing at all; either because I'm too sleepy or because my brain's really wired on caffeine. However over time I am finding that I use the technique more and more. One thing I would suggest is to hold on to a little bit of awareness while you're busy doing other things. Not so much that you're focusing a lot of attention on being aware, but just enough to stay aware.

Originally Posted by MindGames

Have you tried what I mentioned earlier, namely always knowing where you are and how you got there? Doing so should increase your brain activity; the type that makes you become lucid.

Yeah, that's a big part of what I do in order to be aware. But I have to put in a lot of efforts to actually remember how I got here and what I was just doing. Struggling with this X)

Originally Posted by MischiefManaged

Yeah, that's a big part of what I do in order to be aware. But I have to put in a lot of efforts to actually remember how I got here and what I was just doing. Struggling with this X)

Usually I just try to remember the main points of what I was doing; it goes something like this: I got up, went to Starbucks, went to my economics class, went home, and now I'm here. It should only take like 10 seconds at the most if you're only visualizing the main things and deciding if it's a coherent timeline. And you only have to do this when you lose awareness; when you're already aware, you should only be aware of what your current environment is, and also be aware of when you move into different environments if it is a coherent transition or not. Once you get into the habit of deciding if your environment is one you would normally be in, it shouldn't be too hard.



Well I have some pretty good news of my own. Night before last, I had a handful of lucid dreams. Some were semi-lucid, but I know that at least one was fully lucid. I'd like to say that I had 2 fully lucid, but my memory is pretty hazy. At any rate, my semi-lucid was very vivid, and I got it to keep going for a long time. In the past my lucid dreams have always ended prematurely, but I'm working on making them stable by creating a waking environment archetype.

I have noticed a strong correlation, though: Every day that I actually put sustained effort into constant awareness, I have lucid dreams. I have yet to see an instance of not having lucid dreams the following night when I actually put effort into this technique. This could have some strong implications for those who are new to lucid dreaming, namely that if they practice this technique, it's possible that they could have lucid dreams during their first week, when their interest and effort in lucid dreaming is at its peak.


I'm going to reiterate the refined technique since I can't edit my original post:

Maintain constant awareness of your environment throughout the entire day.

1. Always be aware of your sensory input. Use it to be in constant determination of whether or not it feels like you're in a dream. As you progress, you will become more familiar with the feeling of being in a dream. You should do this passively over time. Use KingYoshi's ADA tutorial for tips on this.

2. Always know your location. If you regain awareness and don't know where you are after looking at your environment or don't know how you got there, you're probably dreaming. Maintain attention on your location, and pay attention to when you move from one location to another. Is your current location a usual one? Is the transition coherent? Over time, pay attention to more specific aspects of your environment in determining whether or not you're in a dream environment. Using this technique will activate higher level frontal lobe activity, the kind that you need to become lucid.


Most importantly, don't try to do everything at once, at least when you're starting out. I usually maintain sensory input awareness (#1) at all times in determining if it feels like a dream, and I use location awareness (#2) every time I'm moving from place to place, and periodically when I stay in the same place for a long time.

And don't forget to reality check once you realize you're dreaming. Use the nose plug technique to make sure you're in a dream before you do anything crazy (mostly to cover my ass).

As of today i will begin to try this technique and mix it with other techniques i attempt. Thanks for this one

Great, make sure you post your results! If you want to get quicker results I suggest you take a walk and maintain constant awareness (as described) of your environment for about an hour or two, and maintain your awareness afterward throughout your day.

Bad news guys. My results show that awareness can get worse if you stop training it after having progress (ok, that's obvious, I know X))

So, I've been a real slacker for the past week and not having lucids and even not being aware for some time didn't bother me until it all resulted in a dream I had yesterday. At one point in the dream I looked at my phone and saw the time - 173:42. Want to know what I did? I laughed and said "Wow, it's just like I'm dreaming, mom what's the time now, my phone's got crazy, I need to fix it". Ok. Actually the dream before that was complicated enough to mess up my mind for some time, but, seriously, I don't think there can be a legitimate reason for not recognizing the dream under such circumstances. It never happened before this way and I am concerned :/

What really upsets me, I just can't focus on lucid dreaming and awareness training now due to some major things going on in my life, so I thought I would just set it aside for some time and do just a small bit of what I was doing before not to completely lose the skills. Yeah, sure...

I'm actually pretty sure that if I was training for much longer time before reducing the efforts, that wouldn't happen. So, my conclusion - if you are beginner in doing awareness training - don't make any drastic changes.

This post is full of sadness and frustration, sorry X) But I was consider my results as the good ones, hopefully it's not too late to bring it back to the previous level

Yeah, it's understandable that you wouldn't have enough time to practice any lucid dreaming techniques. It's fun, but I also have other things going on that are more important. However when I'm not occupied and I feel up to putting an effort into it, I practice this technique. And for the most part whenever I put effort into this, I'm rewarded with lucid dreams the following night. I think that since you have some experience with this it should be relatively easy to get back into lucid dream practice. And if you haven't read the updated original post, you should. The updated techniques are much more effective.

Bump. I am a natural lucid dreamer, had first LD when I was five.

The main thing I notice that I fail to see in 'normal' (hate to use a differentiating term >.<) people is that the are WAY less skeptical of their surroundings. I was born with a rather philosophical mind, ever questioning the possibilities, the REALITY of this universe.
You have to learn to not trust what your eyes see, rather, proof your vision using cold, hard facts. Getting it to a subconscious level is basically what a 'natural' lucid dreamer does.

Sum: MORE RC, RC RC RC!
I can't stress this enough, but here is the best way to put it in words. 'Turn your whole day into one big reality check.' (sound familiar? )

My two cents.

Thank you very much for your advice. In questioning your environment, do you find yourself paying attention to how it feels? Because as I'm sure you're aware of this, dreams have a different feel to them than physical reality. In addition, do you always try to stay aware of where you are? What other things do you take into consideration?

It seems as though your habits would activate constant frontal lobe activity, which I am led to believe is necessary for becoming a natural lucid dreamer. How often you lucid dream?

Yes, right on spot. I pay attention to how it feels. Dreams feel like a bubble. A beautiful, fragile thing, that no one really bothers about much, but can be fantastic in it's true nature.

I try to always question reality. I don't have to see a very weird thing to do an RC. WHAT FLYING UFO I GOTTA DO RC!

No. I am more like, "'Hmm my legs feel a bit wuzzy. RC. - - - Oh that thing is new. Wait, RC. - - - WOW AWESOME. RC. - - - Oh look a pretty doorway. RC.'"'

I can't put it in better words. 'Turn your whole day into one big reality check.'

I also notice me being 'skeptical' of reality on a subconscious level. It's really hard to explain that feeling.

I used to LD 5 to 6 nights a week. 2 LDs per night were common. Now, I have a lot of things keeping me busy, and I guess right now it's about one LD every 3 days or so. And reduced quality. >.<

Even us naturals have to stay in practice. It's not like I can sit back and watch LDs rolling in every other day.

What I think is that people think all the time out of habit. You have to break the habit and bring your awareness to other things besides your thoughts and make that become a habit.

Really I am not tripping on whats happening around me all the time. I am aware of how I'm feeling all the time. I shifted my awareness from my thoughts to here. Right here, now. Now I am lucid in almost every dream. It changed the way I am. It changed my state of conciseness to more the way I am in dreams. A feeling of fearlessness and freedom. Not caring about anything. I feel most of my life takes place in my dreams. Its really weird because everyone around me in waking life doesn't understand that. Most of them don't even acknowledge dreams as a part of there reality. Their reality is only waking life. Which honestly sucks compared to the dream world. I feel really confused to. So much shit. It really just confuses the crap out of me. I am learning everyday now. I have discovered that I want to heal myself emotionally by myself. I want to let go of all these emotions my thoughts have created throughout my lifetime. All this negative energy. I want to heal the pain. I need to learn how to do it myself though. Not depend on someone else to heal me.

If you want to be lucid all the time you must be focused. Not daydreaming off all the time. If you were a warrior you would not be daydreaming. You would know what the fuck is going on and watching everything, stalking everything. You got to live your life this way. Be focused like a warrior. Be aware not spaced out. Stop spacing out all the time!! Stay focused on the situation. Stay focused on the people you are dealing with. Dealing with shitty people in life can make you more aware and focused because you are trying to anticipate what they are going to do to avoid their shittyness. You watch them, somewhat stalking there behaviors so you make sure you have to deal with there crap the least amount as possible. Be aware of these things. stop thinking all the time and spacing out!!!! Your going to die!!! Now are you aware? Be aware like that. Not like you have eternity to sit here and space out thinking about shit.