Hi @Bob44, Nice to meet you!
You’re right, I mentioned 99 days to lucidity in my post about supplements, specifically on my experiences with Galantamine.
For clarity, I did have lucid dreams during those days, but ONLY with the support of Galantamine. Using it was a fantastic crutch to give me a sense of what is possible. I ultimately decided to stop using it until I could achieve and sustain lucidity over time without it.
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Now for your questions:
Q.) Were you trying the same technique every night? If so…what was it?
A.) Every night, I was (and still am) practicing Wake Back to Bed - waking up around 5:00, meditating or reading about dreaming for 10 - 20 minutes and going back to sleep.
I have always liked Andrew’s 21 breaths meditation so I will count 21 long deep breathes and then visualize a red lotus (or red circle on occasion) in my throat center which I learned from his book. I do this practice while focusing on hypnogogic imagery when I get back into bed nearly every night to this day.
I was also (and still) do a dedicated nighttime ritual. The activities of it change, but I always take at least 30 minutes to wind down, practice a short meditation, read quietly, dim the lights, maybe take a bath… avoiding any screen time.
And then at the point of sleep, repeating my intentions: I will remember my dreams, I will be aware that I am dreaming, etc, and watching hypnogogic imagery before drifting off to sleep.
I pretty much do all of that every night consistently. I also have triggers during the day to ask myself if this is a dream. The repetition during the day naturally carries into dream.
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Q.) Did you go right to having 1 or 2 lucid dreams per week after the 99 days?
A.) No, it built over time. It was happening more frequently but they were “lower level” - quality and duration also matters. I’d say I was having a lucid dream every two weeks after the “first” but of lower quality. That continued on for several months before I noticed the quality and duration improving. Today, I have lucid dreams a few times a week, many strong, some weak. I can feel myself getting better, but I don’t pressure myself. I enjoy Galantamine now if I have a specific goal/intention that I want to work on or if it’s something like a Super Blood Wolf Full Moon Eclipse that just feels kind of special.
I think it’s important to remember that lucid dreaming is a skill and it takes practice. How much practice you put in is how much you’ll get out. Balance is also critical so I think it’s about finding what’s best for any individual. For me, rigor and consistency combined with lightness, humor and wonder was (and is) key. People probably find it hard to be both rigorous and relaxed about it, but that’s been my approach. Another way of saying it is, “put in the work, but don’t take it too seriously.”
All of that being said, I do the practices daily and nightly. I love it. But… Sometimes I don’t feel like it, and so I don’t. If it feels like too much work, then it’s not enjoyable. And if I am stressed about it for some reason, that’s a key sign that I need to pause for a moment.
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Q.) What has helped you the most in becoming a consistent and accomplished lucid dreamer?
A.) Never forgetting the basics. Dream Recall is the number one skill to build. Lucidity will naturally come after. When I first started, I was not remembering my dreams at all. Today, I’m often recalling 5-7 regularly… and in great detail. It all comes from finding your special way of writing them down as soon as they happen. You have to love that part. I write them ALL down. I think that’s hard for people.
Others: Not worrying about results, and just being surprised and delighted by what happens. Doing the practices everyday, putting in the work, and data. I really love data so I try to keep track of as many details as I can and keep records to find patterns, trends, and insights. I’m likely unique in the amount of data I collect.
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I have been working on having lucid dreams for many years…but have only had a small handful.
I’ve had spontaneous lucid dreams all of my life. I had deep interests in dreaming but could never really get it off the ground. I think the crutch of Galantamine in my early “restarting” days (last June) really helped bolster my confidence in what is possible. It was a gift for me.
But I was also very patient, approached things with lightness, and understood that this is a path… I was able to take a child-like approach to my journey and was thankfully resistant to being rushed. (Though I think Galantamine really helped me in this way, because I was able to experience the possibilities early on and say, I need to train for this without the performance enhancers…).
While at the same time, to this day, I frequently have hazy, murky, low-level lucid dreams, plenty of non-lucid dreams, and whole a lot of dreams that are simply, utterly mundane. Sometimes I have no dream recall and will panic for a hot second about how it’s lost! Of course, it’s never lost and I have a good laugh about it.
All this to underscore that time, patience, and the most positive expectation framework that’s right for you will go a long way… at least it did for me. There is no comparison to others, only to what you did yesterday.
It will take quite a while to become an advanced pianist. It’s very different when you first start, to a week, a month, a year… 10 years… 40 years! Think about that! It’s the same with dream practice to me.
Always happy to answer any and all questions!
// Allison //