Pulling Things Together

- What more or different could I or should I do in my project over the next two weeks to feel that I've accomplished something significant?

I could continue to practice the Wake-Back-to-Bed method regularly (which I do) to hopefully experience another lucid dream. Achieving one more would be ideal and give me a total and complete sense of satisfaction.

- What have I done in my project that I shouldn't have done or that I should have done differently?

I shouldn't have slacked off really badly during the month of April. I hardly put any effort into trying to actually lucid dream and practice the different techniques. I did a bunch of research, but I never implemented any of it. For example, I had started to practice MILD technique memory training (April 19 entry), however, I failed to do even one days worth of training. I tried, but I could never really focus. I sort of lost my interest in lucid dreaming a bit, but the research slowly got me back into the mood.

- What haven't I done that I should have?

I can't really think of anything that I haven't done that I should have. I tried all the techniques (maybe not to their full potential), but I really tried at least one or two days to use the techniques.

- What am I proud of? What am I disappointed in?

I'm really proud that I was able to get a lucid dream. It was probably the highlight of the month for me. I am/was super excited that I had a lucid dream and I couldn't wait to tell everyone I knew. I was disappointed that the lucid dream only lasted around 2 minutes, even though it was an incredible experience. I'm also a little disappointed that it took me so long to get a lucid dream, but that can be blamed on my for slacking hardcore during April.

Research:

I've done a lot that can be considered research. I've been surfing internet forums for new techniques/help with techniques and finding out new ways for old techniques. I've also been reading various websites and watching videos (the Salt Cube series etc) as well as reading the book by Stephen LaBerge. My research has mainly been focused on different how-to's to lucid dreaming and various techniques that have been successful and documented. I also did research on the different states of sleep and stages of entering a lucid dream as well as the terminology associated with lucid dreaming. I know a lot about sleep and how it works as well as the different stages when entering a lucid dream such as sleep paralysis and hypnagogic imagery. Most of the sources that have contributed to my knowledge have been online such as www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming and www.dreamviews.com and www.lucidity.com and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Dr. Stephen LaBerge.

LUCID DREAM!!!!!

Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. I finally did it! I had my first lucid dream last night! It was amazing. Thrilling. Extraordinary. Breathtaking. And more. I went to bed at around 12 and got up at 6. At first, I just sat up in my bed thinking out a dream that I want to have in the future which I read on a forum online which goes a little like this:

"I thought about 'RC' written on the wall. And then, I had a cell phone, and someone text messaged me saying 'Come to the RC competition.' And then I went to the competition, not knowing what 'RC' meant, then the announcer announced, 'welcome to the reality check competition!' Then, when it was my turn to do it, I did my reality check and found out I was dreaming."

After about 5-10 minutes of dozing off / thinking about a situation similar to the one described previously, I got out of bed and started reading the aforementioned forum (http://www.dreamviews.com/community/index.php). After about an 50 minutes of this I was deciding between listening to some binaural beats or the rhythmic timer and decided for the latter. I changed things up by having the timer go off after 6, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 15, 4.5 minutes instead of my regular 8, 4, 8 timer. I also used headphones this time instead of just using my computers speakers. As I went to sleep, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to sleep and I was still awake when the first 6 minute timer went off. I was about to give up, but I decided not to move (probably because I was in sleep paralysis). I went to sleep and I remember waking up after the 3 minute timer feeling a jolt of tingle suddenly through my body (as mentioned in a previous post). I drifted back to sleep and started dreaming. The dream can be read in my dream journal, so I'll skip to where I became lucid! I found myself above my body and feeling really, really excited. I kept telling myself, "I'm LUCID DREAMING! I'm LUCID DREAMING!" My heart was beating fast and I was flying around my room. My image of my body was me laying flat on my back with my arms at my side and so when I became lucid, my dream body was exactly like that. I was flying around like that and I remember feeling an incredible tingling sensation throughout my body during my flying. Also, I was breathing in my dream and I remember hearing a breath immediately after my dream body's breath and I said to myself "It must be my physical body's breath. As long as I keep breathing here my physical body will keep breathing too!" So, with my heart rate accelerated, I kept breathing and flying around the room really excited to be lucid. I then thought to myself "let me try to go through the wall," as this is also a common sensation people try when they become lucid. I first started going headfirst through my ceiling but I thought to myself "I probably shouldn't go headfirst." When the slightest bit of my head penetrated the wall, there was this large rumbling noise as if rocks in an avalanche were crumbling and I brought myself to my feet. I then decided to try to walk through the door (without opening it (stupid, I know)). I told myself, "I believe I can walk through it, I believe I can walk through it." But, unfortunately, I didn't go through the door. I tried again through the wall and not through the door this time, but to no avail. Almost immediately after that I woke up. I started smiling as I knew I had lucid dreamt (obviously!) and immediately went and wrote down my dream. I LOVE IT! Lucid dreaming was an exhilarating and fulfilling experience. I can't wait to have more.

Reflection of the Techniques

There are hundreds of different techniques out there (I've only scraped the tip of the ice berg) and I'm sure all of them are pretty effective, but of the ones that I used, I think the Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB) technique was the best, especially when coupled with the rhythm timer. Not only did the idea of waking up during the night to stimulate the brain to help gain consciousness make sense, but it was also practical because 3 days a week I was able to come to school at noon, which gave me time to really try this technique. When trying the WILD (Wake-Induced Lucid Dream) technique, I didn't really realize that it went hand-in-hand with the WBTB method, but in retrospect I see that I used the WILD technique without noticing. The WILD technique uses the hypnagogic imagery as a transition from the waking state to the dreaming state. This is a hard technique to master, but it is easily done subconsciously when focusing on WBTB with the rhythm timer. Next comes the binaural beats. Even though I've only used the beats a few times, the results were pretty astonishing. When I awoke in the morning after listening to the beats as I went to sleep, I remembered 3 or 4 dreams from that night. It improved my dream recall phenomenally. I was really astonished. I never tried using them in the morning when I woke up for the WBTB technique, but I feel it would be really effective if used then. Next on my list was the MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams), which I thought was pretty effective, but grossly inefficient. I liked the idea of the finger counting as a reality check, however, having to do it every hour on the hour for many, many days isn't exactly the best way. It did pop up in my dream once (as mentioned before), but then my watch broke and that went down hill... Last and certainly least is the CAT (cycle adjustment technique). It required a lot of effort (minimum 1 week preparation) and could only be done every other day after the 1 week preparation. On top of that, you lost 90 minutes of sleep every other day and couldn't go back to sleep. I didn't find this technique very useful at all really...

In summary, from the best techniques to the worst:

WBTB Technique

--- WILD / Rhythm Timer*

MILD Technique

Binaural Beats

CAT

Those two are most effective when coupled with the WBTB technique (as previously stated) and so they go in the WBTB subgroup.

Experience on Rhythmic Napping

I woke up this morning at 6 A.M. and watched the first part of the Salt Cube video (37 minutes) to get into the lucid dreaming mood. After focusing on the rhythmic napping section, I went on to try it. It really takes a toll on you.. Especially during school days when all you get is those 6 hours of sleep before hand. The timer wakes you up almost every time and therefore the next 1.5 - 2 hours of sleep is not very restful and relaxing. When you finally finish with the rhythm timer, you're brain and body are pretty tired. Its taxing, but on the weekends it a little better because you can finish your sleep after the cycle of rhythm napping. Its really a killer.

Another interesting feeling/phenomenon that occurred when I used the rhythmic timer was a rush of tingling feeling throughout my whole body starting from my neck-ish area and flowing down through my body. This would occur when the timer would startle me awake and an instantaneous tingling feeling/rush would pass through my body. It would happen really quickly, but the feeling would linger in my extremities for a few more seconds. I wonder if this is part of sleep paralysis to keep the body still. It can be analogous to a wave of adrenaline sent through your body (if you've ever experienced that), but much more amplified. I wonder if its a wave of "sleep paralysis hormone" to keep your body paralyzed or something. Its a really crazy feeling, and almost like a cold feeling through your whole body. Crazy stuff.

Rhythmic Napping

After watching the Salt Cube video (the one about lucid dreaming, I posted a clip about it earlier), I learned about rhythmic napping. Rhythmic napping deals with waking up in the morning after about 5 or 6 hours of sleep, staying awake and then going back to bed. However, while going back to bed I start a timer which is set to go off after 8, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 20, and 6 minutes. Each time the timer is supposed to wake you up, but you aren't supposed to move any part. The timer is supposed to help you hover on the awake/sleep threshold (where your mind is awake and your body isn't). The timer can be found here: http://www.lucidology.com/timer/

IC - Complacency

I can't afford to be complacent about only seeing dream signals and experiencing sleep paralysis. I need to focus on trying to achieve lucidity. I can't settle for anything less. Also, I can't be satisfied with my loose adherence of my lucid dreaming technique schedule.

Taylor Mali has a good point about the lack of inarticulateness in our generation. It's so common that no one even takes time out to notice it. However, it does happen to the best of us. For example, when I get nervous or really excited about something, I start talking really fast and slurring my speech. My words don't form fully and I'm already on to the next word. I've noticed this happen to me and I've made a conscious effort to try and stop it, but I often forget.

Lucid Dreaming Video

I forgot to apply for WISE funding (even though I've had my proposal typed out for a month, at the very least) , but I ordered the lucid dreaming video anyways. I also ordered the binaural beats from the Unexplainable Store! They're instant downloads, but I don't have time right now to sample them. When I do, I'll definitely update you.

Lucid Dreaming Video - http://saltcube.com/#nextStep

Unexplainable Store - http://www.store.unexplainable.net/products/lucid.php

AP Exams.. Why?!

So my life has been taken over by the AP exams I had this week and the one that I have next Monday (which is going to hurt, badly). I've been focusing on studying that I completely forgot about my project. Time to catch up though...

Hpynagogic Imagery Technique

While reading Stephen LaBerge's Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, I came across another technique called hypnagogic imagery. One of the keys to this technique is to relax completely. Once relaxed, one must observe the visual images that slowly appear in front of ones eyes while they're closed. The key is to observe the images as delicately as possible and allowing them pass by without any attachment. One must take the stance of a detached observer as much as possible. Slowly these images will start to make scenes and become more complex over time. Once the scenes are playing, one must allow himself/herself to be drawn into the dream world. This is probably the hardest part to master because it is easy to get very involved and pay too little attention.

I think I'll try this technique as it seems to require minimal effort (not that I'm lazy or anything, but it's AP time... I've got to study).

Sleep Paralysis..Again!

So, last night I achieved some sleep paralysis once again. It was still an unusual experience and felt quite weird, but I don't mind. Its some form of progress (I think...). I also recognized in one of my dreams that my computer wasn't working (a dream signal). I'm pretty happy with that, I can almost see the end..