Lucid Dreaming...anxiety keeping me from it?

[Lucas]

I have trouble becoming lucid in my dreams, and usually when I wake up I remember a point in the dream where I had an inkling that it was a dream, but didn't fully manifest it. Like last night I had a dream that my band broke up, and as I was carrying my gear out to my car there was a piece of gear on my amp that I had never seen before and I thought it odd, like "why is that there", and instead of taking the cue I went back into the dream flow.

Now, a lot of my dreams I remember involve real life issues (my band is not breaking up, in fact we are doing the best we ever have), but I know we could improve, and I tend to view the dreams as lost opportunities to gain insights and ideas on this stuff. I think then I am self sabotaging, because I get upset about losing these opportunities (because I dont dream lucidly often, maybe once a year for a few seconds)


Is there anything anyone can reccomend to help me attain lucidity? Or rather, maintain it?

[Blueskied]

Didn't fully understand your post. You get anxious when a lucid dream starts?
Had this problem before i started reading about LDs. Had very limited experiences with LDs similar to yours (1/year, only a few seconds). I got anxious and therefore the dream stopped. For example i was thinking: What if i am sleepwalking around while being in this state? Now having read that your body is paralyzed during dream phases this is not a problem anymore and i can enjoy the lucid phase as long as i am capable to (several minutes).
Attaining lucidity? I am no expert by far (just started recently, not even have a dream journal yet).
What worked so far for me:
- The wake back to bed - method
Wake Back to Bed (WBTB) - Dream Views Lucid Dreaming Forum
- Reading about LDs (recommendation: LaBerge - Exploring the world of lucid dreaming)
- Looking forward to having a LD when going to sleep

[Lucas]

What my post meant was that I rarely become lucid, and after I wake up I realize that I had an opportunity to become fully lucid, and I get upset that I missed that opportunity to talk with my subconscious.

[StevenAitchison]

Lucas

How long have you been practicing lucid dreaming?

One tip that I have advised people is to ask yourself 10 - 20 times per day 'Am I dreaming?', don't just ask yourself, really think about the question and try and convince yourself that you are not dreaming.

This method should only take 20 - 40 minutes per day. Once you are practiced and have attained lucidity regularly you will not need to do this. This questioning will spill over, automatically, into your dreams.

I presume your are adept at remembering your dreams?

Hope this helps