I need some help with lucid dreaming

[zorgblar]

I recently have been trying to think of a method i could use to enter my dreams  with full awareness while drifting of to sleep.So my plan is to give my self self-suggestions while I'm falling asleep such as"as I drift off to sleep I'm fully aware of my dreams".So will this help me enter my dreams while falling asleep with full awareness?

[Awakened_Mind]

I've read some things can help such as setting reality checks during the day and making them an unconscious habit. For example everytime you look at your watch you ask 'Am I dreaming?' or everytime you have a cigarette. Lucid dreaming and astral projection are different in that during astral travel you explore a different dimension and during lucid dreaming you explore your own subconscious. Another difference is that it's more often you wake up in dream, making it lucid than consciously go from waking state to dream state.

Some people are lucid dreamers, others are astral projcetors. I've experienced both before but definately real time OBE's more frequently.

-AM

[zorgblar]

Another difference is that it's more often you wake up in dream, making it lucid than consciously go from waking state to dream state.

But would it be possible to go from a waking state to a dream state with full awareness with the method i thought up?

[Selski]

Lucid dreaming and astral projection are different in that during astral travel you explore a different dimension and during lucid dreaming you explore your own subconscious.

Hi AM

Can I pick your brains?  ... thanks! 

You see, I've long stopped labelling my experiences, as they often overlap and mingle into one another.

What I'd really like to know is how do you tell the difference between astral travel and lucid dreams?  How do you know you are in a "different dimension".  How do you know you are in your own subconscious?  What are the obvious differences between the two, so that you are able to tell one from another?

When I have an RTZ OBE and walk through the nearest wall, the environment often drastically changes from that which I was expecting.  Have I walked into the astral or a lucid dream? 

I'm a big fan of phasing, however I cannot separate it from a WILD.  Therefore I phase into (what I would term) a Lucid Dream.  And yet, the phasing pioneers used the word astral or other dimensions. 

I'm really curious about all this because for each of my experiences, I've felt ultra-lucid, colours have been exquisite, I've had normal conversations with beings that appeared to be not of my creation....and so on.  I am not able to distinguish an 'astral' experience from a lucid dream.  The only one I can put to one side and label separately is an RTZ OBE - because for me this involves a feeling of separation from the physical and I end up in a near-replica of the room my physical body is in.

I'm curious to hear your views.  And if anyone else wants to chip in, please do so.  I'm not looking for how many planes there are, or levels - I want to know in basic and simple language how you tell the difference between them when you are there.

(I apologise if I've knobbled your thread zorgblar and if the mods want to split it, please do so.) 

Sarah

[zorgblar]

All i need is a simple yes or no answer to the question of will the method i mentioned in my first post help me enter my dreams from a waking state all the way to a dreaming state with full awareness?

[Selski]

So my plan is to give my self self-suggestions while I'm falling asleep such as"as I drift off to sleep I'm fully aware of my dreams".So will this help me enter my dreams while falling asleep with full awareness?

Hi zorgblar

I thought you were asking AM, not me - sorry!

As it happens, I can't answer with a yes or no - as I don't know the answer.  I can't see why it wouldn't work, and I reckon it's worth giving it a try.

For me, I started by keeping a dream journal and writing everything down, including emotions, sensations, even the silly stuff.  Over time, I naturally started to 'wake up' in the middle of a dream - there is no particular technique or even theme for me, therefore I can't teach anyone else to do it.

Others may come along with techniques that have worked for them.  Try yours for a couple of months - if you are not getting anywhere, try something else. 

Sarah

[zorgblar]

I thought you were asking AM, not me - sorry!

I was actually asking everyone.

[peachtree]

zorgblar,

I've been able to naturally LD for as long as I can remember. It used to be something that I thought happened to everyone so I didn't take it serious (similar to people naturally projecting). It wasn't until I started getting interested in AP and read up on it that I realised that LD is something that some other people have to try to achieve. The funny thing is, there are times when I have LD's every night, maybe even more than once. Other times there could be weeks, even months during which I don't have any (or at least not remember that I was lucid). When I don't have any and try and induce them, I find that I have just more and more trouble with it, and become more frustrated. So then I normally just leave it for a while and when it's no longer an issue it seems to come back.

As for being able to move from a conscious state into a LD, sure that's possible. Very much like having a consciously induced projection, although you move into a dream instead of exit sensations. It's happened to me when I try to incubate a dream, in other words I focus on the dream content as my body starts falling asleep. The dream incubation doesn't always work for me, but it's surprising how often I go into a dream being completely lucid from the outset. It is really powerful and exciting!

Do some scratching around on the internet. There are techniques for inducing this (it is called WILD, or wake induced lucid dreaming). My advice to you though would be not to get too hung up on techniques. Just explore the states as well as your dreams naturally and don't put pressure on yourself. Also keep a dream journal, it really helps you remember your dreams, and I believe it also forces a level of consciousness. If you're patient, it will happen.

[Kraven Obscuria]

All i need is a simple yes or no answer to the question of will the method i mentioned in my first post help me enter my dreams from a waking state all the way to a dreaming state with full awareness?

Yes.

[lily moonsong]

Affirmations help... but I've found that other things that affect your lucid dreaming, are diet, exercise, sleeping position, grogginess, degree of rest you've had previously, and stress load.

To have a nice lucid dream, you should eat a light meal before bed, a small piece of steak, a boiled egg, and some juice would suffice. Then, you should fall asleep on your back.. because it's easier for your dreambody to move around if your physical body is on it's back.  If you set your alarm clock to wake you up 3 hours before time for you to get up... you will be more groggy, and then, you can immediately lie back down, after you reset your alarm.. you will be able to fall asleep more quickly, and you can do the affirmations at this time, and they will work better, because you will be thinkin of them, right as you drift off to sleep.  You can't be too stressed while you fall asleep, because you will dream about the stuff worrying you, instead of having a lucid dream.  To remedy this, I usually make a list of things that i'm stressed out about, and then, I make a list of ways I will take care of it the next day.  Then, I place the list under a piece of iron, and say the following chant:

"I set aside all my mundance worries
Returning I will attend to them
In a brief respite I will obtain knowledge
and be better equipped for daily life
As I will so mote it be."

Then, lie down, and pray to your spirit guides to protect you as you lucid dream.