Controlling a dream, is it possible? and how?

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus
reply to post by tempest501

 

Ive heard that these swirling colors are the ambient space of the astral, of which you perceive with your minds eye rather than the physical eyes, so it makes sense to me that if you focus on it, if you can see, youll at least get somewhere into a dream.

But like you, Ive never woke up into a dream either. No matter how outrageous the dream is relative to "normal" reality, it all seems perfectly normal while actually in the dream. I suspect that has something to do with "being grounded" in this reality. If you are highly grounded, youll have mundane dreams and definitely recognize when something is amiss. If you are not, like I suspect that I am not, just about any reconfiguration of reality can seem perfectly normal, so recognizing theres something "wrong" will never really happen.

Those question/affirmations have never worked a lick for me. "Am I dreaming?", "Am I dreaming?"... of course Im dreaming!, I think to myself, so theyre not really to useful if the answer is always yes! Come to think of it, maybe I should keep trying those affirmations and when I finally think "no, Im not dreaming!", Ill know something is amiss and Ill finally "wake up" into a dream

If you take naps, those are a great time to try a WILD, because the nap is usually short, and youre not tired enough to conk out for 10 hours straight.

If you dont take naps... now might be a good and fun time to start!

edit on 1-5-2011 by CaticusMaximus because: (no reason given)

I have never really been able to nap, like I said i have terrible trouble getting to sleep. Maybe if I can figure this stuff out , i might be able to nap too whiche would be fun Im sure =D

I also wanted to ask why is it a bad idea to try get control of your dreams if your exhausted? kinda thoguht i better ask as i spend alot of my time being tired because of sleep problems.

reply to post by tempest501


Its not a "bad" idea per se, its just many times more difficult, as youll transition from waking to sleeping very fast. I cant recall having any success being very tired. In fact I dont remember much of any dreaming if Im too tired when I fall asleep.

I guess its more accurate to say, dont bother trying if you are mentally fatigued. Get a goods night rest and try again later, your odds of success will be much higher.

reply to post by tempest501


i have had several of these lucid dreams latley, i dont know why

Well , tried again but failed =C. have noticed though that i have dreamt every night while trying to do this.

last night is the closest I have been I think as I really saw all the shapes and swurling, trouble is I had to take a toilet break and couldn't get it back and I just fell a sleep.

So frustrating lol. The shapes and swurling I had didnt see to have any colors though ( i know some said normally purple), was kind of diffrent shades of grey/black, i think at one point may have been a greeny/yellow tinge. Was so weird to look at even tho eye were shut if you know what I mean.

Sorry something weird happened with computer and posted same thing twice.

peace

I used to have nightmares that really scared me and made sleep a horror. Finally I said that I wouldn't allow myself to be frightened by dreams anymore and stand up to the horrors in them because its only a dream.

I've got to the point now where I'm basically invincible in my dreams now and I can call on all types of abilities. It's like my mind is a super computer and I can calculate and know the answer to EVERYTHING.

For example in one dream I was battling some huge creature that wanted to step on and squash me. It's foot was already descending upon me when I came up with the solution of giving myself the ability to melt into the ground. My mind gave me the answer of HOW to do it just as the foot touched my head. So I melted/phased into the earth like a phantom and....you get the idea.

reply to post by DZAG Wright


That sounds like a real cool dream, I just hope I can get to the stage where I am aware in my dreams so i can start experiencing all these great things you guys told me about.

Makes me wish the one time it did happen to me I had done something special lol

Peace

Originally posted by nonnez

Originally posted by arbiture

Originally posted by nonnez
Yes, it is possible. I do it all the time and it gets quite interesting at times. I really don't remember any dreams in which I cannot control the direction or even content of the dream to be honest, at least not since I was a kid.

OK, now you have my TOTAL attention. Are you saying if you are not having a lucid dream with at least some control over it's eddies and currents, you have NO memory of them? Don't freak, it may be very useful to explore this> Forgive me, tonight I am a broken record (for those who don't know the reference do a search for "Records, Music, LP's, Vinyl Records"), etc. When I say things like "I need more", I do... And I am quite fascinated.

Thanks

Yes, that is what I am saying. Every dream I remember . . . I have a certain measure of control of what I do or the direction the dream takes. I am, more often than not, aware that I am dreaming. When I was younger I used to have nightmares often. Back then, I had made a concerted effort to combat the manifestations "there" to the point that I was finally able to take control, to become powerful, and to directly counter/attack the negative-aspect/entity of my dreams but I did not always win. Sometimes I had to wake myself up.

Lucid dreams of a rather terrifying nature are known, though it is quite rare to have a very negative experience. The very concept of a lucid dream implies control. But sometimes people who have experienced great trauma experience what can only be called "a lucid nightmare". I was helped dealing with my PTSD by a therapist who helped me learn how to generate a "directed nightmare" It was an experimental form of therapy she (my therapist) started to design only about two years ago. It's still highly experimental and not available as any recognized therapy. As a researcher I said I would agree to be the lab rat if we could co-write a paper on the results. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. So far, it's quite interesting though I admit somewhat nerve racking. Even though I'm aware of it as a dream, it's still has me wake up in a cold sweat. I became fascinated by dreams when I studied hypnotic regression, though back when I studied hypnosis it was used to recover memories of things like suppressed abuse, etc.

I learned advanced hypnosis many years ago, in the early 1980s because as a researcher I felt it could offer great insight into the mechanism of mind. It did. In 1988 I met a famous UFO researcher who asked if I could consider seeing two clients who felt they were abducted, and wanted to try regressive hypnosis. I told him I would be happy to speak with anyone, but I was not a therapist or practicing physician, and could not offer my services in this area, but knew some very good people who could address this if they would consider an initial mental health evaluation. The psychologist I know is an expert therapist, and does regressive hypnosis, and is very open to unusual phenomena. But I always believe that you need a qualified person to start with a general mental health assessment, prior to anything else. I made the referral, and left it at that, I don't know if the two persons took it from there. I'm a big stickler for privacy.

A lot of "lightweights" are in the field of UFO "abduction regressive hypnosis, "past life regression", etc. The best and safes't approach is to have a qualified mental health assessment, and go from there. Prior to about 1982, I had an interest in UFO's from the point of view it was a fascinating sociological phenomena, and the technology that was observed really amazed me. An outstanding physician I know works with the terminally ill. She is a remarkable therapist, and deals with people who are in the later stage's of life, usually cancer or once in a while, aids. She has done some great work using directed dreaming and imagery to help people deal with some terrible issues. She's helped me a lot, though I''m dealing with PTSD, and not facing a terminal illness. It's really an amazing area. People who can work with people who may be facing death and sometimes are quite young, are just amazing.

I have had 3 lucid dreams, all when I was young. 2 flying dreams and one really bizarre dream frued would have loved

I have tried to induce a flying dream by repeating th phrase, "tonight I fly" before going to sleep but to no avail

Inexplicably, I have been able to control my dreams since childhood. I didn't even know it was remarkable or unusual until I saw some posts about it here on ATS. I think it started when I would dream of dying or someone I loved dying, and somehow I was able to stay in the dream while feeling strongly that I didn't want to die/see my loved one dying, and would subsequently conjure up whatever solution was necessary to save the day. Since then I've had relatively open-ended adventures virtually every time that I dream (at least every time I remember dreaming).

I have never tried to use them for any larger purpose (i.e. asking questions of characters in my dreams, trying to affect the waking world, etc.), and I tend to approach it much like I would approach a video game. Some environmental elements of my dreams aren't consciously chosen (i.e. when I'm presented with a danger to myself or others that I then have to avert through lucid dreaming), but I can control my own actions, outcomes, and introduce other external characters, environmental features, etc. when I want. It's a lot of fun.

This post isn't very helpful, sorry about that. Like I said, it has come easy to me since I was a child, and thus I either never needed to work at it or have long since forgotten any specific steps I took as it was never something I consciously sought to achieve.

Good luck, and I hope you gain the ability. It's quite liberating.

Originally posted by jessieg


It is kind of hard to explain it unless you have done it, but it is all about relaxing and observing what is happening and allowing it to happen while not struggling too hard to make it all happen. Your body already knows how to fall asleep and you just sort of have to allow it to do its thing while also trying to stay conscious.

The first sentence sounds a lot like the techniques to increasing consciousness in reality and doing similar things. Haha interesting.

reply to post by hayek11


Funny you mention the video game aspect. Sometimes when I just want some recreational sleep I have...sorts of virtual reality video games that I play in my sleep. The status of the dreams is fairly consistant which is odd because I never really set up the parameters for it to have something like save files. If I acquire something in one night, it carries to the next time I "play the game" with a rather astonishing accuracy. Characters have the same relative memories though most of them don't have the true depth of a human being's mind.. it's rather bizarre but I don't question it as I only do it to relieve stress and such.

The games play a lot like the real world but there are things in them that I didn't "program" in. Sex for example. I never intended to put that into the game but it's available. All of the things I intended to put in it persist but things get added to it all the time. New rules, extensions of the types of areas I laid out.. once or twice I've gone into areas I had no control over. I'm wondering if the 'game' has upped the difficulty or my subconscious is running the show now or something else is happening.

Valarian root or meletonin seems to work really well for me. Sometimes I have vivid dreams, very colorful. Sometimes I know I am dreaming and sometimes I don't, but it is interesting anyway.

Valarian root is avaliable at walmart. It says on the bottle to take about three of them 30 minutes before bed.
The Valarian root pills I bought smell exactly like feet or stinky socks! So you might not like the smell.

reply to post by tempest501


Yes..when I was younger I used to do it all the time. I used to come to the realization that I was dreaming and would actually be able to fly or do whatever I wanted. It always felt so real even to this day I can remember the feeling of gliding through the air. I also remember a couple nightmares I had as a kid and if I realized it was a dream I would just concentrate on opening myeyes and I would wake up. I used to have continued dreams as well. I always used to be in this underground maze of caves with these strange creatures that I and sometimes other people with me would run and hide from. I haven't really researched dreaming too much but it is an interesting and trippy topic for sure.

If you wanna hear something really strange, my mom once had a dream that came true. I was only like 3 or 4 at the time and our cat had been missing for a week or so. My mom and dad had put up missing cat signs and checked all the pounds in the city. Then one night my mom had a dream that she woke up, walked to the kitchen and then walked outside on the back porch. Under one of the chairs was our cat, with his leg all torn up.My mom then woke up. She was freaked out by the dream so walked into the kitchen, out the back door to the porch and sure enough there was our cat, and with his leg all torn up. They ended up having to have his one back leg removed so he had 3 limbs from that point on. But he got around and still lived for another ten years or so. I've never experienced anything like that but it sure gave me the creeps the first time I heard the story.

I think there is much to be learned from your dreams and dreaming in general.

Wow, cool dream with the cat. She must have a close bond with it. Maybe it was calling to her for help and she picked up on it.

reply to post by Canadianpride420


Wow thats amazing , glad the cat was ok. I am not having much succes since I went back to work but I think its because i am too tired. Looking forward to teh weekend so I can try again. Will have to see if we can get valerian root in the UK.

To the poster that has a video game of sorts, that must be pretty fun.

Peace

My experience with lucid dreaming was that it took a bit of time before I could do it with any regularity, and once I was able to do it, I found out that I would wake up tired, like I hadn't slept at all, because basically I was awake all night in my dreams, doing stuff.

So I had to stop.

Still no joy, it seems extremely difficult while im working. Weekend soon so hopefully can experience it then in a more relaxed environment.

Peace

This is so hard, still no joy. Though I have to admit i am not very relaxed at the moment as we just had some bad new about my brother in law who is in hospital so I guess that wont help.

One more thing I wanted to ask, I have a particualr re-occuring dream. It does not happen that often but if I have a bad dream you can bet your bottom dollar its about the same subject more or less.

If I can master this technique (alltho seem I never will at this rate lol), can I use it to stop this theme of nigthmare i get?

Its really not all that hard to learn, there are several steps to consciously be aware of sub conscious dreaming. start with a technique called Dream Recall, basically its training your subconscious to realize when your dreaming so that you better remember your dreams. on average we have up to 50 individual dreams a night but your mind works in a way that you dont remember them. ever notice how when you first wake up from a dream you remember it vividly and the more you try to recall that dream the more it seems to slip from your mind. get started by keeping a journal of every dream you can remember as soon as you wake up and make it as detailed as possible when you can keep track of your dreaming your mind begins to realize when in fact you are dreaming.

another interesting ability is called Astral Projection, its the ability to induce obe's (out of body experience) which is much like dreaming in the real world. do some research it can be loads of fun!