lucidity for learning

[thebotanyofsouls]

I've been aware of lucid dreaming for a while - I have a couple of friends who have always been lucid dreamers, one of which who has given me a few tips for helping discover lucidity and make dreams more lucid. after reading about Tim Ferriss' use for lucid dreaming, I set out to become more lucid in my dream-life and explore both myself and the world around me while never leaving my bed.

so far, I've had a handful of lucid dreams - most are reality-check type deals, but I have had 2 successes with WILD.

my current lucid dreaming goals are to have at least one lucid dream a week and to have more success initiating lucid dreams during my daytime naps.

the other interesting thing is I am a polyphasic sleeper - I sleep 3 1/2 hours at night, and 3 20min naps during the day. This lifestyle choice was brought about by an injury to my shoulders that made it painful to sleep on my side, and thus minimizing the amount of sleep I need while still maintaining my health became increasingly important (so I wouldn't roll on my side while oblivious to the world and wake up the next morning unable to use one arm).

this is by far the best site I have found for sharing the dream experience and understanding lucid dreaming. Thank you Mr. Post for creating this space for us all to share our experiences and our journeys.

[Rox]

At first welcome! Nice to hear from a more experienced dreamer.
You've got quite a hard goal, or at least it seems hard to begin with, even if you had a few lucid dreams. Your sleep rhythm is interesting indeed! It might be profitable in some ways, except that you won't be able to do a good WBTB. But since you've got some experience with WILD, that may be your technique.

Welcome!
_________________
Fantasy is endless

[thebotanyofsouls]

Polyphasic has definitely increased the vividness of my dreams, and I hear that with time on any polyphasic schedule lucid dreams start to happen more naturally during the naps. I'm still getting adjusted to the schedule - it's a strange transition having an extra 3.5h waking time in the day. What to do? I've definitely become more productive, for sure.

2-3x a month is about what I get for lucid dreams now, and I practice WILD every night. They tend to come in strings - I'll have a handful of lucid dreams over the course of a few days, and then a dry spell, and then another handful. Consistency is my first goal, more than a set number per week. but numbers are trackable, so I just threw that out there.

Always in my lucid dreams there is parkour. and I feel free in the world for it. I'm wanting to use LD'ing to practice acrobatics (aerial cartwheels and webster flips) and tango with all the pretty girls of my life - both past and present.

[Lence]

I don't think we have many polyphasic sleepers around here, although it's probably a great way to have lucid dreams all the time (lots of REM sleep). How long did it take you to adapt to an everyman schedule and how long have you been sleeping like this now?

I've considered going polyphasic last year, but I just couldn't find a way to make it fit with my normal schedule, which has to be flexible. Maybe in a couple of months I'll have the perfect opportunity for a polyphasic experiment.

Welcome to the forum!

[thebotanyofsouls]

Long story short, I am still in the "adaptation" phase - it's not as gnarly as people said it is. I was very resistant to polyphasic adaptations in the past, but over time learned to nap comfortably in a variety of settings (I carry a "naptacular" kit of earplugs + tshirt [for the eyes]) and have been playing around with ways to get myself to fall asleep faster.

From what I hear, it's ~1month for everyman? Up to 6 weeks. The last 3-4 weeks of that is all downhill though - the first week or two is the worst (I'm on week 3 of the schedule now, and I am having more cohesive dreams in my naps, more consistent sleep overall, and feel amazing.)

I'd highly recommend it. The extra waking time has turned me into a productivity machine : )