I don’t know why… i heard about lucid dreaming months ago, and i remember being SO excited, like i can do anything i ever dreamed of, hah, get it?
Anyways… until now i stopped thinking about it altogether, stopped writing down my (very few) dreams i’ve had…
Any motivation tips? =[
I think its because ive experienced lucid dreaming, but not to the extent were im fully free…
i did have an interesting moment a few nights ago though, were i was on the BRINK of conciousness and unconsciousness, and i could go into my dream just by thinking it… i remember every time i came out of my dream i could see my shoulder resting on my pillow. But in it i kept thinking that what if it turned into a nightmare… and it did sad face so i automatically came out of it.
If you care that you’ve lost motivation, that means you actually do have at least a little spark of motivation–and that’s a start. Try reading others’ DJs or your own, perhaps delving into a book on the topic or looking through lots of LDing sites online.
If there are actual practical concerns, such as a temporary inability to get enough sleep, you may want to just stop trying for a while. That’s okay. I took over a year off from all dream-related interests. I came back to it recently, then had to stop trying so much because of my limited sleep schedule, but now I’m trying again.
Just keep doing RCs all day long. Trying to inhale through a plugged nose and re-reading text or numbers are my two favorites; they will almost ALWAYS produce significantly different results in real life and in dreams. I’m getting into the habit of doing both of them, one after the other, sometimes multiple times in a row to double-check, at least several times each day, particularly when I see one of my dream signs. This is a low-effort, low-stress, low-difficulty way to keep focused on LDing and, hopefully, bring about lucidity on a semi-regular basis. For me, the one-LD-every-week-or-two frequency I’ve got going right now is pretty amazing, so I’m pretty happy.
Setting goals also helps. Decide to have x lucid dreams by the such-and-suchth of this month. Decide on one or two things you really want to do as soon as you become lucid. For me, for example, I really want to go meet a DC who tried to hurt me in a normal dream over a decade ago. I’m curious why he was doing so, and if he represents anything in my subconscious, etc. So far I’ve found out where he lives, his name, and the fact that he can apparently talk through others’ bodies at a distance in the dreams. No luck actually meeting the guy again, which is what I really want to do, but I’ll get it! I will!
Just make a decision. Either go for it and commit to doing your best to become lucid, or decide to take a break. Breaks can really be good for revitalizing your enthusiasm.
I know exactly where you stand. Just last week I suddenly experienced a crippling lack of motivation. I stopped adding new dream journal entries, took down my lucid dream related items from my bedside, and (metephorically speaking) hung up my jacket.
Dreams had not been coming to me easily in the mornings, which may have been part of my problem, but I also felt meloncholy, as I had just reached the emotional and stressful creshendo of the year, coming back to school after a long holiday. Time away from the “rat race” had given me a space to contemplate, and so, like well watered flowers, dreams had flourished. But at this point, as I mentioned above, I felt greatly depressed. After a week however, I was able to settle into a new routine, and the dreams returned.
I can only recommend this: calm down. I haven’t seen the full picture, but I can’t help but think that a lack of motivation is caused by a new element in life. This will become usual in time, and you may well settle down into lucid dreaming again.
Ugh. School, why must you be so good at destroying lucid dreaming motivation?
When school let out for my school system’s annual February winter break, I became so motivated. I was doing better than I ever had. My DR was good, I was enjoying my dreams, and I was trying harder than ever to have lucid dreams.
And then, BOOM. School. That meant going back to staying up late doing homework and having to wake up at six-thirty every morning. It’s making me much more motivated to mash the snooze button than to get up and write down my dreams.
Does anybody know how to get over the strict sleep schedule predicament? I’m losing motivation fast, and I want to get it back before it goes away for good!
It’s so ironic that the place in which I’m supposed to be learning as much as possible is what’s keeping me from learning more about lucid dreaming…
There isn’t a way. Only way to fix it is to get more sleep. But I would suspect that it’s not the motivation you’re losing–it’s simply the ability to spend a sufficient amount of time dreaming every night that you’re losing. And the ability to recall them. Not getting enough sleep is such a killer for dream recall–and for dreaming itself.
If you can’t get enough sleep (“enough” typically meaning 8-9 hours consistently), I’d suggest not trying. Better to devote your energies to getting as much sleep as possible and not becoming discouraged about LDing. Then when the opportunity arises, get the amount of sleep you need and try LDing/recalling dreams again.
Another thing–I’ve noticed that the effects of sleeping or not sleeping tend to skip a day for me. If I don’t get enough sleep Sunday morning, I may have great recall from Monday morning’s dreams, but Tuesday morning’s recall will suffer greatly. Same goes for the reverse–if I get lots of sleep after not getting enough for a while, I still feel crappy the next day, but the day after THAT, things start improving.
Hmm…that’s interesting. I don’t think my dreams have ever “skipped” like that…
I understand that I need to focus on getting enough sleep. But the thing is, I can’t just suddenly remember dreams or have LDs any night I choose. Those are things I have to train myself to do, and if I get out of practice, it’s nearly impossible unless I practice some more and get used to it again. My dream HAS to be the very first thing I think about the second I wake up if I want to remember it. If I just randomly decide that I WILL write in my DJ the next morning, chances are I’ll completely forget by morning and it won’t be the first thing on my mind, and I won’t remember anything. I have to train myself, and that takes more than one or two nights.
Maybe I can just try getting to sleep earlier. If it’ll give me the extra hour or two of sleep that I’m missing, maybe that will make it easier to focus on dreams more…
Only way to fix it is to get more sleep. But I would suspect that it’s not the motivation you’re losing–it’s simply the ability to spend a sufficient amount of time dreaming every night that you’re losing. And the ability to recall them. Not getting enough sleep is such a killer for dream recall–and for dreaming itself.