Am I doing this right?

Quest for Lucidity
1

Hello, well lets get right to it. My dream journal is on my phone, since I always sleep right next to my phone I use that as a dream journal, is that ok? or do I NEED an actual journal?

I sleep with my TV on, after 20-30 mins it turns off, but I always fall asleep with it on, does that affect if I lucid dream? The lighting and the noise? Is being hungry also a factor that can make me not lucid dream? (althought 6/7 nights I’m not actually hungry I just want to know) Lastly, how come on my dreams I have like NO common sense (I had a dream and my cousin was wolf and I acted normal) haha thanks, I’ve ben recording my dreams for like 2 weeks now and spotted a few dream signs but I never seem to fully notice them in my dreams(people say that if you spot a dream sign thats a cue to do a reality check, the only problem is I never seem to cue myself)…? Is it because I berly started? Thanks!

2

Hello there ! :welcome:

First, I’m not sure about your phone thingy, never heard of such a thing. If you’re OK with it, if you can type very fast on the phone and don’t lose time, then it’s simply ok.

Second, TV watching is one of the worse things to do before going to sleep.Watch this to see why.

Third, I have been practicing lucid dreaming for a year and a half and still I never use RC’s nor DS’s cause they don’t really work. I have detected some DS’s in my dreams, but I never notice it too. I even managed to work out how to induce myself DS’s in my dreams, but still, I never notice anything. It may be the same for you, so you’d better try each method (like DEILD, WILD, MILD etc. etc.) slowly and see which one seems to work well for you.

Last, don’t expect to have your first LD once you heard the word “lucid dream”. At first everything is hard, but then it will get a bit easier and you’ll begin to have LD’s a little more regularly. Then it will also start to get hard and then easier again, and then a lot harder and so on. You will always be on the wave :wink:.

IF everything else fails (each method) then just write down things in your DJ and be OK with that !!! As long as you do this regularly you go up even if it seems that you’re going down !

SPOILER - Click to view

As a last advice: Try not to rely on other people’s advises. Ofcourse, it’s a good thing to be sure of something, but think a bit, if something is OK with you (for example your phone DJ) and you feel comfortable with it then it is OK for you, and what anyone says doesn’t madder !! What you need to listen to are the stable things, like method steps, but each journey, for each person is “customizable” and it often won’t work if it’s too “default”.

Hope you get it and I wish you luck ! :wink:

3

Oh, no wonder I’ve been having “garbage” dreams :razz: few more qiestions since you’re expiernced at all this LD stuff, I do the MILD technique and I repeat to myself “on my next dream, I will know I’m dreaming” I repeat this for a long period of time and eventually I will start to see, blurry, myself and I can sometimes control what I do (like a day dream) but as soon as I get into deep sleep I can’t anymore… :sad: why?

also about the waking up at 4 AM and getting up, then going back to bed, does it work for you? I didn’t get the whole sun light thing… Do I wake up and get some sunlight for an hour while researching or reading about lucid dreaming and then do I go back to bed? I get I need to do the MILD thing over again. Also in the video you showed me (thanks by the way!) it says it’s best to wake up during 4- 5:30, the only problem is where I live the sun doesn’t come out until around 5 50… Thanks again and sorry I might sound stupid, I just want to have a Lucid Dream :confused:

4

MILD is just when you use mantras (autosuggestion) and imagine yourself taking full control of your previous ND you were in. Just imagining, daydreaming. Don’t worry about the daydreaming if it slips out of control, cause that’s not the point. The point is not to enter the dream consciously, it is to suddenly realize you’re in a dream at the very beginning of it.

The cause of you not being able to control it anymore would be that you’re drifting off to sleep. You get a little more tired, and a little more, and then you lose awareness and thus you won’t be able to do be aware of what you are doing cause you’re beginning to “shut down”, you know.

Here’s MILD (original Guide, which can be found on the main site here)

[spoiler]MILD in 3 easy steps:

1 - Remember
Tell yourself that you will awake from a dream and you will recall that dream upon awakening. When awakening from a dream, try and remember as much as you can.

2 - Set your intent
While drifting back to sleep, concentrate on your intent to be aware that you are dreaming. Repeat the following text, or one you write yourself:

I’m going to dream now. I’m in a dream. I’m aware of my dream.

If you find your thoughts wandering, bring them back softly, and keep repeating the words.

3 - Visualise
Now imagine yourself becoming lucid in your dream. Go back to the dream you had before you woke up and imagine you realize it is a dream. (If you couldn’t remember any dreams when waking up, use another dream you previously recalled). See yourself realising you are dreaming. Visualise what you are going to do once you are lucid. (for example flying)

Repeat
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you fall asleep.

The dream
If you are successful you will be inside a dream and you will suddenly realize that you are dreaming.[/spoiler]

:lol: no. That video was simply for the TV thingy :smile: Don’t worry about the sun at all. But since you’re curious the point was when you wake up not to get in touch with sun. You should get some sun during the day, but I bet that has some minor effects on everything.

PS: Here you could just simply go back to sleep the moment you wake up. It would be much faster but if you can’t fall asleep, or if you have some DJ’ing to do then wake up and do it for 45 minutes…

Well, all around the world (with some exceptions) the sun won’t come out until 5:50 as you said (6:00 AM). That’s normal and that is even the point, to be able to do WBTB before the sun comes out. Don’t switch the lights on ! The idea is not to see light. I think you misunderstood the video…

You don’t sound stupid. You just want some answers, that’s all. You want your LD, well, I always say, your first LD might let you down so hard that you’ll quit LD’ing (like I did a year and a half ago)… be prepared. Write in your DJ - this what you should care of the most.

Good luck !

5

Ok, I have to disagree here. RC’s are very strong tools that you should use through the day. I believe he was trying to say they don’t help everyone as much, but when about 1/4 of my dreams have been through RCILD, it is difficult to say they “don’t work.” At the very least they get you in the mindset that you could be dreaming at any time, even if you are certain you are awake. Of course, some people like D.A. don’t have any success, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work for anyone. I think it’s one of the best ways to start out in addition to any other techs you might be trying.

And a little expansion on MILD beyond what the guide says. Mantras, visuals and all that are just ways to successfully MILD. What you need to concentrate on is getting the intention into your head that you either will realize you are dreaming or that you will remember to do a reality check. Try to use specific times based on your sleep cycles. For instance, when you go to bed, say “In a few hours, I will be dreaming and…” or “a few minutes” after WBTB. This will help get the message through to the SC.

As an example, you can tell yourself “oh, I need to remember to pay the cable bill tomorrow,” and you’ll be given that reminder when it is time. Is it flawless, no, but it’s a part of our natural mind. The goal of MILD is to take advantage of this function and remind yourself that you are in fact dreaming. Thinking of it this way has helped me a lot. When I thought it was all about mantras, it didn’t do me any good except on occasion. When I realized what the purpose of the mantras was, I began to have more success.

6

Perhaps, but they don’t work for me even if I do them from time to time. The more less do the DS’s work. A stronger tool would be the DJ in my and everyone’s case.

You don’t know how many times that failed for me :meh:. Only if I write it down I can remember it without watching the note. It simply comes, but it only comes if I am sure I won’t forget it and the thought is somewhere “safe”.

Perhaps I don’t have such a great mind which keeps every information itself, but at least I’m going on a sure way.

7

Well of course you need to be using a DJ as well, I never said not to :tongue: .

And if you remember better by writing, why not write down your intention before bed? Or write it and keep reading it throughout the day? Like I always say, find what works for you personally.

8

A lot of people believe that it’s better to actually write down your dreams in a dream journal than to type them up, and say that this increases dream recall. But I’m not sure about using a phone (I assume you orally dictate your dreams to your phone). Personally, I write mine down in a journal with a pencil, and it works fine.

As for the TV thing. I don’t know if it would affect lucid dreaming, but most sleep specialists say you shouldn’t go to sleep with something like a TV on. It’s best to sleep in the dark with no noise. If you need noise to sleep–like me–then you can use a fan (that’s what I use), a noise machine, or the website simplynoise.com; these all create soft, constant sound, instead of the haphazard noise associated with speech, which often occurs on TV.

It’s also better not to go to sleep hungry, but never eat anything an hour before going to sleep.

Finally, nobody has common sense in their dreams. Whatever crazy things go on in dreams, we always think it’s normal. That’s why lucid dreaming can be so bloody difficult. Also, about your dreamsigns. Once you discover what they are, you need to incorporate them into your daily reality checks. Like, for instance, if you often dream of toilets, then whenever you see a toilet in real life, do your reality checks. Hopefully, when you see one in your dream, the habit will carry over, you’d realize you’re dreaming and become lucid.

Hope I’ve answered some of your questions.

9

:meh:… never thought about that… still, I don’t think I ever remember something from RL in one of my ND’s. There are either FM’s or so much action that I don’t have time to think. :smile:

Making a good habit is one of the hardest things…