© 2007 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/silent-lucidity/
There was a time that I could fly. I jutted my right fist into the air, and launched into the sky. My stomach dropped with the sensation of breaking gravity’s bond, and the summer air cooled as I reached higher. When the roads were so far below as to be an indistinct ashen blur, I halted and curled my legs under me as I was pelted by icy crystals of clouds, and surveyed all below. There was a moment of idle indecision, but in the end it mattered not at all. I picked a direction and dove.
The experience was one of my many brushes with Lucid Dreaming. It is a phenomenon that many discredit, naming it a hoax and naturalist mythology despite the fact that it has strong scientific evidence supporting it as a real occurrence. With a devoted training regimen, most anyone can learn to harness their own subconscious to experience surrealistic events and places. In a controlled dream, one can pursue anything from the cessation of nightmares, to investigating problems, to engaging in sexual fantasies, to my personal choice—jetting around the skies like Superman.
A lucid dream is one wherein the dreamer is aware they are dreaming without waking up, allowing them to deliberately participate in the dream’s events. Despite the stigma of being a new age fantasy, there is a historical record of lucid dreams dating back to the 5th century. In the year 415 AD Saint Augustine, a Christian priest and philosopher, wrote of the dream of a man who was preoccupied with concerns of the afterlife and what it was like. This man, Gennadius, dreamed that he was visited by a youth “of remarkable appearance and commanding presence”. Gennadius followed the person, and was taken to a site that rang of singing that was “so exquisitely sweet” that it surpassed any in his experience.
Gennadius woke, and figured the experience for merely a dream, possibly caused by indigestion.
The very next night, however, Gennadius dreamed again, and was again visited by the (apparently) androgynous young guide. The guide asked if he was remembered, to which Gennadius replied “Certainly!” The young guide then asked Gennadius if their meeting had occurred in sleep or in wakefulness, and Gennadius replied, “In sleep.” His guide told him, “You remember it well; it is true that you saw these things in sleep, but I would have you know that even now you are seeing in sleep.” The guide continued, “Where is your body now?” And Gennadius answered “in my bed.”
Gennadius was therefore lucid—aware that he was indeed dreaming, though there is no hint that he was controlling the dream. Even without asserting his will on the dream state, Gennadius found answers to the problems plaguing his mind, and was satisfied with what he learned.
The eighth century saw the rise of the monastic order that devised The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Some maintain that this group knew more about dreams and controlling them than we do today, but if that is the case, their book is woefully incomplete. The book describes that when one dies, he will face experiences that result from his “inner manifestations”—things akin to dreams. When one is faced with these experiences, to know that they are dreamlike grants the deceased an advantage in reaching enlightenment, and thus, hopefully, avoids rebirth. To aid in this end, the monks developed a form of Yoga to help in understanding the death or dream phenomenon.
In 1867 a popular scientist named Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys published his book Dreams and How to Guide Them, effectively demonstrating how anyone could learn the skills of lucid and controlled dreaming—though that moniker didn’t emerge until 1912.
One of our era’s most popular discourses on lucid dreaming comes from the books by Jane Roberts, who created a series of books collectively titled The Seth Material. Purportedly, it was created when Jane channeled a spirit named Seth, who spent his time returned to the corporeal world lecturing on dreams and death. There seems little wonder that lucid dreaming has been labeled hopelessly new-agey. Save for the work of Stephen LaBerge, the phenomenon of lucid dreams may have been condemned to remain in obscurity.
It was the year 1980 when LaBerge received his PhD in Psychophysiology from Stanford, but his interest in dreams and altered states of consciousness began in his childhood. LaBerge had some lucid dreams of his own, and found it to be an interesting experience. Armed with the knowledge that when a person dreams of a ping-pong game, his eyes will trace back and forth as if watching the ball, LaBerge went to sleep, and allocated the actual work to his trusty research assistant. Before LaBerge began his doze, however, he and the assistant agreed on a signal that LaBerge would convey with his eyes. The research assistant observed LaBerge’s sleep, and verified that he had indeed entered a dream state, and then awaited the agreed upon signal. After receiving the signal and having the polygraph record it a number of times, LaBerge took his results to the academic world. At first there was general resistance to his theories. One fellow scientist said “there is no evidence that would make me believe [in lucid dreams].” After noting the scientific irony in that statement, however, resistance slowly diminished, and experiments reproduced the same results around the country and the world.
Most everyone’s had that one dream they want to go back to. Those who are aware of their dreams can avoid nightmares, and those who control their dreams can do most anything. Participants in scientific studies report an enhanced sense of accomplishment and general betterment of mood. Some even call it life-changing.
There are several techniques that one can employ to achieve lucid or controlled dreaming, but broken down, there are really two basic schools. Both require one to be able to recall his dreams fairly well, and in both cases children take to it easier than their adult counterparts. The first is analogous to making a “controlled entry” into the dream, and is called the WILD (wake-initiated lucid dream) method. In this technique one approaches dreams from a meditative state, and tries to hold to lucidity while slipping into the realms of the unconscious. Most agree that this method is both more difficult and more frightening; it is not uncommon to have feelings of floating above one’s own body or sinking into the black depths of the mattress. There can be bursts of vertigo or dizziness, and can seem somewhat akin to descriptions of Near Death Experiences.
The more widely accepted method is to come at the dream from the other end—to engulf one’s self in the dream, then try to gain lucidity. This is done through the use of “reality checks”, and is called the MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams) method. Dreams diverge from reality in many ways, and many of them are fairly predictable. One must get into habits in waking life that would highlight such differences.
If one gets into the habit of checking his watch twice in quick succession, in the waking world the time will be the same, whereas in dreams the time will generally be radically different. Some pinch their noses and try to breathe through it; the flesh nose will be unable to, but the dream nose can breathe unhindered. The trick I made use of in my experiments was to several times a day ask: “am I dreaming now?” On the rare occasion that I decided I was dreaming, I would immediately take to the sky.
Some worry that there are dangers inherent to lucid dreaming, though there are none evident. One can avoid unwanted dreams, practice that dreaded speech in a mental crowd, or play the guitar like a god, among other things. Despite the axiom that “one who dies in a dream dies in true life,” there’s nothing to fear—if everyone who died in their dreams never awoke, who would there be to deliver these warnings to us?
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I always wake up when I figure out I’m dreaming. It’s very disappointing.
I experience lucid dreaming now and then. I am not able to trigger recognition that I am dreaming, but if I do recognize that I am, I can take control. There are serious limits though. For example, I’ve tried to fly but the best I can do is hover several feet above the ground. Also, I usually have a handgun with me and it never works. Either it jams, its unloaded, or it just plain falls to pieces. This is particularly frustrating in chase sequences where I am running away from a monster or whatnot.
I don’t think I ever have a dream in which I’m under control. It’s usually that I’m staring through a ‘movie camera’ point of view. Worse, I rarely, but on occasion, have night terrors, where my unconscious has a nightmare and my real life body reacts to it. What I look like in the real world is that I have gone psycho and a thousand demons have been unleashed and they are screaming. In the dream I’m having, I’m fearing for my life or someone else’s.
I wish I had lucid dreams. :(
I enjoy a mixture of black & white, color, real, and surreal dream-states. One extreme dream involved a jet mini-copter. I knew in the dream that I could not fly it, and flew it very badly I did, a real thrill ride like an out-of-control roller coaster. Woke up out of breath, shaking, sweaty, and ready to ride again. What a ride!!!
I seem to always be aware that I am dreaming. I can’t say that I control anything but I am very aware of the dream state and what I am doing in it. However, if I don’t write it down in the first couple of minutes I can’t remember even my most vivid dreams.
Actionable Mango said: “For example, I’ve tried to fly but the best I can do is hover several feet above the ground. quote]
crazy, ive had the exact same thing happen twice. i think i lucid, or almost lucid, dream every so often. i guess i do the controlled entry approach, cuz atleast once a month i have that sensation im falling into my mattress. plus, if i have trouble falling asleep, sometimes i’ll just consciously try to start dreaming.
interesting stuff.
I just read the first link about lucid dreaming. Hopefully it will help me get into a lucid dream.
One thing to remember, people, don’t get too excited when you figure out you’re in a dream. If you do, you’ll wake-up. If you find yourself waking up, spin around or fall down on your back.
If you hear your alarm clock, WAKE UP! Don’t be late to school or work!
I used to have lucid dreams when I was young, I remember them from about 4-10, but obviously I didn’t know the term then. My parents told me that what I was saying was impossible, and when the dreams finally stopped, I assumed that I was just imagining it all along. Very interesting to see that it’s an acknowledged phenomenon.
I used to have them when I was younger too. They always happened during nightmares–I would realize I was in a dream and in no real danger. Then nine times out of ten I would wake up immediately after realizing that I was dreaming. Hasn’t happened since I was a little kid though.
OPPS! Did I say first? I meant third. My bad.
lucid dreams are awesome, and a great source of inspiration. i think everyone has experienced one in their lifetimes, but many people don’t recall their dreams, even if they were somewhat lucid. it seems rather retarded that science has been so slow to accept it; it’s not such a preposterous idea. the mind is an engine of consciousness, so why can’t it remain conscious while asleep under special conditions? oh well, whatever.
there is another way to experience lucid dreams, although i wouldn’t advise it. if one approaches his entire life with a solipsist philosophy, rejecting the physical nature of reality outright and assuming that all life is a dream, then lucid dreams come almost constantly. many people believe to have this outlook but don’t really live like they believe it–it requires one to neglect many of the pressing physical needs and lose interest in real-world matters. it’s a depressing way to live, but it seems that the subconscious becomes adapted to the mindset and expects the dreamer to be in control at all times.
by the way, what’s up with the picture of a pomegranate? :)
I’ve had a great many wonderful dreams where I’m able to fly. I’ve also had several where I’ve been visited by beloved family members who’ve passed away, and have even found physical evidence of these visits upon awakening. I’m not what you would call psychic or spiritually sensitive. When it happens it happens and I cosider these experiences a nice present from heaven. Whatever the technical names are, I don’t care to know or even research them. I’m just grateful for them.
Brigs said: “I always wake up when I figure out I’m dreaming. It’s very disappointing.”
Yes, I have found the same to be true with myself; although I’ve never made any serious attempt at lucid dreaming. The idea of practicing speechs while in a lucid dream state sounds absolutly fasinating, and I’m curious if it’s at all common to suffer from a psychological addiction or dependance on lucid dreaming (such as experiencing discontent with reality and favoring sleep over else).
systmh said: “lucid dreams are awesome, and a great source of inspiration. i think everyone has experienced one in their lifetimes, but many people don’t recall their dreams, even if they were somewhat lucid. it seems rather retarded that science has been so slow to accept it; it’s not such a preposterous idea. the mind is an engine of consciousness, so why can’t it remain conscious while asleep under special conditions? oh well, whatever.
there is another way to experience lucid dreams, although i wouldn’t advise it. if one approaches his entire life with a solipsist philosophy, rejecting the physical nature of reality outright and assuming that all life is a dream, then lucid dreams come almost constantly. many people believe to have this outlook but don’t really live like they believe it–it requires one to neglect many of the pressing physical needs and lose interest in real-world matters. it’s a depressing way to live, but it seems that the subconscious becomes adapted to the mindset and expects the dreamer to be in control at all times.
by the way, what’s up with the picture of a pomegranate? :)”
Very interesting that you would mention that. Have you seen one of the latest Dinosaur Comics? http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=972
The very next night, however, Gennadius dreamed again, and was again visited by the (apparently) androgynous young guide. The guide asked if he was remembered, to which Gennadius replied “Certainly!”
If the young guide is androgynous, why is the male pronoun used?
Oh, I’ve done that :D Trust me, sometimes the flying just takes practice, lol. :D
That first method sounds a lot like how I normally fall asleep. When I get in bed, I’m not actually doing anything, so my mind wanders with reckless abandon among the days events, real or not (I’m a frequent daydreamer). While all this is going on I’m trying to will myself to sleep, usually by not moving and breathing steadily. I often feel like I’m sinking into the mattress or spinning, but its more fun than frightening.
I’d say most of my dreams are lucid, I just never thought of controlling them. Unless they’re not going the way I want, I’m content just to let them play like movies. This is the first I’ve heard of this being a unique phenomenon, I thought it happened to everybody.
Asclepius said:
I’d say most of my dreams are lucid, I just never thought of controlling them. Unless they’re not going the way I want, I’m content just to let them play like movies. This is the first I’ve heard of this being a unique phenomenon, I thought it happened to everybody.”
You can control them by visiting the 3rd and 4th link above. Just remember, spin if you are feeling like your dream is out of control.
Reminds me of a dream I had a few nights ago. While I don’t remember the details all that much, I do remember being handed something or being led somewhere and I thought to myself “I’m not going with this, it’s just a dream anyway.”
I don’t remember my dreams, ever. Sometimes on waking I get a vague feeling of peacefulness or unease that, in the absense of any other explanation I can think of, I attribute to having just come out of a good or bad dream respectively.
Probably a good thing though, I don’t think I’d want to spend much time anywhere else if I could get to a world where I could fly… I can already play guitar like a god, you see ;)
I’ve only had success (I think) once with Lucid Dreaming. What I tried was as I was falling asleep I kept repeating in my mind “look at your hands, look at your hands, look at your hands…” and upon entering the dream I looked down at my hands, realized that it was a dream, and took control from there.
Nikolaus said: “If the young guide is androgynous, why is the male pronoun used?”
The male pronoun is also the neutral pronoun. It drives me crazy when people use “they” as a singular neutral pronoun.
See http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/he
I’ve had a fair number of the flying dreams… although it seems less like flying and more like intense floating that I can control… kind of like being in a paddle boat where you can speed up and slow down and turn, but not very quickly or precisely.
I’ve also died at least three times now. At least once I went past the death and stayed in the dream.
I really can’t understand why there’d be resistance to the whole concept. Why would anyone claim that it’s impossible to know that you’re dreaming? It’s such an ordinary thing, something that I imagine most people have experienced at least once. “It is a phenomenon that many discredit, naming it a hoax and naturalist mythology. . .” Who are these “many?” I can’t say I’ve ever encountered them. We’re not talking about astral projection or any of that kind of nonsense. We’re just talking about being asleep and knowing it. What does this have to do with naturalism or mythology?
Seriously. Really? There are really many people who think it’s a hoax? That it’s fundamentally impossible? It’d be like believing it’s impossible to dream about a duck because you’ve never personally experienced it. I guess I have to take your word for it that there’s a lot of resistance to the idea, but I’ve never seen it myself.
Last night I had an awesome dream where I was swinging like a monkey down a huge spiral staircase in this enormous old mansion that had a party going on every floor. I was trying to catch up to the parade of animated violas (or were they cellos?) going down the stairs ahead of me. Made no sense, but I went with it and had a blast. Was only partially lucid, though.
Fascinating! I only became aware of lucid dreaming after seeing a product on a future-gadget-type show called Beyond2000 when I was a child. It had cloth eye covers and some electrodes which you strapped to your temples I think. When you entered dream-state (can’t remember the details of how it did this but something about brainwave patterns) it blinked some LED’s in the eye-covers. After time you were meant to learn this signal as a way of recognising that you were dreaming.
I haven’t personally been able to have full lucid dreams as far as I can remember. Although I usually can’t remember any details of what I actually thought/”saw”/”heard” in my dreams I would remember the act of lucid dreaming if I had done it. One day I’ll get around to trying some of the methods mentioned in the links
i know exactly what program your talking about. 10-15 years ago, its where i learned about lucid dreaming, too. it may have sensed your eyes twitching, or something, and when you were dreaming the lights turned on and after a few times you would become aware that your dreaming. seems like a reasonable idea.
by the way, what’s up with the picture of a pomegranate? :)”
The Maiden Persephone was tricked by Hades into eating some pomegranate seeds, and was thus cursed to return to the underworld for 1/3rd of every year thereafter.
As humans we are cursed to spend 1/3rd of our life in a sort of underworld. That’s my guess at least. :)
I’ve always had trouble getting to sleep.
So I always ‘stare’ at the ‘black’ you ‘see’ when you close your eyes. I put black in quotes because it is more of a bunch of random dark shades, morphing and transitioning into other colours, of random of sorts. I ‘stare’ at them and they would eventually start to look like random objects, people, scenery .. all morphing one into the other.
From this, I would start to play a story in my head, and would slowly slip into a lucid dream.
Even when I have lucid dreams, I never really have much control over them. It seems a bit more fun that way (or maybe I am just trying to make up an excuse to make myself happy that I can’t control them more ;) ). Being able to drive a story based on ‘freewill’ but not creating every aspect of the world or having complete control over my abilities.
I also could never fly, which others seem to have had trouble with as well. I worked up from being able to jump far, to being able to jump and glide on drifts of airs (I always wake up disappointed … wishing so much I could do that in real life).
I never have much luck with nightmares. Just like most nightmares, I can never outrun or beat the thing chasing me, but it is nice to be able to say to myself, “Ok, this is getting ridiculous/boring, I’m going to wake up now and try another dream.”
I learned to lucid dream several years ago. About a year before I gained that ability, I started a dream journal, and spent about fifteen minutes every morning typing out any dreams I had the night before in as much detail as possible. After a few months, my general desire to remember details made me a little more conscious during dreams, and as time went on, I eventually became conscious enough to actually participate in them. Rarely do I have 100% control since my mind will inevitably throw some chaos into my bits of structure, but I can at least steer the general “concept” of my dream in one direction or another.
If you’ve never written our your dreams over a long period, I highly suggest it because you will learn a lot.
GigsTaggart said: “The Maiden Persephone was tricked by Hades into eating some pomegranate seeds, and was thus cursed to return to the underworld for 1/3rd of every year thereafter.
As humans we are cursed to spend 1/3rd of our life in a sort of underworld. That’s my guess at least. :)”
Holy God of Disco … I am throughly impressed that you got that. You, Gigs, have my respect.
Thats pretty cool i do that all the time i didn’t know it had a name i first did it when i was a kid and now i do it when i wake up on Saturday to early and i am able to fall asleep and control it but it’s very hard to keep control once it happens.
thatsjustwrong said: Have you seen one of the latest Dinosaur Comics? http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=972“
These are great! I’d never seen them before! :D
@Yanman: I used to love Beyond2000!
Meanwhile, back on the topic… I’ve certainly experienced the sinking into the mattress or sometimes floating (though still feeling on the mattress) that the article mentions associated with the WILD method. I’ve never actually tried to have lucid dreams though. Sometimes I notice that I’m dreaming and might do a few things in relation to what is already happening in the dream, but I’ve never tried to suddenly take off or play the guitar.
Also, in connection to playing the guitar and learning stuff in general, many coaches/psychologists suggest visualisation of yourself performing the action you are trying to learn. Allegedly, Pele used to lie in the change rooms before a game with a towel over his eyes and visualise the game he was going to play. Or basketball players have visualised themselves making a freethrow and consequently their percentage has improved. I’ve mainly heard about this in relation to sports psychology. The point being, could someone use lucid dreaming to visualise themselves doing stuff and thereby assist in the learning of new skills?
Wow! I haven’t flown in any of my dreams yet! But I have had several lucid dreams. Its a wierd feeling after you wake up… you know it was a drean and yet it felt so real.
One dream was about someone close to me dying and I can tell you I was so paranoid that it was some kind of foresight and watched that person for weeks after the dream to see any signs of impending death!!!
DI… this article rocks!
Like many others here, I never knew this was an unusual state, only differant from nightmares.
All my life I’ve been very aware that my dreams are dreams. And have awakened inumerable times laughing out loud at the silly things going on in them.
I never have acheived flight, but like yall have got the ‘hovering swim’ down to a pretty good pace, prevaling winds not affecting motion either way. LOL
I get most irritated when in the middle of a fascinating situation, the sleep is somehow disturbed, and the dreams details elude me; then I fall back into a frustrated restless slumber,chaseing the plotline to no avail, only to recall almost the same story but it is never as entertaining as the “first chapter”. Ha!
Thank you, Jason Bellows, for this DI article! Am so very glad to see that you are not one of the lost writers…guess it’s a good thing that your related to Alan; clearly a great talent is shared in your DNA! :-)
Flying doesn’t have to be that difficult, it’s just the fine art of throwing yourself at the ground and missing…
I think there is a distinction here that might need to be made… A ‘lucid dream’ to me is when I realize that I am the one creating the dream. That is, I’m not just being aware that I am participating in a dream. At that point, the whole world becomes a playground. I can decide for myself what I will find when I enter a house, or what a person will say to me next. Although I’ve never been too keen on the flying part, jumping like the incredible Hulk, that’s my cup of tea!
Interesting article, though. Didn’t know there was such a scientific resistance to such an everyday phenomenon.
As a non-lucid dreamer (and as a bad sleeper) I was wondering a few things.
I’ve heard scientists say that dreams may be a mechanism by which your mind sorts and memorizes information from the previous day. It seems as though deciding what your dreams are should interfere with this process, if that’s what it is. Has anyone suffered a decrease in memory function since they started lucid dreaming?
And I would hate not to be able to “switch off” for at least 8 hours in 24! At the end of a long day, I look forward to throwing down the reins and drifting into oblivion.
However, I must admit that the potential for sexual fantasy has me interested. Has anyone besmirched a supermodel yet? Or that nice little piece in marketing?
I sometimes get to control what happens in my dreams (have ‘flown’ with varying degrees of success) but the problem is I usually decide that there should be a beautiful girl in the next room and don’t really get much exploring done…
Actionable Mango said: “Also, I usually have a handgun with me and it never works. Either it jams, its unloaded, or it just plain falls to pieces. This is particularly frustrating in chase sequences where I am running away from a monster or whatnot.”
When you dream you usually have a handgun with you? That’s damn disturbing.
Jeffrey93 said: “When you dream you usually have a handgun with you? That’s damn disturbing.”
I agree LMAO!!!
Wonderful article, and has anyone else noticed that it elicited wonderful and very entertaining comments!!
Keep up the good work Jason!!
I’ve had lucidy dreams before, but I become conscious of it right before waking up and never for long. I’ll begin having small control over my actions within the dream, and the more aware I become of it, the more control I get, the further I wake up. Eventually, I’m lying in bed awake making up a story in my head, which is either not as good as the dream that led to it, or just plain stops making sense.
I’ve had one really weird experience where I was aware of myself falling asleep. I was very tired, but not sleepy. I laid down and was aware of my body shutting down. It only went on for a minute or two. As soon as my body fell asleep, I freaked out a little and woke up. I then fell asleep normally.
I started having lucid dreams as a child. I would have dreams/nightmares about my pet hamster escaping, and myself chasing him all over the room. When I was able to calmly tell myself I was just dreaming, and let the dream-hamster escape, it was such a relief!
I think my lucid dreaming ability is enhanced by daydreaming as I fall asleep. I am aware when I start to think crazy dream-like things as I fall asleep. I guess that’s the WILD method, though I wasn’t aware that other people were trying that as well. Also, if I wake up mid-dream, I try to recall as much as possible of the dream as soon as possible. I practice recalling in my mind what I would have done if I had been lucid.
I think lucid dreaming makes me more tired though; it’s exerting effort when one normally wouldn’t. I find myself having the best lucid dreams in the early AM on a weekend, when I don’t have to wake up at any specific time.
I had one very vivid lucid dream as a child…it was the first time it ever happened to me and I would venture to say the only one I’ve ever had, although I’m not sure. It was a short time after my grandmother died, whom I was very close to. I was dreaming and I saw her on the street. Immediately I knew I was dreaming. It was actually a sad experience because it was the simple fact that I knew she was dead and could not be on that street corner that I knew I was dreaming. I was happy to see her, but I knew it wasn’t real.
On a separate note, I have experienced flying several times – both in self piloted contraptions (not necessarily airplanes) and just of my own free will…but I would have to agree that it’s not the superman/neo style – it’s more of an intense floating with direction.
I have also experienced being able to pass through walls and other solid objects (including other people), which I actually thought was more cool than the flying because in my dream itself I had to enter an altered state of consiousness in order to do it. sort of like a dream within a dream. I was not lucid, but remembered it very well.
I’ve had one dream that might be considered lucid. It was very disturbing.
The dream took place in a “future earth” setting, with flying cars, aliens and people wearing close-fitting sliver outfits. In the dream, I was in highschool and I was walking home with one of my friends. We were discussing our latest assignment when a “car” that looked too much like a shuttlecraft from StarTrek flew overhead.
I stopped walking, as I slowly realized that I was dreaming. My classmate asked me what was wrong and I told her: “This is all a dream. I am dreaming all of this.”
She initially mocked me, saying something like: “Oh yeah, it’s all a dream! A wonderful, fabulous dream.”
I told her I was serious and that none of this was real. She asked me if I was going insane. She said I was scaring her and for me to stop it. She reminded me of our first day in school, what my parents did for a living and asked me how it could be a dream.
At this point I floated up about 3 feet into the air. I expected her to be amazed. Instead, she looked horrified and resigned. She shook her head and said: “You just couldn’t leave it alone could you?”
At this point everything started to pop out of existence: Buildings disappeared, cars in mid-flight vanished and people started running round screaming. I looked back at my classmate and she said again: “You just couldn’t leave it alone! Why?! Now we are all dead! We’re all dead!”
At that point I woke up. I’d have to say that was the most disturbing dream I’ve ever had. I still feel a bit guilty about it too, as if I somehow murdered that poor girl by discovering it was a dream.
Having been involved with DOD, DOE, and NASA I had to learn how to “sleep” with small catnaps during missions. Thus I have developed the ability to “jump” into an unconscious state at a moments notice. My wife totally hates me for this ability.
This has also given me more control of my dream-state if I so desire. Usually I am into the dream when I realize it. At this point I actually seem to pause the dream and depending on how tired I am, will either allow it to progress normally or hijack it. Usually I leave it be.
Due to a “bad experience” and a near fatal accident I suffered fitful sleep. I could not enter the dream-state. In the mornings I felt more drained than before I went to bed. Finally on the third day I was so exhausted I finally hit the REM state. It was horrid, a nightmare like I have never had before.
You see, there was an incident were I had seen a brutal shooting. Afterward I felt lost, unsure of what I had witnessed.
I grasped the “reins” so-to-speak and took over this gore fest that my subconscious had created.
– Once again in the crowd, I knew something was coming, but what? I forced my way forward, apologizing to those around me. The crowd was so confining it was claustrophobic, but I had this overpowering desire to get somewhere. My breath was coming in gasps and my heart felt as if it would explode. Then I was there, I could see a break in the humanity before me. There was a group moving through the crowd. People where shouting and waving at them. Excitedly I wondered if it was someone famous, and tried to move into the open area.
The man before me turned, and I felt the very marrow in my bones freeze as his “face” was torn to the bone. The eyes were empty, crimson sockets. As I stared in horror his ravaged flesh slowly turned from bloody pink to a foul greenish-brown. Decrepit flesh dripped from his jaw as he opened it and hissed at me. The putrid smell of his breath turned my stomach. Gagging I pushed him away, but recoiled in disgust when my hands pushed into the rotten mass of his body. Slimy strands of gore clung to my hands covered with squirming maggots. When I tried to turn and run, I realized all the people near me were as decayed as this man. Except…
There was a man in a trench coat off to my right. He was normal and seemed oblivious to the horde of the dead that surround us. I cried out to him for help. Slowly he turned to look at me. His face was indifferent as if he either did not care, or could not see. Yet, I noticed that his upper lip was wet. I asked him why he could not see what was going on. One corner of his mouth crept up into a slight grin as he started to look back towards the celebrities.
I shoved the things in my path attempting to reach this man. They crumbled into dust. The rattle of bones assaulted my ears as I ran towards this man. I was angry and wished no more than to grab him and shake sense into his blind eyes.
That’s when it happened. Pulling back his trench coat he pulled out a gun. I screamed a warning, but was pushed away from him into the opening around the celebrities. The “dead” were now normal again and were looking at me in surprise. I tried to rush the gunman but my feet would not respond.
– I realized at this point it was a dream. I started to wake-up but somehow knew that this “nightmare” would return. I relaxed back into the dream and took “control”. –
“Gun!” I screamed running towards the man. He turned and looked at me in surprise. A shot rang out and I knew I had failed. A second shot followed the first as I collided with this murderer. But something was wrong…
My stomach was on fire and I could not catch my breath.
We both fell to the pavement as I struggled to take his gun. A third shot popped between us muffled by our bodies. I felt a searing burn race through my thigh. The acrid stench of gunpowder was thick in the air.
He rolled me off of him and started to regain his feet.
– I still recall the burning sensation of the dream bullets. They hurt, really hurt and I was having a very difficult time breathing. Knowing this was a dream I wanted to wake-up to end the agony, but for some reason I knew this “nightmare” would return unless I defeated it now. I resisted the urge to “quit” and continued the dream –
I mustered the strength and kicked him in the knee. I heard an audible snap as he screamed and fell to the ground next to me. Without thinking I drove my elbow into his temple, knocking him out. With a painful deep breath, I let out a sigh of relief. Feeling something warm on my cheek, I rubbed my fingers against it. They were red with blood. I could taste it in my mouth and wondered if one could die in their sleep. Suddenly we were surrounded. Men in suits and sunglasses stood above the gunman and me. Weapons drawn, they pointed them nervously at us, “Don’t move!” one commanded. A second reached up and removed his glasses. “Thanks, if you hadn’t intervened…”
“No problem guys, ‘bout time you got here though.” I murmured as darkness overtook me. –
I woke the next morning more refreshed than I can remember. After the “nightmare” my dreams were vibrant and fulfilling that night. I recall knowing these were dreams but sat back and enjoyed the experience rather than spoil the show.
I don’t always realize I am in a dream-state, but when I do, sometimes I take control. I do experience more daytime fatigue when I “interfere” than when I just go-with-the-flow.
Christ. I have these dreams all the time. No flying for me just incredible hulk type jumping. Its awsome bouncing over buildings. In nightmares I can become imortal. Have had falling off cliff dreams where I either just change the scene or smack into the ground and keep on dreaming. I have been stabbed, beheaded, shot, the works. Strangely I remember older dreams in my dreams but I am not really sure am remebering older dreams or dreaming that I remember the dream. It feels kind of like a deja vu(sp) in a dream. Sometimes I dream so vivid dreams that I cant distinguish them from reality case in point when I dreamed that a new atm had been built around the corner. A couple of days later I was dissapointed to see that the atm had been ‘removed’ . I can honestly say that I love going to bed each night. Its like another life for me where I am in total control.
You guys have got to help me! I keep having this most horrid nightmare. I think about this during the day and toss and turn until I fall asleep. I need to get control of this. Is there anyone out there that can offer a solution to the hell my life has become?
You see, it starts like this, I’m standing in the shallow end of the public pool. Suddenly I get the urge to pee, and without a second thought I proceed to put the “P” in the “ool”. Funny that no one notices my vile deed.
Without warning this vile, nasty, hell-beast erupts out of the water. Thrashing its massive toothpick body up my piss-stream and embeds itself into my whats’it. I grab fruitlessly at the flipping little bugger only to have it disappear into my neither regions. I stand there in agony as I feel it squirming further up the tube taking leisurely bites along the way.
“CHOMP…CHOMP…CHOMP…”
As I cry out for help, all the people around me have to say is that I have no one to blame except for Bellows.
“Curse you Bellows, curse you.” I scream to the sky as that “CHOMP…CHOMP…CHOMP…” echoes in my dream ears. Or should that be “waaga…waaga…waaga” as some little yellow video game ball use to make gobbling dots and chasing blue ghosts.
Naw… only kidding guys. Couldn’t help myself. ;)
Radiatidon – Your pose is nicely done, gave me creepy visuals as I read it. Thanks for the share. I found it entertaining though deeply disturbing.
I love lucid dreaming. As for myself, I seem to “go lucid” perhaps once or twice a month or so. Most of the time I get to what I would call a semi-lucid state – that is I am aware of dreaming but do not really take control as it somehow does not occur to me to do so! I have also found that even when I do take over I still only have partial control of what’s going on. Sure I can fly (sometimes) or move building like their made of cardboard or whatever, but I can’t control the overall scene or the other ‘people’ I meet there. That last point is especially important insofar as sex is concerned . . .
As for getting to a lucid state – try this: every time something odd happens read something, look away and read it again. Much like the watch, it will look the same if your awake. I’ve never needed to read anything the second time as whatever I try to read while asleep I cannot – it’s all weird symols I can’t read!
One more thing! If you are in a lucid state and notice that you keep looking to one side – perhaps you looking out a window to your left for exaple – my understanding is that is because your lying with your head turned that way. Try looking the other way. Just try. It will be very difficult – but well worth it!
The idea of actually trying to have a lucid dream scares the bedoodles out of me. I do have them and they don’t bother me when they occur naturally. However, in my long-ago and misspent youth I had a very bad experience with a psychotropic, hallucinogentic, controlled substance that left me with the lasting impression that my entire life was a dream and I was lying in a hospital bed being comatose. It took years, and a lot of panic attacks, to overcome.
Consequently I feel that it would be the pinnacle of folly to try to induce that state, at least for me. It would be a bit like trying to be psychotic. Enjoyable at the time, perhaps, but difficult to retreat from.
Now y’all may think I’m just a burnt out old hippie but I bet there’s others out there with a similar view.
However, I must admit that the potential for sexual fantasy has me interested. Has anyone besmirched a supermodel yet? Or that nice little piece in marketing?”
I don’t have lucid dreams regularly these days, but when I do they are almost always erotic. It’s no substitute for the real thing, but can be nearly as intense…
HarleyHetz said: “I agree LMAO!!!
Wonderful article, and has anyone else noticed that it elicited wonderful and very entertaining comments!!
Keep up the good work Jason!!”
Yeah,Wow!
This is great, just like the early days of DI! Loving the comments as much as the article. We ARE a great bunch of folks ain’t we! LOL :)
My whole life I’ve had a problem with sleep walking/talking. Most tiomes, I don’t recall the incidents, only being told the next morning by my girlfriend or other roommates that I was up walking around in my underwear sometimes trying to “land this sucker”, (airplane). Lately, I have a problem, where I know I’m sleeping, but I can’t move my arms or legs, and I can hear whoever, (in the waking world), talking,etc… and find myself crying out for help, much to the amusement of said person(s). Usually, just a hand on my shoulder or leg will allow me to “wake up” and move again.
I’ve achieved lucidity a couple of time, on accident. As soon as I’m lucid, though, I wake up — my dreams are often pretty twisted.
Also, frisbee, that sounds like sleep paralysis. It’s rather common.
DI indeed!
I don’t know if what happens to me can really count as lucid dreaming, but I can often control who appears in my dreams, at least the first one. If I’m lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, I can concentrate on a person, or sometimes more than one person, and usually I can kind of take them into sleep with me. Where the dream goes from there, I don’t recall ever having control of. Though I have had those moments where I realize I’m dreaming while I’m in the dream, I can’t change anything.
Did the title of this article get the song by Queensrÿche stuck in anyone else’s head? Maybe it’s just me.
AntEconomist said: “The male pronoun is also the neutral pronoun. It drives me crazy when people use “they” as a singular neutral pronoun.
See http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/he“
Ha! You obviously haven’t read the DI article When They Became Him!
I suffer from nightmares on a regular basis, even if the situation isn’t something scary I often wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing and covered in sweat (this usually wakes my husband as well)
After visiting the links, I am definantly going to try to develop my skills so I can get some peaceful sleep!! Thank you so much for the fascinating article!
When I first learnt about lucid dreams – University, mid 80s – I was VERY surprised to hear that this was not common. I can do this just about anytime I want to, except when I am really tired. I can fly wherever I want to, but, I MUST “take off” from the top of a long flight of stairs in my home town – so, “blink” myself to the top of said stairs, take a run and soar, a la hang-gliding, then fly wherever. Used to play with this when I was young, and then again for a while after I found out it’s not common.
My favourite dream time activity though, is fast-forward, stop, frame-advance on recurring dreams. I have some cool recurring dreams – think battle scenes in “300.” When one of these dreams occurs, I fast forward over the less interesting bits, and slow down-rewind-play on the really exciting parts. If I feel like really playing I will alter the colours of the dreams too. Cool stuff, but, I cannot make one of these recurring dreams happen, I can only play with the content once I am in it.
Yay! Yay, yay, yay. I have had two flying dreams – one a rerun/extension of the other – and was so happy about it and disappointed that it didn’t happen more often. Maybe I can do it again. Lovely proper flying, swooping wherever I wanted to. And I’ve only dreamed about sex twice, which is also incredibly disappointing because it was as good as the real thing.
I agree that controlled dreaming could be addictive, a real-life experience machine. But I have nothing against experience machines. ;)
When I was a kid I used to have the opposite of the sinking-into-the-mattress feeling. Either the mattress would suddenly disappear from under me – full-on startle reflex would ensue – or it would somehow push me all the way up to the ceiling. I semi-remember lots of mostly content-free ‘dreams’ in which I had no space to be or breathe. But then I also had to jump into my bed from the doorway until the embarrassingly late age of 14 so as to avoid the monster under the bed that I knew wasn’t there.
Overall, yay.
An a world of unlimited potential unlocked by your own imagination and desires… maybe we all die when we go to sleep and go to heaven. Night terrors “I have gone psycho and a thousand demons have been unleashed and they are screaming” or hell…
I really wish I could realize when I’m dreaming because in about 50% of all my dreams I wind up in a bathroom, and because my dreams are so real I swear I’m really in a bathroom and you can probably see where I’m going with this.
I think there is some difference between the semi-lucid dreams one experiences during a “power nap” ( which I truly enjoy) , and a true lucid dream. I have had only one lucid dream in my life. It involved flying over the countryside, and I was in control just like Superman. It was a powerful experience which I will never forget.
I am a new-age philosophy skeptic and general non-believer in spirits.
Dreaming about sex = wonderful.
Lucid dreaming about flying = priceless
Actionable Mango said: ” I’ve tried to fly but the best I can do is hover several feet above the ground.”
bob1983 says:”crazy, ive had the exact same thing happen twice. i think i lucid, or almost lucid, dream every so often. i guess i do the controlled entry approach, cuz atleast once a month i have that sensation im falling into my mattress. plus, if i have trouble falling asleep, sometimes i’ll just consciously try to start dreaming.”
I also had the same dream several times. The crazy thing is that I have to flap my arms so that I could fly forward. When I did dream I could fully fly, I decided to land on top of a high building to enjoy the view. Then it occured to me, what if I lost my ability to fly. I decided to take the elevator instead. Jeez!
I am also experiencing dreams which I don’t know if I could consider as lucid dreams almost every month. The problem is that when I do so, I can’t move. I know I’m still sleeping yet I can see my sorroundings and could hear conversations around me. I feel as if I couldn’t breathe and have to concentrate to do so. The only way to leave this dream state is to concentrate hard enough so that I could move my head. After I do wake up, I feel very sleepy and weak that I tend to re-enter this dream state. Again, I have to will myself out of it. I have to drink a glass of water before going to sleep again to avoid this dream state.
In my country, this dream state is called “U-ung”, a pre-cursor to a “bangugot” or nightmare that can potentially kill. Victims of this killer dreams are diagnosed to have suffered from acute pancreatitis.
texnation said: “I really wish I could realize when I’m dreaming because in about 50% of all my dreams I wind up in a bathroom, and because my dreams are so real I swear I’m really in a bathroom and you can probably see where I’m going with this.”
Glad to know that I’m not the only one who has been awakened by a warm feeling that this isn’t really a bathroom.
I have had dreams when I was younger that seemed the be in parts, where one night I would go on some magical journey, then the night night continue it just as if I had never woken up. I have had lucid dreams before, but I can’t remember the last time I had one.
“there is no evidence that would make me believe [in lucid dreams].”
I don’t sense the irony.
Anyway, what exactly was the eye signal the scientists agreed on for the experiment.
DI article,
– however, my experiences with conscious dreaming aren’t pleasant.
I have one recurring lucid dream, but it is the worst dream I have. I realize that I’m dreaming, – and then I try to wake up. I succeed in this – and the environment is the bedroom. But then I’m not able to move, and I realize that I’m still dreaming. And then I repeat. And repeat again. This dream normally arrives when I’m sleeping in strange places.
Next time I’ll try flying instead of trying to wake up:-)
when i was a little kid, i had dreams that i could have again. it was like playing a video in my mind and i could even fast foward and rewind…it sounds strange but i did happen. one of my dreams even had a roll of credits at the end featuring mostly me
i’ve woken up crying after dreaming that my grandma (who lived alone) was sewing together chicken bones and skin to make a person because she was so loney…is waking up emotional to a dream considered lucid?
after reading this i remembered that i’ve done the jumpy thing- i remember anticipating my ankles hurting on my way down. i can also wake up when the dream is too scary and i need to get out of a situation. when i was a kid i had to shake my head or talk to myself in order to wake up.
a question for the guys who are lucky enough to experience sex dreams…are these ‘wet dreams’ that end up in a morning mess? that would be like masterbating with no hands if you can control that!
frisbee212 said:
My whole life I’ve had a problem with sleep walking/talking. Most tiomes, I don’t recall the incidents, only being told the next morning by my girlfriend or other roommates that I was up walking around in my underwear sometimes trying to “land this sucker”, (airplane). Lately, I have a problem, where I know I’m sleeping, but I can’t move my arms or legs, and I can hear whoever, (in the waking world), talking,etc… and find myself crying out for help, much to the amusement of said person(s). Usually, just a hand on my shoulder or leg will allow me to “wake up” and move again.
kupalissss said:
I am also experiencing dreams which I don’t know if I could consider as lucid dreams almost every month. The problem is that when I do so, I can’t move. I know I’m still sleeping yet I can see my sorroundings and could hear conversations around me. I feel as if I couldn’t breathe and have to concentrate to do so. The only way to leave this dream state is to concentrate hard enough so that I could move my head. After I do wake up, I feel very sleepy and weak that I tend to re-enter this dream state. Again, I have to will myself out of it. I have to drink a glass of water before going to sleep again to avoid this dream state.
In my country, this dream state is called “U-ung”, a pre-cursor to a “bangugot” or nightmare that can potentially kill. Victims of this killer dreams are diagnosed to have suffered from acute pancreatitis.”
You guys probably want to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnopompic_paralysis
I have to say, that I personally dont think it is true muscle paralysation, as many people who undergo the hypnopompic ‘paralysation’ are said to be moving wildly according to other people.
I think it is a sensory phenomeonon, where there the inhibition of feedback FROM the muscle TO the brain, (rather than inhibition of signals TO the muscle FROM the brain) leads the brain to believe that it is paralysed, even though the body really is moving.
cerebulon said: “….. At this point everything started to pop out of existence: Buildings disappeared, cars in mid-flight vanished and people started running round screaming. I looked back at my classmate and she said again: “You just couldn’t leave it alone! Why?! Now we are all dead! We’re all dead!”
At that point I woke up. I’d have to say that was the most disturbing dream I’ve ever had. I still feel a bit guilty about it too, as if I somehow murdered that poor girl by discovering it was a dream.”
DUDE priceless
I had an argument with someone in a lucid dream once as well, I was trying to convince the other that this was all just a dream and the other wouldnt believe it. Makes you wonder whether the opposite occurs, and there are people who have dreamed that someone tried to convince them that they where dreaming but they wouldnt believe it?
Throughout my life I’ve encountered lucid dreaming. I’ve never known there were actual studies on it or that it was given a name. When I was about 13 years old my friend of the same age came up with a method of achieving a lucid dream state which involved staying up late watching Letterman and falling asleep while watching t.v. (Very scientific, I know). He claimed that he could control his dreams often, and told me about his “awesome” encounters with women. :) I most often find myself in a lucid nightmare, where I know I am dreaming and I attempt to wake myself up. It is a very frightening experience, and I try to “throw myself” awake. Often times, when I am able to wake myself up I’m sweating and I’ve thrown myself upright in bed. Othertimes I try to yell myself awake and wakeup yelling. When I achieve my goal of waking myself up I feel very relieved. I’ve also experienced a few occurences of waking myself out of a lucid dream state (upright in bed) only to find that I didn’t actually wake up but was still dreaming. (I dreamed that I had woken up). So I guess I had chaned from a lucid dream state into a regular dream state. Crazy.
How can anyone deny the dreams’ existence? They obviously exist. I have had such dreams where I was conscious I was asleep. I’ve had dreams where I have made things I want happen, although never having full consciousness and the things I made happen pertained to the story line of the dream. Never were the two together and that is what I want to achieve.
I haven’t read the comments so I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but there are dangers with lucid dreaming, although they aren’t too bad. One of the problems is constantly lucid dreaming, never having uncontrolled dreams. Another problem is that lucid dreamers may not be able to awake from their dreams sometimes. When that happens, the person forces him or herself to awake, then thinks he has awoken in his or her room, but is actually still dreaming. This happens several times before the person actually awakes. That can be pretty damn scary if like you’re in your room and something horrible comes out at you! Scary!
jahana said: “i can also wake up when the dream is too scary and i need to get out of a situation. when i was a kid i had to shake my head or talk to myself in order to wake up.”
I can remember doing this at least once too. I dreamed I was being kidnapped but realized it was just a dream and simply willed myself awake.
Unfortunately, at least 9 times out of 10 I wake up remembering only that I was having a dream, not the content of the dream itself, much less whether it was lucid. One new technology I’d love to see invented is a dream-DVR that would enable you to record your dreams and play them back on your TV or HDTV later.
I used to dream I got run over by a red ferrari on a daily basis, when I was about 6-12 years old. I had a small matchbox red ferrari just like the one that ran me over, where I’m pretty sure I got the idea and model for the dream from. By the 100th time of getting run over by the same ferrari, same dream, different night, I just told myself that it was a dream and I just let it run me over so I could keep sleeping, instead of futilely running from it. That’s the first time I can remember that I could control my dreams, even if only slightly. It’s much better since then, since I basically train every night. Guy with a knife chasing me? Who cares. I know it’s a dream because I’m in my dad’s house, but outside it’s not the outside that I would associate with my dad’s outside (Like, the interior is that of my dad’s house, but the outside – the trees and the driveway and so on – are of a totally different house. My dreams often mix locations). Once I realise it’s a dream, I take on a thought process that I think is pretty much like that I have in real life – I make decisions, I force myself to act on them. I get the dream over with quickly, or if I feel like having fun, I see if I can fight the guy. If I’m in a dream where I’m at work, and something doesn’t seem normal, I’ll look around for things that will tell me if it’s a dream or not. It’s always easy to do. Once I know it’s a dream I do random things that wouldn’t make sense in real life, disrupting the dream completely. I usually can’t do anything superhuman, like flying, but I can always control myself perfectly.
Joshua said: “One new technology I’d love to see invented is a dream-DVR that would enable you to record your dreams and play them back on your TV or HDTV later.”
Just make sure that the dream recorder is not like that of the alien Krell race in Forbidden Planet!
I am a lucid dreamer, so whenever i have nightmares, i usually raise my hand and stop time. Everything stands still, whatever was happening, stops. Then i think about the situation and most of the time just wave my hand as if erasing everything. This always works and then i am able to imagine something more “pleasent.” But if i don’t concentrate enough, the nightmare starts again. If your lucid dreams are not vivid enough or weird things keep happening, try this; scream within the dream ‘i am dreaming’ a couple of times. You’ll see that your vision is much clearer now and nothing is happening now without your will.
Actionable Mango said: “I experience lucid dreaming now and then. I am not able to trigger recognition that I am dreaming, but if I do recognize that I am, I can take control. There are serious limits though. For example, I’ve tried to fly but the best I can do is hover several feet above the ground. Also, I usually have a handgun with me and it never works. Either it jams, its unloaded, or it just plain falls to pieces. This is particularly frustrating in chase sequences where I am running away from a monster or whatnot.”
That’s really interesting. For the last few months, in my non-lucid dreams, i always have a handgun. It’s either jammed or my finger is so weak that i cannot pull the trigger. These are very short dreams and frustrates me to hell.
Actionable Mango said: “Also, I usually have a handgun with me and it never works. Either it jams, its unloaded, or it just plain falls to pieces. This is particularly frustrating in chase sequences where I am running away from a monster or whatnot.”
fadain said: “That’s really interesting. For the last few months, in my non-lucid dreams, i always have a handgun. It’s either jammed or my finger is so weak that i cannot pull the trigger. These are very short dreams and frustrates me to hell.”
Im not a psychologist, but I think we all know how to interpret dreams about guns that don’t fire.
Actionable Mango said: “Also, I usually have a handgun with me and it never works. Either it jams, its unloaded, or it just plain falls to pieces. This is particularly frustrating in chase sequences where I am running away from a monster or whatnot.”
fadain said: “That’s really interesting. For the last few months, in my non-lucid dreams, i always have a handgun. It’s either jammed or my finger is so weak that i cannot pull the trigger. These are very short dreams and frustrates me to hell.”
Im not a psychologist, but I think we all know how to interpret dreams about guns that don’t fire.
I am surprised that you did not mention any of Carlos Castaneda’s writings. If you are unfamiliar I suggest you read them, The Art of Dreaming deals specifically with this issue, and lucid dreaming is an active element throughout much of the storyline. Also, next time you have a lucid dream, look at your hands :)
cerebulon said: “I’ve had one dream that might be considered lucid. It was very disturbing.
The dream took place in a “future earth” setting, with flying cars, aliens and people wearing close-fitting sliver outfits. In the dream, I was in highschool and I was walking home with one of my friends. We were discussing our latest assignment when a “car” that looked too much like a shuttlecraft from StarTrek flew overhead.
I stopped walking, as I slowly realized that I was dreaming. My classmate asked me what was wrong and I told her: “This is all a dream. I am dreaming all of this.”
She initially mocked me, saying something like: “Oh yeah, it’s all a dream! A wonderful, fabulous dream.”
I told her I was serious and that none of this was real. She asked me if I was going insane. She said I was scaring her and for me to stop it. She reminded me of our first day in school, what my parents did for a living and asked me how it could be a dream.
At this point I floated up about 3 feet into the air. I expected her to be amazed. Instead, she looked horrified and resigned. She shook her head and said: “You just couldn’t leave it alone could you?”
At this point everything started to pop out of existence: Buildings disappeared, cars in mid-flight vanished and people started running round screaming. I looked back at my classmate and she said again: “You just couldn’t leave it alone! Why?! Now we are all dead! We’re all dead!”
At that point I woke up. I’d have to say that was the most disturbing dream I’ve ever had. I still feel a bit guilty about it too, as if I somehow murdered that poor girl by discovering it was a dream.”
Wow, that sounds like a great book!
Blake said: “Wow, that sounds like a great book!”
Already been done in various short stories and movies. One Outer Limits was about a man scared to sleep since our existance was based on him never sleeping. The shrink gave him a sleeping pill and when the guy feel asleep the world started to fall apart.
Here is a thought. Has anyone dreamed about falling or getting hit and the next morning discovering a bruise or laceration that did not exist last night when you went to bed? Yet is located in the area that was struck in your dream. Also did that “dream” wound last a normal period or healed faster than normal, say in just a few hours to a day?
I have another dream question. Many times I have gone to bed thinking about a particularly difficult math problem, or computer algorithm I was trying to write, subsequently dreamed about it, and solved it during my dream. When I wake up, the solution is still running around in my head and all I have to do it write it down and verify it. Is this common?
Very Interesting.
I had my first lucid dream at around 15. Asked dad ( a medico) about ‘altered dream states’. He’d never heard of anything like it. That’s what interests me: many cultures recognise the phenomenon (see the Wikipedia link above – particularly like the ‘haggard’ reference), yet our splintered, accelerating culture is all confused about it. With some work I got to the stage where, if lying relaxed on my back in bed in daylight on a morning after plenty of sleep, I could enter the lucid dream state fully concious. I would know the point at which I’d fallen asleep because I’d feel my soft palate relax and heavy breathing/light snoring start. Had to be deeply relaxed and confident to then ‘sweep up and forwards’ towards some sort of opening such as an open window. That’s what I find so fascinating about the whole experience – clearly a mental construct yet roughly following standard laws. If ‘sweeping up ‘ through a ceileng, Id have to move past beams/insulation/roof cavity/tiles – everything that my concious mind expected. I’d meet some very interesting characters once in the dream, sometimes tailed by figures like some mentioned above. I remember one couple, sort of good cop / bad cop, with one wearing pants with an interesting black and white check overlaid with ‘rorschach’ blots. Each time that I flew somewhere, they would later arrive tailing me, kind of implying that I shouldn’t really be there.
That’s the experience side of things almost done. In terms of technique to escape the ‘state’ I move a finger, as I find it much easier than attempting to move more of my body. Focussing on the finger allows me to see it as part of my body, in bed.
Now what i find Really Interesting is looking at the phenomenon as it’s experienced in the West, as opposed to many of the cultures cited on Wiki.
What are our equivalents of the spirit world etc. ? Well the New Age beliefs have the area pretty well covered with borrowed concepts such as Astral Travel, Out of Body experiences, silver chords and various ‘risks’ as well as benefits of the experience. I believe that these percieved risks mirror more traditional beliefs and have their origins in the aspects of lucid dreaming that can be unpleasant. My own experience is that in order to reach the freedom of lucid dreaming, I must generally first go through a very dark, uncomfortable, and sometimes pretty frightening stage; of rushing blindly up through darkness, yet trusting that everything will be ok.
What i find most intriguing of all is 1. old tales of abduction by the ‘faeriefolk’ going back many centuries in Europe and 2. paralells with newer tales of alien abduction. Simialities abound in areas of tingling sensations and accompanying paralysis, missing time and so on. My own feeling is that the experience is very strongly shaped by the particular expectations, beliefs, and in interesting ways (such as alien abduction beliefs/similarities of experience), shared cultural beliefs, kinda like Jung’s collective unconsious. Incidentally, taught my brother to lucid dream, but both of us ended up becoming sick of starting to enter the lucid dream state when all we wanted was a damn good sleep. Still happens at times tho.
Thanks for a very interesting site
texnation said: “I really wish I could realize when I’m dreaming because in about 50% of all my dreams I wind up in a bathroom, and because my dreams are so real I swear I’m really in a bathroom and you can probably see where I’m going with this.”
This cracks me up because as a child of school age, I would often dream I’d awakened and was getting ready to leave. I would be showered and dressed, and brushing my teeth, when I spit into the sink, I awoke, with slobber on my face and late. LOL
JM said: “I have another dream question. Many times I have gone to bed thinking about a particularly difficult math problem, or computer algorithm I was trying to write, subsequently dreamed about it, and solved it during my dream. When I wake up, the solution is still running around in my head and all I have to do it write it down and verify it. Is this common?”
I understand that many great minds have found some of the most profound answers to questions of physics, medicine, science etc. while in a sleep state.
Wish I could quote some examples, but am sure several of our learned friends here can do so for us.
The tales of Edgar Cayce tells that his phychic ability was induced while in a hypnotic or trance state, much like sleep.
I think M.Curie, possibly Einstein and Ben Franklin have mentioned this phenom. in their writings; but as I confess, am not sure.
During most of my dreams I am totally aware that I am asleep. I figure ‘If I know that I am dreaming, then I can control the dream’. No, I hardly ever have any control over it. The times that I can’t tell reality and sleep apart are when I’m dreaming about waking up (and, indeed, I am in a hypnopompic state). These dreams are ludicrous, and I find myself struggling desperately to wake. One eye sees as though I am wandering about, the other can only see a fixed image of my wall, ceiling, or bedsheets. So sometimes I feel like I’m having lucid nightmares rather than dreams.
brienhopkins said: ” “there is no evidence that would make me believe [in lucid dreams].”
I don’t sense the irony.”
The irony is that the denial itself isn’t scientifically valid. A scientific statement must be falsifiable, and if that scientist’s belief is unfalsifiable then it’s unscientific.
brienhopkins said: “Anyway, what exactly was the eye signal the scientists agreed on for the experiment.”
It probably varied from experiment to experiment and depending on the experimenter. One example I found was tracing a triangle with the eyes, counting to ten, then doing it again. See here:
Susan Blackmore: Lucid Dreaming: Awake in Your Sleep? (1991)
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Articles/si91ld.html
S0122017 said: “You guys probably want to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnopompic_paralysis
I have to say, that I personally dont think it is true muscle paralysation, as many people who undergo the hypnopompic ‘paralysation’ are said to be moving wildly according to other people.
I think it is a sensory phenomeonon, where there the inhibition of feedback FROM the muscle TO the brain, (rather than inhibition of signals TO the muscle FROM the brain) leads the brain to believe that it is paralysed, even though the body really is moving.”
Thanks for the input and the link!
At times, I must have entered the hypnagogic (or hypnogogic) state when I suffer from sleep paralysis. During those times, I experience really weird things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia
I began having lucid dreams as a child– my constant nightmares led to a desperate desire to be able to control my dream surroundings. Now and then, I could abort a nightmare scenerio, or I would have dreams in which I could levitate.
Over the years, the levitation became flight, and I’ve also managed some other interesting feats in dreams: pyrokinesis, psychokinesis, and some control over my surroundings and the people in my dreams. One of my favourites is a strange defense against any monsters or aggressing figures in dreams– I can hold my hands over them and drain their life-force. I’ve come to believe that one’s skills in lucid dreams may likely need to be practised and developed as any skill must be.
I still cannot completely design my dreams or have a lucid dream absolutely every time I try, but I’ve learned some techniques in inducing them, and they always prove to be amazing experiences.
As for proving their existence, I see no point. One may as well attempt to prove that one enjoys the flavour of oranges– it’s a personal experience that requires only one’s own awareness. I know for certain that I experience lucid dreams just as I know for certain that I experience the taste of an orange. While scientific investigation of either is sure to be interesting and enlightening, neither thing needs to be validated.
I dunno if it qualifies for lucid dreaming or wat.. but many a times when am dreaming and i hear the alarm ringing, i feel as if the alarm is ringing in my dream and i close it. When i wake up, am amazed when i look at my mobile phone.. not only am i late, but i cant believe i turned off the clock!!! Sometimes i even remember i opened my eyes, looked at the phone, picked it up, saw the clse button and then closed the alarm, but on other ocassions, i dont remember doing that.. And yea, am pretty sure in the early years of life many of us have had this famous experience where-by we are peeing in the dream and when we wake up, we find the bed wet!!! I wonder why that happens only to children and not to adults!!!
yanman said: “Fascinating! I only became aware of lucid dreaming after seeing a product on a future-gadget-type show called Beyond2000 when I was a child. It had cloth eye covers and some electrodes which you strapped to your temples I think. When you entered dream-state (can’t remember the details of how it did this but something about brainwave patterns) it blinked some LED’s in the eye-covers. After time you were meant to learn this signal as a way of recognising that you were dreaming.”
I saw that same show and immediately started on my own version! It’s relatively easy to determine when you enter dream state by looking for REM (Rapid Eye Movement).
i have experienced lucid dreaming many times. like others who have posted, when i try and fly, i usually only manage a hover… it’s almost like i’m treading water. the funny thing is, i think i must be moving my body at the same time because when i get caught up in my sheets or pajamas, i can’t move in my dream. although lucid dreaming is awesome, i find it impossible to attain if i’m having a dream in third person. however, if it’s a first person dream, i can usually control it. i hope to have many more lucid dreams!
Didoka said: “the person forces him or herself to awake, then thinks he has awoken in his or her room, but is actually still dreaming. This happens several times before the person actually awakes. That can be pretty damn scary if like you’re in your room and something horrible comes out at you! Scary!”
this has happened to me on several occaions. it’s pretty terrifying – it usually only happens when i’m waking up earlier than normal though and i’m still exhausted.
I just discovered this site today and can really relate to this article and the many comments it has elicited.
I used to have lucid dreams quite often when I was in high school and learned to control them. I was able to master flight several times, although usually it would have certain limitations and often I would have the “hover” phenomenon many people have posted about.
Most of my dreams are very unrealistic so I think that makes it easier to be aware that I am in a dream. I often dream I am being chased, but when I try to take control of the dreams, I eventually wake up. In really good dreams, I try to take control, but the more control I take or the more I want to enjoy the dream because I realise I am in a dream, the faster I wake. Line one commenter posted, I can sometimes find the dream again, but it is never as good as the original or I end up lying awake in bed continuing the story in my head.
I have dreamt my death several times and sometimes I wake up, sometimes I continue dreaming. If I wake up, I feel like I fall or spin back into myself, and when I had a water bed, the bed would be shaking like crazy.
In high school I was able to acheive out-of-body experience a few times, but the most I was able to do was float a foot above myself, lying flat on my stomach.
I don’t have many lucid dreams anymore. I don’t even remember most of my dreams anymore. I think the reason is that I don’t nearly get enough sleep. When I have had several nights of full sleep, I am able to sleep in rather than wake to an alarm, I more likely to remember my dream and possibly be able to control it.
I have dreams where I can fly, but I have to flap really hard. I can only get about 2′ off the ground.
I have lucid dreams all the time. It’s quite different than a regular dream. I can often recall 2 or 3 different dreams in a night, or around what time I had them. I am often able to control my own actions in a dream. Sometimes they’re very fantasy based [breathing shallow underwater allows me to breathe], sometimes they’re reality based [making love to my fiance].
DJ-Anakin said: “I have lucid dreams all the time. It’s quite different than a regular dream. I can often recall 2 or 3 different dreams in a night, or around what time I had them. I am often able to control my own actions in a dream. Sometimes they’re very fantasy based [breathing shallow underwater allows me to breathe], sometimes they’re reality based [making love to my fiance].”
YOUR FIANCE!?! HA! Who are you trying to kid!
Hehehehhehe!
Once I was a commando, and killed dozens!
I have sometimes experienced lucid dreaming, although it seems to have been of the scary, out of body kind. usually when i realise that i am about to fall off a cliff in the dream, but i am still partially awake, and the realisation hits me and i wake up slightly, usually at the same time as moving a part of my body or giving a small jolt.
It’s odd.
I’ve often experienced some lucidity in dreams, being able to exert some control over times when I float or fly somewhat. The flying was always very shaky until I actively recognized that I could control it. I rarely remember my dreams. But in some percentage of times, I can now enter lucid dreams voluntarily because I’ve worked on it. I rarely think of doing it but would like to practice more. It works best when I’m not really tired, which is rare because I sleep little each night, being a night owl. My technique is to spend a few minutes calming myself and clearing my head, then imagine myself on top of a tall tower in my city, standing at the edge, and willing myself to be powerful. I tip over the edge and KICK myself down toward the ground. As I fall, I will myself almost angrily, forcefully to accelerate toward the ground. Real Matrix like-limited only by your imagination. As I almost hit the ground, I will myself to turn sharply and skim the ground. It’s shortly after this that I frequently will lose control and fall asleep, but if I can fight it, I often fly down the street inches above the pavement, upending cars in my way. I’ll crash through walls just for grins. I’ve picked up and thrown cars. I’m always pretty fuzzy, not thinking clearly, so only a couple times has it occurred to me to grab bigger things. I tipped over a bus one time, picked up and threw one another time. My goal next time is an ocean liner. The tower I dive off is near the waterfront, so I can just skim over – I think it hasn’t occurred to me because I can’t figure out the water thing, and I’m a little panicky in the water. But what the hey, I’m invincible. Oh, I did go into space once. And I was flying incredibly fast, really opening it up, but I think I fell asleep. More practice!
candreamer said: “As I almost hit the ground, I will myself to turn sharply and skim the ground.”
Ahhh, Douglas Adams’s fantastic [i]throw yourself at the ground and miss[/i] method of flying…
There is probably nothing that people exaggerate more about then the phenomena of Lucid Dreaming.
Here is a URL to a compilation of scholarly essays written regarding lucid dreaming: http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/tableof.htm. Pay particular attention to the one by Dr. Anne Faraday (http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/selling.htm ) She had been one of the first to popularize the idea of Lucid Dreaming, and promoted the notions and promises about ‘complete control’, blah, blah, blah.
Well, for everyone who says that people are supposed to have complete control, nobody actually does. Or when they manage to impose a great deal of control over their dreams, then it sets up a kind of war with their Dream Mind. The Dreaming Mind actively resists these efforts of the dreamer to assert ‘complete control’.
The Dream Mind’s favorite evasive tactic is to have the dreamer dream that he woke up – a “false awakening”. You see, the dreamer became Lucid when he realized he was dreaming, but that realization becomes cancelled if the dreamer thinks he woke up in the morning and the day has begun. The lucid dreamer then relaxes his attempts to create whatever wild sex dream he had in mind (yes, most Lucid Dreamers want to have virtual sex … with their Sunday school teacher or whatever), and from there the Dream Mind can transition the dreamer back into ordinary dreaming.
You see, ordinary dreaming must have its purposes. If a lucid dreamer were really able to totally co-opt dreaming, then these real uses for dreaming would be defeated, wouldn’t they?
I’ve heard from some Lucid Dreamers, a rare few, who said that they were able to eventually acquire a great deal of control over their dreams and were even able to detect the false awakenings. Then, you know what? The Dream Mind decided to entirely shut them down. Suddenly they could no longer even remember their dreams. For all they knew, they no longer dreamt.
So, Lucid Dreaming is not something you want to screw with – not cavalierly anyway.
But, yes, an occasional Lucid Dream is great. But one must simply take the Lucid Dream for what it was meant to be – that it is a vivid dream in which one realizes one is dreaming. The only control that should be exercised is SELF CONTROL. One should allow the Dream to transact as it ordinarily would. One should make one’s own choices and decisions as to how to respond to the action unfolding during the dream, but one should not go so far as to destroy the dream, to hijack the dream. After all, the Dream Mind took the time to create a meaningful Story Scenario for you to enjoy – perhaps conveying some important Life Lesson. Now why then would you want to cancel all that out for the sake of trying to conjure up one’s own idea of entertainment?
Besides, I suspect that people who do achieve a great deal of control in their dreams are rewarded with some fairly shallow, 2 dimensional, simplistic cartoon like dreams. Whereas the Dream Mind that does ordinary dreaming has a great many assets available to it, well, the personal imagination on the spur of the moment is equipped with practically nothing. Such dreams are typically vapid and flat.
Yes, when one visits Lucid Dream Forums and specialty Pages, one hears a great deal of enthusiasm, but I suspect many people are exaggerating, and are actually jockeying for position as Super Lucid Dreaming Guru. So they lie about their own capabilities. Then, most of everybody else is writing in to complain that they are beset with problems and nothing ever goes as planned. These are the people I expect are telling the Truth about Lucid Dreaming.
Also, there is a problem with the whole model of supposing dreams come from this thing called the “subconscious”. It is a very materialistic concept that supposes that dreams are entirely of one’s own creation – in one’s own head. Well, if that were true, it would be fine; however, there seems to be a great deal of evidence that dreams may come from outside, and that a great deal of dream material is universal or collective. For instance, if one were to have a Shared Dream – two people having exactly the same dream, or rather sharing the same Dreamscape. Well, this entirely explodes the notion of a personal subconscious mind, doesn’t it? And I can attest to the validity of the existence of actual shared dreams.
So, without a subconscious mind, then, to attempt to attain to total dream control, one would have to successfully invade and vanquish some Collective or Universal Mind. Good luck there, but I don’t think so.
While I agree that a lot of reports of lucidity might be stretched, I have had dreams that nobody else believed, indeed they were hard for me to believe. The concept of a universal ‘dream world’ used to be unbelievable to me but two dreams I have had have challenged that concept.
In one, I deliberately went looking for Treasure (despite the realization that I was having a lucid dream and the wisest thing to do would be to seek my ‘spirit guide’). I found jewelry hidden in a can in the attic of my house (a 90 year old house I had owned for 5 years). Upon awakening I searched under the insulation at that spot and found an empty baking soda tin and a crumpled newspaper from the ’30’s (the paper had a filler article about some country singer’s “black diamond ring” made from anthracite to remind him of his coal mining roots). Not the Treasure I had dreamed, but… close.
The second impressive dream was me sitting in my Aunt Pat’s living room with her, my dad, and two uncles. I became lucid when I remembered that they were all deceased. “Wait a minute!”, I said “aren’t you dead?”. “Well, yes, but that doesn’t really matter” my uncle said. At the time I thought I should turn around and see if the person behind me was seeing this too, but I was afraid if I took my eyes off them they would go away. We conversed a while and I awoke.
A week or so later I met up with my brother at a family function and he said “I had a really wierd dream that you were in…” and proceeded to tell me that very dream from the perspective of the person behind me in the room!
Oddly or not, I have not had a lucid dream since that time ten years ago.
I stumbled upon this site through the Firefox Stumble site. Both awesome sights.
About 12 years ago I began to have very terrifying dreams. I was being chased by something evil that wanted to harm me. Sometimes I would wake up and see red glowing flames in my hallway. I would always know that I was dreaming and attempt to move my body, flail my arms, or cry out all in the hopes of waking my husband so he could wake me. I knew that once I was awake I would be safe. The dreams lasted about 2 years becoming more and more frequent. I was afraid to sleep at night and became severely depressed. I was also dealing with the death of my mother, a miscarriage, and the death of my father all within a 7-week period.
I started counseling with my pastor hoping to get some sanity back in my life. He explained that I was lucid dreaming and that I need to face my fears. He instructed me to take God into the dream and demand that the thing chasing me go away. I know for some of you this all sounds silly but it worked. I had to repeat this about 3 or 4 times and the nightmares that had been coming 2 to 3 times a week stopped coming.
I eventually ended up on anti-depressants and sleeping medications. I am still taking them. Occasionally when I am going through a very tough time and the meds seem to fail I will have a nightmare or two but never the evil chasing me or the flames in the hall. I also don’t have nightlights in every socket of the house.
I have had a few lucid dreams where I was woken by my mother. I knew she was dead and I was dreaming but we visited anyway. Those are heartbreaking when I do wake up. I don’t know if this has anything to do with lucid dreaming but I also walk and talk in my sleep. And now that I am 50 I even snore.
For anyone interested in remembering your dreams start keeping a dream journal. Keep a notebook next to your bed and write it all out while the details are fresh. It’s incredible to go back and read about your dream.
Zoo
Dear Dkippe,
Yes, it is fascinating that a dream was able to point out that tobacco can of treasure in your attic. What are the odds of such a thing being exactly where it was indicated to be? This along with the evidence of Shared Dreams must indicate that Dreams are operating outside of just some personal nervous Subconscious Mind.
Oh, and, yes, it does seem to be one of the worthwhile things one can do with a Lucid Dream, and that is to make some effort to attain to Spiritual Guidance. I used to use Lucid Dreams as a venue for testing different Prayers and Mantras, and even various methods of Levitation, finding eventually that the Lucid Dreams used my penchant for levitation to take me to certain Important Dreams that had been set aside for when I would become Lucid.
Indeed, often enough Lucid Dreams is simply another way to say Vivid Dreams. Not long ago people could write complete books upon dreams and the history of the field of Dream Studies without ever mentioning the term “lucidity”. Then, people used to work on their dreams and dream content using suggestion — they would go over again and again in their heads exactly what kind of dreams they wished to have and then how they would wish to behave in such dreams. Then, when such dreams would occur, and they would be extremely vivid, and while the dreams would use their own wisdom and thus modify content from exactly what was planned, still the dreamer would be self-consious enough to behave appropriately and responsibly. And all of this could be done without once invoking the concept of “lucidity”.
I did not read all the comments so this might have been mentioned as a tip to lucid dreaming. Every night as you fall a sleep tell your self to wake up in the dream. Be consistent and don’t give up. Also as mentioned if when you have entered a lucid dream and find that you are becoming conscious, spin it will keep you dreaming.
Well it’s an older article, but i will boldly post nonetheless.
I, too, have quite often lucid dreams and once you got the hang of it, it can be wonderful, sometimes nearly addictive.
But there are uncomfortable sides to it as well: I was once only “half-lucid”, meaning that I knew that I was in a dream and could control myself completely and the surroundings to a certain degree, but unfortunately I couldnt change the overall scenario and was felt pain in a very direct and realistic way.
Not the best conditions if you are dreaming that you are a Jew in Auschwitz :-(
I have experienced a lucid dream where I was in a hot air balloon and could direct its movement with my mind.
Other than that, I have never had a lucid dream. However, in almost all of my dreams, I am aware that I am dreaming. My method of waking up is to close my eyes and wait for the patterns of light under my eyelids to change.
I want to clear a misconception.
A lucid dream is one in which you are “aware” that you are dreaming; its not neccessary to be able to control it.
i’ve only ever had one dream in which i was able to fly, but unlike most of the commenters here i was in fact able to control my flight quite well. the only downside was that if i got my feet wet i would lose that ability, and my little brother knew it, so he sprayed our entire yard with the hose to prevent me from landing. i ended up circling overhead for a bit before perching in a tree while he hurled knives up at me because the babysitter told him to. but that is sort of off-topic. regarding the ability to control my dreams, there have been a few times when i became aware that i was dreaming and felt i was presented with a choice between allowing it to continue without interference or to attempt to change what was happening. in every case i have always chosen not to interfere because it felt like it would be cheating.
texnation said: “I really wish I could realize when I’m dreaming because in about 50% of all my dreams I wind up in a bathroom, and because my dreams are so real I swear I’m really in a bathroom and you can probably see where I’m going with this.”
Just a note to the pissers
Those used to be my bed wetting dreams when I was little too. As i got older they pretty much stopped but I would have them every once in a while but wake up before it was too late. If you want it to stop I suggest pissing before bed and maybe setting an alarm to piss in the night. Our dreams are often connected to physical phenomena so if you don’t need to piss you wont have the dream.
Other than that I had a lucid dream on saturday, I’ve only ever had one where I can control things once before but thats what got me to the site and from reading I realised I’ve experienced other forms of lucid dreaming. I can return to dreams after waking up by imagining the rest of the dream and suprisingly I can read in dreams but its more me making up the book as I go along. Yesterday I kept returning and didn’t allow myself to wake up fully until something I wanted occurred, it took a while because I wasn’t in control and I had to let it happen in dream time.
Hi all
I what to recommend this guide to everyone.
This guide finally helped me to succeed in Lucid Dreams.
It gave me the details, facts and specific techniques to start enjoying Lucid Dreaming! Moreover, I found answers to these important questions:
What Important information should I know about how my sleeping patterns affect my dreams?
What Steps can I take during the day that will help me to Lucid Dream at night?
What Techniques can I practice to encourage Lucid Dreaming?
What can I do before I go to sleep to help induce Lucid Dreaming?
What can I do as soon as I wake up?
How can I continue my Lucid Dream if I find myself “leaving” the dream?
How can I influence my dreams?
Here is the link
http://Lucid-Dreams.notlong.com
I think i used to have some semi-lucid dreams when i was younger, now ive tried unsuccessfully a few times but i havent been too consistent in trying. By semi-lucid i mean that i had never heard of the concept of lucid dreams cus i was too young and i didnt realize i was able to control them even tho i was, and they didnt last very long cus i always woke up too soon. I remember a few times not liking the particular dreams i was having while i was having them and wanting to change them. So i would think about different stuff and that would happen. Although i never fully realized i was completely dreaming or conscious and i wasnt in complete control. Looking back it seems like they were lucid because i realized i didnt like the dreams i was having while i was having them and i changed them a little bit but the changes never lasted long cus i woke up.
I experience lucid dreams in about 50% of all the dreams I can recall. Most of the time I don’t wake up when I have a lucid dream but there has been a few that I couldn’t remain sleeping. Often enough though I could roll back over and resume the dream in a matter of minutes (I knew it was in minutes because sometimes I’d wake up about 10-15 minutes later after dreaming again). I remember one particular dream in which I told a woman that I had dreamed about before (I had the exact dream up till that point before) to not worry that it would be alright because I already had this dream before. After that I changed the dream to a happy outcome rather than the less happy version I dreamed before. Most of my dreams occur more than once, sometimes I can change the newest recurrance. Perhaps I don’t have a lot on my mind? I don’t know but as well as some others have stated I never knew that it was unusual to experience these types of dreams.
Also when I was a kid, I recall that I was always able to wake up on command in a dream if I rubbed my eyes in the dream. I think that would be considered as a lucid dream as I was aware I was dreaming and was able to wake myself up.
I love that you mentioned the Seth Material in the article, I’ve been reading Jane Roberts’ books for many years and it seems like each time I pick one up I find something new. Seth would have us believe that the highly subjective nature of the dream world is actually much closer to the true nature of our multidimensional reality than… well, you get the idea.
I’ve enjoyed many lucid dreams over the years, most of them spontaneous, although recently I’ve successfully employed the MILD method. My favorite “reality-check”? Pushing my right index finger through the palm my left hand. It’s fun and completely un-ambiguous, either you can or you cannot, and if you can you are definitely dreaming.
I’ve done my fair share of flying, as many others have mentioned (anyone else have problems getting tangled in power lines?), but recently I’ve found something much more interesting: Once you become lucid stop everything and ask out-loud, to no-one in particular, if anyone is willing to talk to you and maybe answer some questions. I guarantee you will be amazed at the people you meet that way.
Cheers,
Jerry
Lately I’ve been experiencing a lot of nightmares so much so I wake up in cold sweats. Came across a pretty cool site at luciddreaming.com which gives a lot of info about lucid dreaming and such.
I have only had one lucid dream in my life, and it was amazing, though I lost some control for some reason at the end. I have found that my dreams tend to follow my expectations completely, and my expectations themselves are altered or magnified somehow when I am dreaming. I feel like that may have something to do with what lucid dreaming is, gaining back control of those expectations by forcing yourself to see the reality of your situation. Anyway, I am no expert, I just hope I get a chance to do it again some time.
This stuff is incredible.
I’ve been interested in the psychology of sleep for as long as I can remember, and lucid dreaming is one of the most fantastic phenomena that can possibly happen to you while you are asleep. There are a couple of related phenomena that are perhaps related that I would love to share with you all.
Firstly, the recurring dream. Most of the people I know have had these, and they’re sometimes good, sometimes bad, nearly always misunderstood. When I was smaller I used to have a recurring dream where I was being chased by a dinosaur, but I always had a remote control that I could just point and control the beastie. Interestingly enough, the volume button made it either smaller or bigger, but did not affect how much noise it made. I used to have this dream twice or three times a week for nearly three years. Once, in this dream, I became aware that I was dreaming and immediately tried to wake up. I was consciously scratching my eyelids and trying to pull my eyes open with my hands, and eventually succeeded. My eyes hurt: my hands had been clawing at my eyes while I was trying to wake up. After this, the frequency of those dreams diminished and I can’t recall having that particular dream since I was about 11.
About the same age I used to have recurring lucid dreams. They were great. I was in the playground of my primary school, and I would somehow become aware that I was dreaming. I used to materialise a cape, and by holding the edge of the material and flapping I would be able to take off and fly around the schoolyard at will. The dream would end when I landed, so I used to keep it going as long as possible. Those dreams were fun.
I also used to have the experience of the matress flying around the room sometimes when I was trying to get to sleep. I would close my eyes and doze somewhere in that place between awake and asleep, and if I was lucky I would get the distinct impression that the matress was taking off and circling the room at speed. It still remains the most relaxing feeling I’ve ever had the good fortune to experience more than once, and would often preclude one of the schoolyard lucid dreams. Sadly, despite my efforts, I have not been able to replicate that feeling since I was fifteen.
Since then, my adventures to do with sleep have taken a heavily disappointing and disturbing turn for the worse – heading towards the very opposite of lucid dreams where I have absolutely no control at all. It is now a regular occurance that when I dream, the dream feels so much like reality that the distinction between reality and dream is, if only temporarily, badly blurred. It is like I drag the reality of the dream into the realm of the woken. The first of these ‘episodes’ happened about a week after I lost my virginity. I dreamed that my girlfriend at the time had cheated on me with one of my friends who was not particularly close. I woke up about midnight absolutely enraged, and had full intention of riding my bike to his house and strangling him to death in his sleep. It wasn’t until my feet touched the cold floor of my bedroom that I was shocked into knowledge of the truth: that I had dreamed it. I still vividly remember the dream, and the feelings that followed when I woke up: the rage when I woke up; the shocking jolt back to reality when I went to get out of bed; the relief that washed over me as I realised that I’d dreamed the event; and the frightening lack of control I had over my feelings of rage upon waking and betrayal in the dream. The same thing occured about a month later, only this time it was my sister (!) shagging my girlfriend. I woke up to the same feelings, and exactly the same chain of events followed. It frightens me to think of what I what I might have done had it not been wintertime and the floor wasn’t freezing cold. My sister was two rooms away.
I still get similar episodes like that, but since living and sleeping in the same bed with my girlfriend, the content of the dream is fortuitously reversed. In my current dreams I’m cheating on my girlfriend. This usually results in a wet dream (which is the good part – provided I can remember the orgasm) but when I awake I am overcome with a horrific sense of guilt (which sadly ruins the experience). I have twice before begun confessing to my girlfriend sleeping beside me, telling her how sorry and stupid I am, but managed both times to catch myself before she woke. Usually I lie in bed for ten minutes or so berating myself for being so brazen and debating whether or not to tell her, but then I realize that I was dreaming.
I also have the same problem with violent nightmares. They’re nowhere near as common, but I still get the awful feeling of remorse and shame that washes over me as I begin planning how to tell somebody’s parents that I beat them to death with a hammer over a $20 bet before I come to my senses and realise that it was just a bad dream.
If anybody’s got some information on what those dreams mean, or how to stop them, then any help will be gratefully accepted and heavily appreciated. Failing that, hopefully those links will help to regain some control over these dreams. Damn Interesting!
darque,
You should speak to somebody professional about your dreams. At the very least, they may be able to tell you how to control them. They may also be able to help you discover their meaning, or if there is any meaning at all. Thanks for sharing with us :)
I have had some recurring lucid dreams that involve flying, but only with a limited ‘charge’. I could fly short distances between trees and rooftops in my hometown, always in the fall when the leaves are yellow, and always with a sense that someone was after me. The environment is always the same, but in lucidity I can choose which direction to fly, which tree and how to land. It always ends when I’ve flown enough to have ‘gotten away’.
Quite often I know that I’m dreaming and yet, because I know that I’m dreaming, I feel like I’m awake and losing sleep. It’s not until I truly wake up and can FEEL the difference and know that even though I was aware of my dream, I was still asleep.
Understandable?
When I was a child, I was inappropriately exposed :) to Amityville Horror and had terrible nightmares. My grandmother was native american and gave me advice on how to take control of the dreams and direct them. Interestingly, this article echoes the same methods for internal recognition of the dream. Basically, developing critical thinking in your daily life and checking if your reality is altered. A slight form of constant “unself” doubt (you don’t doubt yourself but you doubt everything else just a bit).
As advice to some above who have had problems when they realize they are dreaming but can’t seem to influence. You are also in the realm of the subconscious and that is something you have to take into account. Overriding that ingrained belief of reality can be difficult (nobody makes the first jump). Again, my grandmother gave me advice to think about something outside me coming to help me when I had nightmare. Of course she talked of spirits and guardians. However, I often imagine superheroes that would come to my rescue. It was more ‘acceptable’ in the dream for the hero to rescue me. After a while, I could control the hero’s action. Then I could simply become the super. And after a while, just simply directly control the dream as my subconscious accepted each level of control.
I look forward to nigtmares now. They almost always trip a reality check. And then I get to play.
I am kind of disappointed that the article makes no mention of the rich history that Native American cultures have on lucid dreaming.
My Uncle taught me how to do this when I was very young. 2 or 3. I had terrible nightmares so he taught me how to take control of my dreams and either turn the monster into something cute or funny or to chase it off.
I still have lucid dreams. 90% of the dreams I remember I knew I was dreaming and had some degree of control over, some embarassingly so… >:)
It’s great to see an article about this. DI! Thanks!
I love flying. In my dreams, for some odd reason, I always end up flying when I’m trying to go somewhere or run away from something. I can’t fly very fast though. For once I’d like to fly like superman in my dreams. ;D
That actually happens to me frequently. I lie on my bed and when I start slipping into sleep I feel like the room is spinning or my head is at least. After that I feel like my body is sinking or sometimes my body feels weightless and yet strangely heavy at the same time. After that though I don’t remember much.
I completely agree with letting it play out. I love dreaming because it’s so unpredictable. However, controlling them from time to time sounds quite fun. No doubt, I would land myself in the middle of a desert in a parallel world and have crazy crazy adventures. One of them would be landing in the middle of a desert war. I’d probably panic, which would be quite amusing.
My lucid dreams revolve around me being world emperor or having superpowers or having slews of beautiful slave girls etc…
I can always change the direction and frequently do, ussually to reflect a figment of imagination like 100m tall giant robots.
Great article, great stories!
I rarely dream at all – or at least I can rarely remember them when I wake up. Even if I do most dreams are gone by the time I get to the bathroom or even out of bed.
I vaguely remember a few recurring themes, like teeth falling out (I’m surprised nobody mentioned this one. I thought it was pretty common.) or the proverbial wet dream.
The upside is that I also very rarely have nightmares, and from the little I remember about them, I don’t think I’ve ever really been afraid in a dream. Yes, I might be chased by some monster or badguy or somesuch, but the feelings I remember are not fear but annoyance or frustration, when I can’t seem to shake them no mattaer what I do. I don’t have enough control over the drem to stop running though.
I also used to do this when falling asleep, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream that had any connection to my pre-sleep daydreams.
One of the most important discoveries in chemistry was made during a dream:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_August_Kekul%C3%A9_von_Stradonitz#Benzene
I’ve had such dreams before, and no matter how much I’ve been in love with a girl at the time, the dream would invariably feature either a stranger or some girl I knew but would never dream about starting something with (well obviously I would dream, but you know what I mean…) Those dreams dramatically decreased in frequency when I was in a relationship, but I probably wouldn’t have had pangs of conscience about it anyway. I knew they were dreams with a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming reality.
I might actually try that, but I don’t think it will help much. I probably would have something to write in that journal once a month at most…
My inability to dream has a nice side-effect, though: I never awaken at night. I go to bed and sleep until my alarm clock is ringing. When my GF moved in with me, I was surprised to learn that she woke up two or three times during the night. Actually I didn’t notice until she told me, because, you know, I was sleeping ;-) Until then I’d thought sleeping without interruption was normal, but I’ve since learned that it is more likely the exception.
I have been a lurker on this site since last year when I discovered it, but this topic (albeit a bit old), has been just too fascinating to put off, and I have decided to join the fray.
Does anybody else experience what I describe as “the drop”. When dozing just before actually going to sleep, I have occasionally felt a sensation as though myself (or the bed) just suddenly dropped about a foot straight down then stopped (a variation on this can be a perception of a sudden shaking movement – as though one were suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and shaken back and forth, except of course, I’m horizontal, not vertical at the time). It’s quite a shock and tends to make me suddenly wide awake again.
I have very limited experience of lucid dreaming, in so much as I can fairly often recognize that I am dreaming (usually when things get too surreal to be believable), but have only been able to vaguely steer the course of the dream on a few occasions. Most often I tend to wake very soon after discovering that I am dreaming – although this can be helpful in that over the years I have learned to exit a nightmare upon recognizing it for what it is (I just think to myself “this is too nasty, I wish to wake up now – and I do – sort of a dream equivalent to the holodeck command “end program”).
My experience of flying is somewhat dismal. I can leap great distances on occasion, and can sort of hover (oddly enough by pressing down on the air at my sides with my hands…), but any attempts at actual flight are limited to short distances as the weight of my legs inevitably drags me down. This (and other’s comments about references to “floating” or “treading water”), leads me to wonder if our concept of flying in dreams is based in some way on our experiences of swimming. Our brain has to construct the virtual world of our dreams using the experiences of the real world that we have accumulated (hence why people born blind or deaf have no visual or hearing content in their dreams respectively), and since most of us have no actual experience of flying (at least under our own control – I don’t think passenger planes count), the nearest analogue (in terms of sensation) that the brain has to work with, is our experience in water. Getting back to my heavy legged flying style, I have always been a rotten swimmer, and whenever I have tried floating (even with assistance), my legs have always pulled me down (hence my flying style is similarly cramped in the virtual world). Anyone with experiences that could lend support, or disprove this [admittedly spur of the moment] hypothesis?
Two other interesting observations on the dream state:
Our sense of time is completely different. While research tells us that most dreaming (or at least REM) periods only last a few minutes at most, I can recall dreams in which days or even months of virtual time have elapsed.
Our emotional responses can be completely different in the dream state (eg. One can be completely terrified by something that in real life is completely harmless – such as an egg).
Incidentally, I tend to dream in a mix of both first -person (in which I am me), and more cinematic third person (in which I am seeing myself from another vantage point). Anyone else do this?
Recently I have been exercising a degree of control over my dreams. Not full control, but enough to enjoy the trip. Oddly, most of my more memorable dreams recently have been about work since I retired a couple of years ago. I was one of the lucky ones that was actually able to retire voluntarily from a high-tech Silicon Valley company that had managed to avoid getting totally screwed up and still respected employees as adult people to some degree. So, most of my recent “work” dreams have to do with the “unbearable lightness of being” that comes with a voluntary and well-timed end to a reasonably well-behaved career. Mostly I wander around checking out the goings-on in an increasingly-detached fashion in a building increasing in size and complexity, curiously like a shopping mall being remodeled.
The flying sensations are much like the feeling I get swimming underwater. As a kid, I enjoyed the ability to maneuver underwater in 3 dimensions with 6 axes of freedom for as long as I could hold my breath. This has carried over into dreaming where I find aerial swimming an efficient way to travel through crowded hallways at about 7 to 8 feet of altitude (AGL). A real time-saver.
Someone mentioned losing teeth in dreams. Occasionally I will dream most of my teeth are detached in my mouth, feeling like a mouth full of gravel I can’t spit out. Very annoying.
Occasionally I’ve invented things in my dreams. My wife swears I woke up one night knowing how to do head transplants, but I don’t remember that. The only one I can remember at the moment is a double tissue box, a package design with full-size tissues on one end and smaller ones in a separate compartment at the other end, giving the user a choice of sizes depending on the mission. Anyone care to take this idea to product development?
I have lucid dreams all the time! It first started at about age 12 when i realized i can stop a nightmare by ascertaining i was dreaming. Great fun to grab a vampire by the scruff of the neck and belt him one. One of the greatest discoveries of my life. Since that day i have been able to fly in my dreams, almost always, regardless of what the actual dream was about. its just a matter of realizing i was dreaming and invoking the thought of flying. On occasions i have been having a day nap and could not wake myself, even though i was trying to. The senasations i was having where of weightlessness and a very fast and powerful heartbeat. This in turn caused a massive pressure in my skull which in turn evetually popped – i then awoke. I guess the worst of these dreams are the falling or being thrown from a great distance, i know im dreaming but that doesnt stop the impending thought of doom. My stomach tenses as if im in freefall and then BANG! i hit the ground and wake up! Its pleasing to know this is a very real phenomenon.
wayno@oz has just stolen my thunder slightly, my nightmares tend to also stop becoming nightmares when i realise i can change things, but it then tends to make the dream slip into a full fledged medievil battle (which i enjoy immensely)
my first memory of this is the common ‘flying’ dream, i was standing on the ledge of a large building (i still remember the panorama in great detail) and fell, realised that i was dreaming – and then went for a little fly! very exhilerating. or even a similar feeling but better spelt.
although through the years i have always had at very least a passive control over these dreams – the strangest thing happened once when i was dreaming of being on a canal barge watching a fox run alongside on the bank…..at that point i became lucid – and regardless of all my trying, the fox became quite scary and with intelligent eyes that bore into me, aware of what i was doing in my lucid state and mocking me for it!! he also became more human and was now running along the boat but on two legs. i only woke up when it leapt to the boat and into me!
to give you an image of the impression the anthropmorthic fox gave off, see the mighty boosh’s CRACK FOX
told you it was scary : )
I occasionally experience such lucid dreams. Commonly, my attempts to fly are odd. I end up barely affected by gravity or air resistance and am essentially bouncing around barely able to control direction. I’ve also tried invisibility with mixed results. I also seem to have a few recurring dream “maps”, each with their own consistent inconsistencies. Recently two maps have been added. A gray institution with halls that, while straight, somehow warp between locations. It seemed like a school. The other is a cityscape. It was too vast and complex, and I got lost due to my odd quasi-flight.
I’m a little more interested in dreams that match real-life events, before the events actually happen.
I recently found out about Damn Interesting, and I”m reading through all the articles. Great stuff!
I’ve only had two lucid dreams that I can recall. In one I was flying, in the other, fornicating.
Has anyone tried the device with strobing lights that you sleep with? I’m curious whether it works or not.
Flackbash:
Sorry, I have never heard of that.
I lucid dream about 1/3 of the time. I often dream about places that I have been to in previous dream. There are places I have been to 5 or 6 times before; places I have never been to in real life, but I know well. It’s great!