i need help what should i do if i want to have a lucid dream. all i no is to do reality checks but is that all ishould do i mean is it possible to have lds from rc . and how long you think an avreage person will take to have there first one
Here are a few handy tips 
- Keep a dream journal
- stay on a regular sleep schedule
- Try to LD during naps, maybe in the morning or afternoon.
I can’t answer the “average time until you LD,” but once your brain knows about the topic you can LD the very next night.
I would suggest trying the WBTB method and combine it with the MILD technique.
Good luck! 
Yeh WBTB works best for me. What works VERY good for me (when Im not lazy and do it) is to wake up 4-5 hours after sleep, write any dreams you remember down, or write anything about dreaming.
If you like, draw something from your dream, or anything.
Drink some water.
Think about realising your dreaming when you go back to bed.
I agree that keeping a DJ is a good idea.
Reality checks are good yes, just ponder to yourself whenever you think about it “could I be dreaming?”
The more LDing and dreams in general are on your mind, the more chance you will have an LD sooner than later.
Let us know how u go!
-stranger
The first thing you have to do is to have a good dream recall. This doesn’t cause LD’s, but how can you know if you have had LD’s, if you don’t remember them ? In order to have a good dream recall, the best for beginners is :
- to keep a dream diary.
- to practise autosuggestion. Each night before sleeping, you mentally repeat "Tomorrow morning, I’ll remember my dreams ".
When you think your dream recall is sufficient (it will take one week or two), you can try to have LD’s. Generally speaking, always for beginners, I would recommend a DILD technique : there are 2 alternative techniques :
- again, autosuggestion : repeating yourself before sleeping “This night, I’ll become lucid in my dreams”.
- you can try the “look at your hands” technique. It’s described there : [url]Castaneda's technique : looking at your hands]
WBTB and RC’s are not said by Stephen Laberge to cause LD’s (though RC’s can work alone and are recommended by Paul Tholey). They increase your chances to have an LD. However, I would give the advice to practise RC’s. About RC’s, prefer quality to quantity : 5 to 10 a day are enough (even 2 or 3), if you really ask yourself “Am I dreaming ?” and imagine strongly that your RC will succeed, like you can imagine it will succeed in a dream.
You can also use your dream diary to see what themes and dreamsigns happend again and again, and use it in conjunction with RC’s to choose the best moment when you have to check reality IRL.
The average time to have a first LD is 3 weeks (without dream recall practise time), I would say. Don’t forget that the most important is motivation. With motivation, strong autosuggestion, dream diary, RC, etc. some people have a LD in the first week.
Good luck ! 
That’s really… vague…
Yes, you can get LDs from reality checks; many people habve and it’s an interesting technique and one often considered good for beginners.
The induction techniques page on the wikibook may be of use; it’s got a large section on reality checks and a nice table about the other techniques.
You can also, of course, check the new LD4all site which has much more extensive text which I will soon read through and nitpick.
First I want to say that I agree with everyone above which is to do all of the following:
- Keep a DJ (every day)
- Do reality testing during the day (many times per day and every day)
- practice an induction technique on a regular basis. ( r3m0t has given you a link to a page that describes the most popular ones I suggest you check it out. Then if you have any questions about a technique feel free to ask.)
Believe me this little bit of effort is well worth it.
The only thing I want to add is to have a good attitude about lucid dreaming. When you go to bed at night feel excited about the lucid dream you are going to have. Plan it out and have a strong intention to remember when you are dreaming. Also, don’t think of lucid dreaming that is hard, mystical or anything like that. If you think lucid dreaming is hard then it will be. All it takes is practice and allowing yourself the time to learn. I know you are anxious but, get the “how long will it take me” thought out of your head. All worrying about time does is set up barriers to your success. It’s possible you could have one tonight, a few weeks from now or several months.
Why do we keep DJ? Just to remember our dreams later on, or to really think about the dreams we had… I know it’s to improve dream recall, but in what way?
TheBranMuffin, to remember them later because it could be fun to read old dreams. And also it’s easier to analyze/find dreamsigns in them if you write them down first. And you would forget alot of dreams if you didn’t write them down and I’d guess that the more you try to remember the dreams the better you get at recalling dreams. In general I remember more from the dream while I’m writing it down 
because it forces you to think about the dream while you write it down.
It’s good to keep a dream diary because,
if you only remember dream fragments you should record them, you will find as soon as you put that pencil to paper that more dream memories start to flow, and you are soon writing a whole paper.
Also, if you only recorded fragments the dream memory might be revived as you go through your day, and you can add to them later.
It’s also good storage for your dreams so you can read over them in the future.
But the main idea is that it helps with dream recall GREATLY!
It focuses your intention on recalling dreams. When you make such an act, as keeping a DJ, it means that you believe in what you do, and so that dreams are important to you. Thus your inconscious will bring back more memories of your dreams.
Moreover, as JaRod says, you can find dreamsigns through your DJ, and that’s useful.
It also helps you learn more about your dreams, identify dream signs etc.
When keeping a dream journal you do increase your dream recall but, don’t stop at just recording your dreams. Study your dreams as well.