Hi Mary, and everyone,

When I read this message board last week before getting my Nova Dreamer, I laughed at Guy Wald's problems about waking up and finding his Nova Dreamer under his pillow or his bed. Now I know how frustrating that must be. Yesterday morning I woke up with it pushed up on my forehead. I think I woke up from a dream, pushed the mask up, and was trying to remember it when I fell back asleep. This morning I found the ND laying beside me. No idea how that happened. Grrr... Only got about 3 cues each night, before I was getting around 20. Helps to have it OVER YOUR EYES!

Anyway, no lucid dreams with the ND yet, but last night I remembered a record 6 dreams. I'm having fun right now with just non-lucid dreams. Keeping a dream journal has helped, but finding the time to write down all my dreams in the morning is getting more difficult.

Oh well. Hope you're all having success in your nightly adventures. I gotta go tighten my NovaDreamer...

Mark

P.S. I really like the Course in Lucid Dreaming. I've read EWLD a couple of times, but this seems more helpful, being more interactive.

Dear Eric and Mark and other "Masked Dreamers",

Eric: The ideal brightness setting for the NovaDreamer (bright enough to be noticed in the dream, but not so bright that it wakes the dreamer) can take some experimentation and you may have to make adjustments over time to compensate for cue habituation. But half the fun is in catching that meaningful brightness and, of course, the other (bigger? ;->) half is in becoming lucid because of it!

What I've found in working with the NovaDreamer over several years is that, regardless of the assigned brightness setting, the cue will sometimes appear brighter than at other times. I think this may have something to do with if, and how, it incorporates into the dream scene (and maybe with how receptive the brain is at that particular moment to the stimulus?).

There were times when I first began using the ND where the flash would totally obliterate the dream scene and other times where it was as small and subtle as a pulsating firefly. I came to look forward to the challenge of catching the cue no matter the apparent intensity. The journey has been fun -- and wonderfully rewarding.

Mark: Hope you've got your NovaDreamer cinched up just right now []->.

May all your dreams be brilliant! Keelin

PS: If the cue threatens to disrupt the dream, averting your gaze from the light (for the duration of the signal) is advised.

Hi Keelin,

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep your tips in mind.

I still have problems occasionally losing my mask at night, but it's getting better. It helped to tighten it a bit and wear it lower on my head. I also noticed it falls off more often when I use a fatter pillow.

That said... I had a really good lucid dream last week! Not cued by the ND, but... I was standing in front of a white building that could have been a roadside restaurant of some sort. I was standing by the door talking to someone just inside. I was was explaining lucid dreams to him I said, "... so you look for dream signs. A dream sign is something that is unusual or seems out of place." I looked around and said, "Okay, you see that vending machine over there? The one that looks like a tractor engine? That would be a really good dreamsign." Then I thought, "Wait a minute..." I turned around and leapt into the air, completely forgetting about the guy in the door.

I flew for a short time before thinking about what I intended to do in a lucid dream. I wanted to practice Kung Fu, so I flew to my dojo. I watched my sifu practice a form I had recently learned. It was strange, because I could sort of "feel" the form as he did it, like I was both watching and actively doing the form. Then he started adding some moves I didn't know, and I thought it was a more advanced form. I started to lose lucidity, so I left, and flew to the Mall, before gradually waking up.

This was a good dream, because I remembered to do some things I wanted to do, and it was longer than my other LD's have been. I remember wishing the NovaDreamer would go off so it would help lengthen the dream, but it didn't. Also interesting is that I heard a loud ringing in my ears during the whole dream. This has happened before, and not sure what causes it or how to get around it. It sounds like a very loud machine.

I also had my first ND-induced LD last night. The ND woke me up barely, and as I drifted off I went straight into lucidity. I was going to fly, then decided to see what I could do on the ground. Don't remember anything else. Short, but success nonetheless!

Mark

Dear Mark,

Congratulations, fellow masked dreamer! Glad to hear you're getting adjusted to sleeping with the NovaDreamer. I guess we can hold off on sending you the head bolts.

;-> Keelin

Dearest Vitual-Friends,

I think I may have brought this up before .... maybe not though, but anyway: Having different voltages in the UK to the states, is there anyway that we can obtain the NovaDreamer Masks customised for this cold country ? I have mailed a question through to the NovaDreamer experts asking them where I can get one from locally ........ waiting a response ;-)

All this effort for something that my friends have warned me : 'is bad for you' ....... hehehe

Daniel

Hi, Daniel

This is what I did:

A technician, a friend of mine, attached an European (German) power supply. That was long ago. I don't remember the values, we used. Ah, I just have a look... it's 9V (DC!) 500mA. But care about the right polarity! Maybe LI could give you the correct values regarding current, voltage and polarity. On the other hand, this may exclude warranty.

Yours Ralf

It may also include me ending up as I pile of ashes on my living room floor. hehe

Thanks for the help. I did however receive a response back from NovaDreamer help, and they informed me that power converters for the UK are available. Now the hard part .... convincing the other half that this is more inportant than getting our new first house furniturised. ;-)

In a blender, Daniel

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I've been LD'ing for awhile, and recently purchased a ND. I have one question (well...many). Approximately how long will the batteries last in the unit (used regularly) before they should be changed? Thanks a lot! Jim

Hi Jim,

The batteries should last for several months. Of course, it will depend on how often you use the NovaDreamer. Be sure to turn it to OFF when not in use.

If the number of cues delivered seems low for the settings you've chosen, you may want to check the batteries with a charge tester, but note that once you remove them from the board, you'll lose the settings for Mode 1. If you have a SupreNovaDreamer, you'll be able to reset your preferences with a few clicks on the computer. Otherwise, you'll need to reset them manually with the dial.

Also, be careful not to fall for the assumption that the batteries have died when you push the reality test button! Be sure do a back up state check. Could be you're dreaming...

Maybe even now :-? Keelin

Just a little note on my ND experiences... Recently, I dreamed of the LED indicators flashing green instead of red. I assumed something was wrong and I proceeded to repair it. I absolutely can't believe that all of this was not a recognizable cue to go lucid on! Not to mention the fact that my NovaDreamer was HUGE in my dream! It was the size of a component stereo system and had hundreds of wires and cables. I was pulling out circuit boards and parts in an attempt to get to the source of "cue light malfunction'. After struggling with it, I awoke to a functional NovaDreamer and a MUCH smaller one I might add!

Tryin' to get lucid, Darren

Hi to all..This is my first posting to the forum, although I've been reading the forum for a while now with much interest...I've had my nova dreamer now for almost three months & have had numerous short moments of being lucid, with (two) that lasted about 1-2 minutes..Then this morning I had my first really "long" one, about 4-5 minutes!..anyhow I was wearing the nova dreamer but don't remember it going off, as it had with my previous "short" lucid experiences..I awoke lying in bed, then had that "feeling" that I knew I was dreaming, so I preceded to get out of bed..The feeling of my dream body getting out of bed was some feeling!..then I walked through what looked like my house I grew up in years ago..It was rather dim in the house, but I could still see & feel things as I was exploring & feeling a "rush" of euphoria knowing I had finally made it this far!..I then headed for the front door as I remembered that in Stephen LaBerge's book that I should have something that I would like to do in my next lucid dream, so I remembered that I wanted to fly, but before I went outside I remember thinking "I'm in my underwear & my neighbors might see me"!..Then almost immediately I remembered that I was dreaming & preceded to "walk through" the front door..Once outside it was brilliantly bright & colorful with a dark blue sky & contrasting white & grey clouds, I then said "lets fly" & jumped up & almost immediately I was 5-10 feet in the air!..what a feeling!..I then looked up at the far away clouds & said I want to go to the clouds, but at the same time I thought they are so far away.. then no sooner as I was "floating" around I awoke lying in my bed..I then got up, did a reality check with my digital clock, realized I was awake & got up & wrote in my dream log..It then took me a couple hours to get back to sleep as I was so overwhelmed by the experience!..Even though the experience probably lasted only 4-5 minutes it was such a thrill!..I can't wait till I can maintain my lucidity for longer durations!..Thanks for a great forum & just wanted to post my first "experience"...Brett..

Hey Brett: Thanks for sharing fellow dreamer and neighbor! I'm just across the river in Cincinnati! Your LD sounded very close to one of mine. (Check the 'Post your Lucid Dreams' 5/8/2001 entry of mine). I have had a NovaDreamer for a couple of months and just got my SuperNova upgrade TODAY so needless to say... I'm off to try it out. Greetings from Cincinnati! Darren

Greetings, Brett and Darren...

I'm in Cincinnati ,too...WOW....

I've been a LI member for 10 years, off and on, and would love to tell you guys about Maui last month....

Who would have ever guessed! A hub (or node) of hipsters amidst the corn fields!!!

I have been running an ad in the citizen and citybeat in efforts to get a local discussion group together....Thinking/talking about it only increases the frequency for me.. ever been to Cody's coffee house..the owner, Rick, says we can meet there...they have a go game group that meets there...(just happened to see the movie PI last Fri, what a coincidence).

Or perhaps there is a more central location?

Joe

Hi Darren,

Nice to hear from someone that lives so close & shares similar experiences..Your right the LD you had back on 5/8 did sound similar in certain ways with the one I had..

Good luck with the SuperNova upgrade, I plan to get one sometime as well...

Of the few "short" Lucid dreams I've had since aquiring my NovaDreamer almost three months ago, all my lucid "trips" initiate from waking in my bed by the flashing lights, then clicking the reality button, No flashes then realize I'm lucid..I haven't woke up from the NovaDreamer in a dream scene as of yet..They all start with me getting out of bed in my dream body..

Not that I'm complaining!.I just wonder if this is a common occurence?...

From the hills of Kentucky.. Brett

Hi Joe,

Wow!..Nice to hear from (2) Lucid dreamers that live in such close proximity!.. I would love to hear about the Maui trip, (Hey mabe they can have one in Cinci some time!) I also hope to make it some time in the near future & would like to meet Stephen LaBerge, Keelin & the others you mention..

I would agree with you on the possibility of forming a Local Discussion Group in the Cincinnati area..

I'm still a novice, but have learned SO MUCH in just the past (4) months..

anyhow keep in touch Brett

Right On, Brett!

LeBerge in Porkopolis, now there is an oxymoron!

I have met so many people here who are Lucid Dreamers..

Of those with whom I break the ice, about 1 out of 10 are sincerely interested....

And 1 out of 30 have done it, but are not familiar with the many others, and most always feel isolated due to it.

Being such a personal thing, it takes a really outgoing person to engage in a meaningful conversation on LDing.

This is especially awkward with females, it seems the "mate or not" issue always is a barrier...

Many of these new found friends thank me wholeheartedly for sticking my neck out and simply bringing it up!

I find myself seeking out places where I might converse with open minded people. I had a great time last weekend at Buzzfest near Oxford.

www.campbuzz.com

I must have met a half dozen frequent lucid dreamers, and wrote down this URL for them, as well as several other interested parties..

Later,

Joe <<trying not to get into too many people's heads (can get sort of scarry in there at times)

"How can we keep them on the farm once they've seen Maui"

Hi Brett,

Sounds like you guys have a perfect oneironautical opportunity in your own backyard, so to speak. Hope you'll keep us posted if the Cincinnati dreamers get together.

I'm sure Joe can fill you in on the Maui retreat, but just so you know, there's quite a collection of correspondence from our Maui mates under the topic: "Open Conversation: Dreaming and Awakening May '01 @ Maui" (including the archives). And for a picture worth more than a thousand morphing words, check the image link under "Testimonials" at LI's web site for the upcoming seminar on the Big Island, August 1-10. http://www.lucidity.com/DAAK/main.html This will give you an idea of the exuberant camaraderie that filled our dreamy days and nights. And just so you and everyone else knows, there are still some openings, so it's not too late to register for (or apply for scholarships to) the Dreaming and Awakening Retreat in Hawaii.

Congratulations on your first long lucid dream! And thanks for sharing it with us all.

May your dreams be filled with light, Keelin

Hello fellow masked dreamers! hehe, I like that line, being a Zorro fan... At any rate, my problem is I am not sure what is wrong with my Nova Dreamer. I have read the instructions several times, followed them step by step and still, there are no cues for me in the morning. It is a real pain trying to wear that thing all night, though I have done it and still no cues. I turn the dial to 9 and there are no lights to tell me that there were any cues given. Everything seems to work fine except that there is no beep or alarm sound unless I press lightly over top of where I beleive the speaker to be. Something might be loose? Funny thing though, once I dreamed of flashing lights and realized I was dreaming even though I wasn't even wearing the ND that night.

Are there any plans to make some mask that you can just set to give you cues every 90, then 60, then whenever with out having to hope that it will notice when you are in REM? What about home computer compatible brain wave machines that you could program to flash lights or make sounds when it shows you are in REM? I have a heart rate monitor that I wear when I exorsise, why don't they make a portable brain wave monitor? Then if anyone asks what you want it for you can just grin and say you are a mad scientist, hehehe.

I just don't beleive this ND thing works, or else I must be the most still person when they sleep.

I just don't know why I am not getting cues.

Thanks for listening! Barbara :-))

Hello, masked Barbara

You ARE a mad scientist, or a masked guitargoddess, or anything else, that remains to be defined. There seems to be a tendency in yourself, a kind of attraction to the shadow... the night... the masked hero, fighter for justice and... OK, that's off the topic, Ralf. That is not what is helpful for her now.

What may be the reasons for the novadreamer not giving or recording cues or for not displaying number of cues given. I'm not at home and can't refer to my manual and I use the interfacebox and computer to manage the ND, but I'll do my very best:

1. Any time, you have been looking for the number of cues, you were actually dreaming. This is why the device didn't work. Perform a reality - check next time, it doesn't work.
2. You haven't been dreaming. You are right. The circuit board is broken or some parts have loose contact. Then I can't help you. Contact nathen@lucidity.com for details.
3. The sensitivity is too low or the IR sensor doesn't work. Refer to the thread Lucidity Institute Forum: Induction Devices: Technical Support for Lucidity Institute Products: NovaDreamer: Not Giving Enough Cues Or to the thread: NovaDreamer: helpful tips
4. The batteries are too loose. Try to fix them. Are you sleeping face down? That may cause problems, but it has not to. I sometimes sleep face down, but get my cues.
5. You wear the mask too loose, so that the IR sensor can't work.

Does your RC button work at all, when you are in a sleep mode? Do you switch to mode 0 (zero) after sleep, or do you go directly to mode 9?

Hope, some of my hints work for you

Wishing you many ND cued lucid adventures

Yours Ralf

Hi Ralf, yes I turn it to 0 first then I turn it to 9. I beleive the instructions say to do that, or I might have read it wrong. Yes the Recall button works fine I push it and get the flash but no beep, like I said I have to hold my finger lightly over the top of the mask beside that hole where you can plug something in. I beleive that what I am touching is the speaker and that something is loose. I only get noise if I touch there and press the RC button. Same with the dream alarm. I don't recall if I ever got a cue after the delay time. I did think I saw red lights once, but I haven't used it in so long that I can't be sure if it was imagination or not and I didn't do a reality test. As for sensitivity I have it set on 9 the highest. I have replaced the batteries and I tried to be careful about keeping it set to 0 when not in use. LD is important to me. So much so that it has made me depressed and angry and unhappy that I am having such a hard time doing it. I can't wait until August when I hope to have enough money to take a course about dreams at a local community college. The teacher is Van de Castle and I think he wrote a book on the subject of dreams and mentioned lucid ones? If I wasn't poor I'd be in CA begging for help. I am hoping to make some friends on this board who will help me find out what it is I am doing wrong. And how many times a day does one need to reality test?? I have a compulsive disorder and sometimes I'll be testing every freaking 2 minuets then I get annoyed and sort of block it. By the time I am ready to go to bed, I am so tired of reality testing I could care less and I get fustrated because I don't recall any, or not many, dreams and no LD. Thanks for replying. :-))

Barbara

"And how many times a day does one need to reality test?? I have a compulsive disorder and sometimes I'll be testing every freaking 2 minuets then I get annoyed and sort of block it. "

Didn't you get "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" by Stephen LaBerge with your ND mask? It provides the best recipes to learn lucid dreaming.

6 - 10 RC or reflection intention exercises should do it, performed sincerely over a longer period of time. It is important not to try too hard, not to punish yourself, but to reward yourself. If you have the Course in Lucid Dreaming, you can better evaluate your progress. There are more subtle changes and steps to lucidity (the dreamsign awareness scale). I'm always pleased, when I see my dreamsign awareness increasing as an effect of sincere daytime practise in RC / RI and prospective memory tasks.

See many discussions in "Frustration Support Group" or "primary techniques: reality testing"

If your ND mask still doesn't work, it seems, that I can't help you. Contact Nathen.

Sweet lucid dreams

Ralf

Dear Barbara,

Sorry for the delay in responding to your question (a couple of moons ago) regarding the NovaDreamer. Ralf offered some possibilities for what might be causing the problems you described and also some suggestions for remedying the situation, but if you're still not getting any cue count, it would indeed be best to contact: Nathen@lucidity.com

or, post a message to: Lucidity Institute Forum: Induction Devices: The NovaDreamer: Technical Questions

Be sure to include the cue settings you are using and a detailed description of the problems you've been encountering.

Have you done "The Course in Lucid Dreaming" that comes with the NovaDreamer? It may help you regain enthusiasm for working with the device after what sounds to have been a frustrating start.

May you find evidence of brightness in your dreams! Keelin

Hi Keelin. Yep, I contacted Nathen and he fixed the problem for me. Now I get cue counts and actual cues. Only one problem, a lot of the cues happen when I wake from a dream. I don't know if some wake me or not, though most happen after I am awake. I have had success with it. And I have to alter the delay time. I don't easily get to sleep unless I am very tired. And when I do get to sleep fast I have to make the delay shorter else the cue goes off after I have a short awakening...I'm just wierd I guess :-) Very Pleased though thus far. The new board he put in my machine-the other one was broken it wasn't my misuse! All those wasted years!!!!!!-is smaller, or feels smaller and the mask is easier to sleep in.

Earlier this morning I had a LD. I noticed flashing lights and realized that I might be dreaming, though I wasn't sure. I did a reality check with writing because that always works for me the best. I mean, if words start dancing around and changing shape, you know you must be dreaming! The test worked and I explored my environment. The dream wasn't as vivid as it could have been probly because I was tired. There was a Vincent Price movie marathon on real tv that I'd been up half the night watching...though surprisingly that didn't appear to influence any of the dream plots... At any rate, I ended up sitting in the front yard playing a very short, stocky, guitar. I was strumming chords and they didn't sound good. I tried to make a dream copy of my guitar appear, but it didn't. I also remember feeling and examining light green leaves of a few plants in the yard. They looked and felt very real.

Success! :-))

Just thought I would mention quickly, though I am not sure anyone reads this section anymore, about the way my ND light cue appeared in a dream recently. I dreamed I was in a very tall tower, very dark and gothic with Vincent Price as a mad scientist and at a point in the first half of the dream there was a pulsing dark red light at the top of the tower. Very forboding and I knew it meant that one of VP's mad experiments would bring forth scarey stuff. I ran down stairs to beg him to stop all caught up in the gothic romance of it all. Cool dream, though I didn't recognize the cue! :-))

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for posting your NovaDreamer cue incorporation dream. As a long-time user of the ND, I'm always fascinated to learn how others see those ingenious flashing lights. Cool dream indeed!

*******!, Keelin

Hi, Barbara. I'm finally starting to use my novadreamer again. It's been disappointing but I'm not giving it a chance and getting to where I can program it in a way that I've figured out will work for me. Last night it just woke me up a few times, and seems to go off when I'm not dreaming. But, I think this activity in some way helped me recall my dreams, and maybe contributed to them. So I'll keep working with it, as well as my other methods. Keep dreaming, Kate

Hi, Barbara. I think the novadreamer is definitely helping me with recall. That's a start. Kate

Give it a chance. I set mine on 3 and the delay for 60 or 70 instead of 80 because I normally wake up right before the cue goes.

I've been having trouble recalling lately. I've been depressed and my dreams not being fun or not being able to recall them is adding to it. I wonder if I really care subconciously about dreaming or not. It would just be nice if I knew what I had to do to lucid dream and not just get spotainiously lucid whenever my damn brain decides to cooperate. It makes me even more depressed than I already am. I am a naturally unhappy person.

I don't know why the first few nights I had the ND I was lucid nearly all night long. Everytime the cue blinked I was aware of it and it wasn't disguised as a light in a tower I would be in a dream in bed and wearing the mask. Then when I pressed the button to test it the light would blink and a trilling sound would be heard and I would know I was dreaming.

I hate the holidays. I might feel better after they are over.

:-))

Hello Everyone, This is my first post to the forum. I found out about, and began studying, LDs last June. In September I became an LI member. My NovaDreamer arrived this week. In a moment I would like to share with you my first experience using it.

I can't recall having a lucid dream in my lifetime, although I've had a few vivid NLDs. I have really enjoyed reading the accounts that all of you have posted throughout this forum. I think I've read almost all of them. You've given us neophytes a massive dose of relevant antidotal evidence virtually proving the validity of lucid dreaming experiences. I'm impressed. Reading about your success rates helps greatly those of us who originally had doubts that we could learn lucid dreaming too.

From reading your posts, I feel I know many of you quite well. It's rather like the way we get to know our favorite characters in a novel or movie---We wonder what will happen next:

Will Linus be able to separate his right and left brain halves?

Will Barbara make it to the sitting room?

Will Keelin find her true "conjuring expert?'

Will Owen's talking, standing cat learn to sing normally?

"Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!'

I find it fascinating how personalities and thinking styles vary and come across so clearly in these postings'erudite'contemplative'funny. I hear your voices, sense your frustrations, and cheer your successes.

For myself, I've not achieved lucidity yet, but I have high hopes now that the NovaDreamer is here. On the first night with it, I had an encounter with "the lights," so I know it's working properly. Here's the dream:

I'm walking along a sidewalk in the daytime. There's a four-foot-high earthen bank on the left and, at the top, a parking lot. Only one car is sitting up there. It's a big black convertible of the 1940'50s era. The front wheels are on the edge of the blacktop. The car's large, round, outboard headlamps are not lit, but they seem to be staring out across the sidewalk waiting for me to pass. As I'm moving in front and below the car, the scene around me goes totally black, punctuated only by brilliant flashes of light. At first I think someone must be turning on and off those big-eyed headlamps. Then I wonder if camera flash bulbs are exploding. I try to gaze around, but all I can see are those stupid blinding flashes of light (I had the ND set on 2 flashes per second, 6 seconds cue, sensitivity 3). What if that black monster starts rolling down the incline?

Suddenly the truth hits me (rationalized dream truth, that is). It's not the car that is flashing. My NovaDreamer is the culprit! But wait a minute. I'm not wearing the ND out here on the sidewalk. How can I be seeing flashes from it? So I go lucid, you say'WRONG. . . I rationalize again and decide that I'm seeing the flashing lights because of some delayed physiological response. Must be a form of dynamic persistence of vision, I tell myself. I remember that I used the NovaDreamer last night. Now my brain is simply remembering the intensity of those flashes. I'm still non lucid but don't know it. I meander on down the concrete pathway, pondering how soon the flashes will come again, and how many hours or days until these persistence of vision attacks will fade from my memory. With a rush of such thoughts, I fall awake. Louis

Lucid dreams certainly are the ANTIDOTE for a boring life, but I should have said, ANECDOTAL evidence.

"Will Linus be able to separate his right and left brain halves?"

Ha! But do you mean symbolic or literally? If literally, nice idea. I'll try it sometime! Good luck with achiving lucidity by the way! I'm sure you'll succeed in a near future.

So long! And thanks for all the fish...

Linus, You always have the most interesting and unusual experiments with your lucid dreams. I greatly admire your ability and successes. Keep up the good work. I read all of your postings to this forum. Also, thank you for encouraging me as I try to have lucid dreams myself. Louis

Welcome, Louis!

I always admire people trying something without being primed by own experience. I mean, it is surely worth it. These ND cues and the way brain incorporates them are a lot of fun. Keep on experimenting and posting your results. Don't be shy, regardless of success. I think every experience is unique in a way and adds to the treasure of our exchange here.

Into the light

Yours Ralf

Hi, I got my Novadreamer recently, hoping it'll increase my ld's, which are at present rare, though my dream recall is good with at least 2 dreams/night. The first few nights I did get cues, but didn't incorporate them into the dreams, except for possibly one dream in which I was shopping for a red sweater. I would wake up between cues, though, and doing the reality check would cause me to not be able to go back to sleep because the flash for the reality check is so bright. ((Is it possible to dim that?) So I would take the mask off for the rest of the night. After I did this one night, I did have a ld (with the nd off!). The last 3 mornings I've woken up with the nd beside me on the bed or on the floor, with no memory of taking it off, so I think I'm taking it of in my sleep. The first time this happened it had 7 cues on it, the next time 3, but this morning it had none, so I guess I'm taking it off earlier and earlier. What should I do? I've experimented with the settings a bit, to no avail so far. Naomi

Hi Naomi,

I never go to bed with my ND on, or it ends up as yours did -- everywhere but my face! Instead, when I plan to use the ND I will get it programmed and ready, then set a small alarm to awaken me in the early morning (3:30am to 5:30am depending on my sleep schedule that night). When the alarm wakes me up I get up for a few minutes, then return to bed with the mask for the remainder of the night. This not only puts the ND on your face at the most opportune cycle for LD, plus the brief wakeup increases your mental arousal, substantially increasing the odds of becoming lucid.

Also I don't use the ND very often, because you do quickly get desensitized. But I still set the alarm most every night and return to sleep with the same intent as when I wear the mask.

Good luck!

...Don

Dear Naomi and Don

Don, your recipe is surely worthwhile. And it is right, that one gets desensitised, first of all when one doesn't use it consciously, i.e. in combination with daytime exercises. My impression is, that it needs time to get used to the ND mask. I wear it all night long, but set a delay of two hours or longer. I'm lazy with looking for lights in daytime. That may be the reason, why I rarely remember incorporated cues. The Novadreamer doesn't work by itself. It takes some time to learn to recognise the incorporations. Then you may need less intensive cues and your sleep won't be disturbed. Keelin is very experienced with the ND. Maybe she comments on this, too.

Ralf

Warm greetings Oneironauts! And a heartful welcome to all who have recently joined us here on the Forum.

Louis: Your first experience with the NovaDreamer was an excellent example of how the cues incorporate -- and how far we will all go to rationalize their presence! A very funny first step in the right direction.

Naomi: So glad you will be coming to the Dreaming and Awakening Retreat! We'll be set up with the SuperNovaDreamer interface and a computer there, so we can take a good look at the data each morning (we'll bring some superglue to make sure the mask stays on your head throughout the night) and then we should be able to adjust your settings for optimal performance.

In the meantime, I'd suggest following the suggestions of either Don (not putting it on until later in the night) of Ralf (setting a long delay in the beginning of the night). It may take a while to get accustomed to sleeping with it, but then you may find it becomes your favorite sleeping companion! ;->

Unfortunately, the intensity cannot be adjusted for the Reality Test button. (That would make a nice improvement!) So for now, if the light is too bright, try shifting your eyes down and away from the source. You can do this in the dream state as well.

May your dreams be lucid and bright! (well, just bright enough ;->) Keelin

Ralf and Keelin,

Thanks for the welcome. I appreciate the encouragement. It's obvious that everyone on this Forum has gained greatly from your sensitive presence, your reliable suggestions and in depth knowledge.

To everyone, I'm wondering. . . . . Counting all members of the Forum, does anyone know the statistics for the number of our members who fit into the following categories?

Members who have yet to have their first lucid dream (that they remember).

Members who remember having had at least one spontaneous lucid dream before learning of the process from The Lucidity Institute (LI) or other source.

Members who had their first lucid dream after learning about the possibility from LI or other source.

I've noticed that many members refer to their childhood lucid dreams. Is it possible that category #2 is by far the largest? Wouldn't it be reassuring if category #3 were large? As for me, I'm stuck (temporarily ?) in category #1. Right now it's a lonely place to reside'sure would be nice to "meet" some of you in a dream. Please wave when you see me passing by on the other side of your dream street.

Also, I've noticed that most everyone is young enough to be my children's ages'and a lot of you are the age of my grandchildren! Some people think youth has a major advantage here. In that case'(never lucid and old)--that's two strikes against me learning to lucid dream. But I have confidence . . . and a lot of patience . . . and at least one more swing left in me. Sure will be great when I hit that lucid homerun.

Since my NovaDreamer arrived recently, I've been using it diligently. The main problem thus far is that I don't get a normal (non-NovaDreamer) night's sleep. I sleep a lot but the depth is very shallow all night long. It's as though I've drunk too much caffeine.

This Forum is absolutely inspiring. Thanks everyone for contributing. Louis

Well, I'm young enough to be your daughter but way too old to be your granddaughter, and a few of us of similar age were exchanging notes recently about how it's easier to pursue this kind of thing after your children are grown and you don't have to focus so much on your responsibilities in the material world.

And light sleep is good for lucid dreaming. So - keep on swinging until you hit it out of the park!

Category #2, Joy

Hi, Lois and fellow dreamers!

Firstly, thanks for laurel leaves. This forum is a gem and I surely did profit by participating. And then I very like to share my experience, the whole wealth of thoughts on LD and related subjects here in the Forum. I'm very pleased that lately some new lucids entered the forum and greatly revived it. Keep on good work!

Maybe you should add another feature to your list:

4. Members, who greatly increased their LD frequency by means of the teachings of Stephen LaBerge, the Lucidity Institute and the LI Forum.

In this case I would be a #1 (I had one lucid dream before using LaBerge's books) and a #4 (I increased my frequency to 6/month)

Sweet X-mas LD to all

Yours Ralf

Joy, Of course you're correct about us having more time for protracted serious study after the children are out on their own. All my life I've been continually amazed at how a new field of study would opened up to me just when I seemed ready for it. Perhaps only now am I ready for Lucid Dreaming. Thanks for your assurances.

Ralf, I like your suggestion to add a fourth category to our "When I Became Lucid" statistics. Here's the list again in case anyone wants to see where they fit.

1. Members who have yet to have their first lucid dream (that they remember).

2. Members who remember having had at least one spontaneous lucid dream before learning of the process from The Lucidity Institute (LI) or other source.

3. Members who had their first lucid dream after learning about the possibility from LI or other source.

4. Members who greatly increased their LD frequency by means of the teachings of Stephen LaBerge, the Lucidity Institute, and the LI Forum.

Hopefully, I will soon be able to use my newly acquired NovaDreamer and pole-vault from category #1 over into category #3. Louis

PS: I realize these statistics sound awfully left-brain orientated, and maybe lucid dreamers are mostly right brains'(?) Sorry about that. I've always thought I was a definite right-brain personality with a left-brain education. Perhaps that means my center of consciousness lies in the middle of my corpus collosum. . . .(?)

Hi, Louis

If your center is there, how does it feel with all those neural impulses going from left to right?

Must be like standing in the middle of a multi - tracked highway.

In your next LD you can maybe try to find out...

Hi Ralf and Keelin, This isn't about the ND, because I'm giving myself a little unfettered sleep vacation before trying it again, but I did want to get your advice about a dream experience my mother (she's 84) just emailed me about. She wrote: I often have a dream and when I wake up the dream sort of follows me into my awake state; i.e. I know that I am awake, but still drowsy, but the dream continues to go on. This happened quite often lately (though not in the last 2 or 3 weeks).

Do you know anything about this kind of experience? Naomi

Hi, I've got to say - I had my first success with the novadreamer. It was a few nights ago, I decided I will use the novadreamer after a long time it was sitting in the box (because I wanted to try first achieaving lucidity by myself with no external aid, altho I succeded, that because I had time back then, now I am very busy).

In the dream I found out that the Novadreamer was on my head and I said "stupid me, I forgot this on my head all day long?", but after a few scenarios like these, I finaly got lucid. It was a short lucid dream because I accidently closed my eyes and woked up.

I guess I need to do more realty checks reminders etc. that will remind me in the dream that the light means I'm dreaming.

Well... last night, I tried again, I've set the alarm clock for about 4 - 5 sleep hours, and I hid it in the other side of the room. The next morning, I found the clock beside my bed set on silent I probably closed it and went back to sleep

Better luck next time.

Lucid dreams, Guy.

Naomi

Your mother doesn't need to worry. There are two different mechanisms at work (at least) regarding dreaming and sleeping: The sleep cycle of the body and the cycles of "dream machine". Mostly they work together, are synchronised. If they are not, you may wake up (the mind), but are unable to move (sleep paralysis). Or you wake up physically, and the dream machine still works, so you see dream pictures and the physical world. All combinations occur. I heard of people, who perceived physical reality and dream scenes simultaneously while the body was unable to move. These experiences end, when you engage your physical body, when you move. There is a lot to be said about sleep paralysis. There is a thread somewhere in the forum. It is said, that sleep cycle and quality (deepness) changes, when we get older. That may be another factor.

Guy

Congratulations! Keep on the good work.

Naomi, Hello. About your mother's dream continuing after awakening. If you mean that she knows she is awake yet the dream is still vivid and continuing while she is in a restful state still in bed, then really that is nothing to be too concerned about. She knows it is not real and is not confusing the two. It could really be a blessing! She could use these incidents to get lucid, in fact, you could say she is in a sense lucid dreaming :-) If she were walking around and still having vivid dream images then I would be concerned and have her go to a sleep lab. If she starts confusing realities too.

I have had simular occurences where I have hollucinations instead of dream continuation. I will actually wake up and see things in my room. Since I know it is only an illusion and have been having these hollucinations forever I am not scared of them or worried. And it doesn't happen all of the time.

Talk with your mom and if she is disturbed then to make her feel better she could go talk to a dream researcher or a person who knows about dreams.

:-))

Well, I gave the ND another try a few nights ago, and had an even weirder lucid dream experience with it than the last time, when i had a lucid dream only after i had taken the nd off in the middle of the night. This time i put on the nd (setting 2) only after i woke up at 6:00AM. I then fell asleep and started dreaming nonlucidly about the lab i work at, only it was on a spaceship, and it was snowing inside (missed dreamsigns!). I asked a little girl in the dream who she was, and when she whispered "you", I immediately became lucid, because i remembered a previous lucid dream in which a dream character gave the same reply to that question. I was aware that i was sleeping with the novadreamer and that i hadn't received any cues yet, and i was worried that when the cue came it would wake me up, so i started spinning to keep from waking. I wound up in a lovely green valley or meadow, with a blue sky, and started flying around with my eyes half shut to prevent being awakened by the bright lights of the cue. When the cue finally came as a flash in the sky i quickly lowered my eyes even more and was glad i didn't wake up. I then remembered my intention to visualize sending healing energy to my hands ( I have RSI tendonitis in my fingers) and did that, and saw something on my hands which i took off. Then I awoke.

Naomi

Naomi--

I would love to know if your hands have improved as a result of your "dream therapy". . . .

Naomi, I think that is a perfectly wonderful lucid dream and evidence enough that you don't need a device to induce them. I have no personal experience with LD-inducing devices but the LI website reports experiments with the ND showing that it works about as well as mental techniques alone. Seems like each individual can find what works best for them - if you're device-oriented, or not.

I get the impression that part of the ND's value to many users is that it awakens them frequently and keeps them in a mode of sleep that interdigitates with waking awareness. I have a mad cat who does that for me.

See you in the lovely green meadow,

Joy

Sorry, I was in a hurry and got that wrong - it was the DreamLight being tested, not the ND. Here's what I meant to refer to, from the FAQ section of the LI website:

"An earlier study with a different version of the DreamLight showed a five-fold increase in lucid dreaming frequency when people used the Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (MILD) mental technique in conjunction with the device, compared with using no device and no mental technique. Using the device without mental techniques worked about as well as just using the mental technique; both cases were an improvement over using nothing."

I haven't tried any devices other than an insane long-haired calico so can't speak from personal experience,

Joy

P.S. Do you suppose I should market the MC?