Attaining Lucidity

[Curios]

I noticed many people are striving to attain lucidity. Lucidity is not control over your mind people its being aware. Aware of your dreams. Aware of your own being. Over and over i hear people say they are trying to take control. However their trying to reach lucidity. This is fine if you are lucid allready. If you mistake the two concepts in the beganning you may never reach the later skills of real control.

I hope this is clear enough for all

Quit trying and just be aware

[Second Attention]

That's a great message curios, I totally agree with you there. Awareness and control are not the same at all.

[hysteria]

are you saying you should give up control? or simply become lucid first, and after awhile once you abtain the ability to have long and vivid lucid dreams only then should you focus on control?

[jill1978]

I agree control is different thing. I actually have to use extreme concentration, ( or at least in the dream it feels like concentration ) to control things. And the control seems to kinda fade in and out. Several times I have the control to change something or end something, but not the control to change into something specific.

[zwishenzug]

I think the distiction is low-level lucidity and fully lucid dreaming. In the former you don't have control, or don't exercise it.

I have to relax and try to believe to have total control. When I try too hard in a dream it never works. I have to take a moment, visualize what I want to happen, then do something to make it happen (usually point my finger).

[Second Attention]

I personally believe(and yes, my personaly beliefs are considered "out there" by most people) that controlling your dreams takes something out of it, that you are missing something. At least total control, not some control. Indeed, I wish to be able to have total or near total control and experiment with it, but my true intentions behind lucid dreaming are definitely not for control purposes. Control is boring.

[Curios]

Originally posted by Paperdoll EP
are you saying you should give up control? or simply become lucid first, and after awhile once you abtain the ability to have long and vivid lucid dreams only then should you focus on control?

Im not saying give up but just focus more on the whole idea of being aware. Instead of thinking you can just jump in and take off and do some wild things. It takes experience to get there. I dont know how many times i have woken myself up trying new things like walking through walls and being invisible. You get very excited and next thing you know your laying there on your back going damn that sucks. When this happens though dont trip just close your eyes and recall as much as possible about your last experience. You might find yourself right back where you left off but with better ideas.

[zwishenzug]

I agree. I've woken myself up many times trying new and exciting shit. Although I've never woken up and been disappointed, just a little "damn" and then "hell yeah, I went lucid!" Curios is right about it taking experience to master stuff, I'm sure you know that paperdoll, you're a smart girl.

There's really nothing anyone can say to anyone else about how to "get it right." It's all up to you and how you learn and what works for you. A bunch of techniques work for a bunch of people, but everyone has a little different view.

I've been taking a systematic approach to all this and it seems to have worked well for me. I don't just "go with the flow" or "open my mind." My mind is already open. It's so open I'm just waiting to explore the space I've created the next time I go lucid.

Now that I think about it, if someone said that "opening his mind" helped him stay lucid longer, I would reevaluate how open my mind was. What I want above all my lucid goals is longer, more frequent lucid dreams.

[jill1978]

I actually would have to say that you nailed my goals on the head. my lucid dreams start out aware sometimes, then like a trance I fall back out of awareness...Sometimes it's almost like the two halves of my brain are struggleing for control, and the unconsiouse mind always wins....It really makes you reolize how reality is only perception. Our minds create it all, but it seems so outside of ourselves, almost like the real world.

[hysteria]

Originally posted by Curios+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Curios)</div><!--QuoteBegin-Paperdoll EP
are you saying you should give up control? or simply become lucid first, and after awhile once you abtain the ability to have long and vivid lucid dreams only then should you focus on control?

Im not saying give up but just focus more on the whole idea of being aware. Instead of thinking you can just jump in and take off and do some wild things. It takes experience to get there. I dont know how many times i have woken myself up trying new things like walking through walls and being invisible. You get very excited and next thing you know your laying there on your back going damn that sucks. When this happens though dont trip just close your eyes and recall as much as possible about your last experience. You might find yourself right back where you left off but with better ideas.[/b]

you never answered my question. what I'm saying is, should you wait until you are able to remain calm and prolong your lucid dreams and THEN try more interesting things?

[zwishenzug]

I like that idea Jill. I think it's cool how when you're dreaming there is a whole world in front of you and the whole thing is fabricated within your brain. It's kind of like you turn around and look into your head rather than out of it.

[Lucid-Wannabe]

*
I noticed many people are striving to attain lucidity. Lucidity is not control over your mind people its being aware. Aware of your dreams. Aware of your own being. Over and over i hear people say they are trying to take control. However their trying to reach lucidity. This is fine if you are lucid allready. If you mistake the two concepts in the beganning you may never reach the later skills of real control. *
[/b]
Well, isnt attaining lucidity a mix of the two? You practice reality checks enough so then in your dream you can become aware, EG: check your watch and it changes when you look at it again. So then you become aware, once you become aware that you are dreaming, then you take control, you are taking control over your dream, thus your mind.

[Curios]

Definatly paperdoll. Last night i had a good one and i was very calm. Seems like its more of mind control just like luciid wannabe said. most people when they first start out really try and move thier body which is what im thinking wakes you up. But yes remaining calm and gaining the lucidity is key before trying anyhing.