Help. Lying down, thinking about not thinking, its my achile

[primedirective]

Ive been trying to do affirmations before dreams. It doesn’t work. My mind wanders. Its as if i have some kind of block.
I noticed, listening to M.A.P brainwave generator that my mind can wander within >=3 minutes. After 4,5 minutes' i can be asleep.

I've studied my falling asleep "process":
1. I go lie on my back on my bed, trying not to think about anything
2. Thinking to not think about anything.
3. Some random though comes into my mind, voices and whatnot, or a (dream) hallucination.
4. I awake abruptly.
5. Then on my back, and then an URGE to turn on my righthandside i just cant ignore this urge.
6. I turn onto my righthand side.
7. Thinking to not think about anything, within ?seconds? dream thought/hallucinations.
8. BEEEP BEEEP BEEEEEP its my morning clock 7-hours later.

I want lucid dreams. Looks like THOUGHTs distracts me.
I shouldn’t do affirmations coz it distratcs and even speeds up my dreaming mind.

Often i do not get enough sleep, due to work, social life etc..

Questions:
1. How much sleep do you get everyday?
2. What time do you get up, and go to sleep?
3. Any tips, HOW can i clear my mind i dont wanna even think not to think.
4. Do you lie on a special way, like with a pillow, or your jaw open, or eyes looking somewhere?

[CFTraveler]

Ive been trying to do affirmations before dreams. It doesn’t work. My mind wanders. Its as if i have some kind of block. I'm not understanding this- how do you know they don't work? What affirmations are you doing?

I noticed, listening to M.A.P brainwave generator that my mind can wander within >=3 minutes. After 4,5 minutes' i can be asleep. The BWGen doesn't require concentration- the object is to synchronize your brainwave, not to train you to 'not think'. You can think of whatever you want to (except when you are doing a mind exercise), or specifically doing and 'empty mind' exercise. Other than that, it's not a problem.


I've studied my falling asleep "process":
1. I go lie on my back on my bed, trying not to think about anything
2. Thinking to not think about anything. You should never 'try not to think'. When the program goes into the 'empty mind' technique, the rule is not to 'not think', the rule is to 'have verbal thoughts'. You can visualize, you can think of sounds, colors, anything except words. And I do confess it is the most difficult part of the program- or at least it was for me. But I got through it, not so well actually, yet kept going with it and had my conscious projection.

3. Some random though comes into my mind, voices and whatnot, or a (dream) hallucination. Nothing wrong with this, it is to be expected. In fact, you're supposed to have those, and if you do and stay awake, you're on the right track.

4. I awake abruptly.
5. Then on my back, and then an URGE to turn on my righthandside i just cant ignore this urge.
6. I turn onto my righthand side.
7. Thinking to not think about anything, within ?seconds? dream thought/hallucinations. When you get to the hallucinations (hypnagogics) you are in the perfect state to try to project. So then go through the energy body loosening and exit techniques.


Often i do not get enough sleep, due to work, social life etc.. This is going to be part of the problem.



3. Any tips, HOW can i clear my mind i dont wanna even think not to think. This is not useful if your desire is to have a lucid dream.

There are three basic things you do to get a lucid dream:
1) You program yourself to have them: (Yes, with affirmation) Use something like "I know I am dreaming" or "I know I dream". Anything in the future is useless.
Write them down and say them aloud. Do it three or four times before going to sleep. What you are doing is telling your subconscious what reality is. You want to see it and hear it at the same time.
2) Keywords: Write three keywords as soon as you wake up. It doesn't matter if later, when you're up, you have no idea of what you wrote. Do it the second you open your eyes.
3) Reality checks. During the day, at random times, ask yourself (mentally) if you're dreaming. If you're alone, do little things like touch the wall to see if you can get your hands through, or hop to see if you can fly. If accompanied, (obviously you have to be more circumspect) do things like observing things around you to see if anything is 'off' or 'weird'.

These things done in combination are what are going to get you a lucid dream, not 'empty mind' meditation or any of the other things you talked about.