Thread: Hey Hey

Greetings from Vancouver, WA. The name's Tim, I'm 15. I like to think I act older than most my age, but I'd rather have you get to know me and make your own judgments rather than taking my probably biased word for it. :]

Anyways, to the point: I believe my interest in dreams started, oh, some odd number of years ago when I had a dream consisting of me melting or morphing into a pool of goo. Nothing too exciting, but it piqued my interest in that I could actually feel (to some extent) what was happening to me while I was dreaming. It wasn't an intense sensation, but I definitely felt something and was thus intrigued. Up until that point I had assumed that dreams were only auditory / visual experiences and nothing more. Additional dreams involving pinching myself, etc. further disproved my assumptions and further drove me into interest in dreams and all their mysteries, though I haven't really delved deep into it until now. As far as lucid dreams go, I can't remember ever having a dream in which I was not only fully aware that I was dreaming, but capable of controlling the content of the dream as it happened. I know I've had ones recently in which I was at least partially aware of the fact that I was dreaming and maybe partially capable of controlling the dream, but I've never had 100% of both.

For some time since my interest in dreams began I've tried controlling the content of my dreams through various measures, with mixed results. Mostly I've tried concentrating on or verbally repeating what I'd like to dream about while going to sleep. Either this hasn't worked much, or it's been working and I just haven't been able to remember it in the morning. I think that might be the case considering how much emphasis is apparently placed within communities such as this one on improving dream recall prior to developing dream control or lucid dreaming. Seeing this, several weeks ago I started keeping a dream journal and kept at it for a week or so, writing down whatever main details of my dreams I could remember each morning. I can usually still remember most of my dreams by just reading over the random details I put down. After a week of keeping the journal I started getting overwhelmed by stress from various sources and was unable to make entries for a few weeks, but started keeping it again about a week ago. My goal is to be making detailed entries every morning within a week.

I've also started the "Course on Consciousness" recommended in the "LD Information & Links" thread under General Lucid Discussion. I've actually been surprised at how much it's done for me in the few days I've been following it. The first night I followed (partially, at least) its instructions produced one of the most satisfying dreams I've had in a while and probably the most detailed entry in my dream journal. The second night produced another satisfying, relaxing dream, though I neglected to record it in my journal. The third night produced some odd, interesting dreams but I unfortunately didn't have the time to write down all of them. I think it's just a matter of discipline and diligence at this point as to how effective the course (and my dream development as a whole) is for me.

Anyways, it's getting late and I'm tired, so I think I'll cut my introduction off here. :] Thanks for reading!