I have big problems in trying to get lucid in my dreams. I gave up during the year (2014) but sometimes I would try to do it again (like, during 1 week I could try my luck) with no success at all.
Now I am really mad and I will give my best in a organized way, trying to get lucid. My motivation is that for some reason I was able, a few days ago, to check my surroundings in a dream and notice that I was dreaming. It was my 1st LD in a year! Since that day (almost 2 weeks ago) I got no results. It seems that I am not really able to remember, during the dream, to check reality! Can you give me any help about this?
The only idea ocuring to me is to register daily my efforts to LD. I wrote in a Word file the things I plan to do daily. Briefly, its something like this (I used portuguese in the original, also this is just the main idea):
1- try to be mindful and raise my awareness during the day
2- get at least 2 random RC every hour
3- try to remember the last thing I did, where I was, moments before the present one, 2x/hour (2 times every hour is just a guideline, not a “hard” thing to follow)
4- Use more often my DJ
5- Develop my prospective memory, doing RC with trigger events. I will start with just 2 trigger events. For example, today I will make a RC everytime I see a plane in the sky or see a dog.
6- fall asleep with a simple sentence
7- when waking up in the middle of the night, try to apply DEILD or even WILD (depending on my state)
About 6 and 7, I may try some tibetan dream yoga (buddhism/bon) ideas: falling asleep with my mind on the throat chakra, visualizing the tibetan “A” letter on a glowing red lotus. I did that a few times but my mind is very restless, unable to focus clearly.
I have a table to check how this stuff went daily. I wrote my current “small” objetive to motivate me: I want to dream with a nice garden I saw in a picture. This is a small objective because IF someday I get able to be a regular lucid dreamer I will my dreams for other interesting stuff.
Lets see if now I can get any luck. The fact that I have a very hard time falling asleep is not helpful neither.
What do you think about all this? Thanks for replying.
I think your plan is good. Keep a steady sleep schedule and sleep enough(+8 hours). It’s easier to become lucid during light sleep, like when you have slept 6 hours already. Focus on visualizing what you want to happen in a dream when you are going to bed. Don’t just say it, visualize it. After you feel that you remember it, clear your mind and don’t worry about becoming lucid. You fall asleep faster after WBTB if you clear your mind. Worrying about becoming lucid is counterproductive. I think you shouldn’t focus on WILD yet.
LETAALI: indeed I think it may be more easy to achieve lucidity after some sleep, but in my case, I would say about 4-5 hours of sleep before trying. When I sleep 6 hours and try LD, my mind is starting to get worried because its getting near the waking up hour for work (and I really dont want that lol).
About the WILD vs Other methods, I am very hard to hypnotize or to fall into autosuggestion stuff. Thats why I feel that WILD, in very specific moments of the night, may be better for me.
OBFUSC8: since I am little child that I have hard time to sleep. Its something that I cannot explain, its just my brain working in a different way I suppose. Usually I dont think on problems from my work or bad things from the day. I am ok, but my sleep just gets far from coming.
I used to also struggle with getting to sleep but have since found out how to do so reasonably easy.
First off, get comfortable and lie on your back (or side or whatever is comfortable - i prefer my back for this because it makes the next bit easier)
Secondly, lie still and don’t move. It’s a lot harder than it sounds because eventually you will feel a twitch, or an urge to move your arm or wriggle or whatever. This is your body checking if your mind is still awake - if you’re not watching for this, you will do it and not even realise you’ve done it.
Once you feel an urge to move - it will be very powerful and subtle but recognisable - do your best to resist it. “Hang on, why do I want to touch my forefinger and thumb? There’s no real reason for it”. It can vary wildly for what the urge is, but usually happens within 2-3 minutes of closing your eyes and lying still.
After a split second or two of having resisted the urge to move, your body will shut down. You’re out: physically your body is asleep. You will feel no itches or urge to move and be completely at peace. From this point on if you wish to WILD you can keep your mind alert and wait for the HI or HH start, or just let your mind wander off and you’ll fall asleep for real.
It used to take me 60-90 minutes to fall asleep from crawling into bed, now I can do it in under 10. Hopefully it helps you as well.
Not moving and lying on my back…I will add meditation to that. Meditation, when done properly (I also must be in the mood to do it) decreases my sleep time a lot.
okay, so I’ll just address the part where you can’t fall asleep. i have the same problem. and what works for me, and MY body, as every body is different, is staying awake anywhere from 1-4 hours after your nap/first sleep cycle. at the end of hour 3, my body naturally wants to sleep and i could just feel it. then when I lay down, i can practice or will practice since I just got back into LDing. hope that helps.
and naps are key, if you don’t already know this. most of my LDs have been after taking a nap, and sleeping for the second time after that.
and I will give my best in a organized way, trying to get lucid. My motivation is that for some reason I was able, a few days ago, to check my surroundings in a dream and notice that I was dreaming. It was my 1st LD in a year! Since that day (almost 2 weeks ago) I got no results. It seems that I am not really able to remember, during the dream, to check reality! Can you give me any help about this?