Lucid Dreaming

[Deleted]

So, I heard about this phenomenon a while ago, and now I have gotten super hyped on doing it! I've done some reading on it, and it seems that I have to put myself in a state called "Sleep Paralysis" or something like that to initiate a so-called WILD (wake-initiated lucid dream).

What I would like to know is:

Is it in any way dangerous?

How do I wake up? Will a regular alarm clock work?

How do I set myself in this "Sleep Paralysis" state?


I've seen a picture that is supposed to explain how to do it, should this work?

pic:


I'm planning on trying it this weekend and I just want to get some info, and perhaps you've experienced it? If you have I'd like to know how you "controlled" the dream =P

[Roose]

I have some luck controlling dreams, but it is pretty random. I have very vivid dreams and they are quite realistic. I will try this out, but I usually have trouble getting to sleep.

I think I do this sometimes on accident after I wake in the middle of a dream and get back to sleep quick.

Dreams are so freaking cool!

[Krolikn]

I find this to be very random. Being conscious during sleep paralysis is quite scary. I have occasionally had limited control of my dreams although since "control" would have been on my mind its probably the way the dream was heading anyway...

[Deleted]

I recommend you a book from Robert Bruce: http://www.amazon.com/Astral-Dynamic.../dp/1571741437
Exellent read, tons of knowledge. If you master it, you can develop some usefull abilites while dreaming and use it in "waking mode"
Also check http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/ , here you can find almost everything you wanna know about the subject.
Happy dreaming!

[Deleted]

I've seen a picture that is supposed to explain how to do it, should this work?

That's a very bad explanation. Please just google lucid dreaming yourself, you'll get a idea of how it works.

Personally, I've experienced plenty of lucid dreams, but always from a normal dream. Never from a waking state.

Also, I suffer from sleep paralysis a lot. It's not fun.
Especially the first time it happens and you don't know what's going on. You'll be scared shitless.

It's like being trapped in your body but not being able to do anything.
And if you panic, you'll only make it worse because you'll start to imagine (dream) about all kinds of terrible things, like monsters and demons and such.
I've read that if you ignore the hallucinations and simply try to sleep through it, it should go away. But for myself, it only gets worse. Eventually you'll even be able to hear or feel that monster attacking you. Yeah, if you're awake you'll know it's just your mind playing tricks on you. But once in that state, you'll actually believe it, likely.

So I would certainly not advise you to try to get sleep paralysis. I think it's better to get a lucid dream from a normal dreaming state.

The trick is to really convince yourself that you're dreaming. You need to have some kind of marker. Personally, I've gotten so used to it that if I see something happen in the dream that could never happen in real life, I will most of the time understand it's a dream and go into lucid dreaming.

But if you're still new to it, you need a clear marker. Like looking at your watch (if you have one) In your dream it will most likely not move. Or trying to switch on a light, in your dream it will likely still stay dark. (I have a lightswitch right next to where I sleep, it never works in my dreams) But there's plenty more tricks, just do a search online.

Oh, and one of the last tricks to lucid dreaming is to be able to hold on to your dream once you are conscious it's just a dream. Usually once you know it's a dream you'll wake up by default. You need to stay calm. But like I said, read some things online, they can explain it better than me.

[Judge Malthred]

Que the inception music!

[Deleted]

I recommend you a book from Robert Bruce: http://www.amazon.com/Astral-Dynamic.../dp/1571741437
Exellent read, tons of knowledge. If you master it, you can develop some usefull abilites while dreaming and use it in "waking mode"
Also check http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/ , here you can find almost everything you wanna know about the subject.
Happy dreaming!

Yeah, I've also heard that astral projection or out of body experiences are closely related to lucid dreaming

I think I have experienced it once or twice, but I'm not 100% sure. I was able to get up from my bed and move around the house.
But everything was really dark, and I could hardly see my reflection in a mirror. Once I walked too far I simply woke in my bed for real.

[Judge Malthred]

I have realized that I was dreaming several times and began to lucid dream, unfortunately once I realized i was dreaming I was excited to try some crazy things out but the excitement over the realization of the dream woke me up.

[Revik]

Yeah sleep paralysis is pretty scary. Even after having seen and read about it and knowing what was happening it was still pretty scary. As mentioned above the best thing to do is stay calm and go back to sleep.

As for lucid dreaming I have had quite a few. Alot of times though I actually relinquish control and just let the dream take me where it will. It is just more interesting that way.

One thing piece of advice. Your dreams are affected by physical stimuli while you sleep. Like for instance when you are falling assleep at your desk with your head resting on your hand you dream you are falling when your head eventually falls from your hand. One thing I liked to do if I wanted to ensure myself an intense dream would be to sleep with another blanket so that I would actually sweat. Hope this helps.

[Deleted]

Alright, cheers for all the responses, and I did some more reading on the subject, looking at different methods and such. I still think this "WILD" thingy is the wya to go for me presonally, since I rarely remember my dreams, maybe 3 times a week. And this sleep paralysis sounds awfully cool if you ask me >.<

[Blaschnack]

Sounds a bit "scary" imo, I would be a bit afraid of losing the ability of telling apart what I dreamed and what was real (I actually find myself puzzling about that sometimes already... ) if I happen to imagine somewhat realistic stuff in my dreams, especially if it involves characters and locations I know from real life.

I'm no native speaker, so I'd need a little heads up on what exactly a lucid dream is. I sometimes have those dreams that i can remember and that are quite "thrilling" (like an interesting movie) and if I stay in bed after waking up i can actually continue dreaming the "story" of that certain dream and it feels just like before waking up. Is a lucid dream something in that direction?

[Deleted]

Yeah, something along those lines I believe. It's when you can "control" your dreams, might be similar to the movie "Inception", I am not sure though, haven't experienced it yet =P

[BLCalliente]

I remember my dreams a few times a month, and I'm in complete control of everything in my dreams a few of those times each year.

It's like somebody said above, my lucid dreaming just happens in the middle of a regular dream.

One second I'll be walking on the street or something similar, and then I have the sudden realization that I'm dreaming. First move is always to start flying.

[Zao]

I do have lucid dreams frequently. But I didn't "learn" it.

It started when I was maybe 16 or 17 when I noticed that I was actually aware of when I'm dreaming and could influence what I was doing. It felt kind of like a video game.
A few years later I somehow manage to actually control my dreams and not being confined to a given "scenario". I haven't really noticed any benefits other than being able to live through entire stories that could come out of a book or movie in just one night. Maybe I should try it with learning or something...

Also: Personally I have an alarm clock, fittingly with the Doctor Who intro, but unless I was tired to death the night before I always wake up 5-10 minutes before it rings, no matter when I go to sleep.

[Catharlex]

I've had a few dreams when I've realized I'm dreaming. It can be a lot of fun. I tend to "find" people and have them act completely out of character. It can definitely be amusing as hell.

[Deleted]

Alright, if I dream tonight I will attempt to "realize" it, maybe I'll be having some fun =D But I still think that I wanna try the "WILD" thing =P Just seems to be so freakin' scary/awesome, and I juts can't resist it >.<

[Martinussen]

about every 5th dream is a lucid dream for me.

But its usually in a dream about me or my friends dying, and so, i control the dream and "rewind time" to try again or give my self super powers. i mess around a little until i cba anymore and wake up.

[Gheld]

There's no such thing as a lucid dream; it's just a scam to sell books and other crap related to lucid dreaming.

A dream is a dream, and sometimes if something weighs heavily on your mind it will manifest itself in your dream. (For example I quit smoking about a month ago, and in that time I've had numerous dreams about smoking.) So if you allow the idea of being able to be in complete control of your dreams to weigh heavily on your mind, well guess what? You'll start having dreams about being able to be in complete control of your dreams.

What's so good about a lucid dream anyways? If your goal is imagination and inspiration then bringing your conscious mind (or a dream representation thereof) into your dreams which would otherwise be completely free of any bias of your conscious thoughts is hardly imaginative or inspiring.

It would be like saying "I'm going to paint my house blue using red paint!".

[Deleted]

I've had sleep paralysis happen to me one morning, woke up couldn't move and i just lied there thinking "So this is what it feels like if aliens abducted me" xD , so i just waited till i could move.

[Deleted]

There's no such thing as a lucid dream; it's just a scam to sell books and other crap related to lucid dreaming.

A dream is a dream, and sometimes if something weighs heavily on your mind it will manifest itself in your dream. (For example I quit smoking about a month ago, and in that time I've had numerous dreams about smoking.) So if you allow the idea of being able to be in complete control of your dreams to weigh heavily on your mind, well guess what? You'll start having dreams about being able to be in complete control of your dreams.

What's so good about a lucid dream anyways? If your goal is imagination and inspiration then bringing your conscious mind (or a dream representation thereof) into your dreams which would otherwise be completely free of any bias of your conscious thoughts is hardly imaginative or inspiring.

It would be like saying "I'm going to paint my house blue using red paint!".

Being able to fly dude! (in the dream that is) And I think it's a really cool concept if it's indeed working, and I would like to have experienced it =P