Lucid Dreaming Walk-through

[mywish]

Hey! I am new, and honestly I created this account just to get answers. I am a person who has trouble speaking their mind…so when I heard about lucid dreaming, I was elated! So I have a few questions.Please answer because I so badly want to lucid dream, so I can express myself! 1) With effort, can everybody lucid dream? Even if you have to wait a year? 2) What is the first step? Is the first step recalling dreams? I can manage this pretty well. Also I just started a Dream Journal. 3) Should I go ahead and start trying to lucid dream, since I can recall my dreams? 4) If yes on question 3, how do I begin? I have heard of doing reality checks, (which I have been doing these last 2 days..I discovered lucid dreaming last night), keeping dream journal and saying to myself each night before I go to sleep, “I will lucid ream tonight” like a 100 times…do these work? 5) How long will it take? I have heard usually about 7 months, but it depends on each person. But when do I know that I will never be able to lucid dream? Anything will help! Please, I REALLY want to lucid dream, if I am capable. SO anything that you have tried and that has worked, please tell me ASAP! Thanks, so much!)

[Matte87]

Hi and welcome! 1: Yes. For some people they get lucid on their first night of trying, others it can take months. You'll eventually get lucid. As long a you dream you can get lucid. 2: Yes, you have to recall the dreams or you won't even remember getting lucid. We all dream each night, it's just a matter of remembering them. 3: Ofcourse! However a few dreams a week is recommended before putting too much effort on trying to get lucid. But starting out early is never wrong. 4: This depends on which technique you want to achieve lucidity by. Check them out in turn and try them out for a few weeks. If you find one that suits your lifestyle and works for you, stick with it. DILD, MILD or WILD are the three most basic ones used. Intentions of getting lucid and knowing you will get lucid is the most important thing though. 5: See 1. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!

[nina]

Since Matte answered your other questions...I'll touch on 1. As far as I know, there haven't really been any reliable experiments done to test how easily some people might learn to lucid dream more than others, and if there is anything different about their brains. I imagine it would be a pretty difficult/expensive experiment to carry out. I also haven't heard of any experiments done on natural lucid dreamers, or any decent hypothesis as to why some are naturals and others are not. So for the moment, let's just assume that anyone can learn to lucid dream. There's really no reason to think otherwise, most people's brains are hard wired pretty similarly. We all have the same ability to gain consciousness. I assume that natural LDers just have more connections or exercise their brains more in a way to facilitate the activation of certain areas of the brain which are typically not active during dreaming (mostly in the frontal lobe), thereby making them lucid. The good thing about this though, is that when new brain connections are made (if you learn to get lucid once), it is easier to use those connections in the future. The brain "learns" to seizure, so if you have one seizure, you are much more likely to have a second one. I think LDing happens in a similar way. There are lots and lots of things you can try, and if you are persistent, I'm sure you will be able to learn. Good luck, it's worth the effort!

[mywish]

Okay, thanks I have a few more questions! 1) My dreams look cartoon-ish..is this normal? In lucid dreams, do they look more vivid? 2) Can you do anything you want in lucid dreams? 3) *One* time I was dreaming and I told myself, "I know I am dreaming"...is this considered lucid dreaming? Also if you have accomplished lucid dreaming, how often do you do it and what exactly is it like? Do you have lots of nightmares? Thanks again

[Hohenheim]

Okay, thanks I have a few more questions! 1) My dreams look cartoon-ish..is this normal? In lucid dreams, do they look more vivid? 2) Can you do anything you want in lucid dreams? 3) *One* time I was dreaming and I told myself, "I know I am dreaming"...is this considered lucid dreaming? Also if you have accomplished lucid dreaming, how often do you do it and what exactly is it like? Do you have lots of nightmares? Thanks again 1: Lucid dreams can look both cartoonish and realistic. 2:In lucid dreams you do not always get exactly what you want, becuase your subconciouse has other plans. You can often get what you want tho. 3: I think that was a lucid, unless it was a simulated lucid. I have lucids 3 to 5 times a week. Different people have different lucidity rates. Some people hav not had lucids in over a month while others just woke up from one.

[nina]

Okay, thanks I have a few more questions! 1) My dreams look cartoon-ish..is this normal? In lucid dreams, do they look more vivid? 2) Can you do anything you want in lucid dreams? 3) *One* time I was dreaming and I told myself, "I know I am dreaming"...is this considered lucid dreaming? Also if you have accomplished lucid dreaming, how often do you do it and what exactly is it like? Do you have lots of nightmares? Thanks again 1. Lucid dreams can be extremely vivid and even appear "hyperrealistic" where everything looks clearer and has a higher resolution or is more saturated/colorful/vivid than real life even. They can also be less vivid, or take place in complete blackness, or something like a white fog...it just depends. But there are specific skills and techniques that you can learn and use to make any lucid into a beautiful hyperrealistic and vivid dream. You can also have lucid dreams that are cartoonish, and I would guess that the more cartoons/video games you play, the more your dreams might take on this characteristic by default. 2. You certainly have the capability to do anything you want, the only limits are created and imposed by your own mind, some conscious and some subconscious. But again, there are lots of techniques that teach you how to work with your subconscious mind to manifest anything you want while lucid. I always recommend that people try to work with their subconscious, rather than against, using a dream control method that is more passive. In my experience, working in opposition to your subconscious using more aggressive dream control is much more difficult and often times counterproductive. 3. What happened after you told yourself that? Did you wake up? It might have been a vague awareness of dreaming, which is typically what sparks lucidity...but you need to take that next step into actual lucidity. Typically that vague awareness might lead one to perform a reality check. When the reality check fails, then you realize, holy crap, this really IS a dream, and get that eureka sort of moment which is not easy to mistake or forget. 4. I typically lucid dream a few times a week, it just depends, my current sleep schedule is really messed up from working night shift. 5. I pretty much never have nightmares anymore/can't remember the last time I had one.