Thread: Subconscious is messing with me

This is a common issue. People achieve semi-lucidity but or even full-lucidity but have little to no control.

There are a number of things that could help:

Try mantras before bed. Something like, "I am dreaming!" repeated over and over can make an impact. Whatever you say keep it simple and keep it in the present tense. Don't say, "I will lucid dream" or "I will fly" which suggests a future event.

Try some different reality checks. The standard ones are there because we need something to guide people with, and they work...but not for everyone. Doing a reality check based on something you personally recognize as a dream sign is more likely to work then something your mind isn't familar with. Go over some of those common elements (like your street) and think about what you might recognize as a dream sign. It just might trigger lucidity.

Try the WBTB technique. It's a really good way to achieve lucidity and if you try it when you're really ready to sleep you can have some amazing dreams. The WBTB Tutorial in the DV WIKI can help you follow this technique and lead you to others.

If you have any questions on methods or other things related to dreaming feel free to send me a private message.

Originally Posted by Aeolus

I'll go ahead and share two stories, skip the first one if you don't want to read too much, the second one gives a better idea of what I mean.

Dream 1:

A while ago I had a dream where I was looking out a window in my house, and saw friends playing in a backyard. I didn't know how to get there because I didn't recognize the backyard. After a while of just staring it, for the first time ever in my dreams I did a reality check that worked. But it didn't make me lucid. It made me go into this fake lucidity that some call "semi-lucidity," where I would run around and do completely random things. This time I went out of my house and those friends were there, we played catch a bit, then I started trying to fly, and failed, then it ended. The outdoors portion of this dream was covered in a thick white fog.

Dream 2:

This happened this week. There were two small fragmented dreams I can remember that involved me getting the idea that I was aware, I took this awareness and decided to walk off, away from the direction that the stories in my dreams were going, I don't remember what happened after I walked off in them, but I think they ended pretty quickly afterwards. Then in one of the later dreams in the night, I thought that I was lucid, so I was running down a long road in my neighborhood (yes, it's a recurring environment) at night, doing random things again, like shooting a fireball at a car, which didn't work. After that failure I decided to force push it, and it went flying as I continued down the road. I think somewhere in it I attempted to fly, which again didn't work. By the time I got to the end of the road I woke up.

The biggest problem in all these types of scenarios which frequently occur, is the thought of dreaming never comes into my mind. I will tell myself I am lucid, not lucid dreaming. I have never once said, "this isn't real," or, "I'm dreaming."

Forgive me for being thick, but did you actually realise you were dreaming in both dreams? You said 'I am lucid' but that does mean you are aware you are dreaming. Just different words.