Hello! My name is Clairity and I am new to this forum but not to lucid dreaming. I have been reading the posts and thought I’d share some of my LD experiences.
When I first started lucid dreaming…I breathed it… I bought all the books, tapes, gadgets, herbs, vitamins, etc. that I could get my hands on. I reality checked and dream journaled myself silly. But as the years passed, I started to get discouraged when my lucid periods went from twice a week to once a week, to twice a month and now even longer dry spells. I couldn’t understand why what would work once to get me lucid wouldn’t work the next four times I tried it.
Years later I still LOVE lucid dreaming and yearn for it but I find my “drive” or “passion” for it to be lessoning. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had an “awe-inspiring” and/or “totally” lucid dream of any length in a good long while.
Does anyone else have trouble with techniques that work once or twice and then stop? Could it be that I should just stick with one technique which has worked (though not consistently). Or perhaps there is no CONSISTENT technique or perhaps getting older (40+) lessons your lucidity.
I thought I might be “trying” too hard… but I have only had 2 lucid dreams spontaneously (where I somehow realized that I was dreaming) and they were very low-level and very brief.
What i do is say somthing about having a dream somtimes i get a lucid dream. I have only hade like 5-7 lds but they all came unexpected. You should try to just go to sleep without trying for a lucid dream like all the new lucid dreamers do(or somtimes they try to hard and never get one like i did for 2 days :[ ). Its like starting over again but you have experinced them before. To make it short just try not to have a lucid dream and you will; like me.
This is interesting. Did you also practice the napping-method (also called wake-backToBed-method)? When I practice this method CONSISTENTLY, I have 50% chance of becoming lucid. I don’t do it every day because I have to get up early for work. But when I do it, hell it works.
Thanks BrainHacker and rusher13 for your replies… much appreciated!
Unfortunately rusher13, when I don’t “try” (which I really haven’t been for the last three or four months)… I get zip, zilch, nothing!
Over the years, I used to average 4 lucid dreams a month. Though this doesn’t sound like alot, it’s really not too bad considering I only tried to LD on Saturday and Sunday mornings using using the sleep/wake/sleep (nap) method. So for a while there the nap technique worked 50% of the time for me too BrainHacker!
I have noticed that though my lucidity is lacking, I am able to have very VIVID dreams. I also find myself able to do NON-lucid DILDs (is there such a thing… DIDs)? If I wake up “naturally” from a dream (i.e., no alarms, etc.), and lay perfecty still and replay the dream in my mind… I can reenter it and keep the dream going. Unfortunately, I just don’t seem to remember to become lucid. Anyone know the secret on how to do that?
I’m pretty much having similar problems at the moment. I have no problems with making my dreams vivid, but getting conscious within them is a big pain in the…
As far as the nap methods are concerned, maybe you could try variating the times at which you go to sleep. You shouldn’t always rely on the theory, but try and find out what works for YOU. eg. A major concept on the nap method is to create a REM deficit. Once you are deprived of this ‘essential period of dreaming’, your brain will compensate at the earliest opportunity it gets - ie. once you get back to sleep, the theory of it states that your dreams will become vivid/intense within the first 5 mins. So, a couple of days ago, I decided to give the nap method a go and I also decided that I should stay up for 2 hours (instead of the usual 30mins/1hour) in order to make the brain crave the REM even more. However, when I went back to sleep, my dreams weren’t particularly vivid, nor were they especially intense and certainly not lucid.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is that the theory doesn’t always produce what it’s supposed to. I remember a couple of months ago, I decided to sleep for 4hrs and 45mins and stay up for 40 mins. I was incredibly tired during the wake up period (despite almost every site/book/newsgroup/forum i’ve read, we are told to make ourselves mentally alert and awake) but I managed to get some of the most intense vibrations I’ve ever felt.
You could also try and sleep upright if you are one of those who are capable of falling asleep easily. Maybe going to sleep for 4 hours, staying up 40 mins and then falling asleep on a chair (with pillows!!!) in an upright position. Speaking of body position, maybe that’s a factor as well. I’ve only received vibrations once or twice whilst lying on my side, but much more often whilst lying on my back (especially with regard to the nap method).
Btw, one more thing… would you happen to be the same Clairity who used to post in the alt.out-of-body newsgroups around the time Suneye was around?
i had my first and only LD when i wasnot thinking of it or expecting it. ( i was watching a JunkYard Wars marathon on tv) and i was really tired i didnt even see or care who won i just wanted to get to sleep! but then again me and rusher13 are 13 years old and maybe that has somethin to do wit it?
Thanks for replies nO-SKiLLzZ and downloadmaster2049!
nO-SKiLLzZ, I discovered that what works best for me is to wake up around 2:30 am, get out of bed and stay awake for about 15 minutes and then go back to sleep on my living room couch. I find that sleeping
in a different location from the norm helps me WILD (maybe it keeps me from sleeping too “deeply”)… plus my husband has a tendency to snore at the most inopportune times. I have tried waking up later, staying up longer but the above times work the best for me.
As far as sleeping upright… I even bought one of those bed/pillow wedges. Well, to make a long story short, I could not relax enough on that thing to meditate, let alone fall asleep.
You also asked me if I was the same Clairity that used to post in the alt.out-of-body newsgroup and the answer is “YES”!
It’s so great that someone remembers me! (these are good memories right?)
I used to post ALOT in both alt.out-of-body and alt.dreams.lucid until the flamers (i.e., critics, doubters, etc.) took over and drove most of the faithful posters into lurk mode or simply away period.
For those who enjoy reading about LD and OOBE experiences, you can find some of my best ones by doing a search on www.deja.com (now google) and using the search words “Clairity” and “alt.dreams.lucid” OR “Clairity” and “alt.out-of-body”.
The above public announcement was brought to you by a grant from the Clairity foundation.
downloadmaster2049, 13 and so much ahead. Let us know of your progress and don’t let anyone close your mind to all the possibilities that exist!
I face the same problem as you, loss of LDs over time.
Something that I encourage others to do: read and study Lucid Dreaming. I thought I was moving in that direction by reading and now posting on a few dream sights. But after reading your opening post I realized that most of my spontaneous success came after “talking” about LDs. Especially if I was trying to explain to someone new what an LD is.
I’ve been thinking about starting an LD support group at my library, just to give me the opportunity to talk about it. Would make a nice grass roots movement if everyone started “support groups”.
There is also the herbal “drug” route. I’ve read some interesting things about Calea Zacatechichi. It’s a little hard to find, takes some preparation, and tastes like camel droppings. However, I won’t be tasting camel droppings to confirm this observation! I have more info if you are interested.
Yeas Dust Mote,you are right.I really enjoy talking about dreams,explaining what lucid dreams are and giving examples of your own lucid dreams really can help with LDing.Sad that there are so few people who are interested in it…
But time by time i get to know some people.
Well,at least my brother has to listen to all the dream-stories i tell him ,in exchange i have to learn something about insects and The Doors
Great idea, such a grass roots movements. Only, if you would start something like this here in Belgium, they put you in a madhouse. Awake while dreaming, are you crazy??? People here are extremely conservative and closeminded. And don’t tell them about LaBerge and scientific proof, because they all fall asleep only by hearing the word “science”. Well, maybe I should do this anyway and if they put me in the mad house I can still start a support group there .
and never get one like i did for 2 days :[ ). Its like starting over again but you have experinced them before. To make it short just try not to have a lucid dream and you will; like me. 
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