I don’t know whether honest ape was being facetious or not when he brought up lucid dreaming in the comments of the first post, but I’m going to make a quick post about it anyway.
Quick & dirty explanation: a lucid dream is one where you’re aware that you’re dreaming while you’re dreaming. In most cases, this confers a measure of control over the events of the dream and your reactions to them, but that varies greatly and isn’t a given. It’s a fascinating experience, and when you are able to control the dream, it can get even more interesting.
Most people have been conscious of being in the midst of a dream at one time or another purely by accident. The two most important ingredients for having a lucid dream on purpose are, in my experience, having good dream recall and being willing to entertain the possibility that you’re dreaming at any time. Everything else is more or less technique, gimmicks to help you achieve one or the other of those two requirements. Neither waking lucidity nor sanity are necessary.
(Is it a bad sign that I’m only three posts into this blog and the question of sanity has come up twice already?)
Those two things sound simple and boring. They are simple. They may not be easy. I get SO bored slogging through (ok, skimming over) chapters on how to remember your dreams, because I’ve always had obnoxiously good dream recall anyway. But I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve woken up and thought, “I was lucid in that dream! Too bad I don’t know what it happened in it…” And if you have poor recall anyway, you may be lucid every single night in your dreams and just not know it.
As for the other, the simple fact is that you’re more likely to realize you’re dreaming if you explicitly wonder whether you’re dreaming while you are, and are willing to answer “yes” to that question. Practicing while awake helps with that.
For many people, just thinking about lucid dreaming and being made aware of it or being reminded of it triggers one of these conscious dreams. Bearing that in mind, now that it’s been brought up, I’m going to attempt to have one the next time I go to sleep.
…which is right about now.
I’ll report back. Try to carry on without me until a more detailed post is made, yes?
January 11, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I am a dreamer. I dream every night, all night long. And in colour too!
I was taught to look at my hand while in the dream state if I think I am lucid dreaming. It works quite well and is good practice for remaining there! Try it the next time and see what happens.
I become aware that I am lucid dreaming, look at my hand and wiggle my fingers, and think, “Gosh, I AM!”. Then my hand dissolves and I wake up!
The difficult part is to look at your hand, KNOW what state you are in and continue the dream.
You can use any “test” that you are comfortable with, not just your hand. My youngest son uses people and the geography of the place he is in. He says to himself, “If I am lucid dreaming when I turn the corner to my left, my friend Brad will be there.”
Good luck and let us know where you went and what you did while you were there!
January 12, 2009 at 4:29 am
I didn’t make it to lucidity at all. Slept like the dead, dreamed of D.C. and zombie terrorists and a family that escaped and had a plan to foil the spy satellites that involved moving very slowly from bush to bush and, um, singing billy joel.
I ask you: does that sound at all lucid to you? Heh.
The hand thing has never worked for me, but it does for a lot of people. My subconscious is tricksy… I have to keep changing things up or it adjusts to what I do to catch it out. I like your son’s technique. I’ll have to try that.
Of course, the way my life goes, there’s a greater-than-zero chance that I’ll say that, be awake, and my friend Brad will be around the corner. Hee.
I mean to make an entry sometime soon with more specifics in it that asks for personal ways people “do” lucid dreaming and memorable lucid dreams readers have had.
January 19, 2009 at 10:02 pm
(Is it a bad sign that I’m only three posts into this blog and the question of sanity has come up twice already?)
I’d say it’s a sign you’re on the right track
I find dreams fascinating, because I never (or very rarely) remember my dreams and it confuses me that other people remember their dreams all the time. Any suggestions on resources for dream recall?
January 20, 2009 at 6:06 pm
A few.
Check the next post.
January 21, 2009 at 8:42 am
I’ve practiced, but I find I get impatient. I had a dream journal that I would write in every morning, and then had two lucid moments. But they got me so excited I woke up immediately. It was like “Holy shit, I’m dreaming and I know it!” And then boom. Awake. Like meditation, this is something I really need to work on again.
January 21, 2009 at 8:43 am
Oh, and when have you ever known me to be facetious?
January 24, 2009 at 5:47 pm
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