Hello,
After nearly a year of trying numerous methods, I finally had my first lucid dream using the hypnosis script for that purpose in the book “Instant Self Hypnosis”. However, it has only worked once. I’ve been continuously repeating the process for three weeks since then, but to no avail. I know you have said that a method can become habitual and thus lose its impact, but it doesn’t feel habitual to me. You have also said that lacking a sense of fun in the process can sabotage a dreamer. That may be my problem, but I don’t know how to change that. I don’t feel any enjoyment from the process at all, and I’ve never been able to make anything that wasn’t naturally fun for me more so.
Thank You
Hi there,
I think when you read one of my books, you may see some new ways to approach this process of becoming lucid.
The value of hypnosis and self hypnosis, it can help us ‘adopt’ new beliefs in our ability to lucid dream! And sometimes that ‘fact’ shows us the importance of belief and positive expectations in creating an environment to have lucid dreams.
Now, one way to approach this is “Lucid Lite” — where you incubate a dream.
For example, try this — before going to sleep, write this out on a piece of paper, and then memorize it — and Repeat it three times:
“Tonight in my dreams, I will have play and have fun like I did when I was little — and I will feel amazed to see how much fun I can have.”
By suggesting this before sleep, you help create an ‘environment’ for that kind of dream to emerge.
Yes, you’ve said that to other people, but remember I told you that I can’t think of a way to make the process fun. I think the problem is that I’m so desperate to lucid dream because of how despondent I am about real life that the process of getting seems like an inconvenient obstacle, and that creates resistance. But I don’t know how to change that. I’ve been trying for years without success. I have requested your book from my library, though I might possibly have already ready it. I thought I had read every available book on lucid dreaming in the library system.
Hello and thanks for your question,
After a year of trying various methods unsuccessfully, why do you feel using self hypnosis enabled you to have one lucid dream?
Self hypnosis allows a person to ‘let go’ of limiting beliefs, and ‘allow’ new beliefs in their place.
With what you have provided, I can only make a guess. However, I assume that you have developed either 1) a “limiting belief” about achieving lucid dream awareness and/or 2) a subconscious fear of lucid dreaming.
So it does not seem about ‘habituation’ (or a technique losing its power by virtue of becoming a mindless habit).
I often tell people that they need to make the process of induction ‘fun’ in order for them to persist. Fun things, we can continue to do. Work things, we often resist.
Perhaps you can find or insert ‘fun’ into the self hypnotic process (and if you do so, you will likely have vastly enhanced results!).
Finally, in my book on techniques, Lucid Dreaming Plain and Simple, (w/ co-author Caroline McCready), I provide a number of techniques and support the psychology behind them to aid beginners in having lucid dreams.