my first LD: I’m walking and I see my elementary school and I realize this must be a dream so I begin to ‘hover’. People keep trying to grab me but can’t reach. I’m having a great time shooting fireballs at people and laughing…
thats about it, it wasn’t very long, but definately a cool experience. one other factor I feel helped me was the post about saying “I AM in a lucid dream” instead of “I will be, I want to etc”.
I’m not saying the Ginkgo Biloba was the only reason I had an LD, I do feel it was a very important factor though. we will see, last night I wasn’t lucid but had very good recall and dreams were some of the more vivid i’ve ever had.
I just bought Ginkgo Biloba extract on the weekend, damn expensive stuff at $100 (AUD) for 500mls, though this should last a good three months. A word of caution to anyone thinking of buying Ginkgo in a tincture or liquid extract: It tastes like poision! Ick!!
The good Gingko is very expensive. In capsule form, upwards of forty; the tincture is much more expensive.
However, it does work. And it works well. I’ve been taking Gingko for several months now, along with Gotu Kola and Ginseng. Give it time, and I think you shall be satisfied.
By the way, it doesn’t really matter when you take Gingko as long as you take it regularly. That’s what I’ve found at least.
I would agree with most of post here that ginkgo has effect. In Ayurveda (Vedic medicine) it is said that ginkgo has good effect on recalling dreams. And my experience can confirm that. I use it last month (together with red ginseng) just one caplets (2000 mg of leaf) daily (right before going to sleep) and I can remember 2-3-4 different dreams. For now I do not see that it directly improve LD however it is useful if intention for LD is strong, I mean it can help in LD indirectly.
I wouldn’t say GB has no side-effects. I get severe headaches from it. Actually any substance that dialates the blood vessels, particularly in the head, trigger headaches.
Just counteract with a huge mug of coffee, you’ll be right
I used this stuff for the past month, the strongest form I could find. I found no noticable effect on dreams, memory, lucidity, concentration or the colour of my goldfish. Actually that’s not entirely true… I don’t have a goldfish.
Guess it doesn’t work as well for everyone.
I found that when I started to take GB some years ago my dream activity seemed to diminish so I read up a little about the herb. I discoved that GB has been shown to promote stronger alpha and beta brain waves patterns…the ones that are associated with daytime wakefullness. So I stopped taking it and my dream abilities returned. But then again I often go through cycles of different levels of DR and LDing ability so I suppose it doesn’t really prove anything. Still, it wonder if it might be better to concentrate on things that will increase theta, delta, and rem to aid with LDs.
“My advice to anyone is just to let them come naturally. Anyone who tries to force an LD to happen with constant overuse of techiniques is probably just setting themselves up for a dissapointment. If you have an active interest instead of an obsession and enjoy and respect your Lucid Dreams when they come then you’ve done enough to be one your way to the next one.”
Well I jumped in here late enough eh?
I do not agree with this as Stephen Laberge, through effort, obtained demonstrable results ( a LD every night at will) but he points out that proper effort is what is required.
I would say our quest is to find the effort that is proper for us because it is a learned skill.
Gosh, I’d say you are settling for a baseline of 2 a week and with all of your experience you could easily improve upon that if you actually wanted to…
I have started to keep a journal again Reyth and it’s helping greatly. Already I am having more vivid dreams and more dream recal. Hmm, maybe I’ll make my goal one lucid dream per night…rather like a one-a-day vitamin.
I’m actually coming back after a 4 year break and haven’t implemented everything I want to yet – I want to use my dream journal to make a dream-cue mandala as well.
I’d say journaling is the best way to have lucid dreams.
Are you familiar with Stephen Laberge’s 4 category dreamsign system?
I have been taking Ginkgo Biloba (Combi, includes several other vitamines and minerals) for 2 weeks now, but I do not notice any effects.
My poor dream recall hasn’t improved the last 2 weeks.
It’s as worse as always.
One tablet contains 150mg Ginkgo Biloba standardized extract.
I take 1 tablet right before bedtime, is this the right time or should I take them in the morning?
I will continue to take them for another 2 weeks, before making some definitive conclusions.
I can remember a time I used to have a few LDs per night… those were the good old days, lol. But now I would be very happy with just 1 LD per night, so that’s my goal.
Thanks for posting Tholey’s technique. I do use some of his points, yes. I think I will start to leave myself littles notes around the house…on the fridge, TV, etc., asking if I’m dreaming.
I do state tests but I’ve sometimes managed to fool myself with these. The odd time writing doesn’t move in my dreams and I think not dreaming. Or I can not seem to fly, just jump a little so I convince myself I’m still in the waking world. They usually work though except for the odd times my brain plays tricks on me.
Number 3 of the techniques I do often just because it’s fun I love pretending I’m dreaming especially if I’m doing something boring at the time.
I do number 4 as well…plan my next lucid dreams. They usually involve flying all the time and often turning into something or someone else.
I am familiar with Stephen Laverge’s books and teachings, they have really helped me develope my skills. I used to be on the Lucidity Institute’s forum a few years back.
Sorry for getting off topic…just to make this GB related…I still do take a little gingko, there is a small amount in my Green’s plus I don’t take it on a daily basis though, just occasionally.
awesomer, the recommended dose of gingko is 50-75 mg. Especially for young people like you, i don’t think it is a very good idea to take large doses of any herb. I would start with taking one capsule a day like it says on the package.
I had mentioned GB gave me headaches in the past. I decided to give it a try again, 240 mg a couple of hours before bed. My dreams are definitely more vivid, but I’m still not lucid.
Oh, and no headaches. I actually found a number of items that triggered headaches and they seemed to have a cumulative effect. The herb alone doesn’t do it apparently.
It’s almost 3 weeks ago since my last post in this topic.
I have taken Ginkgo Biloba for almost 5 weeks now, but dream recall hasn’t improved. Just as poor as always.
Conclusion:
Ginkgo Biloba doesn’t work for me. I did not notice any other effects.
(Like all other things I have done the past 6 years) sigh
I love pretending I’m dreaming especially if I’m doing something boring at the time.