I want to be able to LD but I don’t want to have to meditate or keep a dream journal or anything like that. Is there an easy but effective technique that I can do to help me have lucid dreams?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Unless you’re one of those people who can LD naturally and have been doing it before they can remember, you’re in for a lot of work. And believe me, if there was an easy technique that worked for everyone, requiring no dedication, no time, do you think anyone would be bothering with all this dream journal stuff? I mean, everyone should know by now that something as good as LDing isn’t going to be snap easy. ANYTHING to do with your subconcious is going to take a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of thought! You’re not going to get very far in anything, especially LD if you don’t think it’s worth even putting a little time into it.
I just mean something a little easier like doing a reality checks in reality or WILD etc. A dream journal would just be such a pain for me because I can’t write very fast and I’d have to write in the middle of the night when I’m really tired and uncomfortable.
And meditation just seems ridiculous to me.
Is there something I can do that isn’t so time consuming?
I don’t mean to be rude or anything but:
a) why do you think meditation is ridiculous? Have you tried it? Have you read extensively about it? Do you think that prayer is ridiculous as well?
b)I can only second Imagine - why do you think are there so many dreamers trying to help others out? Certainly not because LD is sooo easy to learn (some have more luck than others, some are simply naturals, but many have to put real effort to it)
c) LDing has been around in the Western hemisphere for some time now (although not nearly long enough when compared to Eastern principles and practice) and so far the basic principles are those you probably have heard of
d) do you really want to learn LDing? DO YOU REALLY? if the answer is yes then you should have your answer to the (implicit) question on the dream journal i.e. if you comfort is more important to you than your dreams, then what will your subconscious ‘think’ about learning something like lucid dreaming?
I do apologize if this post is considered rude or offensive (which was not my intention) but I get angry when I hear people complaining about not getting something they want NOW - somehow I get the feeling that our society is obsessed with instant results. But unfortunately it doesn’t work that way; which reminds me of something Nietzsche said (was it Nietzsche?): time and patience - these are the strongest warriors.
Nonetheless sleep well and no hard feelings 
Morpheus
Try autosuggestion: don’t “meditate”, rather repeat to yourself things like “I want to have a LD tonight” as you fall asleep
If its dream journal entries in the middle of the night you have trouble with, juts do this. Write down KEY WORDS on a peice of paper near your dream journal, so you can recall the dream when you see the paper in the morning. Then, as you go to sleep, go over the dream in your mind several times, like when you do MILD. Then you can write your dreams down in the morning the next day, or even before you goto bed, without worrying about having forgotten something.
Well now that I think about it, meditation doesn’t seem ridiculous, it’s just not the thing for me. I CANNOT concentrate. Last night I was trying to get to sleep just by thinking of one subject and sticking to it but I kept thinking about other things and I kept paying attention to little noises. I didn’t fall asleep for over an hour. Meditation is not for me.
And a dream journal I also don’t wanna do because I hate writing and it would just be a pain for me. Does a dream journal work by you seeing a common occurence in your dreams so you can think “I will know I’m in a dream” when this thing happens again?
What I want to do is try some stuff a little simpler and if it doesn’t work out for me I’ll start up on a dream diary. I mean, if there’s someone who just needs to read about lucid dreams and he’ll have one, there’s no need for him to start a dream diary or to meditate.
Let me brainstorm on some tips and alternatives. Though I really recommend a dream journal because it really helps with recall. It is VERY possible to have a LD and forget it. DJ’s have many benefits. If you wake from a dream and force yourself to record it, then you can try for a WILD when you get back to bed. I have a voice activated recorder that I use.
-It helps to stay active on the forum or read dream books. Try to visit right before bedtime, that way you can think over what you have read as you are going to sleep.
-Try putting notes in different places that say “You will lucid dream” or “Are you dreaming?” Try behind cabinet doors, in your pockets, above light switches, or on top of clocks. You can also use the lights and clocks as occasional reality checks.
-put a nametag on your shirt that reads “ask me if I’m dreaming?”
ok, so that last one is kind of a joke. My brainstorm turned into a brainsprinkle.
If you hate writing, try one of those Via Voice speech program thingies for your computer, and just speak your dream into the mic and poof, its on the computer.
And also, the purpose of a dream journal is to familiarize yourself with dreams, to become familiar with them so it is easier to know when to RC and stuff. RCing is probably the SIMPLEST method to LDing, but you need a dream journal to do it half decently, so start that dream journal and find some dreamsigns.
I understand your problems with meditation and why u say its ridicolous.Ive been researching everything that concerns lds to find “miracle method”-something that will work for just anyone either hes talented or not.Sadly i havent found much yet.
It seems like simpliest is dream diary and reality checks.Also the best if we count the amount of ppl having success with it.
Rest needs to either find their own methods or wait for brain chips:)
And simply sleeping for a few hours, waking up for half an hour then sleeping again won’t work? I’ve heard this method is very effective.
You miss the point here-effective method is what gives you best results.No one will advice you that.If someone says WILD is best it only means he had most success with it.But you may not.
Way to go is trying a method whcih you think is suitable for you-which you can stay with for longer cuz every method requires being stubborn with it.Jumping from one to another wont help at all.
WILD could be considered ‘trickier’(couldn’t find the right word). I see it as a more active attempt to LD but can be really difficult. Of my 3(yea kinda new at this) LDs only one was a WILD and that was during a month long period of insomnia. I could lie in bed for 2+ hrs and still be awake. And as for dream journaling, it can be a serious pain but it helps you with dream recall and dream signs. Personally I haven’t found a common dreamsign in 6 months other than being at school in my dreams, but not a whole lot of help from that seeing as I spend 8 hrs aday 5 days a week there. 40 hrs of constant RCing doesnt seem too practical to me 
OK this is WAY WAY off subject, but i heard on the news like 2 years ago that ‘they’ are devoloping a pill wich goes into ur brain and lets u control it! I think its mainly for sexual reasons tho
The purpose of a Dream Journal is to develop dream recall. The idea being, that the very first thing you do after waking up is try to remember everything about the dream(s) you just had. After a while, you’ll find that you start to wake up with this intention automatically.
For example, right now I always wake up thinking about my dreams. Before anything else (except looking at the time to make sure I’m not late for work) I just lay there and remember my dreams. I know this is common knowledge, but I just thought people might be forgetting what the Journal is there for. It’s not exactly a tool for inducing LDs, but it adds to the whole intergration of dreams into waking life. Even if you just write down a series of keywords that no other person would understand, I recommend you give it a try.
look at it this way. When i was satarting this i wanted a quick and easy way to one that didnt take 2 much time and i could do it all the time and blah blah blah.
But after 1 day i thought, this is stupid.
It goes like this, you get out what you put in. look 4 a cheep and easy way, than thats what your dreams will give you.
RT are prob the best for u and they dont take up 2 much time. just look at your watch. really u must do that at least 6 times a day. there u go six rt. (by rt i mean reality tests, others here call em reality checks)
if u dont want to do a wild dont. if u dont want to meditate. dont
but dont complain id u r not getting results. you get out what u put in remember that it applys for every sitution in life
Why are people accusing me of complaining? I’m not complaining about not getting lucid dreams, I just want to see if one of these easier ways work, and if they don’t I’ll take up dream journaling.
Like other people have said, everyone responds differently to different methods, so there may be no one best or fastest way. I’ve been very impressed with WILD because its something I can control and actively do, rather than hoping that suggestions/dreamsigns/RCs will seep through to my subconscious. However, I also plan on working more with the other methods, because WILD works best only in the morning, and it takes me about 2 hours, counting the actual dreams, and thats not as much dream time as it would be if I realized I was dreaming during the night.
So my advice to you is to try everything, and see what works best for you.
Personally, I believe the first step toward LDing is being really interested in it and really wanted to have an LD every night. And if you really want that, the techniques gradually fall into place. If you’re really serious about dreaming, then you should be willing to try a lot of different things, even if some of them are “difficult” or time consuming. In life, you have to work for the good stuff.
Pinkster
I am not so sure, i know alot off ppl that try to hard and cant get 2 sleep cause of it lol