At sleep time; noise or silence?
Skip to green for my actual question Ever since I can remember, I have been very uneasy and/or afraid of sleeping without some type of noise going on in the background. I usually have my TV on while I sleep. When I do give sleeping in total silence a shot, I become very anxious and usually give in to the temptation of turning the TV back on within a few minutes.
So, when attempting a lucid dream, is having background noise a factor or not? If so or if not, then why or why not?
Just go with whichever you are most comfortable with. If something is going to cause anxiety, it wouldn't be good to be doing that for LD.
I've been experimenting with a new LD technique I've made up. I'm calling it "Tick Tock method". What I do is I relax to a loud ticking clock. I realised I'd entered into a LD when the ticking suddenly vanished.
I've been experimenting with a new LD technique I've made up. I'm calling it "Tick Tock method". What I do is I relax to a loud ticking clock. I realised I'd entered into a LD when the ticking suddenly vanished.
I have experimenting with a similar thing but I am using binaural beats. I also find it easier to fall asleep with a bit of noise going on and have found that the repetitiveness of binaural beats as as well as the way that they affect my thoughts not only help me fall asleep but also help me become lucid in my dreams and make my dreams more vivid. (some of these may be placebos because I am expecting it but if it works it works)
Really when it comes down to it thought if you aren't comfortable and aren't falling asleep properly without sound then you are going to limit your chances of remembering your dream, becoming lucid, and having a good nights sleep in general.
As far as how external sounds works to help induce lucid dreaming. Look into the EILD(Externally induced lucid dream) technique. The big thing is that even when you are asleep your body reacts to external senses even if you aren't fully aware of them. EILD techniques use visual or audio clues to help you realize you are dreaming.
Some great advice based on the fact that what may work for an individual won't necessarily work for everyone. This practice is very much about exploring. As a whole, we are still in the early stages of learning about lucid dreaming and how to induce the required mental state. Individually, it's very much like exploring your sexuality.
One factor that is ostensibly vital for the majority -- before practitioners do anything else -- is relaxation. How one manages to attain this is the question. Some find the sound of rain soothing. Others prefer absolute silence. Eventually, whatever method you believe works best for you is what's most likely to help you clear your mind and achieve waking consciousness in your dreams.
I can see noise being a great boon in helping lucid dreamers become aware of the shift from wakefulness to the lucid dream state. In my case, it depends on how I'm feeling based on what type of day I've had. Sometimes I crave silence if I've had a busy day. Other times I feel that repetitious noise can promote relaxation and a meditative, or trance-like, state from which I lucidly catapult into dreamland.
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Leond wrote: Really when it comes down to it thought if you aren't comfortable and aren't falling asleep properly without sound then you are going to limit your chances of remembering your dream, becoming lucid, and having a good nights sleep in general.
If a person is **falling asleep okay with sound **even if they cant usually sleep without it, as long as they are using it, there is no reason at all which I can see why LD would be more difficult for that person. I cant see how that would affect dream recall?? Can you explain more on how it would affect negativity iif the person is getting to sleep fine with sound?
Look into the EILD(Externally induced lucid dream) technique. The big thing is that even when you are asleep your body reacts to external senses even if you aren't fully aware of them. EILD techniques use visual or audio clues to help you realize you are dreaming.
Thanks, that's one Ive never heard of.. are all LD noise techniques put under that label or just a specific one?
I agree ^^
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ok thanks people. there's quite a lot to think about. I have been having difficulties with it but I guess I just need to do more research to figure out what I'm doing wrong and right. I have an ounce of calea zacatechichi coming in the mail soon so maybe that'll help with a little bit of cheese before bed :mrgreen: :geek: :shock: :D
The cheese contains the amino acid tryptophan which aids the brain in the making of tryptamine compounds, the building blocks of endogenous psychedelics.
The sesquiterpenes in Calea will certainly aid your sleep. The Leaves of God will also improve dream recall and an active memory will tend to promote lucidity.
But it's important to remember that these exogenous chemical aids only provide shortcuts in your practice or may even prove useless if you are not making the effort. Even better would be if you could achieve the desired mental states without them. Remember, the drugs only stimulate your brain to do what it can already do in potential and with some effort. The hallucinogenic -- or psychedelic -- "magic," as it were, is in your mind, not the drugs. The drugs, without a sentient organism to catalyse, are useless.
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Summerlander wrote: The cheese contains the amino acid tryptophan which aids the brain in the making of tryptamine compounds, the building blocks of endogenous psychedelics.
The sesquiterpenes in Calea will certainly aid your sleep. The Leaves of God will also improve dream recall and an active memory will tend to promote lucidity.
But it's important to remember that these exogenous chemical aids only provide shortcuts in your practice or may even prove useless if you are not making the effort. Even better would be if you could achieve the desired mental states without them. Remember, the drugs only stimulate your brain to do what it can already do in potential and with some effort. The hallucinogenic -- or psychedelic -- "magic," as it were, is in your mind, not the drugs. The drugs, without a sentient organism to catalyse, are useless.
I agree with Summerlander, there is no magic answer.. these things can only help if one already is on the right track. I do also though think they can also have like a placebo affect too for some.. eg I've found when I really really believe Im going to get lucid, I usually then do. So obviously the thinking there does have some impact.
Summerlander wrote: Sometimes I crave silence if I've had a busy day. Other times I feel that repetitious noise can promote relaxation and a meditative, or trance-like, state from which I lucidly catapult into dreamland.
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Have you still been thinking about lucid dreaming during a busy day? Or is an evening enough preparation time?
When do you play the repetitive noise? Before you go to sleep for the 1st time or only later in the early morning when you have a better chance of having a lucid dream?
It can help to think about lucid dreaming during the day but not a prerequisite in my case. On busy days I have thought about lucid dreaming in the loo. (I was even performing reality checks in loos because they featured in my dreams so often.)
But yes, an evening can be enough prep for a DILD. The repetitive sound can be the tick-tock of the clock in my living room but the telly has worked before, just pay attention to the sound -- this, by the way, is done in the morning after having taken my kids to school and is employed when I want a WILD (often accompanied by the OOBE-exit technique).
If the kids are off, I get up even earlier (around 5 or 6 am), do something for 20 mins, and then return to bed to induce a lucid dream. (On this occasion, silence will do.)
And then there is the DEILD method which is highly effective. If it fails, I try LaBerge's MILD.
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Summerlander wrote: It can help to think about lucid dreaming during the day but not a prerequisite in my case. On busy days I have thought about lucid dreaming in the loo. (I was even performing reality checks in loos because they featured in my dreams so often.)
But yes, an evening can be enough prep for a DILD. The repetitive sound can be the tick-tock of the clock in my living room but the telly has worked before, just pay attention to the sound -- this, by the way, is done in the morning after having taken my kids to school and is employed when I want a WILD (often accompanied by the OOBE-exit technique).
If the kids are off, I get up even earlier (around 5 or 6 am), do something for 20 mins, and then return to bed to induce a lucid dream. (On this occasion, silence will do.)
And then there is the DEILD method which is highly effective. If it fails, I try LaBerge's MILD.
I thought this was a great post.
**thumbs up to all those loo reality checkers out there *** haha, there must be quite a few of us. I used to reality check there too due to them being a dream feature.
taniaaust1 wrote: Can you explain more on how it would affect negativity iif the person is getting to sleep fine with sound?
I was more saying that if they have problems falling asleep without sound then they should keep falling asleep with sound because having problems falling asleep seems to make it harder to become lucid while asleep. At least in my experience.
taniaaust1 wrote: Thanks, that's one Ive never heard of.. are all LD noise techniques put under that label or just a specific one?
I believe it is actually anything that uses an external source to induce lucid dreaming while you are asleep. this would include sounds, sleep masks with lights, wrist bands that vibrate slightly during rem sleep, etc.
I think the novice should stick to what appears to work for him first before embarking on challenging techniques which entail difficult conditions. Get to know the process of going from one state of consciousness to the other. Then hone your techniques. 8-)
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