Lucid dreams

[fafner]

First, for people who don't know what is a lucid dream, here is the article on the Wikipedia.

When I was about 10 years old, I tried to have lucid dreams. After a few weeks, I finally succeed, I became Lucid and was able to control a dream. But becoming aware that it was a dream triggered the awakening. I was Lucid for about 3 seconds only! After this failure, I deducted that awareness during a dream meant awakening, and never tried again
But a few weeks ago I found the article about lucid dreaming on the Wikipedia. By reading the article I realized that other people had tried, and apparently succeeded. Other sites linked by the article seem to assert the same thing. But because I don't know these people I can't be sure they are telling the truth. Even the article itself may be full of crap, because many people as me don't know if it actually exists or not, so very few people would edit the article. However, as trying doesn't hurt, I tried again to become Lucid during a dream. But it looks that it doesn't work anymore Sometimes I wonder if the lucidity I had experienced a long time ago in my dream hadn't be a part of the dream. I remember once having thought during a dream "I am dreaming", and nevertheless continuing normally as if it wasn't a dream at all, as if the statement was a part of the dream with no real meaning.

Do some people here have already heard of lucid dreaming? Have someone ever succeeded?

[jeffbert]

Originally posted by fafner@Jul 30 2004, 02:12 PM
First, for people who don't know what is a lucid dream, here is the article on the Wikipedia.

When I was about 10 years old, I tried to have lucid dreams. After a few weeks, I finally succeed, I became Lucid and was able to control a dream. But becoming aware that it was a dream triggered the awakening. I was Lucid for about 3 seconds only! After this failure, I deducted that awareness during a dream meant awakening, and never tried again
But a few weeks ago I found the article about lucid dreaming on the Wikipedia. By reading the article I realized that other people had tried, and apparently succeeded. Other sites linked by the article seem to assert the same thing. But because I don't know these people I can't be sure they are telling the truth. Even the article itself may be full of crap, because many people as me don't know if it actually exists or not, so very few people would edit the article. However, as trying doesn't hurt, I tried again to become Lucid during a dream. But it looks that it doesn't work anymore Sometimes I wonder if the lucidity I had experienced a long time ago in my dream hadn't be a part of the dream. I remember once having thought during a dream "I am dreaming", and nevertheless continuing normally as if it wasn't a dream at all, as if the statement was a part of the dream with no real meaning.

Do some people here have already heard of lucid dreaming? Have someone ever succeeded?

I rarely watch the new WB Batman series; however, I do remember an episode in which Batman was a prisoner of his own dreams. By that, I mean he could not awaken, and was in fact, convinced that he was awake, & that the events were real. However, he in his dream began to wonder about this, and decided that he must somehow determine whether he was dreaming or not. Believing that certain parts of the brain necessary for reading text were inactive during dreams, he went to a bookshelf, selected a book, opened it, & found its pages blank. All this presupposes that during dreaming, one is not just subjected to whatever the dream might contain, but is able to exercise a certain amount of control. In my PSYC studies, while I did note that there were parts of the brain that are inactive during sleep, I neglected to verify this.

[fafner]

I remember this one, it was among my favorites. But they published it only once on the TV I remember Bruce Wayne taking one book after another, throwing all of them on the ground in a total crazyness All books contained distorded letters without any meaning :huh:

This example is the main one on which I work. I sometimes dream I am reading. And although in some case I can read, it always ends in a very difficult and painful exercise. I focus like a mole on the book and still am not able to understand even the letters
Next time I have difficulties to read a book I have promised myself to make a reality check

Ah! Here it is, I can't read the forum, it is not a book but I'm not a fool, I am dreaming !
... wait! where are my glasses? <_<

[jeffbert]

Before I got a DVD drive on my pc, I read voraciously. I often found myself unable to finish reading a page, because I was too sleepy. However, being stubborn, I finished the page, even if it took a whole hour. I would read a sentence, doze off until my neck relaxed and my head fell forward, which usually awakened me. By the time I found the last sentence I had already read, I was dozing off again.

[Danny]

I have never really thought too much about Lucid dreaming as I did not realise it was a rare occurance. I frequently experience this. Now it is not every time I dream, but I would say a good 1 in 4 or 5 dreams I remember (apparently you dream all the time, and yet can only recall certain onces for some reason, and some people can not recall them at all) are what you have called Lucid.

I will be participating in some sort of activity. It does not really matter what it is, and suddenly something would be 'wrong'.. I would think about this for a minute and then start looking around taking note of what was going on to ascertain if i am dreaming or not. Now I have had some incredibly realistic dreams, and that coupled with my condition, actually making the consideration of "hey, am I dreaming?" is not that strange a thing.

Usually, if I do realise it is a dream, I can then pretty much do whatever I like from that point on. However, it IS just like "the matrix", as in I can only do what it occurs to me to do. Most of my activities from that point on have "wish fullfillment" characteristics, altho sometimes the 'story' of the dream is really interesting and so I continue to "play along" to see where it will lead. Unfortunately when this occurs I am usually so aware of it being a dream that I usually ruin it by constantly second guessing myself "Is this what I would do if I did not know I was dreaming? Would that over there really look like that if I did not know i was dreaming?" etc. This is particularly frustrating for me, as it seems most of my best ideas for short stories and the like come to me during my dreams, and I constantly yell at myself for "ruining the story" by becoming aware. <_<

[Defective Experiment]

Hmmmm, this is quite an intriging topic... When i have dreams they can be quite elaborate and just very strange. :wacko: So i know that it is a dream but I dont seem to care. i just cary on my jolly way playing along with the virtual world of my mind. recently (only last night as a mater of fact! i had a dream and at one point or another i was either bored or just plain anoid at how the story was playing out that i wanted to change something, 'morph' it into something else. So anyway i tried to change something but it was as if i were'nt powerfull enough to do it. instead i just got the same feeling you get if you hold your breath and create preashure in your head and felt very drained. next time i have a dream i shall have to try lucid dreaming as it sounds like a wonderfull experience...as well as sounding prety cool that you can 'control' your mind! B)

Also since this is a topic about dreaming i have a question to ask: is it strange to feel things in your dream? i feel things in my dream and many people say that nobody else does. is this true? :huh: i find it hard to believe so.

New Edit:

Ok, now that this subject has goten my atention i went to investigate it and found something you might be interested in fafner.

you can lose your lucidity by becoming too exited in your dream causing you to wake up

These negative effects are usually brought on becuase you are new and inexperienced to lucid dreaming, in which your only option is practice and time, or because you are getting too exited or wrapped up in doing one thing.

so perhaps you just got very excited? :wahah: or you just needed to practice more?

The site i read this from had many teqniques and interesting info on Lucid dreaming. Anyone interested in learning more or trying lucid dreaming should visit This site.

[fafner]

I was 10 years old when I "succeeded", so no surprise I couldn't handle the situation
That was surely some kind of excitation. I remember that just after becoming Lucid, I felt I was awakening. I began morphing the environment while shouting "I am going to awaken!" repeatedly. Although the morphing did work, I still awaken, thus the failure
I will have a look on your site, maybe I will find useful tips, but obviously what I need is time, experience, and patience. Above all patience

Originally posted by Danny
Usually, if I do realise it is a dream, I can then pretty much do whatever I like from that point on. However, it IS just like "the matrix", as in I can only do what it occurs to me to do. Most of my activities from that point on have "wish fullfillment" characteristics, altho sometimes the 'story' of the dream is really interesting and so I continue to "play along" to see where it will lead. Unfortunately when this occurs I am usually so aware of it being a dream that I usually ruin it by constantly second guessing myself "Is this what I would do if I did not know I was dreaming? Would that over there really look like that if I did not know i was dreaming?" etc. This is particularly frustrating for me, as it seems most of my best ideas for short stories and the like come to me during my dreams, and I constantly yell at myself for "ruining the story" by becoming aware.

When one is dreaming without awarenes, according to my experience, the dreamer has a similar status than other people in the dream. When I dream I often do things I never do, or even would never had the idea to do. When I think about what I did in a dream, I often ask myself why I did such a strange thing.
Once I had very clear and very long dreams (but not lucid in the sense I was not aware it was a dream during the dream itself). They appeared to long for hours :wacko: After awakening I could almost have written an entire novell by dumping my dream on the paper Although sometimes totally crazy compared to the real word, they were generally self-consistent. But my actions in them remained a total mystery That's only since a few months that I am again having dreams that I can remember, although they are short compared to the ones I had years ago.
What I am hoping with lucid dreams is to become Lucid during such a "novell dream" and take over to explore this "virtual universe". I am sure I can find very interesting things in it
I do not expect to remain a spectator by becoming Lucid, because as you said, becoming aware that it is a dream must change the dream as the dreamer automatically becomes an active actor instead of being a simple spectator. I know that if I succeed in mastering my dreams I will change forever my "nocturne life" Anyway even now I can remember again parts of my dreams I am still not able to understand their meaning, so by influencing them I may be able to "ask questions" And if this lead to nowhere, at least I will be able to have a good time in my dreams, or using them as an enhanced "secret garden"

[ozfiz]

i know i'm a little late in this topic....

but recently i have been having dreams where in my dream i'll be dreaming then i'll wake up (in the dream) and tell people about the dream i just had... when i do wake up for real , i just cant help and think that was really strange. and i can usually remember the details really well... its kinda like having two dreams in one.

[fafner]

Like dreaming you are dreaming you are dreaming ........ I had this kind of dream once, I almost jumped to the ceiling when I woke up