Lucid Dreaming!

[amilas]

I knew I was drawn to this forum for a reason!

I have been able to lucid dream since I was 11, which is apparently very rare. I wouldn't call myself an expert per se, but I've had a lot of experience with it and studied the phenomenon relentlessly. I work at it every night and sometimes I feel like it may be a curse rather than a blessing. Regardless, it is an amazing ability that I try to share with the world as much as possible, and it has really molded who I am as a person. I would love to talk with anyone who can lucid dream or wants to learn how. Seriously, not trying to be pretentious, I just would REALLY love to hear form someone. Send me a message anytime!

[Sun and Moon]

Interesting topic.

I've always been able to dream lucidly. I have never had a nightmare, as I am in complete control. If I feel my dream is taking a direction I'm not happy with, I simply alter it, in much the same way a sailor, who realises he's being blown off-course, navigationally corrects.

I also suffer from chronic insomnia. I was diagnosed as having Bi Polar Disorder, but personally I think it's a crock. I was medicated for 10 years, and rendered an emotionless zombie, who slept but never dreamt, couldn't laugh and couldn't cry. I decided that neurologically speaking, I may be a little differently wired, but drugs, in my case, were not the answer.

Also, when I hit a seriously depressed period, my brain takes it upon itself, to throw me into a Theta state. I didn't realise it at first, but I've come to view it as a self defence mechanism, preventing my thoughts from becoming so jumbled that I become suicidal.

I have the greatest of respect for people that can learn to do these things. Sometimes, it seems that I have better control of my subconscious mind than I do of my conscious one. .

[maarsen]

I have lucid dreams all the time. Some times they are so vivid I do tests on myself and my surroundings just to see if I am am awake or dreaming. I have even had lucid dreams where I woke up and thought " wow was that ever real for a dream" and then started doing whatever, and then waking up for real. I have recurring dreams all the time, Usually I am back working at a job I left years ago, or trying to visit my friend there. When I was rebuilding a cottage, I had recurring dreams of buying a decrepit mansion and slowly fixing it. I also have some exceedingly strange dreams that are also vivid, and make me think "where the fuck did THAT come from?" I mean stuff that would give Philip Jose Farmer the creeps. I have no control over it either.

[Theda Baratheon]

I had Sleep Paralysis last night and it was one of the most horrible, terrifying experiences ever. I'd had this twice before a few years ago but nothing THIS frightening.

I was fully aware that I was in my bedroom, hyper-aware even, I felt that the duvet wasn't completely covering me and I was really cold but I COULDN'T MOVE it felt like someone had a hold of ALL my muscles and was shaking me and shaking me and it also felt like someone had sewed my mouth shut, that was AWFUL it felt like my mouth wasn't there, it didn't exist. I heard static and also had this horrible, horrible feeling that someone was there, right beside me, so I didn't DARE open my eyes.

I read more about Sleep Paralysis today and I feel much better knowing this is an actual thing and i'm not going mad but something did terrify me reading that hallucinations actually do happen.

if i had opened my eyes and somehow saw something i would have died a thousand deaths.

[Ken Stone]

I got into Lucid Dreaming about 10 years ago. The trick I used was while awake I would stop and say "Am I dreaming?" And try to confirm it by looking at my hands. In dreams if you look at your hands they are all fucked up for some reason. Anyway if you make a habit of checking if you are dreaming at some point you will check when you are actually dreaming. That is the cool moment of Lucid Dreaming. You think to yourself "Am I dreaming?" and you are assuming that you are not, but then you look at your hands and are like "WTF Is wrong with my hands?" It's a Eureka moment.

The problem I always had was I would achieve Lucidity and then realize how vulnerable my physical body was. I would start thinking "What if someone is in my room trying to kill me right now!" I would try to shake myself awake, which doesn't work. Then you panic and it's terrifying. You are just stuck in this state where you can't move your body and you start to think, "What if I am in a coma? What if I am stuck like this until I die?" You have no real perception of time passing. Has it been a second? A year? There is no way to tell.

[Noontidal]

I had Sleep Paralysis last night and it was one of the most horrible, terrifying experiences ever. I'd had this twice before a few years ago but nothing THIS frightening.

I have had that once. I was house sitting for someone that lived quite a ways from town, and I suppose the overall spookiness of the situation crept into my sub. On one hand it was terrifying, on the other incredibly fascinating.

I felt as though there was a demonic presence creating a great deal of pressure where I laid making it impossible to move. I could not move my arms, I do not know if I could have waken myself up, because I knew I needed the sleep.

[Sci-2]

Had a dream in which I woke up, realized I'd failed to lucid dream, and when I tried to start again people came into my room and started talking to me.

Then I woke up for real this morning. Hoping that dreaming that I dream means I might be able to pull this off at some point.

[Theda Baratheon]

I have had that once. I was house sitting for someone that lived quite a ways from town, and I suppose the overall spookiness of the situation crept into my sub. On one hand it was terrifying, on the other incredibly fascinating.

I felt as though there was a demonic presence creating a great deal of pressure where I laid making it impossible to move. I could not move my arms, I do not know if I could have waken myself up, because I knew I needed the sleep.

Oh christ, that MUST have been spooky. :o

I also felt there was an evil presence in the room, it felt as if one person or something was shaking me and shaking me and it felt like another was standing by the bed side, right in front of my face, so I did not DARE open my eyes.

Aye, it's because in sleep paralysis your mind is awake but your body still feels like it is dreaming, to stop us from acting out our dreams. It is SUCH horrible feeling to be awake and conscious but to be unable to move, very terrifying.

[maarsen]

I had a bad flu many years ago, and started hallucinating that someone was in the room with me. Naturally, I told them to shut up and let me sleep. Next thing I know, I could feel a man's arms wrapped around me, squeezing my chest, while the original voice I heard was screaming at me. Woke up fast after that.

[Frey Buffet]

I have lucid dreams now and again but I'd like to know how to have them more frequently! I often dream about adventures which is nice - I've got 3 stories on the go at the moment that started out as dreams (in my head, I haven't written them down). I like to think about their plots before I go to sleep. Also I have dreams where I can fly like Peter Pan or shapeshift into animals, which are especially fun!

I also felt there was an evil presence in the room, it felt as if one person or something was shaking me and shaking me and it felt like another was standing by the bed side, right in front of my face, so I did not DARE open my eyes.

Oh goodness, that sounds horrible! :( The first time I had sleep paralysis I thought there was a poltergeist sitting on me, preventing me from moving. I fought so hard to get up! I was on holiday, and around 15/16 years old at the time, but even so I went into my parents room afterwards for reassurance! It was only 11pm but I really didn't want to go back to sleep.

I had a bad flu many years ago, and started hallucinating that someone was in the room with me. Naturally, I told them to shut up and let me sleep. Next thing I know, I could feel a man's arms wrapped around me, squeezing my chest, while the original voice I heard was screaming at me. Woke up fast after that.

Haha again, I started hallucinating once after a terrible migraine and I was convinced Robbie William's was sitting on the end of my bed. I remember screaming for someone to get rid of him! :dunno:

(edited for spelling)

[FriendlyMisanthrope]

I am way into lucid dreaming! For me the biggest thing is continuing to develop the ability to know I'm dreaming. I'm pretty good at it, but it doesn't always work. When I wake up in the morning from a dream that I thought was real, I get disappointed because it was a lost opportunity. I think lucid dreaming is an awesome way for people to try things that they can't do in real life, blow off steam, be imaginative, etc. I think it's a great way to improve your mental health.

Me, I just really like having crazy sex with people in my dreams. Last night, I was being pursued by Timothy Olyphant as Marshal Raylan Givens. I don't remember what I had done to be pursued as a criminal, but it was pretty awesome. I knew I was dreaming, but I played along because you know, sexy cop and criminal scenario, etc.

I find that I sometimes have issues with controlling things once I know I'm dreaming---mostly people's appearances. For instance, someone's face or entire appearance will change into something I don't want, so I grab them and I'm like, No, you're THIS and I try to get it to change but it doesn't always work. That happened in the dream I just mentioned with the Marshal, his face briefly changed to someone else, and of course I was like THIS WILL NOT DO. I've been working on little things like that. I'm pretty good at changing a bad situation, meaning where the dream is slipping out of my control and turning into a nightmare/situation that I don't want. I can get the situation to stop or at least change it to a more pleasing experience. But the face thing bothers me, and it seems to be a constant issue. Not sure why; I'm an artist and I draw faces a lot, I can sculpt faces and all that stuff. Maybe that's why they shift so much?

[The Great Walrus]

I can Lucid dream on occasion. Except almost all details except the most bizarre immediately vanish from my mind as soon as i wake up. Like one dream where i got into a bar fight with a Unicorn...

[Theda Baratheon]

Oh goodness, that sounds horrible! :( The first time I had sleep paralysis I thought there was a poltergeist sitting on me, preventing me from moving. I fought so hard to get up! I was on holiday, and around 15/16 years old at the time, but even so I went into my parents room afterwards for reassurance! It was only 11pm but I really didn't want to go back to sleep.

Yeah, it was terrifying. It really does feel like there is a demon in the room with it's hands all over you D:

[WTFSalami]

Every time I realize I'm dreaming in the dream I panic and end up waking myself up. I've never been able to stay calm enough to enjoy it.

[FriendlyMisanthrope]

Every time I realize I'm dreaming in the dream I panic and end up waking myself up. I've never been able to stay calm enough to enjoy it.

What do you think it is about lucid dreaming that scares you? I always find lucid dreams to be exhilarating--- here's a chance to do anything you want! And no one will know ;)

Maybe the next time that happens you can just take a moment and look around, then stroll around for a bit and just take in the scenery of whatever your dream has manifested. It really is a skill, and like any skill it takes time and practice to get good at it.

[WTFSalami]

I don't know, this really bizarre feeling comes over me like vibrations and I feel like I'm leaving my body and it makes me start breathing really heavily and it eventually wakes me up. A friend of mine suggested that I might be experiencing astral projection, but from what I've read that doesn't seem like something that happens from dreaming, and in fact seems like an even more difficult thing to learn, if it's even real.

[FriendlyMisanthrope]

Hmmm, that is strange. If I experienced that I might try your standard calming techniques, whatever ones work when I'm awake and having panicky moments. The breathing is probably just in your dream---I bet your body is probably breathing normally, although it is possible that you really are hyperventilating and can also have it manifest in your dream. If you could get your breathing under control, you might be able to get through the episode and then go do something fun :)

[FriendlyMisanthrope]

Personally, I don't believe in astral projection---I was kind of obsessed with it when I was a kid and I tried so hard and was never successful. It's silly to talk about it now, but when I was a kid I was yardsaling with my grandma and I found this musty old kit, it had several different "exercises" in it related to psychic powers and astral projection and other wacky stuff. I think what intrigued me so much about it was the whole process of finding the kit was kind of romantic and mysterious---it was in the corner of the garage at a stranger's house, they hadn't even put the box of stuff it was in out with the rest of the yard sale items, in a worn, torn box and covered in dust. I felt like I had really found something special, like I had unearthed a treasure and I was meant to find it.

But yeah, I had no psychic powers and could not leave my body, no matter how storybook-perfect the circumstances of finding the thing seemed to have :) I'm a skeptic about all that stuff. It would be neat though, I can see the appeal.

[SkyBry]

Couple of nights ago i had a Dream in a dream. Totally screwed me up when i woke up. Was really weird yet fascinating!

@amilas i wanted to dm you but 'profile view is off'?

[FriendlyMisanthrope]

Oh yeah, dreams within dreams are intense! I've had that happen a couple times, I definitely had to do quite a few reality checks when I woke up for good to make sure I really was awake.

For me the strangest dream experiences are where you really feel like you're dreaming for a long time, like I mean days or even weeks, but it's really just a normal night and you only slept for a few hours. The most memorable experience I had with that was this dream where there was this town of people being terrorized by a crazy monarch person in a tower with a big eye that shot a laser. I was helping lead a rebellion, and it was crazy---I really did have the experience that I was there for days. The people that I met and lived with and fought beside seemed much more substantial and for lack of a better word, real, that the usual dream people I encounter.

A lot of people died and it was super scary and intense, but I really felt emotionally invested in the whole scenario and I really believed that we could bring down this dude that was terrorizing everybody. When I finally woke up, I had only been asleep for a few hours, and I immediately wanted to go back to the dream, because we were right in the middle of a battle. I was their leader, and they were all very scared and had never had the courage to stand up to this dude, and I felt guilty because I abandoned them when they needed me. Just an absolutely crazy, discombobulating experience. I was depressed for a couple days because it really did feel like I was there for a long time and I had really gotten to know those people and became very passionate about the mission. The human brain is pretty amazing to be able to create these experiences.