One way is to count, but you can find yourself getting off track after a while.
I find counting bad actually, hehe, just breath deeply to keep you concentrated 
Same here. Counting never really worked for me. It just kept me up all night (No I wasn’t dreaming either).
Great topic, Great explanations! 
I’ve had several natural ld’s, where i’m aware that I’m dreaming. My question, is though more about keeping the lucidity and control. Ist there a technique that improves that? When it happens spontaneously, its not a problem, but since I started trying to make it happen, I’d realize that I was dreaming and that just wakes me up right away. I’m under the highly motivated/fast sleeper and whenever I wake up then go back to sleep I always have much stronger dreams. Its like a natural WBTB. I think almost all my pre-lucids have come that way.
What do all of you think?
Yes, there are several techniques to help attain your lucidity. One of them is to spin on your axis (it might just take you to another dream scene too), you could also try and rub your hands together, just take in the scene and become aware of everything around you, and one I heard recently was to stop, drop and roll (I don’t know if this one has been tested yet).
You might want to take a look at The BIG “How to stay lucid” topic 
As for if any particular technique will prevent this, unless you were trying WILD I would doubt it. I think it’s more likely to be caused by building up on the idea of lucid dreaming or what you are doing once lucid, than it is to do with your technique.
Thanks kT4all. What do you mean by “spin on your axis?” But your idea here is basically to focus more on the ok, I’m dreaming, just calmly take it all in, be aware, but relaxed, rather than “GASP! I’m dreaming!” then just waking up. is that right? It makes sense, seeing as the time that hasn’t happened was when I had a dream within a dream; getting lucid on the second just made me go right back into the first-unlucid.
And dragon73-thanks! I’ll check the staying lucid topic as soon as I’m done here. 
How would a WILD make it harder to keep lucidity? I have tried it, just not yet succesfully. I’ll hold off on it until later if its a problem.
It’s not that WILD makes it harder to become lucid, it’s just that from what I’ve heard, WILDs can be less stable than DILDs generally are.
On the contrary, every single one of my WILDS has lead to a long and vivid dream, while most of my DILDs never last longer than fifteen seconds. Additionally, DILDs have a greater chance of leading to a FLD.
Just spin around! 
Yes that is right. Just don’t get that excited when you notice that you are lucid. If you do then you might wake up from the dream.
I DID IT! 
my last post was during my first real attempt at lucid dreaming; I’d been taking it easy, letting myself get used to the idea, completely assimilating it in my head before I tried it.
Anyway, I read the “stay lucid” topic (thanks Dragon73) and went back to bed. I wrote down in my DJ the things I wanted to do, and ended up doing an unintentional WILD at the same time. Among the things I wanted to do was have a good chat with my spirit guide, but I talk to her all the time in real life so I summoned her immediately. She helped me keep my mind “awake.” What I realized is that WILD works so much easier if you’re not trying to do it. 
Funny thing though: I did have to keep a good amount of focus to keep myself asleep, but the problem was I was both in my real and dream body…If that makes sense.
I couldn’t rub my hands together for example, because my real body hands would move and the dream would go more quickly. It was tricky. So I tried other things, like shouting “I’m dreaming! I’m dreaming!” The spin worked once, though another time I felt my real body starting to turn before I stopped it alltoghether. Has this happened to anyone? Why? Isn’t sleep paralysis supposed to kick in at this point?
A post about multiple techniques having a negative effect was split to it’s own topic in General Lucidness called “Are multiple techniques detrimental?” 
Hey guys, what would you class as “falling asleep quickly?” I think I’m in this catorgory as I’d say it takes me around 10 minutes to fall asleep, give or take a few.
[quote="Yanielle"] What I realized is that WILD works so much easier if you're not trying to do it. :grin: [/quote]This is definitely true! You just have to relax and go with it but somehow try and keep your mind awake, not letting yourself fall to sleep but at the same time not thinking about it too much as then the brain gets over-active and you don’t become relaxed enough. Talk about trying to multi-task 
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for some reason, nightmares get me lucid really easily.
Before i learned all about the lucid stuff, whenever i would have a nightmare i would realise this is a dream and wake myself up! I didn’t know i could do things,or change the dream, i was just to scared i would shut my eyes and when they opened i would be in my room again! Now that i look back on this I get really mad because i havent had a nightmare since! 
Hmm, thats exactly contrary to my experience and understanding. It seems to me that DILD’s tend to start a little foggy because you realize your dreaming in he dream and the level of that awareness various. In a WILD you fall asleep consciously and as a result maintain the same awareness that you have when you were awake. Consequently, you enter the dream state with absolute awareness that its a dream.
Hey there,
Wow, thats a really helpful topic. I dont know whether someone asked this already, but doesnt the time that you need to fall asleep actually depend on your ability to calm your thoughts?
I’ve made the experience that when I expect certain things to happen (i.e. HI) or keep pondering about certain things I fall asleep very slowly but when I keep visualizing something or watch my breath I can fall asleep in 10 minutes. Is that just an illusion? Because it sounded to me when I read the first post that your either born a “fast time fall asleep” or the other way round?
Thanks already 
Nick
Ive seen this topic before, but never really followed it…
Ive just had a look now and its true… im highly motivated but a slow sleeper, and the techniquw that gives me the best results is MILD. =D
Good one
I dont think that you are born as a slow or fast sleeper. When I was young I was very energetic most of the time and it was hard for me to get to seep fast, sometime i hardly managed to sleep at all ^^
baut years later, when I was about 16 oder 17 years old, I suddenly managed to fall asleep very quickly, without trying to change anything about my way of sleeping. It was like my inner attitude towards going to sleep has changed… Nowaday i find it hard to keep my mind awake, lets say for a WILD
Thank You!
that is an awesome guide
I’ve been dreaming for about 200 days plus and only had 4 lucid dreams
I’ve been drawing a symbol on my hand to go lucid
am I on the right track?
welcome to the forum thebotanist
well since you have had 4 LDs, you are on the right track.
Are you doing anything else to induce lucidity? Just waking up in the night and telling yourself you WILL know you are dreaming can make a big difference.