As someone may remember,I tried many times but without success for more than half a year,I just automatically gave up (not paying much attention to LD).Now I want to fully concentrate on retrying having LDs,so what can I do to “warm up” or be ready?
I don’t know your history as I’ve just returned to the forums as well, but I know what it’s like to struggle to LD. I used to be able to do it at least three times a week in middle school, but nowadays it’s much harder because I have growing responsibilities that are piling on top of one another. I just haven’t had the drive to try again until recently.
For me, the greatest asset in the world is keeping a dream journal. It takes effort and it’s a rather mundane task if your dreams are often boring, but through it you’ll recognize common dream symbols and you can do reality checks based on the occurrences of those symbols IRL.
Interrupted sleep is also a great technique for me… I’d call it WBTB, but sometimes I don’t even consciously try to LD when setting an alarm in the middle of the night. I find my strangest dreams come when I feel the need to “get up in an hour or so” after falling asleep. I guess doing that keeps me more aware.
If you go to school or have work in the morning, a healthy way to get results fast (in my case) is setting an alarm for early morning.
This is what I do:
I have an alarm set for early morning, preferably after 4-5 hours of sleep (I have always done my damnedest to maintain a normal sleep schedule). I try to write in my dream journal, but most of the time I’m too tired to care. Ideally I want to feel a bit groggy or in a state where if I close my eyes, I’ll pass out without effort. After that, I set the alarm to go off at one hour intervals or set for the time when I need to get up.
I guess this is sort of WBTB, but I don’t make too much of an effort to lucid dream just yet. I’m trying to get back into the habit of recording dreams and building my recall as it is an important factor in learning and maintaining an ability to LD frequently.
Generally, after practicing writing the dreams down in the journal for a week or so and practicing interrupted sleep, this triggers vivid dreams in short enough sequences that I can recall them upon awaking in nearly full detail.
Everyone is different, so generally try to experiment as much as possible with different techniques.
Your waking life is as much a factor in your ability to dream as is your sleeping life. Living a healthy lifestyle makes dreaming a breeze, so try not to stay up too late or stimulate your brain too much before bed. Always take a moment to wind down your brain by reading, drawing, writing, or doing something relaxing (but don’t watch TV or sit in front of bright computer lights…) even if it’s just a few minutes. Get good rest. Don’t drink too much alcohol or sleep while intoxicated.
Basically, get into the habit and stay in the habit.
It is easy for me to remember dreams and I have found my dreamsign,so do I still need to keep a DJ?And I always miss the alarm for WBTB…
You should keep a DJ because it is part of the routine. Your recall is a very important part of lucid dreaming.