Lucid dreaming

trillcat

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I didn't want to hijack the other dreaming post by talk of this, but I do want to talk about it!
Are there any other lucid dreamers here?
I discovered this *mumble mumble* years back in Onmi Magazine. The commercial on TV said control your dreams. That sounded cool and I bought the magazine (first Omni I ever bought too, I still have them all, but thats a different story)
I did what they said. It was repetitive and boring and was not working. For 2 weeks I did everything right and nothing. I got quite fed up with it and stopped. Chalked it up as "oh well, I like the magazine anyway" The next night I found myself in the most beautiful crystal cathedral and something just clicked, I was awake in my dream! It was possibly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced! I stood looking at the magnificent walls of crystal knowing I was inside my own mind, this was all my creation! I walked around and touched things, the cool feel of the crystal, the ground under my feet, it was real, but not. I started to cry, and the tears were as real as any.
There was a door, a huge structure, I was asked to walk through it, I did and woke up.
I lucid dream to this day, though its a spontaneous thing,I don't induce them anymore (you don't wake up feeling like you have slept, at least for me)
I can't fly. this saddens me, my fear of heights is there in my dreams and keeps me grounded, though I did have one where I soared over mountains and it was something I tell you! But, I can swim like a dolphin and breath under water! that was a "Whoa!'
Sound like the rantings of a crazy lady? Maybe. but this is lucid dreaming!

ETA: A good song, listen to the lyrics and not watch the really cute guy singing, lol.
 

ut0pia

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is lucid dreaming the same as controlling your dreams? I've always been able to control my dreams but towards the end of the dream, not at the beginning. I mean, I don't control them until I realize that I am actually dreaming and want to continue the dream. I can also wake up and then go to sleep right back in the same dream ...as long as I have only been awake for just a few minutes, not too long. Anyone can do this...and whoever can't can definitely learn very easily if they decide to. I think this is actually one of the things that every wiccan is supposed to learn. Maybe some wiccans on here know more about it then I do, since I am not wiccan?
 

twstychik

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

is lucid dreaming the same as controlling your dreams? I've always been able to control my dreams but towards the end of the dream, not at the beginning. I mean, I don't control them until I realize that I am actually dreaming and want to continue the dream. I can also wake up and then go to sleep right back in the same dream ...as long as I have only been awake for just a few minutes, not too long. Anyone can do this...and whoever can't can definitely learn very easily if they decide to. I think this is actually one of the things that every wiccan is supposed to learn. Maybe some wiccans on here know more about it then I do, since I am not wiccan?
I'm the same way. I also studied/practices some paganism but never ran across lucid dreaming as a standard or anything.
 
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trillcat

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

is lucid dreaming the same as controlling your dreams? I've always been able to control my dreams but towards the end of the dream, not at the beginning. I mean, I don't control them until I realize that I am actually dreaming and want to continue the dream. I can also wake up and then go to sleep right back in the same dream ...as long as I have only been awake for just a few minutes, not too long. Anyone can do this...and whoever can't can definitely learn very easily if they decide to. I think this is actually one of the things that every wiccan is supposed to learn. Maybe some wiccans on here know more about it then I do, since I am not wiccan?
Lucid dreaming is basically being aware you are dreaming while in the dream. I can't control what happens in lucid dreams, though I have tried! Oddly, I have controled dreams when not aware I was dearming at the end, not the beginning.
I used to be Wiccan, though not when I first got into dreams, that came later. I consider myself generic Pagan now. Wiccan is a term used for a set of beliefs, much like someone is Christian, but Lutheran, or Catholic etc. There are many branches of Wicca, I most asociated with Lothlorien. I gave up calling myself Wiccan because I don't like being put in a box about my beliefs. I draw from Native american beliefs, Buddhism, a big mish mash, lol.
If you find youself aware in a dream and it starts to slip away, spin. I mean spin yourself aound in the dream like a child would spin to get dizzy. It works! You can also look at your hands. No idea why these work, but they do! (for me)
Be aware of false awakinings, these just kill me. You think you are awake, but no, still dreaming!
 

cococat

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I can do this. I did it before I knew there was a name. I remember my first quite vividly, I was a kid. I keep a dream journal from time to time as an adult, just because I remember most of my dreams in good detail.
 

degu_2009

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Almost all of my dreams are lucid, although I can't control them. It's basically me being placed into a setting and having to deal with what comes at me. It's really cool when I know I'm dreaming and I can explore through a house or something...it's like "This dream is so cool!" lol. It's also scary when I see people I know in the dream because their faces are always distorted and freaky
And lucid nightmares are the worst. I don't practice it or anything it just happens.
 

carolina

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I do have lucid dreams - not very frequently, but somewhat. They are very intense, and I agree with you - a night of lucid dream is not restful - for me it feels the same as if I were awake... and that makes sense, since in fact I was awake, only inside of my dream - how weird is that? lol
While they are certainly amazing, I don't really care for them - they are too intense for a time when I should actually be relaxing....
 
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trillcat

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Originally Posted by Degu_2009

Almost all of my dreams are lucid, although I can't control them. It's basically me being placed into a setting and having to deal with what comes at me. It's really cool when I know I'm dreaming and I can explore through a house or something...it's like "This dream is so cool!" lol. It's also scary when I see people I know in the dream because their faces are always distorted and freaky
And lucid nightmares are the worst. I don't practice it or anything it just happens.
With practice, you can get out of nightmares pretty easy with lucid dreaming. One of the parts of learning lucid dreaming is learning to recognize things that can't possibly happen in "reality" Easier said than done but if you are diligent about it, you wil begin to say to yourself (in the instance of a nightmare) "Hmm, a 50 foot dragon is chasing me, this is probably a dream!" Even if the dragon is still chasing you at that point, you know it can't possibly hurt you, because you are not "really" there! Jump pon its back and go for a dragon ride!
This is a pretty obvious example, more life realistic bad dreams like someone chasing you with a knife or things like that I usually shut my eyes tight and just sort of will myself to wake up, even if I am not sure its a dream.
 
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trillcat

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So, you have read this thread so far and your intersted in giving it a try, where to start?
Though Pagan practices have been mentioned, rest assured the two things are not exclusive, its nothing new agey and weird, so I don't think it conflicts with anyones religious beliefs. Hey, we all dream regardless of religion or lack thereof.
First thing to do is start keeping a dream journal. "But I don't remember my dreams" you say, well, thats another part of the first part, lol. When you make the decision to keep the dream journal, you plant the thought in your brain that you will remember your dreams.
Go out and buy something, doesn't have to be expensive, a run of the mill notebook will work just fine. You may want to decorate it in anyway you like. At least write "Dream Journal" on it and use it for nothing else, no scribble down shopping lists! This further plants the thought that you will remember your dreams. Buy a fancy pen if you like to keep the journal. Keep the journal near your bed. Even if you have no problems remembering you dreams, keep the journal. It doesn't just help you remember dreams, it gets you used to distinguishing dreams from the waking state.
Now, as you go about your day, ask yourself if you are dreaming. Sounds silly, we know we are not dreaming when we are awake! True, but when we are dreaming we DON'T know it! So ask yourself this peridiocally during the day. Then prove if you are dreaming or not. Look at a page of a book, or a computer page of text. Look away for at least 10 seconds, then read it again. Is it the same? If so your not dreaming. Try to dial a phone number and see if you reach who you wanted to reach (your friends may get annoyed at you with this one, lol) Though texting was not around when I learned this, Im sure that would work the same. Close your eyes for at least 30 seconds. Is everything the same when you open them? (do I need to say don't do any of this while driving?) Another good one is to jump into the air with the intent of hovering there. If you do hover, chances are you are not awake! Do these as othen as you can without looking like a loony.

It seems silly to do this, but what we do awake will carry over into dreams, and if you are asking yourself if you are dreaming when you are awake, you will fiind you do too when you sleep!
Ok so you have you journal set to go and you have been anoying your friends and jumping up in the air all day, and now its time to go to sleep. If you are working on remembering dreams, tell yourself as you drift off you will remember your dreams, NOT "I want to remember", "I hope I remember", tell yourself you WILL, think of it like it already happened. If you are past the remembering part, tell yourself you will be aware of your dream when it happens. Again, think like you already are in the dream and you recognize it as such. Allow your brain to still, or think other thoughts (Um, if you are , uh, planning for doing other things, do that first, then the mind stuff.) and sleep.
If you wake at all during the night, get that dream journal, (forgot to mention a little flashlight is a good idea here) and write anything down you remember (this goes for all) Even if is nothing more than a few words, a single word. Any emotions you may feel, if you don't rememer anything write that down. When you wake up in the morning, write down as much as you can remember. Don't try to get all fancy with writing here if that is not you, just write what you can remember. Time is of the essence here, dreams fade. Make it the first thing you do when you wake up, even before the potty! It does not matter if it is just scibbles, draw pictures it that is better for you. If you remember things during the day, jot them down and add them to the journal.
This sounds like a lot and very time consuming, it really isn't, it just takes a lot of space to explain!
So what will happen that first night? Probably nothing. Don't be discouraged! This is a lot about repetition, you are training your brain. You would not expect to be able to do 100 situps it you are out of shape with your body, don't expect the brain to do somehting its never done before right off the bat!
 
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trillcat

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So anyone gonna give it a go?
Its dreams, fear not the night!
 

swampwitch

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My oldest sister taught me to lucid dream when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I had horrible nightmares and night terrors and the only way I could wake up would be to scream. Problem was, many times I could not scream because I would be having an asthma attack at the same time. I would go lucid and change the dreams so they would end well.

I can lucid dream whenever I want, even though the night terrors and nightmares stopped completely about 20 years ago. I used to have out-of-body flying dreams a lot (I could see the roofs of houses and feel the wind in my hair) but I stopped doing that about 20 years ago, too. I sleep really well now.
 
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trillcat

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So, any thing to report on the lucid front?
 

shopcat

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I've had some real intense dreams where I am flying & I have learned to control myself in flight & not be afraid of the sudden dizzying heights that my dream self will soar up to. Some of these dreams are so intense that they are remembered like meaningful waking memories.
One of my favorites was of being in somebody's house, snooping around-it was a big house like an A-frame with a huge front window & I got "caught" on the 2nd story loft & had no other way to escape. I took flight from the loft & blasted my way through the huge window! I remember looking down at my arms & checking myself for cuts & blood as I was still soaring up into the night sky.
I have alot of flight dreams where I have to deal with navigating through power lines. Alot of power lines.
Flight is wonderful, it's a rush!
 
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trillcat

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Oh So
Originally Posted by ShopCat

I've had some real intense dreams where I am flying & I have learned to control myself in flight & not be afraid of the sudden dizzying heights that my dream self will soar up to. Some of these dreams are so intense that they are remembered like meaningful waking memories.
One of my favorites was of being in somebody's house, snooping around-it was a big house like an A-frame with a huge front window & I got "caught" on the 2nd story loft & had no other way to escape. I took flight from the loft & blasted my way through the huge window! I remember looking down at my arms & checking myself for cuts & blood as I was still soaring up into the night sky.
I have alot of flight dreams where I have to deal with navigating through power lines. Alot of power lines.
Flight is wonderful, it's a rush!
Oh shopcat I envy you!
Though I have walked through walls, and windows

Flight is somethig I have had a taste of in dreams when completey unafraid, but this is not the norm for me!
It is such rush! But I do get scared, I am very afraid of heights!
I had one dream once though unafraid, and ludid, I soared above mountains and water, I was in the sky and it was like I was one with all the world, flying . I have never come close to that ever again though, I can hover, fly a bit but my fear of heights is there, despite me.
 
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trillcat

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Bump
Has anyone had some dreams to share?
 

yosemite

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I have dreamed of flying on many occasions. I have a fear of heights, but not in these dreams. I am able to fly as high or low as I want and have complete control of my flights. I really enjoy those dreams to tell you the truth. I also realize somehow that I'm dreaming because I think how nice it would be if I could do it while awake.
 

nekomania

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I know exactly what you speak of but I no longer induce my Lucid dreaming either.

I too wake up feeling as if I haven't slept, and if you have a particularly normal lucid dream, you start to wonder whether or not you've really slept or if you are sleeping while you are really awake!!


I am not afraid to fly, whenever I recognized that I am dreaming the first thing I do is take off in flight. To keep myself dreaming I practice the "spin" technique and my dreams seem to last an extraordinarily long time.


I learned all of my tricks from "Lucid Dreams in 30 Days: The Creative Sleep Program" that I bought when I was pretty young in a witchcraft shop downtown.
Best investment I ever made in my angsty teenage years.
 
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trillcat

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Originally Posted by Nekomania

I know exactly what you speak of but I no longer induce my Lucid dreaming either.

I too wake up feeling as if I haven't slept, and if you have a particularly normal lucid dream, you start to wonder whether or not you've really slept or if you are sleeping while you are really awake!!


I am not afraid to fly, whenever I recognized that I am dreaming the first thing I do is take off in flight. To keep myself dreaming I practice the "spin" technique and my dreams seem to last an extraordinarily long time.


I learned all of my tricks from "Lucid Dreams in 30 Days: The Creative Sleep Program" that I bought when I was pretty young in a witchcraft shop downtown.
Best investment I ever made in my angsty teenage years.
That book is where I got a lot of tricks too! Just dug through my box of assorted occult stuff (though lucid dreaming is not occult, unless you take the true defination of the word, meaning "unkown" but I digress) and the pages are a bit yellow, going to have to give it a re-read, along with a lot of other stuff I found that I never really lost!
My Tarot cards! Long lost friends, I have a nice collection of them. Again I digress and now have probably scared some people away.
 
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