My First Lucid Dream.

[Jitenya]

Was today... or rather, last night. It was good luck, but I quickly lost lucidity. This is how it happened.

The dream was quite... normal, as my dreams go. I was walking through a city with a nameless, faceless entity. We reached a verdant, green, square, which I recall is being near to, but not at, the middle of the city. Me and the entity sit down at a large table, aand partake of Jalepeno pizza, there are also other ingridients, but I cannot remember. This dream was in the first person perspective, at that time, from my perspective, the entity had been for the entire dream at the left and slightly behind me. After one or more slices, I get up, move to the left side of the table(it's a square) open the box of pizza there, and start to talk. I say somthing like this: (I grab the pizza) "Y'know, I always hated Jalepeno pizza. ( I start to spit out the Jalepenos). And I continue eating the pizza. Then I sit down, and look up. There's a monster truck or a pickup truck behind the entity, and to it's right side, there I am, sitting down. So I say: "This... can't be real. I know that I'm here, I know that I'm me, you can't be there, because I'm you, I 'm remember moving here so I'm me, I cant be here, here, or here, because I'm there. This is a dream!". Well, actually, I only said the this must be a dream part, but I thought everything before it. Now within the lucid dream state, I, uh, morph the reality around me to a low ceilinged lobby made almost entirely of granite, with tall potted evergreen plants, and begin stiding down it. For what purpose, I cannot say, as I extremely rapidly lost lucidity. The perspective made a smooth transition from first to third person. And, then the dream became extremely convoluted..... And that the end. I would like to know how to induce more lucid dreams, anything would be appreciated.

[Selski]

Hi Jitenya

Aren't lucid dreams great?   

Things that I've found helpful in having more lucid dreams are:-

1.  Keeping a dream journal.  Write all your dreams down diligently and make this a passionate hobby, rather than a chore.
2.  Think about your dreams throughout the day, they may mean something to you that you haven't worked out yet.  Think of them as if they are a cryptic puzzle for you to solve.  Again, make this an interesting pastime.
3.  Being aware of the present moment, rather than rushing around with a hundred things spinning round in your head.
4.  Ask yourself regularly throughout the day if you are dreaming.  Stop what you are doing and check that you really are not dreaming.  This must be done with discipline to really satisfy yourself that you are awake.  If you simply respond "of course I'm not dreaming", that will leak into your dreams and you won't become lucid.
5. Tell yourself when going to bed that you will have a lucid dream. 

When in a lucid dream, the way to prolong the lucidity (at least it works for me)...

1.  Clap your hands regularly with the thought as you clap "I am dreaming".  It is so easy to lapse back into the dream.
2.  Touch things.  I find holding onto a wall, chair or person's hand will keep me lucid.
3.  Say your name, address and phone number out loud.  This brings the physical world into the dream world and seems to have a real "clarity" effect.
4.  Try to remain extremely calm.  Getting excited tends to make you wake up.
5.  Try to remain unemotional about all that you experience.  Easier said than done, but with practice it gets better.
6.  Have a goal in mind and stick to it.  Don't let anyone/anything distract you.

Good luck!

Sarah

[Jitenya]

Thanks alot for the advice. I already do step two, so perhaps that's what helped me for the first. And... I'll start a dream journal. One question: Does it matter if I write it or type it? The reason is, I'm a very fast typist, and a very slow writer.

[Selski]

It matters not a hoot whether you write or type.  I type much faster too, so I use that method.

You will find that the very act of getting it down on paper/screen can trigger further memories of the dream, and also perhaps give you personal insights as to its meaning.

Enjoy!

Sarah

[Jitenya]

Thanks very much.