Backstory: I stumbled across this website in early August. I started trying to pull off an LD. I thought about it a lot. I thought about what I would do, how I would do it. It’s been nearly 4 months since then, and… no results. Whatsoever. No HI, no SP, and especially no LDs. Although, I had two (one about two weeks after I started, another a few days ago) where it felt like an LD but I wasn’t actually in control, which leads me to believe I was dreaming about having a lucid dream, so to speak.
So, the here and now. I’ve decided to start over from the beginning again. I noticed that after I started trying to LD, my dream recall improved for a little while because I was typing up a DJ on my laptop in the morning after I woke up, but since I got rid of it, I’ve had little to no recall.
Pretty much, I’d like some advice on where to start. I’m getting a couple of notebooks tomorrow to start writing down fragments of dreams as I remember them, then I’m going to type up a DJ when I have the time. I already know pretty much all the terminology (from extensive browsing of these boards ;p ) so that isn’t a problem. Ideally I’d like to LD as soon as possible, but if that’s not the case, that’s fine too I guess.
Well… The first step is to have a DJ. Not only having one, try to update it daily. Even when you have no recall, I found out it’s nice to write “date - No Recall”, mostly to build a habit. You’ll teach yourself and your SC that you want to remember your dreams, and soon writing in your DJ will be as common as, say, eating or going to the bathroom, but much much more fun.
If you do this, you’re on the right path to recall and LDs. After you’ve got decent recall, maybe at least one ND per night, I suppose it’s a good idea to try out some techniques. Some techniques don’t work for some people, while others have lots of LDs with the same ones. WILD/WBTB is an example: some people can WILD perfectly, and others can’t. The same goes for DILD - some people are just more “aware” than others. Try and find out what’s the best technique for you, considering your body, habits and simply, “what works”.
Back to recall - Of course, your recall may fail randomly, or when you go to sleep on different times… Don’t let that bother you. Another good advice is paying attention to your habits. Some things we do seem to increase or decrease our recall. I, as many others, tend to have recall problems if I go sleep later than usual.
Something that is always good, no matter what you’re trying to do, is to practise Mindfulness. It is ofcourse related to lucid dreaming in that you want to be aware in your dreams. You should ofcourse add the twist of thinking about dreaming throughout the day.
It is not an advanced thing, but it can be quite difficult. But remember that it is practise, you’re meant to improve, not be a master at once.
Just be humble, and make an effort to be aware and in the moment. That is what will to make you lucid, no matter which technique you use.
As I say in alot of my posts, in my opinion, MILD is the way to go! I repeat my mantra about fifty times and visualize my Lucid Dream and I have a very good sucsess with MILD. I usually have two-three lucid dreams per week and I have only been trying MILD for about a month! Also my Lucid Dreams are long, not just the three second ones. I do have to warn you sometims MILD doesn’t work all the time for some people and you might lose hope which leads to a dry spell (you dont want those…). Also reality checks world for a lot of people (not me ). But you need to find a technique that works for you (remember the best tecniques are the ones that you make yourslef!)
With WILD I wouldn’t try that much on (unless you really want to) because beginners (and people who try it alot) usually have a lot of problems and it doesnt work very fast or alt all. I dont really like WILD but who knows, it might work for you!
Remember, Dream Journal and MILD work great!
Good Luck,
The Luciddator
). But you need to find a technique that works for you (remember the best tecniques are the ones that you make yourslef!)