I'm having trouble recononize myself when i dream. I've notice myself in a dream sometimes about 4 or 5 times in the last couple of months. When i do reconize myself in a dream i then either think of flying (doesn't work), and then after that leaving my body. I left my body 2 times doing this method. How can i better reconize myself in my dreams? becuase they seem so very real...should i just try to be more aware when i close my eyes or just keep thinking about noticing myself in a dream and i will do so more frequently. I find this the best method to obe, and i feel like i am also becoming more in touch with my self and what is going on in my dreams and mind. Do any of you find this method effective?
I've had several self-induced OBE experiences in the past two months and all of them started as a regular lucid dream. The best time to do this is between 5am and 9am - during your last dream cycles. Usually, you'll wake up on purpose for 15 minutes - 1 hour between 5am and 7am (depending on what works best for you) and then you go back to sleep. I use an "OBE timer CD" that I made from the www.saltcube.com website. It has varying amounts of silence followed by beep noises that wake you up but allow you to easily fall back to sleep. This is called the "wake back to bed" method. The goal is for you to go back to sleep and then wake up and go back to sleep several times in a row so that your consciousness is more aware than normal and it becomes easier for you to realize you're dreaming. Don't bother trying this late at night - early in the morning is much better. While you're dreaming, try to pay attention to things in the dream that don't make sense. Then you can recognize that it's a dream. Once you realize you're dreaming, tell yourself that you want to go out of body. Don't try to go out of body; just tell yourself several times that you want to go out of body. Sometimes trying too hard is counterproductive. You'll then usually find yourself awake in bed with vibrations and then you should tell yourself again that you'd like to leave your body. I'm still a beginner with this, but this method has worked well for me several times so far, and I've only been practicing a few months. Also, buy some books about OBE and lucid dreaming and read them before bed, and for a few minutes when you wake up early in the morning. This will keep the subject at the forefront of your mind.
Read this troubleshooting guide below for more details:
http://www.saltcube.com/dvd852/troubleshooting.txt