Lucid dreaming?

[Scar]

Is lucid dreaming real? Have you personally controlled a dream?

It seems pretty cool to be able to control your dreams and I was wondering if it is real and if any of you guys had done it?

[gmillerdrake]

It is. There was a time in my mid 20's where i would/could lucid dream nightly. It takes a lot of work and focus. I don't do it much these days because life has gotten busy, but I do have the clarity from time to time in my dreams when I realize I'm dreaming and then 'control' it. The key for me was always realizing I was dreaming and not waking up immediately after that....which happens a lot when you realize you are dreaming.

[Kotowboy]

Once or twice that I remember.

I realised it was a dream and it seemed 100% real and I had a look around before I woke up.

I wish I had more of them.

[ReaperKK]

I completely think it's real. There was a time I was trying how to lucid dream and I could get brief moments of control. When I'd realize I was dreaming I'd get excited and wake myself up.

[gmillerdrake]

I completely think it's real. There was a time I was trying how to lucid dream and I could get brief moments of control. When I'd realize I was dreaming I'd get excited and wake myself up.

That really is the key. Not waking up once you realize it. Again, I know for 100% certainty it's real because I've done it, a lot.

[Scar]

How may I actually do it? And if I was lucid dreaming, can I do anything?? Like take over a world or be able to fly?

[gmillerdrake]

How may I actually do it? And if I was lucid dreaming, can I do anything?? Like take over a world or be able to fly?

My experience was that even though I knew I was dreaming and was in control, the dream i controlled didn't last very long. I'd say the majority of mine were spent flying, a lot of underwater exploration. It got to the point that I knew in my dream while flying if I clinched my fists that would take me up...the harder I clinched the quicker the ascent. Loosening my grip would let me descend. Direction and speed were wherever I looked and depended on how fast I wanted to go.

I would start with learning not to wake up once you realize your dreaming. If you can iron that out your good to go.

[Train of Naught]

How may I actually do it? And if I was lucid dreaming, can I do anything?? Like take over a world or be able to fly?

This was my obsession for like a year in my mid-teens with two other friends.

I would start with learning not to wake up once you realize your dreaming. If you can iron that out your good to go.

This is key, you won't get there in a matter of days but once you do, you should have something like a random mark going that you look at regularly during the day. Or as of more recently, a mobile app that notifies you every few hours, so that if you dream and you realize it, you would be able to channel those app notifications through your brain and realize that it is indeed real, if that makes sense. Prevents you from thinking it is a dream as the notifications are becoming a regular thing in your daily life routine.

Something else a lot of people do to get started is write down their dreams or even illustrate them, even the smallest details, so that you can kinda control the dreams.

[Scar]

Wow, cool! And you ended up lucid dreaming!

Will reading online also help? The thing is that sometimes I can't remember if I dreamt. Once I fall asleep, I wake up the next day without any sign of a dream. Only a few times have I actually known I was dreaming, but couldn't do anything about it.

[Kotowboy]

I read that sleeping on your back will give you weird dreams but I don't really wanna try that.

Has anyone ever had those really intense dreams you have before you have sleep paralysis ?

Those are super real and weird.

[Scar]

I read that sleeping on your back will give you weird dreams but I don't really wanna try that.

Has anyone ever had those really intense dreams you have before you have sleep paralysis ?

Those are super real and weird.

Not that I know of.
And are you talking about Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD)?

[Train of Naught]

I've had sleep parallysis happen to me once and it's the sole reason I never try this lucid dreaming stuff again, that was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had.

I don't know if they're always like this but with me it felt like I woke up stuck to my bed, not being able to move a limb or snap out of the sleep parallysis, while being inside a nightmare.

[Scar]

oh wow. must have been a terrifying experience! 
but don't the fun lucid dreams outweigh the sleep paralysis nightmare?

[Dr. DTVT]

I have the ability to lucid dream.  In my dreams, I have also separated my in dream persona from my mind, and can watch them like a movie where I am not an active participant.  It's pretty interesting sometimes because my dreams tend to be very weird, but not in a nightmare way.  More in people own badger farms and try to sell their eggs (I know badgers don't lay eggs, but they did in one series of dreams).

My dreams also tend to span multiple sleep sessions.  I can have a dream one night, and continue it several nights later.

[DebraKadabra]

I've heard that lucid dreaming, while difficult to accomplish, is not impossible. Our resident wookiee admin was known to lucid dream quite frequently, and seemed very shocked that I was unable to for the time we were together.

I do, however, have VERY vivid dreams that are--for right now--completely out of my control. I'd love to learn, because the dream state is so fragile but it can be controlled if you put your mind to not waking up as gmiller said.

[SystematicThought]

Anyone had those dreams where you feel what is happening to you? So weird.

[Dr. DTVT]

Anyone had those dreams where you feel what is happening to you? So weird.

You mean where you incorporate what is going on around you?  I've had music playing in when I'm sleeping be in my dreams, and if my dog is being fidgety his rubbing against my leg might come across a dream.  Usually it's my arm falling asleep that gets translated to a dream.

[Kotowboy]

Anyone had those dreams where you feel what is happening to you? So weird.

I like falling asleep in front of the TV and the voices in the TV turn into gobbledygook. That nice sensation between asleep and awake.

[cramx3]

I get sleep paralysis sometimes, I hate it, it's such a terrible feeling, but I usually know it's happening now so I don't feel as scared about it as I used to.  I usually get it when I take a late day nap, not during a night of sleeping.

[Kotowboy]

I had it a few times in a short period. After the 3rd or 4th time you accept it and just wait the -literally seconds- ( at least for me ) until it's over and you can move again.


For anyone that hasn't had it - imagine trying to open your eyes by raising your eyebrows - that's what it feel like trying to open your eyes during sleep paralysis...

[BlackInk]

I wouldn't say that I "can" do it. But I know how, and I have done it. It really does take a lot of work, so I don't really do it these days, but all that work I put into it has left all my current dreams in some sort of in-between state where I kind of know I'm dreaming and am pretty much omnipotent all the time. Like I can always fly, nothing hurts me, if I want people to think something they do or if I want them to do something they do. If I'd want to shoot lightnings out of my hands I can, and all that stuff. It's actually pretty great.

Also, sleep paralisys has never freaked me out since I've never experienced it without knowing perfectly what's going on. I can usually open my eyes, but not move anything else. I usually open them, look around the room, then close them again to start dreaming.

[cramx3]

It's only scarey when you have no idea what's happening, you experience it a couple times and it's no longer scarey, just a really weird feeling.  I also have been able to open my eyes and look around, but not able to move.  I always try so hard to move my arm and can't.  It's crazy.

[v_clortho]

I used to have nightmares quite often and eventually started realizing when they were happening. I could then sit back and watch the dream as if it were a movie and if it got too intense I was able to change the dream. I never had full control of what was happening, and eventually the bad dreams stopped, but it was very interesting.

[BlackInk]

Yeah I very rarely get scary dreams anymore, but when they do show up they're usually more fun than scary. These days I just own the crap out of any monster or killer. I'm god in there, there's nothing they can do.

[Ben_Jamin]

I can do it. But I usually go with the flow in dreams. I know I'm dreaming when I drive, get on all fours and pull, then toss the scenery behind me to get to a place quicker that's ahead because running is nearly hard. When my arms or legs don't want to work in a dream it's usually because they fell asleep and I wake up with that same limb numb. I've been able to float/levitate. The scenery also tends to remain the same but different things happen and the seasons change. Places I've been to and places I've never been, yet when I actually do see that scenery in life my mind remembers it.

Maybe that's vivid dreaming instead of lucid.

[senecadawg2]

I completely think it's real. There was a time I was trying how to lucid dream and I could get brief moments of control. When I'd realize I was dreaming I'd get excited and wake myself up.

Yeah this is my situation as well. The first time I dreamt lucidly I got way too excited and woke up after a couple seconds. I'd love to do it again, but its been a few years now and I've not been doing a good job of working on my dream recall (which I think is a very important part of building towards the lucid dreaming experience in the first place).

[ReaperKK]

Keeping a journal of my dreams really helped with dream recall. I dream every night, used to be I couldn't remember any dreams, especially if I've been drinking.

[Kotowboy]

I barely remember them anymore.

I can't even remember the last one I had.

[Scar]

Keeping a journal of my dreams really helped with dream recall. I dream every night, used to be I couldn't remember any dreams, especially if I've been drinking.

Reaper, regarding the dream journal. What if I wake up and can't remember the dream at all? That is the case for me.

[Kotowboy]

Slight tangent  - when people say " I don't dream ".

No you do - several times a night - you just don't remember.

[Scar]

I wish I did D:

[Kotowboy]

Meh I don't like any dreams on the whole.

[CDrice]

I never had lucid dreams, but it definitely seems like an interesting experience to have. I do experience sleep paralysis once in a while though. The paralysis itself doesn't really bother. What does is seeing an amorphous dark silhouette coming towards me every time it happens. 

I barely remember them anymore.

I can't even remember the last one I had.

That would be the same for me. Although 90% of the dreams I somewhat remember include this girl that I went to highschool with. I always wondered if it meant something 

[Kotowboy]

My scary dreams involve rollercoasters and lifts ( elevators ) despite not being scared of either in reality.

Also now i'm a motorcyclist - my "falling" dreams are exclusively riding my bike and the bike falling over.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Didn't know there was a word for it but after some google:ing I sometimes experience a Hypnic jerk.

Another thing I hate that I for some reason are an expert on is falling a sleep on my arm which results in i'm waking up and can't feel my fucking arm because I of course strangle the blood flow. Such an intense rush of panic for a few seconds although i'm used to it now so I just shake it off. Not a pleasant experience though.