Lucid Dreaming - Amazing Virtual Reality

Lucid Dreaming - Amazing Virtual Reality: Why it's is for Everyone

I first learned about Lucid dreaming in 1999. I had a lucid dream after watching the movie "What Dreams May Come" starring Robin Williams. There was a scene in the movie when Robin Williams's character was first experiencing he could do anything after he died...he ended up in the water and could breath underwater. Something about that scene stuck with me when I went to sleep that night and I ended up having a drowning dream in which I realized I was dreaming and told myself I can breath down here since it's just a dream. I've been obsessed with lucid dreaming ever since that night and have gotten to the point where I can become lucid almost any night I want to now.

A lucid dream is any dream in which one, for an uninterrupted and prolonged amount of time, is aware that one is dreaming.

wiki

The point of this thread is not to make you aware that lucid dreaming exists because most of you on this forum are well aware of it...the point is to reinforce the cost to benefit ratio and show how great it can be regardless of your intentions. Most people just read over the topic and think it'd be nice or interesting to control a dream but they don't realize how easy it is and how amazing it feels.

Some Costs
- If you can't remember your dreams you have to get a notebook and keep it by your bed to record your dreams immediately when you wake up...this greatly increases dream recall and becomes a habit.

- You have to ask yourself silly questions a couple times a day or check for dream signs. You have to do this in order to train your brain so it because a habit and eventually you will ask yourself the question "Am I dreaming?" when you really are dreaming at which point you'll know...or you'll notice a dream sign(checking a clock twice -- in the dream it will be different the second time) and you'll know.

Some Benefits
-You can solve problems in your dreams. When I got experienced enough to control the environment of my dream and was able to conjure objects I found a good use for it. I was having a problem creating a particular program at work and I needed to meet a deadline...I also needed to sleep...I induced lucid dreaming, conjured a white board and worked out the problem I was having with the program...when I woke up I remembered everything and was able to move past the problem the next day at work using what I worked on in my dream the night before. It sounds horrible, boring and a waste of a dream but it helped me and I'm sure others could use extra time in their day(wouldn't be a good idea to do it every night obviously)

-You can travel to sin city...that is to say if you have some guilty desires that you wouldn't ever do in the real world because you're a good person...you can induce lucid dreaming and go loose in the virtual world of your dreams.

-You can get some piece and quiet with some beautiful scenery. Everyone is so busy and just the opposite of my first benefit this one works nice to get away from it all. Sometimes I'll just put myself by the ocean overlooking a sunrise just to think and relax(it seems so real...I can hear the waves, feel the sand and wind -- the brain is a powerful thing).

-You can work on fighting your fears. I've always been afraid of heights(not like 6 stories height but like skyscraper height or air plane height) but recently I decided to start trying to fly around in my dreams thinking since I knew I was dreaming it wouldn't freak me out...I was wrong...I still got horrible butterflies in my stomach and super afraid. I've continued trying it and I've found I've been less and less afraid and able to go higher and further in the dream. Recently I visited a business that resides in a 57 story building which I had been in once before and had a panic attack. This time I handled it very easily.

Note
*I can't stress enough how powerful the brain is in it's ability to recall senses and make every aspect of these dreams feel real. When I go to the ocean I can feel the wind the water and the sand just as if I was in Cancun again. When I'm in the mountains I can feel the cold nipping at my nose and the cool air coming into my lungs as I breath. It's impossible to describe but I guess you could say it's like Neo as the one entering the Matrix...It's worth the effort it takes to become experienced in it.

I understand
A lot of people will think this is silly and still a waste of time and others are already aware of the things I mentioned but hopefully some who don't find it interesting and give lucid dreaming a go...

Resources
Most of the resources I used initially were on the internet and I think that should be enough for most people as the methods/tips are listed almost everywhere but there are also some good books like "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming"

reply to post by Epirus


Awesome post!

I've always had an interest in lucid dreaming, I've actual managed to become lucid in a few dreams, but I need more practice.

I read an account from a lucid dreamer who built a castle in the style of boswer's castle in Mario 64.

The castle in the game had all of those paintings that you jumped through to get to a level.

So, in his dream, every painting represented a past-life that he could "jump into" and re-experience.

If something like that were possible, you should totally give it a try and report back to us.

AND

Like you mentioned how you worked through a problem at work in a dream, I've wondered it it is possible to learn something new in a dream. Like, going over algebra lessons something.

I would not recommend lucid dreaming too often. Once you decide you are in a dream you can take control, but the inverse is true as well. If you decide you are NOT in a dream, and it turns out to be a nightmare, you will be absolutely terrified by your situation. Usually this happens with dreams that are very realistic which makes the scenario you are in much scarier.

For example, I once had a dream I was driving. After making up my mind that I was not in fact dreaming (even though I was) I got in a horrible car accident where I hurt other people and felt AWFUL about it. Because I did not know I was dreaming, I could not wake myself up and the dream went on and on as a devastating nightmare.

Lucid dreams can be fun, but don't get too confident. Be wary, it can get tricky as your dreams become more and more realistic. Don't push it, you'll regret it, trust me on this one. It takes a long time to un-learn this skill. You may actually learn better life lessons just letting your dreams play out normally.

reply to post by Attentionwandered


I've been practicing lucid dreaming for over a decade and I can say that hasn't ever been a problem...but I guess different people have different results. Star for sharing the other side of the coin per your results...thanks

reply to post by Attentionwandered


I think I know what you mean.

I have created my own unique problem. I was able to kick my fear reaction to nightmares so now its like I'm watching a horror movie regardless of my involvement in it. I will actually try to fall back to sleep so I can go back to killing zombies or getting chased around Jurassic park by therapods.

The only problem is, I think my mind decided that I had to have some form of "mare" and gave me soul crushing sad mares instead.

Sounds foolish, but starting every few days with what feels like the first two vivid hours of loosing a loved one you deeply care about sucks. Especially when its based on events you experienced.

I started lucid dreaming practice a few years ago. At first I had a hard time getting results but with practice I finally had a real lucid dream. I kept on recording my dreams and at some point this became the norm and I didn't have to struggle with it anymore.

I used to have falling dreams, and had gotten used to just relaxing and letting myself fall and waking up. One time I decided to drive my hands into the building I was falling from and saved myself like superman or something. In other falling dreams I have given myself the ability to swing from tree to tree like spiderman or tarzan or something and stopped the fall.

I have stopped and drove my hands into the earth and held handfuls of it up to my dream nostrils and inhaled the rich loamy smell of the soil and held the grass between my fingers like the hair of the planet. I have battled demons and performed healings. The freedom of a lucid dream is an amazing thing.

I find this practice is well worth the time to pursue and is a very interesting thing to do. My dreams are so detailed they are very much like real life. I find that nights I lucid dream I wake up tired like I never got that deep alpha wave sleep that we need to regenerate, but this is the only negative I have found.

Never been confused as to whether I was dreaming or not so never had that problem. Peace...

Fall asleep with an audio version of the King James Bible going for some trippy dreams!!

I had to give it a break because it became so overwhelming...

In some of those dreams I had control and could even ask questions.

I have even had dreams "test" my moral compass with not the greatest results.

The Dream allowed a Choice of Good or Bad. A "want" not a need.

In the Dreams I take the "want" nearly every time.



Something or Someone tests us in our sleep...

Metallica - Enter Sandman [Official Music Video]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD-E-LDc384
www.youtube.com...

I have lucid dreams more often then not, it's quite an awesome feeling, most of the time the settings are quite surreal and abstract, which can be bothersome if you have a nightmare.

I actually had one early this morning, i was in the rubble of something ancient with a group of anthropomorphic animals (hawkmen, wolfmen, etc) and we were ascending a long and winding staircase carved out of stone that lead to a tower.

In this tower was a portal, and when we entered it we exited in into what looked like an empty office, and we all became human again. One man asked why we changed back, and suddenly a voice came from a corner of the room. And there we found a man who looked like he was charred, and he was in a fetal position facing a wall, and he told us he knew the answer but we were not prepared to hear it.

Then suddenly I heard a mechanical roar, which was the sound of my neighbor mowing the lawn, that's when I woke. I have no idea what the dream meant but I had some form of control of my actions.

Apparently video games can improve the chances of lucid dreaming, and I'll have to agree. I've been gaming for 25 years, not as much as I used to but still regularly. Last night was the first night I played my playstation for the first time in almost a week, and it coincided with the first lucid dream I've had in recent memory.

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reply to post by Attentionwandered

 

I think I know what you mean.

I have created my own unique problem. I was able to kick my fear reaction to nightmares so now its like I'm watching a horror movie regardless of my involvement in it. I will actually try to fall back to sleep so I can go back to killing zombies or getting chased around Jurassic park by therapods.

The only problem is, I think my mind decided that I had to have some form of "mare" and gave me soul crushing sad mares instead.

Sounds foolish, but starting every few days with what feels like the first two vivid hours of loosing a loved one you deeply care about sucks. Especially when its based on events you experienced.

Yargh! I was going to post something similar.

I think I am addicted to my nightmares. The ones where I am lucid - or at least in control, not necessarily aware I am dreaming, but have a sense of being in a dream.. weird things..

but there is a lurid attraction to them, the feelings are so sordid.. suffocating in the direness of whatever my mind conjures up.. yet I almost want to go back to it. Well I do want to, when I wake up.

I think it comes from my reaction to nightmares over the years. I succumb to them, to negate the fear. Giving in, submitting to the world inside my mind, allowed me to be a witness to the dream and not the victim.

And now, I don't have as many terrifying nightmares, just absolutely unbelievably nasty ones that are all about emotion and intent. and I am dragged back into them almost willingly..

Ahh, giving in to the fear turns you into the scary monster itself.. oO

PS, I love normal lucid dreams. I am always in the same places tho. rather weird. as they do not exist in this reality.

reply to post by Epirus


The mind is a powerful thing. I lucid dreamed enough to face my nightmares headon.
Had one were I was being chased by a man with a knife. Soon as I realized it was a dream I turned around and told him you can't hurt me. So he ends up stabbing me, but instead of feeling the pain or snapping out of the nightmare it ended up with me pushing him far away from me and I took of to the sky. Talk about facing your fears
Love lucid dreaming just because I have no more nightmares. Love it love it

reply to post by Taino


My bf and I started trying to remember dreams a week ago because its necessary to get lucid. So far i've been successful, and been remembering at least 2 fragments of dreams a night(mostly complete dreams) but he hasn't succeded at all.
He's been trying Mild and autosuggestion. Also setting an alarm. He's got his Dream journal.
But he hasn't been able to remember dreams any more than he usually does, (one per week or less) So I'm posting this in his behalf. He wonders if his ability to remember everything IWL is messing with his ability to remember dreams. He's got an excelent photographic memory and he can describe everything he's done this week, this month, this year. He can even remember what he was wearing the first day at school ( 25 years back) or whatever detail you may ask him about his life. Everything he pays attention to, goes into his Long term memory.
In his journal he tried writting down his intention, and even dreamsigns of previous dreams (from years back) in order to fill that dream journal so that his mind would start remembering dreams. But no results yet. So what is it happening? any suggestions for this? can there be people who cannot remember their dreams due to other aspects of the mind, such as a great WL memory or other stuff?

reply to post by Taino


Meditation helps in dream control....when I first managed to meditate,I found I could control a normal dream that was fast turning into a nightmare:however,meditation isn't terribly easy for me and i've found myself recently unable to wake up or control anything-Mrs.Eric asked me why I was shouting while I was asleep....^^

reply to post by Lincourtz


Learning this skill really takes some time. If anything, a photographic memory should be completely unrelated to dream memory. If I am not mistaken the two things use completely different parts of the brain. Dream memory needs to be trained too if you are not naturally gifted. The thing about dream memories is that they fade extremely quickly (way faster than normal memory). Lets say you have a dream and wake up and say "that was so cool! 1... 2... and 3... happened then 4... 5... and 6... too!". Anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour later you will forget nearly all of this. By the end of the day you'll be lucky to remember one of those events. That is why a dream journal is so useful, you write down what happens immediately when its fresh in your mind. However, the most important part of is looking through it periodically during the day, refreshing this memory, and visually trying to picture it it in your mind up to a week later.


Oh an thanks for the stars! I hope anyone doing this takes at least a little caution. It is alot safer than most other forms of recreation and can be a great escape. It is a whole nother world inside your own imagination!

reply to post by Lincourtz


My honest opinion is that if you try and focus on lucid dreaming the more it becomes far from reach.
I really think its imagination or self control in some weird way let's you realize or feel different while asleep and dreaming. Allowing for the dreamer to break away from his daily real world. ( I hope any of this is comprehensible in some way)


It can be as easy as reading a sign in a dream then read it again but thinking of any word you would like to read and BLAMO! You just let your imagination loose. I chose to take flight when I did . Amazing feeling gotta tell ya.