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Lucid dreaming

Snow Turtle

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I've heard that dream characters, when told they are dream characters, never believe it. Maybe it was in this thread? I dunno.

Some of them. Yep. Then they explode when you do something out of the ordinary. You've just crumbled their existance. Any new dream stories?

I don't have any lucid dreams, but there are occasions where particular dreams are much more vivid to me than random ones. Usually I start assigning meaning to it, and I think the fact that I assigned meaning gives it meaning to myself as an individual. Still it's hard to tell whether we choose to experience this dream vividly, or whether the dream just happened to be vivid therefore we experienced it. Which do you reckon?
 

ygolo

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I've done what qualifies as lucid dreaming. But I always feel like I am partly awake when I do it.
 

/DG/

silentigata ano (profile)
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I truly believe that I do not dream most nights.
 

Shimmy

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Lucid Dreams

* Awesome/Freaky alert *

Recently I've been making a conscious effort to learn how to lucid dream (after watching the movie 'waking life'). Lucid dreams are dreams where you are aware of the fact that it's only a dream, trained lucid dreamers are even capable of controlling themselves in their dreams, though their surroundings are usually still out of their control. The technique to learning this is to recognize you are in a dream by noticing the things that are different from waking life.

One way to do this is to throughout the day occasionally ask yourself if the world you're experiencing is normal. If you make a habit out of asking yourself this whenever you notice pretty much anything, you will also start asking this question in your dreams, and once you realize that whatever happening is unlikely, impossible, or simply insane you will also realize that you are dreaming. Apparently, according to the movie Waking Life another technique is to occasionally flick a light switch when you're awake to see if the light goes on or off. Apparently it's not possible to change light intensity in your dreams in any way. I made a habit out of doing this as well (even at work, where I would then excuse myself without explanation :D)

Yesterday I was talking about this with a friend, and he told me the technique of pinching myself. Because you can't feel anything in your dreams, if you can't feel you pinch yourself, you must be dreaming. This makes sense since I jumped of skyscrapers etc billions of times in my dream and just got up without a scratch (this is dream stuff only, do not try this at home).

So, last night I was walking through the park and I accidentally dropped my glasses after wiping them clean when a monster truck driven by an alligator came by and ran over them. I asked myself the question: "Is this real?" and realized it was highly unlikely. To be sure I pinched myself. Nothing. I immediately realised I was dreaming and something changed, the scene continued and I was still seeing the park, but I was also very much aware of the fact that I was in my bed, I felt my body in the position I was lying in, my brain still blocking all conscious movement (as it fortunately does during dreams). I had my real sense of proprioception, my dream senses of seeing and hearing, and still not a real sense of feeling at all. One thing was weird though. I couldn't make out whether the broken glasses I still had in my hand were in my real or waking state. Had I gone to bed with my glasses still on? I do that occasionally if I want to watch a bit of television from my bed, but I had never fallen asleep with them on before. Yet the sense was so real, much more than the park, which I knew to be fake. I figured there was only one way to know for sure and forced my brain and body into the waking life. A second later, after realizing I was lying in my bed exactly as I'd imagined, I noticed my glasses on my desk, safely and in one piece.

Tell me your lucid dreams. My most freaky dream was a lucid dream as well, I'll post it later.
 

Poki

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The best times I am able to do this are near morning hours and when I begin to go in and out of sleep. I tend to go through this cycle and end up aware in my dream that I am dreaming. Its like somehow the 2 worlds become aware of each other.
 

Shimmy

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Alright, Alright! Here's a super weird dream.

I was back in my home country of the Netherlands after an intense 3,5 week holiday through Europe. It was the last night I'd have to miss my bed (I've never been homesick, and this was the first time ever I longed for the peace and quiet of my own home) and I was sleeping at a friends place on the couch.

I had a brutal nightmare at one point. A man with a mask and a chainsaw was chasing me across an empty town somewhere deep in the jungle. At some point I realized it was a dream and turned the tables around. First I flew away from him rather than running. Then I turned the tables round and started chasing him. It was fun, but knowing I was dreaming I still wanted to get out of that chaotic story. I decided I wanted to wake up, and so I did. I was in the room of the friend calming down a bit when all of the sudden the man with the mask and chainsaw cut his way through the door. "Shit, I wasn't expecting that to happen, I must still be dreaming." After a couple more minutes of playing in my dream I decided to wake up again. Back in the friend's room, other random shit started happening.

The cycle of not really waking up continued a couple of times with some freakishly scary dreams in between. Eventually I woke up again. Not immediately trusting my environment I sat up and started examining the room for clues of realness. Luckily this time I was awake. After drinking a glass of water I went to bed again to find a dreamless state waiting for me.
 

Amethyst

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I have many of these dreams, however the decisions I make are fine, it's the people around me that make most of my dreams nightmares.
 

Polaris

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The most interesting lucid dream I've ever had was one in which I realized I was dreaming, decided to get up, and awakened in my bed; realized I was still dreaming, decided to get up, and awakened in my bed; and did it all over again what must have been five times. By the time I actually woke up, I had a feeling like the one you get when you hold two mirrors in front of each other and glance down the tunnel of endless reflections.
 

ragashree

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The most interesting lucid dream I've ever had was one in which I realized I was dreaming, decided to get up, and awakened in my bed; realized I was still dreaming, decided to get up, and awakened in my bed; and did it all over again what must have been five times. By the time I actually woke up, I had a feeling like the one you get when you hold two mirrors in front of each other and glance down the tunnel of endless reflections.

:yes: I've had dreams like this so many times! Supposedly a dream of waking up signifies some kind of enlightenment... still waiting!
 

Idealatious

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Aaaagh this makes me want to lucid dream so much! My dreams are often so boring and vague, where, for example, I know that something is a color but can't see the color itself.

I think I've only had some near-conscious dreams, where I recognize that I can change one component of a dream - such as, when someone is about to kill me, I decide that isn't going to happen after all. And often I vaguely know that I'm dreaming. In those dreams, when I'm sneaking about buildings and such, I hide where normal people would see my legs sticking out but I know no one is going to react. But real lucid dreaming? No. I used to write down all my dreams every night, trying to have lucid dreams. Maybe I should start trying again.
 

Idealatious

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Oh man! I just realized this has happened to me, from here http://inducingluciddreams.com/how-to-lucid-dream-tonight/:

Something you may notice as you are falling asleep are images on the back of your eyelids. First these will appear as lighted abstract shapes. You may see these changing shapes start to take form and turn into recognizable scenes or objects. These are known as hypnogogic images or hypnogogic hallucinations. This is part of a technique called WILD. Try not to control these. Just let them do what they are going to do. Your mind will start to fill in the blanks on it’s own. Just try to roll with it. If you catch this moment just right, you may be able to jump right into a lucid dream, but don’t be disappointed if you don’t make it. This takes some getting used to. You still have plenty of opportunity while dreaming to experience lucidity.

That is so awesome. It's only happened once or twice, but it was amazing how effortless it was.
 

King sns

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I usually have very vivid, long and amazing dreams. Often they are lucid or partially lucid. They are amazing. I've done this my whole life. Lots of Broadway shows going on lately at the end of my dreams. The characters break out into a song, which is awesome lucid, because you know this big song and production is coming from your own mind. Lately some nights I live in New York city, kind of an ongoing and detailed one with a lot of motivating and inspiring undertones to it. Have lucidly noticed that I'm doing a lot of floating on boards in the water. "I'm floating on a board again tonight, I gotta google this when I wake up." Yesterday some lucid space exploration which I commanded the mind to do as I fell asleep.

I know that people don't like to hear about other people's dreams, but a lot of times I can't help it, the lucid dream life is wayyyyy more exciting than the waking life. I don't know where this natural ability came from, but if you can train your mind to do the same, I would highly recommend it.
 
G

Ginkgo

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I usually have very vivid, long and amazing dreams. Often they are lucid or partially lucid. They are amazing. I've done this my whole life. Lots of Broadway shows going on lately at the end of my dreams. The characters break out into a song, which is awesome lucid, because you know this big song and production is coming from your own mind. Lately some nights I live in New York city, kind of an ongoing and detailed one with a lot of motivating and inspiring undertones to it. Have lucidly noticed that I'm doing a lot of floating on boards in the water. "I'm floating on a board again tonight, I gotta google this when I wake up." Yesterday some lucid space exploration which I commanded the mind to do as I fell asleep.

I know that people don't like to hear about other people's dreams, but a lot of times I can't help it, the lucid dream life is wayyyyy more exciting than the waking life. I don't know where this natural ability came from, but if you can train your mind to do the same, I would highly recommend it.

What was the most memorable thing you did while dreaming?
 

Sparrow

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I lucid dream all the time, I love it! Especially when the dreams are beautifully epic and filled with symbolic meaning. God I sound like a hippy ;). Usually my dreams are just straight up weird...
 

King sns

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What was the most memorable thing you did while dreaming?

Lucid flying still takes the cake. Do it all the time, but it's always the best.
 

Adasta

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I've been lucid a few times.

What's interesting is that, in a dream, if you ask anyone if you're dreaming they always say no. It's funny...
 

Luv Deluxe

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I don't know where this natural ability came from, but if you can train your mind to do the same, I would highly recommend it.

Do you have any routines you practice as you're falling asleep?

What's interesting is that, in a dream, if you ask anyone if you're dreaming they always say no. It's funny...

That's kind of funny, but also strangely creepy. :shock:

If you look at a digital clock, the numbers will be scrambled. I've also heard that if you flip light switches, the lights will not turn on or off, but rather remain as they were.
 

King sns

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Do you have any routines you practice as you're falling asleep?

Not really. Last night as I drifted off, I thought- "have lucid dreams!" and fell asleep. (Because of the thread.) Sometime in the middle of the night I had a hilarious one where I was standing in some hotel hallway and then realized I was dreaming and screamed. "HEY! I'M LUCID DREAMING!!!!" and started running down the halls and pounding on everyone's door and screaming like a crazy woman because I knew I wouldn't get in trouble. (The rest of the dream was kind of sad, but was still lucid, and remembered the thread.) I think it's just some brain area that I can access easily. Also talk and occasionally walk in my sleep and some other stuff. I know that there are ways to access it though.
 

King sns

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I've been lucid a few times.

What's interesting is that, in a dream, if you ask anyone if you're dreaming they always say no. It's funny...

That's not what happens to me. I tell them I'm dreaming and they always act a little hurt at finding out that they don't really exist, but begrudgingly agree and often say that they wished I would sleep and dream them up more often. (and some other random responses.)
 
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