Lucid Dreaming

[Obti]

Any thoughts/success stories on/with lucid dreaming?

For those that don't know Lucid dreaming is basically dreaming whilst being aware whilst you are dreaming. Most of us have had a lucid dream once or twice but the really exciting thing about lucid dreaming is that it can lead to you being able to control your dreams. Emerging you in a complete fantasy world without having to meet your local dealer.

I've started a dream journal to improve my recall and begun setting an alarm in the middle of the night for the same reason. Will keep posting my progress in this thread, but want to hear past/present experiences.

[Headspin]

Good luck man, I've been slowly and half assedly working on this for a couple of years, no luck. Probably takes a lot more concentration.

[TheExtract]

I think an OBE and Astral Projecting would be way more fun, I've tried it several times and even used to practice, but the closest I could get was to be able to feel the tingling in the back of my neck, but never left my body

[DrGoogfan]

There's a post on Hackaday about this. Someone built some glasses using an arduino, leds, and some electrodes. It detects when your dreaming and flashes leds to remind you you're dreaming.

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/06/lucid-dreaming/

[Actor]

What seems to work best for me is the reality check where you count your fingers. One time I had a dream and figured out I was dreaming because I saw something that was very bizzare and thought about it and realized.

And if you want to find a certain object or meet a certain person, it works best to into the next room/area with the intent that it will be in there; rather then trying to make it appear out of thin air.

[Headspin]

Originally Posted by DrGoogfan

There's a post on Hackaday about this. Someone built some glasses using an arduino, leds, and some electrodes. It detects when your dreaming and flashes leds to remind you you're dreaming.

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/06/lucid-dreaming/

Really... that is something else.

[Figure-8]

Lucid dreaming is easy.

You can force yourself into, by staying awake for a period of time, and falling asleep in an uncomfortable setting.

[ataraxic]

This interests me a lot. I would love to be able to control my dreams all the time. I have only managed to accomplish this a few times, but when it happened it was the most fascinating thing ever; I didn't want the dream to end. I do believe when it happened though I was using drugs earlier in the night before I slept, so I don't know exactly what caused this.

[HOLLISTER GUY]

taking melatonin helps me dream more lucidly. It also makes it easier for me to remember my dreams

[Gantz Graf]

Start studying Tibetan Dream Yoga.

It is a very demanding practice to adopt, but once you reach a certain level of proficiency you'll remember dozens of dreams in a single night, the content of which will have a greater level of clarity and insight than even waking awareness, along with an increased malleability of the fabric of the dream reality... and all without the need to keep a dream journal.

It's pretty much the ideal kind of dream-practice, but reflecting all of these advantages, it requires a certain level of self-mastery which is likely impractical for the average person with a passing interest in lucid dreaming.

This and this are a couple good resources for anyone with an interest in the subject.

[Centipede2]

I have a decent amount of dreams recorded, on paper and on computer...but I've only been lucid twice. Once for about 10 minutes dreamtime, another for 5 minutes then I woke up.

They are beautiful. Very beautiful thing to realize you're awake. But I often get the whole "shock" effect where when I realize I'm dreaming I immediately wake up.

Probably need more concentration skills/abilities.

[Gantz Graf]

Anyone who is interested in more of a techie approach, the REM-Dreamer is probably the best product on the market right now. Like most good commercial lucid-dream induction headsets, it has the infrared eye movement sensors and the flickering LED's to signal to you in the dream state (or if nothing else, to wake you up when you hit the REM phase, to help you develop a memory of, or develop mastery over this stage of sleep). Best of all, the flickering LED's can actually be shut off while still in the dream state by a pre-programmed pattern of eye-movement to signal to the device when you've reached lucidity.

[Horsebox2]

I have them every night. Had random lucid dreams ever since I was a kid and it started because of nightmares. I'd be getting mauled by a wild animal or something but I wasn't bleeding or dying so it became obvious its a dream. What I've noticed is just talking and thinking about lucid dreaming makes you 10 times more likely to have them and if you just say to yourself "I'm gonna have a lucid dream tonight" before going to bed makes it very likely to happen.

The one problem I have is the dream fades when I realize its a dream. The only trick that works is to not concentrate on anything, just run around doing whatever the hell you feel like but don't focus on anything in particular and the dream will stay vivid.

[Xlite]

Old

[FrY]

I lucid dream all the time, I notice and when I feel like I am awake in my room but I cannot move any body part no matter how hard I try, then I relax and go back to dreaming.


Gets annoying sometimes beacuse you can hear all these strange voices talking real loud or music sometimes.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by Gantz Graf

Anyone who is interested in more of a techie approach, the REM-Dreamer is probably the best product on the market right now. Like most good commercial lucid-dream induction headsets, it has the infrared eye movement sensors and the flickering LED's to signal to you in the dream state (or if nothing else, to wake you up when you hit the REM phase, to help you develop a memory of, or develop mastery over this stage of sleep). Best of all, the flickering LED's can actually be shut off while still in the dream state by a pre-programmed pattern of eye-movement to signal to the device when you've reached lucidity.

I bought one of those. I didn't/don't use it that much but I worked a few times. Still, the best and longest LD's I can remeber are ones where I didn't use the rem dreamer. I would recommend you just keep your money and constantly do reality checks, and analize your surroundings.

[Centipede2]

Lol, had one last night.

Lasted for approximately 5 min dreamtime.

[Dionysus]

I dunno if this works but it is still kind of tripping me out none the less; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra1iWqQBcp4

I haven't had any real succes yet, although my dreams have been getting progresivly more vivid/frequent the last few weeks I have been activly writing it all down.

[kaeces]

I've spent a long time trying to learn techniques to lucid dream but nothing seams to work. I've been interested in it for years now and done a lot of reading but nothing seems to help. As soon as I realize i'm dreaming I just wake up :/

I think it might be interesting to see if you can trigger lucid dreaming. For example, have someone hold something with a strong scent to their nose and repeat to themselves "I will remember my dream," or "I will lucid dream." Then as the person falls asleep, have someone introduce them to that scent again. Maybe that would trigger them to remember to dream. Just a thought...

[slickt0mmy]

I was quite into LD for a while but haven't done it recently. I've always found that it works best if you take a nap in the middle of the day. I think maybe my body is just too worn out to do it at night, but I don't know.

Regardless, keep doing reality checks and keep a dream journal if you think it would help. I never did but I imagine it couldn't hurt.

My most memorable LD was a few months ago. I was flying around a battlefield. But it wasn't just any battlefield. Everything in the world that could possibly be battling, was battling. Armies, jedi, those things from Avatar, little kids with slingshots. Anything you can imagine, it was there. I was flying around (which was amazing in itself because it was the first time I had flown) and watching everything that was going on. It was amazing.

[SteveMcQueenFmousCarChase]

Originally Posted by Dream

Really... that is something else.

iT'S BEEN PROVEN USELESS.. MOST OF THE TIE IT BECAME TO DISTRACTING.

THE ORIGINAL COMPANY STOPPED MAKING MORE BECAUSE OF ITS SUCCESS RATE.

[Gantz Graf]

Originally Posted by Actor

I bought one of those. I didn't/don't use it that much but I worked a few times. Still, the best and longest LD's I can remeber are ones where I didn't use the rem dreamer. I would recommend you just keep your money and constantly do reality checks, and analize your surroundings.

Yeah. And keep a dream journal for the dual purpose of recalling more dreams and also composing a list of 'dream signs' that can be used to prompt the reality checks.

Tibetan Dream Yoga is sort of like a reality-checking system on steroids. Since it is based on Buddhist insight/vipassana meditation, which emphasizes meaningful contact with reality, reality checks are naturally facilitated. Essentially what marks this system of practice is an exceptional awareness of both the dream and waking state, while turning up the clarity in both. They also have one significant point: They see people as dreaming all the time, even when awake. In fact, this is true.

Stephen LaBerge is probably the main authority on the subject from the western POV. Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming is a good read.

I'm lead to believe simply practicing reality checks on their own won't lead to much appreciable benefit for a lot of people, though. Maybe because reality checks work better with a kind of gestalt recognition thing going on. All of the times I have become lucid it was because I noticed something in the content of my dreams (often the lightness of my dream body), and then all of a sudden I am struck with lucidity. I have tried getting into the habit of just practicing reality checks on their own, but to not much effect.

Also, a person may become lucid but if he/she has trouble with recall he or she is not likely to ever know it. Many people who believe they've never had one lucid dream have probably had a few that they just didn't remember.

A dream journal is a hassle but it's probably the best habit to get into, and it's purpose is theoretically multifold. Not only does it help you remember dreams, it can serve 'archival' purposes in the potentiation of long term memories you may want to hold on to, while naturally training brain plasticity into recalling dreams.

For most people it is true that every time they record a dream, they encourage their brain to remember dreams in the future; and every time they go back to sleep and forget them, they encourage their brain not to recall dreams.

edit:

On other topics:

As far as waking up once lucidity is reached, a person merely needs to focus on the content of the dreams. It's like reality is two sets of transparencies, and you can selectively view one or the other. If you focus on the fact that you're really asleep to too far of an extent, then you will wake up. To combat this, just pay more attention to your dream. Personally, I've never woken up from a lucid due to this. It's easy to have a feeling for when you're waking up, and then just dive deeper into the dream to compensate, imo.

As for shaping the dream reality, the easiest way is to plant the suggestion for your 'subconscious' to do it for you, by using the power of expectations in the dream world. Dreams are shaped primarily by your expectations. Say by standing on the other side of a door, and expecting to see a certain person, object, or landscape on the other side when it is opened, will cause it to happen. Attempting to force things will likely just wake you up.

[0omnidirectional]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

Lol, had one last night.

Lasted for approximately 5 min dreamtime.

What happened?

A lot of times in my dreams, just because I realize I'm dreaming doesn't mean I can control everything. Ok, I'm dreaming, so what now? Maybe its because controlling them was never really my goal. I'm just trying to observe and bring back data. Maybe I should start trying to manifest.

[Centipede2]

Originally Posted by 0omnidirectional

What happened?

A lot of times in my dreams, just because I realize I'm dreaming doesn't mean I can control everything. Ok, I'm dreaming, so what now? Maybe its because controlling them was never really my goal. I'm just trying to observe and bring back data. Maybe I should start trying to manifest.

That's some good wisdom.

I, being very childish, immediately took the opportunity to explore some sexual fantasies.

Unfortunately, as I started eating a girl out (I wasn't in full control I must say and my subconscious was the one who just started to dig in down there), it got more and more abstract where me eating out a girl turned into a dog lapping at some sap in the crack of a tree, which turned into me thinking about a salmon on dry land, and so I spent about 5 minutes eating a girl out while my focus was in my head about coming to terms with being in a dream and how I should be speaking to my subconscious and not exploring sexual fantasies and I was mad at my subconscious for being the one in control at the moment WHILE also thinking about these abstract ways of thinking about eating a girl out.

...then I woke up. Too much thoughts in one moment.

[0omnidirectional]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

That's some good wisdom.

I, being very childish, immediately took the opportunity to explore some sexual fantasies.

Unfortunately, as I started eating a girl out (I wasn't in full control I must say and my subconscious was the one who just started to dig in down there), it got more and more abstract where me eating out a girl turned into a dog lapping at some sap in the crack of a tree, which turned into me thinking about a salmon on dry land, and so I spent about 5 minutes eating a girl out while my focus was in my head about coming to terms with being in a dream and how I should be speaking to my subconscious and not exploring sexual fantasies and I was mad at my subconscious for being the one in control at the moment WHILE also thinking about these abstract ways of thinking about eating a girl out.

...then I woke up. Too much thoughts in one moment.

Interesting. There should be a term beyond lucid which describes the actual control of dreaming, or becoming something of a god of the dream world. I would say I range from being lucid to partially lucid in most of my dreams, but just because I'm making decisions, its still just part of the dream.

As you were saying, your subconscious was being in control of the moment. Is the entire dream your subconscious? And you're trying to bring your ego into it at a stronger level and play with the subconscious imagery? Would something beyond lucid dreaming be the ego creating all the imagery and situations? That would be an interesting thing to accomplish, but probably not something that should be done often.

I don't know, but I'm tired. I'm going to be dreaming soon with goal of bridging the gap between the two. Instead of just being fully emerged in the subconscious, or fully in the waking world, I'm going to try to be in both at the same time. Or something. I'm pretty good with dream recall, so I'll probably let you guys know what happens.

[Obti]

Originally Posted by 0omnidirectional

Instead of just being fully emerged in the subconscious, or fully in the waking world, I'm going to try to be in both at the same time. Or something. I'm pretty good with dream recall, so I'll probably let you guys know what happens.

I don't get ya, do you mean you want to be semi awake but still dreaming? This happened to me a bout a week ago I had a really unusual dream where I was someone else. I woke up half way through it, however I still felt drowsy and every time I closed my eyes the dream was continuing but then I could just open my eyes again, then I went back to sleep and the dream carried on. Odd.

Or do you just mean being lucid? That's sort of what lucid dreaming is, your asleep but you're concious.

[0omnidirectional]

Originally Posted by Obti

I don't get ya, do you mean you want to be semi awake but still dreaming? This happened to me a bout a week ago I had a really unusual dream where I was someone else. I woke up half way through it, however I still felt drowsy and every time I closed my eyes the dream was continuing but then I could just open my eyes again, then I went back to sleep and the dream carried on. Odd.

Or do you just mean being lucid? That's sort of what lucid dreaming is, your asleep but you're concious.

I just mean so I can have a greater understanding of what is happening while it is happening. Lucid to me is just when your dreams are vivid and you can remember them, sometimes you're aware that this isn't the same as the waking dream. Even with that awareness it is difficult to change your actions. Kind of like in the waking dream. I think it requires some mental programming.

Last night, I was tripping balls in at least two of my dreams. Another one I was in some sort of war zone. I did not accomplish what I intended to do. A war zone is a common theme for me.

[FrY]

Anyone ever wake up with sleep paralysis.....it can be stange, I have it happen ALOT, sometimes lasting more than 5-10 min were I cannot move no matter how hard I try, yet I am fully conscious.

[Obti]

Originally Posted by FrY

Anyone ever wake up with sleep paralysis.....it can be stange, I have it happen ALOT, sometimes lasting more than 5-10 min were I cannot move no matter how hard I try, yet I am fully conscious.

I woke up with sleep paralysis about a week ago, i was sleeping and then thought someone opened my door as I woke up. I was lying on my stomach and by the side of my bed could see this boy I sort of know through my family. Really weird I couldn't move at all for a few minutes until I suddenly regained my strength and turned the light on. Apparently it's quite unusual to encounter sleep paralysis with hallucinations.

I did a bit of reading on it,apparently when you're sleeping and in REM sleep, so dreaming your body releases a hormone to stop you running around. So when you're running around in your dreams you don't actually end up moving so much, but sometimes your muscles don't get rid of this hormone when you wake up so you're temporarily paralysed. Don't really understand why when you are woken up by someone or awake from a nightmare suddenly this doesn't happen.

[Rizzo in a box]

My name is Lola, because I am the Key of Delights, and the other children in my dream call me Lola Daydream. When I am awake, you see, I know that I am dreaming, so that they must be very silly children, don't you think? There are people in the dream, too, who are quite grown up and horrid; but the really important thing is the wake-up person. There is only one, for there could never be any one like him. I call him my Fairy Prince. He rides a horse with beautiful wings like a swan, or sometimes a strange creature like a lion or a bull, with a woman's face and breasts, and she has unfathomable eyes.

[Madman]

Make it a ritual to ask yourself are you dreaming. Do it 50 times a day for the next few months and I guarantee you you'll start doing it every night in your dreams. Once you question it its fairly easy to determine if your in a dream or not.

Originally Posted by FrY

Anyone ever wake up with sleep paralysis.....it can be stange, I have it happen ALOT, sometimes lasting more than 5-10 min were I cannot move no matter how hard I try, yet I am fully conscious.

Yeah I get it all the time. You can pull yourself out of it you just have to give yourself a sudden jolt with all your strength. Its not easy but once you do it once you'll know its possible so you'll be able to pull yourself out of it every time from then on. Theres like a threshhold of effort to put into this jolt if you don't put enough effort in you will partially pull yourself out of paralysis but if you relax even for a second you'll sink right back into paralysis. With that in mind you can obviously pull yourself out of paralysis using a gradual process of small jolts, I do this a lot because I'm often to lazy to put enough effort into the one jolt but I find that this method takes much longer because I often relax for a few milliseconds when I think I've made a bit of progress but during that few milliseconds I sink right back into full paralysis and lose all the progress I made.

Sleep paralysis is cool shit don't listen to all these pussies that go on about demons and ghosts, you'll notice that the people saying this bullshit are people that have only had it a few times in their lives. In other words they haven't had enough experience to prove that its not caused by demonic presences or ghosts or any of that bullshit. I get all sorts of tactile, auditory and visual hallucinations in sleep paralysis and I grab and strangle things that look like creatures but it becomes blatantly obvious that its all in my head because when I pull myself out of paralysis I realize my arms didn't move at all so I was strangling them with imaginary arms. How people can believe that we can experience life like hallucinations in dreams but not sleep paralysis is beyond me. Also I know how to trigger the onset of dreams while in sleep paralysis the trick is to intentionally disrupt your logic. You just start thinking in ways that defy ordinary logic. Like for example normal logic would be "I eat an apple, the apple gets eaten" alien logic would be "I eat an apple, the seagull loses its feathers". In ordinary the seagull doesn't lose its feathers because you ate the apple. Its all about logic.

[Captain Beyond]

Originally Posted by Gantz Graf

On other topics:

As far as waking up once lucidity is reached, a person merely needs to focus on the content of the dreams. It's like reality is two sets of transparencies, and you can selectively view one or the other. If you focus on the fact that you're really asleep to too far of an extent, then you will wake up. To combat this, just pay more attention to your dream. Personally, I've never woken up from a lucid due to this. It's easy to have a feeling for when you're waking up, and then just dive deeper into the dream to compensate, imo.

Rubbing your hands together to increase lucidity and pull yourself back into the dream seems to work for so many people, myself included.

[Obti]

Originally Posted by Madman

Sleep paralysis is cool shit don't listen to all these pussies that go on about demons and ghosts, you'll notice that the people saying this bullshit are people that have only had it a few times in their lives.

It's just waking up but you can't move... not really that cool.

I've been doing reality checks but it's still not coming out in my dreams, I think I just need to keep at it. However, my dream recalls drastically improved though after about a week of writing down my dreams as soon as I wake up.

[Madman]

Originally Posted by Obti

It's just waking up but you can't move... not really that cool.

I've been doing reality checks but it's still not coming out in my dreams, I think I just need to keep at it. However, my dream recalls drastically improved though after about a week of writing down my dreams as soon as I wake up.

Thats funny I never wake up in sleep paralysis I only sink into it when I'm trying to go to sleep.