i am doing dream practice for about a year now and managed to establish a pretty steady dream rememberance. i could remember at least one scene almost every night, sometimes up to 3 longer dreams. i was writing down my dreams diligently.
in the last few weeks there was a lot going on and i cannot sleep as well as i used to. normally i could sleep through, now i am always waking up way too early and have problems going back to sleep, wasting the most valuable time for dreams that i can actually remember. with the effect that when i wake up i just lie there for a while until i recognize that i am not sleeping anymore. then it’s already to late to ask myself what i might have dreamt before i woke up.
i would really appreciate some advice or if you would like to share some experience on how to get back into a steady dream practice. or is this just a normal thing to happen every once in a while ? that one’s routine gets broken but then returns kind of by itself ?
thank you very much in advance for every bit of information you can spare
warmest wishes to all of you and a beautiful day !
elena
Welcome to the Night Club. These things are so individual but it’s good you’re reaching out because sometimes one bit of advice can make a big difference. I’ve experienced similar stretches during the last few years and I usually try things like sleeping earlier or meditating closer to bedtime to put my mind in a better state before sleeping. Andrew and others have mentioned that dry spells do happen in the course of nocturnal practices.
I’ve recently started doing some of the activities in his latest book, The Lucid Dreaming Workbook and that is helping me take the pressure off not remembering dreams. Some dreamers who contribute here are doing a lot with breath work, as well. Here’s a recent conversation that might be useful. Are you working with Dharma practices in your life? Hope this starts to help.
thank you very very much for your answer !
like you said, it already helps a lot to hear just any advice from someone sitting in the same boat and to hear that everything’s going to be okay haha
thanks a lot for the warm welcome and for the book recommendation. a lucid dreaming workbook sounds like something that might be really useful to me.
the other link you posted souns very good, too, but the page says the link is invalid. is there a copy error maybe ?
i have been a daily meditator for quite some years now, and am getting more serious about it this year. i also read tenzin wngyal rinpoche’s book about dream yoga. many techniques there seem to far adavanced to me yet, though. but dreams in waking as well as in sleeping life are a big topic in my life.
i am looking forward to dive more into this community, too.
warmest wishes and a wonderous night to everybody !
I tried it and it worked. Are you a gold or emerald member? Maybe that’s it? Try the links below to see if they work.
Try this.
Here’s another.
One more
Sounds like when you wake up too early you are trying hard to fall back to sleep plus you are anxious about wasting lucid dreaming opportunities…
B. Alan Wallace‘s approaches helped me here: First and foremost: relax. Without relaxation, no sleep. Without sleep, no dream. without dream, no lucid dreaming practice. So, relax.
His triad „Relaxation, stability, vividness“ is in my opinion the key. And it sounds like you might be neglecting relaxation.
Secondly, I personally use such opportunities when I am too agitated in the early morning to do shamata meditation. First on relaxation of the entire body in the supine position (focus on relaxation), then after a while on the breath (focus on stability and vividness ) , and finally on the mind space. And the mind space is where the dream will arise naturally by itself.
I recommend not to push it. If you are wide awake in bed, then you could either be agitated for not being able to sleep or be happy for the opportunity to practice shamata/vipashyana which will prepare you for a more vivid and stable lucid dream. So why be agitated, you are using the time, while totally relaxing…
Finally, going to bed earlier than usual helps with a short meditation before. when I pass a certain bed time, I only have a infinitesimal small chance of lucid dreaming.
Excellent advice throughout @KhyungMar’ s post. Timing is one element that enwraps the entire process. For me, it is important to know when to take supplements such as galantamine and choline or plant-based tinctures because unless I time it right, I’ll miss the train. Knowing your body is knowing your mind—at one level. There are several posts on the 'Club site that discuss the body and breathing that I’m finding helpful for nighttime preparation.Lots about preparation in other posts. Here, and here, and here. Some of my fellow dream—clubbers have suggested other resources, as well.
Another consideration is daytime practices that find their way into the dream state. Andrew recently responded to a question about how a person can get over feelings of self-importance with a suggestion to work in a hospice. The next night I dreamt I’m working in a hospice caring for a person who played a character from a movie I saw earlier in the evening. I had a nice conversation with him and cared for him till he died. I think for me, more focus on Dharma, meditation and breathing during wake-time is what I want to bring with me into my nighttime journeys, timed to my body’s rhythm.
If your routine gets broken that can be a good time to change your routine a bit. If you keep finding yourself waking early and unable to get back to sleep consider trying some version of the classic WBTB. That has been a very strong protocol for me.
