IC - Barn Song

1) What does this suggest about what a WISE project can be?

It suggests that a WISE project can be anything you want it to be, particularly whatever you make it out to be. It can be a learning experience that is thoroughly fulfilling or it can be a drag and something you are forced to do. Personally, it is the former and I love researching lucid dreaming.

2) What new ideas do you have?

As of yet, none. But I'll keep you posted. :)

Whoa.. I'm Slacking

So, its late April and I still haven't had a lucid dream. I'm getting frustrated with this. I don't want to give up, but its so hard to dedicate so much time to it. Sure, I get to sleep every night, but its not just about sleeping. I need at least 6 hours, if not more, and there isn't really anything I can do about all the school work and fitting in time to lose an extra hour of sleep on top of the measly 5-6 hours I already get. Life's tough. I need to buckle down and really focus on doing these techniques and getting lucid in my dream.

Incongruity in Dreams

When we dream, we often have odd, even outrageous, things happen. For example, the laws of time and space are broken or things that could never happen in the real world pass as acceptable. We conjure these fantasies up in our mind and therefore these incongruities in our dreams make sense to us. We can be out on a beach one moment and then instantly transported to a past event without a link between the two scenes. These oddities are the keys to discovering lucidity. The only trick is to realize that these are simply dream signals and that you must be dreaming if this occurs. A good way to realizing that something is a dream is through association. After discovering a few dream signs, associate that dream signal with dreaming during your everyday life. For example, if you often dream of driving a car that you don't own anymore or have never owned, you can associate that with dreaming during your waking hours. After enough time and association, when you dream about this once again, you will magically realize that you are dreaming and consequently you will be lucid. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Right?

IC - WISE

How have you stepped away from you with your project since last class?

I have stopped being the enthusiastic, interested person in lucid dreaming that I once was. I have given up on a few things, but hopefully I'll get them back. For example, I haven't been going to bed at a regular time and I haven't been waking up regularly for the WBTB method.

Daily Targets: Sunday

I had mentioned before Stephen LaBerge's memory training techniques. I've slowly started to work on them but today was the first day I really tried to stick to it. I looked for the following targets during the day and tried to think about if I was awake or dreaming:

1) When I see a pet or animal

2) When I look at my face in a mirror

3)When I turn on a light

4) When I see a flower

I remembered to check for consciousness when I looked in a mirror, but I failed at every other target. Hopefully, practicing these techniques will increase my reliability in carrying out future intentions.

Those Goals That I Previously Set...

I have been keeping up with my goal of doing the WBTB method at least twice a week. I still haven't had a lucid dream though. Its pretty tough, but I know I can do it. All it takes is some patience and a lot of practice. In time, young padawan. In time...

Mentor Meetings

I haven't had mentor meeting in a while. I've been slacking pretty badly on my part, especially with communication. Hopefully, I'll meet with him sometime this week and we can really buckle down.

MIlD Technique - Memory Training

I'm not sure if I've said this before, but I broke my watch (yes, the same one that I was using to remind me every hour on the hour to count my fingers). I was deeply saddened as it has greatly hindered my ability to use the MILD technique (Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams, for those who forgot) + reality checks. However, reading Stephen LaBerge's book, I stumbled upon his description of the MILD technique (which he developed!). He talked about the prerequisites for the MILD techniques which include being able to carry out future intentions reliably while you are awake. I thought about it a while and realized, I'm not very good at that. However, he does give and exercise to increase memory training and I'm going to give it a try. I'll keep you posted.

IC (Continued) - Lists

Four ways that my project plans have changed thus far:

- I had planned on using lucid dreaming supplements, but after my interview with Professor Helene Porte, I changed my mind and decided to scrap the supplements. She told me that they were unsafe and had side-affects and that they weren't guaranteed to help increase my ability to lucid dream.

- I am spending more than 1.5 to 2 weeks per technique. I found that this isn't enough time to fully adapt and get the full potential out of a technique.

Four things I've done out of my comfort zone:

- I've woken up 90 minutes early for a week straight. This is really tough considering all the school work that I have and going to bed each night at a consistent time isn't easy.

- I woke up after 5-6 hours of sleep, stayed awake for an hour and then went back to bed. This is also tough because I lose an hours worth of sleep with this technique and as it is I only get 6-7 hours of sleep a night.

IC - Regret

Why did I take WISE? Well, honestly, I took it because I wanted to slack off and take it easy in my senior year English class. It was mostly what I had hoped for, however, it has been much more fun, enjoyable and rewarding than I thought. My project is really interesting and there's a lot of information about it. One thing I regret about my project is that there won't be a tangible end result. I wanted something that I could show and keep for years to come, but I am satisfied with only having the knowledge and ability to lucid dream.

Setting Goals - Stephen's Way

According to Stephen LaBerge's book, Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, a good way to evaluate your progress is through this 4 step technique:

1) Set explicit, specific, and numerical goals:

I plan on trying to have a lucid dream within the next month, and use the wake back to bed method at least twice a week.

2) Set difficult but realistic goals:

I think these are adequate and realistic goals.

3) Set short-term as well as long-range goals:

I have a goal for each week as well as over the next month or so.

4) Record and evaluate your progress:

I'll keep you updated!

Lucid Dreaming Books

I went to the Tompkins County Public Library today and picked up a book by Stephen LaBerge called Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. I haven't had a chance to look through it, but Stephen LaBerge is the leading expert on lucid dreaming and I am confident that I will find new information and different techniques. More on his book later (when I get a chance)!