Okay. I’ve known about LDing since July and have had two short LDs since then. Both “faded” into a regular dream - I had lucidity but I gradually lost it and it turned back into a normal dream. Who has that problem and who knows how to fix it? And, it’s been about 5 weeks since my last LD.
2nd question. I’ve tried to WILD many times but I don’t seem to get very far. Sometimes I get a particular feeling, but I’m not quite sure how to describe it. I’ll try tonight and see if I can get there again. I try the counting method, but after a while it’s like my counting slowly fades and I start thinking about other things. When I realize that it’s like I’m still counting but I’m at a number I know I would not be at, like ones I know I’ve already surpassed. Now, I know how to relax and I’ve tried to fall asleep while remaining aware of the conscious, but whenever I do I can never seem to fall asleep. It’s only when I give up and “surrender” to sleep that I am able to.
Yes, I have the same problems. I have tried two things to avoid losing lucidity. Once, I decided to wake my self up after being lucid for a while. It worked and I remembered the LD perfectly, but perhaps it’s a waste of a good LD to wake oneself up… Another time, I tried focusing really hard, repeating that I was dreaming a lucid dream etc. and I stayed lucid until I woke up. I think that’s the solution. Just practice at staying lucid.
About the WILD, I’ve tried it a few times this week. After relaxing a while and not moving (which is hard because I have bad joints that start to hurt if I don’t move them) I start feeling heavy and numb. Last time, I started counting, and when I got up to somewhere around 300 I would notice that my counting was getting less coherent, I pass numbers I think I’ve already counted etc… One time I was thinking about a car being covered in whipped cream, and I thought, “ok, what number comes after whipped cream? hey why am I thinking about this, I’m supposed to be counting! now, where was I?” And I kept counting though my mind was wandering off thinking about other things, and when I got to 400 I was so uncomfortable, I had to move, and the heavy, numb fealing dissapeared and I was wide awake. All that counting for nothing…
Long story short, I have all the problems you are describing, and I hope someone will come with some good advice.
Have you tried MILD? Maybe it will be successful than WILD for some people. For example counting myself to sleep after waking up during the night gives me headache. So i prefer visualizing my last dream, recalling dream signs, and doing some soft autosuggestion. And if i’m lucky i get one LD before i wake up completely
In the past Dream Re-entry has worked for me, but it’s difficult and I can only get it to work at certain times, like after I’ve had about 8-9 hours of sleep. The things is, I don’t visualize the last part of the dream, rather I continue it. In that sense I still have control, but eventually when I fall back to sleep it turns back into a normal dream.
Here’s just an analogy for what happens when my LDs “fade”. It’s like I have a piece of candy and there’s someone else nearby that wants it. Now, I know the candy is mine but the other person slowly reaches towards it. I don’t notice it and so before I know it the candy/lucidity is gone and there’s nothing I can do.
Anyway, you suggested autosuggestion. Any time I’ve tried that I can’t fall asleep. I think “I’m dreaming” or “I’m falling asleep” or something simple along those lines but since my mind is even somewhat active I can’t fall asleep. It seems that only when I surrender to sleep can I achieve it. It’s getting annoying sometimes.
Thanks for the advice, though. I’m still relatively new since I’ve only had 2.5 LDs since July.
It’s happening to me also if i’m very intensely thinking about wanting to recognize that i’m dreaming if i see this, or that. Sometimes it produces even worser results: no LD, and wasted sleeptime - tired at least first half of the day. So if i feel that it disturbs my mind from getting enough normal sleep, i just hold back and do less autosuggestion, or i just “mildly” think about recognizing the dream when i will have a dream, or noticing certain dream signs. It’s better to not to force your mind as much that you get restless night. Just try to use the method what doesn’t disturb your normal sleep that much, and also can give you some LD’s from time to time.
