Do you feel your sleeping body during lucid dreaming?

[KyleL]

Hi I am a new guy here :-) Anyway I have been trying to get lucid dreaming for years (I am really slow), and I guess it started to pay off as I start to have better dream recall and few times getting really near to lucid. Back to topic - I don't have much experience with lucid dreams (I had two DILDs that lasted for 2secs, if you know what I mean), so I am not sure what I experienced last night was really lucid dream or just very weird imaginations with visual. Basically, I had a vivid dream (non-lucid), and I woke up to record it (my method of recording at end of post). As I finished recording my dream, I drifted back to dream naturally, and it happened to be the same as previous dream. Because of this I also quickly gained consciousness (become lucid?) in the dream. However, I noticed in the same time that I continue to feel my sleeping body. The dream (?) was pretty much like the usual dreams I had, not as vivid as I would imagined as a lucid dream, and the feeling of sensing my body makes me wonder whether I was really dreaming. Assuming that it was really lucid, I tried to teleport to Maldives (which I just went last month), and I did success. However I felt that it was very un-dreamlike (again with the feeling of my sleeping body), so I tried methods that people suggest to stabilize the dream - spinning, flying, etc. but could not change that feeling. Then somehow I went back to the original dream setting involuntarily. At that point, I woke up, being fascinated, continued recording the dream. Again, I drifted back to sleep and tried to imagine the scenery of Maldives. Same as before, I successfully saw the graphics of Maldives but yet still feel my sleeping body. This time I tried to jump into the water, and tried to get rid of the sleeping body feeling. When I looked back up from the water, to my surprised, I saw a female ghost figure standing at the water bungalow. Just like in the horror movie, she was wearing white dress, her long hair covered her face, and her hands rest beside her body. It was not as terrifying as I imagined, but I also remembered the teaching from "Creative Dreaming" by Patricia Garfield, that we should try to confront and conquer our danger/enemy in dream. So, I tried to hold up my fist and punch at her, while I felt my heart started to beat quickly. However, I could not hit her, and she remained some gap between us and motionless. After a while I got bored, so I tried to talk to her again. Again, she did not response to me. So I decided to "wake up" and recorded the dream. Again, the whole time I didn't lose the consciousness, the images or the feeling of my sleeping body. It surely was weird. Given my inexperience in lucid dream, could anyone suggest what was actually happening? I checked on the time of my phone, it was 2 something in the morning, not the usual time I would have dream. I also believed this dream exhausted me, so I didn't manage to recall any dream after that, and woke up to a very tired body. P/S: My method to record is pretty unique, that I connect a bluetooth (Apple) keyboard to my phone, so I can record my dreams without even opening my eyes. I got this inspiration from "Creative Dreaming" by Patricia Garfield, who suggested the best recall is which to record with eyes closed. In fact I just started using this method two days ago so my special experience might have to do with this. Using keyboard is natural to me because I can blind type and type as fast as my mind goes, so I won't miss a beat and can record to as much detail as my mind was running them. Also, during the record there is minimal movement - only extending my arms to grab and place the keyboard, and I simply rest the keyboard on my stomach in the original sleeping position.

[mimihigurashi]

Strange that you felt your dreaming body, I don't think that's common. I always feel my dream body, even in non-lucids. And lol, being aggressive and violent towards a dream figure, especially a horror/nightmare type one, is probably the worst thing you can do. I don't know what exactly you read, but when experienced lucid dreamers tell us to "confront our nightmares", they definitely don't mean to beat them up. On the contrary, the way to get rid of recurring nightmare figures (at least this is how it was for me and I recall reading stories from other people) is to conjure a kind and loving aura around yourself and the entity and ask them what do they want from us.

[CNGB]

Yes, confronting your horrors means to talk to them or ask them what they represent, or even just invite them along with you on your ride. Don't try to attack them. That's not what confrontation means (not in this sense, anyway)! But anyway . . . congratulations, friend, on your lucid dream. Because that is what you had. From your descriptions it doesn't seem very vivid, but if you were asleep and conscious then you were definitely lucid. Try not to over-think things. As for the part about your sleeping body--personally, I've never felt it, though this isn't the first time I've heard about it. I think everyone would be able to feel their sleeping bodies if they actually tried. Perhaps next time you have a lucid, if you still feel your body, ask the dream why. It might actually tell you. :3

[KyleL]

Thanks for both of your advices. I will try to use a more peaceful way to confront if I see such horrors.

[Yuusha]

I don't really feel it while the dream is stable, but I do get into a weird transition state a few seconds before I wake up, so that I can kind of feel myself lying in bed, but standing up at the same time. It's a weird mix between my dreaming self and my physical sleeping body.

[Leol]

I am not an expert at it, but I noticed that when I do WILD I happen to feel as if my body was on the bed while I am moving in the dream. It isn't comfortable, so the more I ignore it and focus on my "body" of the dream the better I feel.

[KyleL]

Wow, so it isn't totally unheard of, even though I don't see it discussed often. I am not an expert at it, but I noticed that when I do WILD I happen to feel as if my body was on the bed while I am moving in the dream. It isn't comfortable, so the more I ignore it and focus on my "body" of the dream the better I feel. Come to think about it, the method I used to reenter the dream is somewhere between MILD & WILD (not sure which is more relevant here) so probably I am feeling the same as you. I can't say whether it is comfortable, and I did try to focus on my dream body, yet my sleeping body did not go away. Did you manage to completely get rid of the sleeping body feeling as your dream stabilizes?

[PercyLucid]

Sometimes. It is called double-consciousness... you have an example in this dream: Death, Harvest my soul, fast! - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views 03.10.2010 Death, Harvest my soul, fast! (MILD) NON-DREAM DREAM LUCID Another not so awesome night. My mind is being flooded with my business stuff and I am only focused in waking stuff. I MILD one lucid and recalled two more dreams. Third dream: I told my self having only ONE pair of wings was not an option and I had to MILD the advanced task last night, not having a MILD was not an option. I woke up at 06:30 am and kept in a comfortable possition. I used the chest technique, affirmed I was going to turn lucid and visualize having my both pairs of wings. I was in a big warehouse store. I had to buy some wood and glue to do something. The store was huge and it had everything I needed. I saw a fat pack of Scars of Mirrodin, so I was going to buy it as well. I walked to the register and requested the cashier a Pat Pack of Scars. The cashier, who was very rude told me, "We do not have that here." Suddenly, the store was a Blockbuster. I told her they did, but she replied they did not. I paid for my purchase and told her to hold them on. I walked around the entire store looking for it and I could not find it. I recalled perfectly I saw it and I entered an odd room. I told to myself I had to be dreaming. This was odd and the store did not look nothing I knew. I looked at my left hand and it was OK, I looked at my right hand and it had six fingers. I wanted to take off and fly to make my dream stable, as usual, however, I knew it was about time to wake up, so I wanted to do my task fast. I entered into a darker room. I knew the Death was going to be somewhere in there. I saw several huge racks and old boxes. Everything was super dusty. I saw four teenagers running around and one almost hitted me. I told him, "Do not dare to bother me! You will see moron!!!!" I turned right and I saw more boxes. There was a dark figure with black robes and a scythe. The scythe was like evil, diabolic, made with bones. He was looking at me, but standing still. He was not threathening me. His body looked dry. I could see some bones and his face was a skull. I started to walk and told the death telepathically to follow me. He did. The Death was under my command. I remembered those stupid teenagers and I was going to get them pwned by the Death. We started to walk to the room were such teenagers were bothering around. I suddenly had double conscious and I felt my cat walking around in my bed. The dream was not as stable. I did not want to risk so I asked the Death to kill me. I saw the Death approaching at me. He rose his scythe and slew me. It did not hurt but I saw my own body falling to the ground and my soul flying inside Death body's. I had time enough to realize I accomplished the advanced too and I woke up. Missed dream signs: - None. Spotted dream signs: - The odd store. Reality Check performed: - Hand check (failed. turned lucid)

[FOATL]

I don't really feel it while the dream is stable, but I do get into a weird transition state a few seconds before I wake up, so that I can kind of feel myself lying in bed, but standing up at the same time. It's a weird mix between my dreaming self and my physical sleeping body. sometimes i can feel my mouth is very dry in my lucids.....that lets me know im asleep with my mouth open instead of breathing thru my nose.....usually rite before i wake up.....sometimes when im in a lucid dream i can feel my arms in bed....even tho im walking around in my dream.....thats when i really try to do deeping methods to enhance the phase for my dream body.....

[PercyLucid]

I also recall, sometimes I felt pain a lucid dream because said part of the body was hurting in waking life.