# Lucid Dreaming



## HouseOfFlux (May 18, 2013)

How to Control Your Dreams Infographic - StumbleUpon

So this link got me thinking.

Trying to come across a verifiable account of an induction into lucid dreaming is understandably difficult. In the very few times I've tried to have a lucid dream myself, the deepest I've managed to get is auditory hallucinations of which I was very much aware of at the time - but then panic set in and just as I was on the periphery of something I awoke again.

This thread is, in short, an attempt to further awareness of the ways in which lucid dreaming can be achieved, if it takes on different forms for the subject concerned (e.g. purely auditory, visual or integrative) and whether you think it's really just a bunch of bullshit.

Take your pick.


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## Chaerephon (Apr 28, 2013)

There are a couple ways to "learn" to lucid dream.

One popular way is to right an L on your left hand. Every time something strange happens, or you feel like pinching yourself to see if you are awake, look at your left hand. This may work the first day if you have some strong mind powers, but most likely it could take anywhere up to 4-5 weeks. 

It is also possible to just get in the habit of pinching yourself instead.

You can also try to use something electronic or look in a mirror. Both these would have strange results if you are in a dream, but be careful with these, because if you aren't prepared these are nightmare inducers.

Once you actually "lucid" dream, you will have to act quick. You aren't in the dream for long. I tend to just listen for music. It is almost always playing in our dreams, and always sounds awesome. I have also tried to play piano in my dream once and I ended up re-creating what I had made up when I awoke. I have of course had sex as well lmao. That is always a grab & bang though. Really though, you can do whatever you want. 

Just remember, when things go bad, the worst that will happen is that you wake up. Emotions tend to overlay our dreams. If you feel anxious, the dream will direct itself towards anxiety. If you remain calm, the dream directs itself towards calmness.


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## muffleupagus (May 14, 2013)

Just spin in the air. 

The easiest way for me to realize I was dreaming was to get a slight hunch, and try to spin in the air to confirm the suspicion. If you keep spinning into the clouds, you're dreaming!

People lucid dream when their analytical centers get turned on when they're not supposed to be. That means you start to critically think, and question your dream. People who naturally have well developed critical thinking seem to show a greater propensity for initiating the LD state. I've done it since I can remember. 

What's really cool is when you can realize you're dreaming, while choosing to allow the dream to unfold as your subconscious sees fit. Then you're start learning some pretty deep shit, but still ultimately be in control should the need arise to push things along towards a different outcome. 

Fun stuff. I can now choose the themes of my dream at will, and then allow them to unfold without messing with them all too much. The ability isn't quite as sharp as it was a decade ago, but I'm still able to do a lot.


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## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

Well it's been said that sleep paralysis can be a good springboard (in other words) to lucid dreaming. I assume that when you mention hallucinations you are referring to sleep paralysis. 

But I think the key to lucid dreaming beyond that is recognizing you are dreaming. So, at first things like looking at your hands or in the mirror, paying attention to details that are often lost in dreams will help to alert your mind to the fact that it's dreaming.

One of the hallmarks of lucid dreaming for me is that the sensual information is way more vivid in a lucid dream. I have only tasted anything in dream once, and it was during a semi-lucid dream. The visual information in lucid dreaming is more vibrant and electric. IDK about auditory. 

Lucid dreaming seems great and all, but I wouldn't want to have all my dreams be lucid. Dreaming is a bridge between the conscious and the subconscious. "Pure" lucid dreaming (where one can create the environment and dictate everything that happens) is not interesting to me. We need our dream time to be somewhat uncontrollable so that we can receive the subconscious messages. 

I believe that forcing a dream to be erotic is one of the ways to lose the potency of the dream. It's not a relationship between oneself and one's desires, but a relationship between oneself and that which we do not accept about our life and ourselves. I feel that the more powerful lucid dreaming has been when I've been forced to encounter things that are not welcome in myself, as opposed to being allowed to imagine special intimacy with someone I was lusting after.


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## HouseOfFlux (May 18, 2013)

Thanks for the replies.
@NameUser

When I was a kid I could never sleep in the same room as a blank (switched off) TV. I had to get a parent to move it out, or let it stay and suffer some really bizarre nightmares, which included frightening images and hostile voices coming from the screen. They would usually appear as soon as I fell asleep. Now that I look back on it I realise part of this could well have been lucid dreaming, as I anticipated it every time it happened, and I was aware of what was going on - although my awareness usually diminished very quickly.

I also have this method of bringing myself out of a nightmare, in particular when something is spooky or panic-inducing. I've done it since I was a kid. Inside the dream I screw my eyes shut as tight as possible and it's usually enough to wake me, although it often happens in stages, for example I will see my bedroom wall, hear a few voices from the dream (which usually turn hostile the more my awareness grows) before slipping into sleep again and retrying. I mention this waking method because it, again, could be seen as having lucid properties. It is so heavily ingrained in my brain as an escape tactic that *often times when I am unaware I am dreaming I still do it to escape an unwanted situation.*

I am always facing the wall-side when I wake immediately from a dream.


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## Killbain (Jan 5, 2012)

Be careful with this. It is very addictive and can affect you in some adverse ways. I speak from experience


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## rosegeranium (Apr 1, 2013)

HouseOfFlux said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> @_NameUser_
> 
> When I was a kid I could never sleep in the same room as a blank (switched off) TV. I had to get a parent to move it out, or let it stay and suffer some really bizarre nightmares, which included frightening images and hostile voices coming from the screen. They would usually appear as soon as I fell asleep. Now that I look back on it I realise part of this could well have been lucid dreaming, as I anticipated it every time it happened, and I was aware of what was going on - although my awareness usually diminished very quickly.
> ...


I experienced the same problems with blank tvs. I would have awful nightmares where monsters came out of the tv or tried to suck me into the tv. I suppose that is a psychological hangup!

I used to lucid dream a lot. It takes practice but once you do it it's easy. Addictive and displacing if you do it too much, it makes you ungrounded. But it can be useful because you can try things out, you can practice things in lucid dreams, you can create scenarios in lucid dreams and work through them. 

Then there is the much more woo-woo concept of astral projection... Not something you want to try unless you have prepared yourself!


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## Holgrave (Oct 11, 2011)

I accidentally started lucid dreaming at a very young age. I didn't even know it was a thing. I was just having a nightmare and didn't want to wake up. To give you an idea of how young, the dream was me having a birthday party in a warehouse and a thief broke in and was going to steal my presents. So, I decided that we should throw cake at him. I think the being scared is what woke me up enough, I don't know why I didn't just wake up.

Anyways, so I mostly just do it know for scary dreams or dreams that I don't like where they're going. When I'm realizing that I'm dreaming and it's a good dream, I just let it continue on.


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## Cathartes (Jul 8, 2013)

When I was younger I used to listen to my iPod before I went to sleep, and sometimes I'd fall asleep with a song on repeat accidentally, and then I'd lucid dream. First of all I'm dreaming and there's this song that goes on and on and I realize that it's just repeating, so I run around in this dream trying to figure out how to turn this song off, and then I'd realize it's my iPod and I'm asleep. It was horrific though; I'd just panic and try to escape and wake up, and it was truly awful; pinching myself didn't work, I'd even run around in this dream world searching for mirrors, and all other crazy things to try to wake up. Usually it didn't work so I'd just wander around in this world waiting until I woke up.


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## kittylicious (Mar 18, 2013)

I've been experimenting with lucid dreaming for quite a while and here is what has worked out for me:

1) The sensation of flying!! That's something I've imagined/dreamt about since I was a little kid. It has some special feel to it for me - I would just sit or lay down and imagine with open/closed eyes how exactly it would feel to take off and start ascending from the place where I'd sit. I would try to see all the objects in my room from above, then go up right through the ceiling and watch my house from above. And then I'd go wherever I wanted, why not into the universe. A kind of astral travel while awake  After this, it's very easy to literally take off in your dreams and start flying. That makes you think: oh wait, this must be a dream! Works best!

2) Transcendental reality checks: if I contemplate about our reality being an illusion, I get to imagine a thousand of options of what real could be beyond. That gets you into an Inception-like atmosphere and you're likely to slip into a different dreaming level.

3) There are a few herbs believed to aid with lucid dreaming like calea cacatechichi. I've tried local mugwort tea and it seemed to make dreams more vivid, thank you, placebo! 

4) Meditation.

Looking forward to reading about other 'techniques'!


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## Light_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

_It has been a recent obsession of mine ...
Sadly I can't get to the "lucid state" as often as I would love to, despite I'm trying to modify my way of sleeping. It just doesn't happen as often as I expected ...
When I managed to, it was an exciting experience, and I love to be aware of what's happening when I'm dreaming and most of all to be able to control my actions so much!
A "Rational Dream" ... _


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## smolio (Mar 7, 2013)

I think I came really close to lucid dreaming once. I remember I was thinking to myself "This must be a dream," and I remember this huge feeling of anxiety as realization dawned and I quickly tried to look at my hands. But before I could even turn my head, I woke up. 

Damn anxiety.


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## Debaser (Jul 17, 2013)

I really want to be able to do this. I don't like the idea of not being fully aware or in control of my actions at any time. So infiltrating my dreams with my consciousness would be ideal for me. Unfortunately, it's just never worked out. Any advice on how to do it?


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## Lunexia (Aug 6, 2013)

I've lucid dreamed since I was a child and quite frankly it was hell back then. I to this day recall dreams of Freddy Kruger where I absolutely could not wake up from knowing full well I was in a dream - despite desperate attempts to 'hurt' myself.
I talked to my dad about it since he's always been a lucid dreamer and he told me I could control my dreams. A foreign concept to me at age 8. He said, once you realize you're in your dream, try to fly. Easier said than done. I did it a couple of times and managed to levitate and then woke up from the "happy" stimulation, I assume. As time wore on, I realized my issue was that I was putting too much logic into my dreams. If I believed in fantasy, I could manipulate my dream's "reality". So there were a few times I really flew and it was the best feeling. I haven't dreamt like that in years (flying) although I still lucid dream very often. I've also developed sleep paralysis. I naturally secrete too much of the DMT chemical which is used to prevent sleepwalking. It sucks.

If you realize you're in a dream and suddenly wake up from it, try to fall back asleep as quickly as possible. Stay calm. Sometimes you can go right back into the dream where you left off. This has happened to me a handful of times.
Staying calm is key when you become aware in a dream. The very notion of being lucid could trigger you awake, so don't get too excited. I guess that would be my best advice.


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## milti (Feb 8, 2012)

Last night I had a lucid dream. I had a dream where my dad and I are walking down a popular main street, and there are prayer meetings and people singing for people who have been hit by tragedy, or they're praying or something. Then I guess I woke up, because my half-asleep mind was telling me "It's 5 a.m. and this is the muezzin's call for Namaz prayers" and then I actually woke up fully and thought groggily that the prayers sounded so beautiful in the quiet of the night.

For the record, I don't remember ever praying or being so aware of musical aesthetics in any of my dreams before. :shocked:


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## God (Apr 11, 2013)

I've had two lucid dreams in my life, both of which arose out of horrifying nightmares and an inability to accept the idea that the situation was happening to me. Sadly, in those lucid dreams I did not transform the nightmare to a dream but, rather, only eased the nightmare to a stop, resolved the situation, and woke up.
Because of these lucid dreams, I have actually never had a nightmare which resulted in me dying, which seems to be unusual.


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## lestrade (Aug 30, 2013)

i never tried lucid dreaming. sometimes i feel like instead of lucid dreaming i end up getting sleep paralysis.


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## Chaerephon (Apr 28, 2013)

lestrade said:


> i end up getting sleep paralysis.


This happens to me on the very rare occasion. But within a couple month period a long while back I had maybe 3 incidents. I remember the first time, it felt weird I couldn't move, could barely talk. I was pretty scared, so I tried to call out and could only moan, eventually the feeling passed. So weird. Then it didn't happen for a long time, but when it did, I looked up what was happening because I did the same thing. Again after this it didn't happen for a long while.

When it happened next though, I had some weird hallucinations. One was this dark-grey cat that came up and started rubbing against me, although it had a rather foreboding presence. Another was some hooded figures slamming car doors outside my house who came to my window and basically tried to break in before they disappeared. It was weird stuff. It has been a long time since it happened to me though. All the hallucinations had a noir like feeling.


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## Improbable_Violence (Jul 7, 2013)

The only time I can ever lucid dream is during a nightmare. Standard procedure dictates I figure out what a threat is when there is one, and if it's in a dream it's quickly apparent that whatever situation I'm in is ridiculous. The absurdity kicks my conscious mind into gear and I'm essentially free to do what I want. I've noticed that I still need to employ massive overkill to "defeat" my nightmares though lol.


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## TheUpwardDescent (Jan 21, 2013)

If you have a watch, set it to have an alarm go off every ninety minutes (the duration of REM cycles), then check your hands and question whether or not you are dreaming. I got this technique in a book titled Our Dreaming Mind, and it works very well. It took about three days of this for my first lucid dream.


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