Thread: What is the point of Lucid Dreaming?

This is my second try to get this thread to post. I'd signed in but by the time I finished typing and clicked the post thing dreamviews told me I wasn't signed in.

At any rate, this is a serious post and so I should like some serious and thoughtful responses please.

I just woke a while ago from another UNSUCCESSFUL and rather BORING night of dreams. Though I can recall them enough to write the dreams down I just don't see the point since they are not really all that great or even worth having or writing. I go through cycles of bad recall, very dark, hard to recall hard to dream dreams and then I can recall some stuff at least enough to have something to write should I choose to do so.

The reason for this post is to ask a question I have also asked concerning life: what is the point?

I started lucid dreaming studies years and years ago, was a member of LaBerge's Lucidity Institute and still have the original printed newsletters, to have a fantasy world to play in. I used to fantasize constantly as a kid and young adult. Mostly concerning vampires and sex, but I had some creativity now it appears at almost 40 I have none. I cannot even make myself paint and it is a struggle to try to read a novel. The only novels I seem to still have a love for and can read are the Discworld ones.

At any rate, I am not sure how much of a role your hormones play or not and that might be my problem since I have better recall and some creativity sometimes, not all the time anymore, a week or so before my period. Now, I am lucky if I can just get recall.

I've had a lot of lucid dreams and have walked through walls, flown, sword fought, and so on and I guess I have become rather bored or jaded or whatever. I just don't see the point in Lucid Dreaming if it isn't for fantasy and I no longer care.

So, before I get unsigned on by dreamviews again, what is your point to lucid dreaming. Why do you do it and how much of a role does fantasy life play in them and what would be a new reason to LD for me if my fantasy life is really over?

Thank You.

I try to lucid dream mostly for the fun of it (I haven't done it enough times to even get bored of it) but I've been trying to find my dreamguide... which is supposed to help you with problems in real life. I dont know how, I've never met mine yet, but sometimes I wonder what the point of anything is. I know how you feel, maybe you should just lucid dream for the fun of it and try to do something different every time. try to make dream friends or meet your dreamguide... but these are just suggestions, i hope they were at least a little bit of help to you.

Thank You for your reply.

I guess lucid dreaming, I don't recall having one for years or at least a year, would be easier if we could have real person groups that would meet on a regular basis. At least the competition would be some point to having a dream :-)

Seriously though, I'd thought of trying to start a local group but the only people that might be joining are the really wierd yoga people who are new agers. I love doing yoga for exorcise but don't believe in that new age crap.

Loggin off for a while now. NASA is launching the shuttle today and I want to watch NASATV and do some other stuff. Might try to meditate or just free paint or free draw.

I feel like I died a long time ago and am just floating around. Might have to give up on dreaming and artistic creativity and do public service like working for animal rights or whatever since that really does stir me and might give meaning to this exsistance.

Cheers.

do public service like working for animal rights

Hey, I LIKE that!!

Some people take lucid dreaming very seriously which I don't particularly understand... it's not supposed to be your life, it's just supposed to enhance it, if anything.

Maybe you can experiment with different techniques to increase your recall. Try some B6! Or mental suggestions! I don't know what you've been doing actually... could you share some of your techniques that don't seem to be working?

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

Maybe you can experiment with different techniques to increase your recall. Try some B6! Or mental suggestions! I don't know what you've been doing actually... could you share some of your techniques that don't seem to be working?

I've been doing those 'the next time I am dreaming I'll remember to know it is a dream' affirmations before bed and I had been, though I stopped for a while, using LaBerge's lucid dream induction audio cassette. I am bored and get extreemly anxious and get annoyed listening to it so many times now. I wanted to try a few nights listening to it in the middle of the night but I have trouble sleeping again if my sleep is disrupted as I do have problems with anxiety and though I can wake several times during the night which seems to help me recall dreams if I try to do any activity I do not always have success sleeping again and I do have things in reality that I need rest to accomplish.

I think I am just trying harder than I should and building a block of frustration between me and my goal.

It used to be fairly easy to get lucid in my younger days that is why I thought it might have something to do with hormones and actual changes in brain phisiology or however you spell it or say it.

Whatever.

Yep, that feeling of life being useless, boring, meaningless. But if you're still alive it's probably because there's something about life that you enjoy. That animal rights idea sounds great, and I'd love to do something like that sometime. Me, I stay alive because, even though there's no real reason to, there are things I enjoy. I love music, friends, love, food, sex, sleep, and countless other pleasures. They're useless, yes, but you might as well enjoy this life. Lucid Dreaming, for me (although I've never had one - yet) is just another of these pleasures. AND, like Eonnn said, I think they're fun in various ways, and useful too, to solve problems in real life, relieve stress, etc.

Originally Posted by dreamship

Thank You for your reply.

I guess lucid dreaming, I don't recall having one for years or at least a year, would be easier if we could have real person groups that would meet on a regular basis. At least the competition would be some point to having a dream :-)

Seriously though, I'd thought of trying to start a local group but the only people that might be joining are the really wierd yoga people who are new agers. I love doing yoga for exorcise but don't believe in that new age crap.

Loggin off for a while now. NASA is launching the shuttle today and I want to watch NASATV and do some other stuff. Might try to meditate or just free paint or free draw.

I feel like I died a long time ago and am just floating around. Might have to give up on dreaming and artistic creativity and do public service like working for animal rights or whatever since that really does stir me and might give meaning to this exsistance.

Cheers.

Why not try and meditate and paint in your dreams? I plan on doing the same, and when I meditate within a dream I usually am able to retain much of that feeling for the rest of the day. I don't go for the New Age business either, but it does sound like you have some negative patterns of energy that you need to break. Why not try devoting your lucid dreaming to these activities you are struggling with during the day and see if you can break through. It's possible that your decreasing enthusiasm for fantasy could be a need for more concrete focus.

And of course, if you're starting to have less LD's, why not try a new induction method (unless you've done them all.) I'm in the process of working on an alternative version of "FILD" and if you'd like me to send it to you when I'm finished please PM me.

Cheers

Don't let it get you down mate, just try a new inductions technique, maybe work at your recall to improve vividness thus giving you some more DILDs, if your stuck with what to do in a dream i have an idea, it works for me, it may not work for you but you can try. Buy a video game with a really good storyline thats gripping, that makes you wish you could be in the game, this is how i come up with my goals for lucid dreams, i'm yet to try them but still its bound to be a great experience! Chin up and make a fresh start

I don't play video games. I tried but in all the years I've had a computer I think I might have played 4 games. I just don't see the point in all that violence. Guess it is because I am a girl and naturally less violent. But I do really like the story world of Discworld novels so I might try to make myself a character in that world or something.

I just wish I could concentrate. I feel so zoned. Everything is bright like I got glasses on with light on the rims.

This is one of my figure drawings.

When i started out it was mostly fantasy and escapism (to a certain extent thats still true).. But ive also always been interested in psychology, and one of the aspects im motivated to explore is the power of dreams on the mind and body.
An example is that when im lucid dreaming i can orgasm at will, in only a few seconds..(not just a dream orgasm either, the pleasure continues as i wake, the body's really going through it..... without the need for cleanup afterwards ).. this is a skill i lack while awake (thankfully ) , but it makes me wonder how the relationship between the dreaming me and my body, and the waking me and my body differs, and how i could maybe use this to my advantage.

I think there's still lots to learn about lucid dreaming and its potential uses that we're yet to discover, and so for me its an area of research Im interested in pursuing.

1. For fun.
2. To meet and talk with your subconscious, DC's, dream guide and spirit guide.
3. To experience strange things which can never be achieved in normal life, and sometimes never in a normal dream.
4. Overcome nightmares.
5. Now this is the biggy, the sort of theraputic reason... To recreate a problem you are experiencing in life and learn to deal with it in your dream. If you are having troubles in social situations for example, you could practice in your dream. Or if you want to ask a girl out that you really like, you can practice doing it in your dream. Or if you have a phobia, you can generally overcome it in your dream.

I feel like I died a long time ago and am just floating around.

I've had that feeling in the past, when Ive just felt passionless and bored with life, but its always a temporary thing. If you feel this way about dreaming then I would agree that you should forget about lucid dreaming for a while and go do something that takes your interest. Im sure the lucid dream hook will catch you again and drag you back here when you're ready. Maybe go somewhere you've always wanted to go or as you say, put some time into working for a cause like animal rights.
What usually gets me on the right track is weekends away with friends or generally just getting away from everyday monotinous activities and habits for a while.

Well if you can master the art of Lucid Dreaming and live in a fantasy world of you're own creation, my suggestion is to do whatever you feel like doing at the moment in your lucid dreams. It could be anything from grocery shopping to living as another animal or species or whatever you want to do at the moment. Lucid dreaming is a method of exploration and relaxation. It's not necessarily a way to escape, but a way to unwind at the end of the day. Another idea would be to pick up a hobby and try to improve your skills through lucid dreaming by practicing in your dreams. Pit yourself against the best and see how your fare. I don't know I just think the possibilities are really endless if you are experienced enough. This is the reason I choose to LD.

I suggest looking through the Forum 'Lucid experiences' and you would derive an answer pretty quickly.

Originally Posted by RooJ

but it makes me wonder how the relationship between the dreaming me and my body, and the waking me and my body differs, and how i could maybe use this to my advantage.

You should read Patricia Garfield's Women's Bodies Women's Dreams and also they have a good section on the body and dream body relationship in LaBerge's Lucid dreaming books. Buy the LaBerge books second hand though as there are researchers doing animal research in the sleep lab at stanford where LaBerge is or was so in order to avoid any money getting to animal researchers get his books second hand at amazon or ebay or at your local used bookstore.

I thought it might be neat to see if you could actually heal yourself or contribute in a really large way to recovery through lucid dreaming. Though, I ain't sick like with cancer or anything.

And to your post on orgasms, I've had so many it isn't even fun any more. I guess it would do me good to concentrate on other things.

Oh but in my humble opinion it is a very bad thing to loose touch with your Creative side. I have only found my Fantasy to be my bliss and a source of Joy and religiously beautyfull feelings that enrich my life so much. And I'll tell you this: I am NOT religious allthough I have a Liberally Jewish/Israëli background I am not at all into organised religion. However I really DO believe in something miraculous and inexplainable just like what most religious folks would call God. I know very well the meaning of thne word "holy" Do you? Cuz if you do and I told you that (Lucid) Dreams to me are truely religious experiences then I need not explain any further on why I desire Lucid Dreams.

Painting, Drawing, Playing guitar, playing piano, Psychedelics, prophetic thoughs & feelings: These are the things that really enriches my life with beautyfull feelings. To me this is wha't life's all about: enjoying. And no matter how much higher you think your ambitions are everything still always comes down to you trying to make the best of life and enjoying it.

Needless to say (lucid) Dreaming fits in perfectly into the previously mentioned things. I intend to Lucid Dream for a number of reasons but in the end it all comes down to: It is a beautyfull experience and it awakens me joyfull with new hope and inspiration for my life and what to do with it.

Lucid Dreaming is exploring your Mind and it's simulated reality: something that truely fascinates me. Being able to experience your dreams with your full consciousness and freewill allows you to make the best out of it and explore your mind's fantasy world.

People tend to argue about what's the point of Lucid Dreaming, Drawing for hours, dancing to tribal music, meditating..etc but the main reason people do these kind of things is because it gives a sense of fullfillment and joy.
And for a graphical artist dreams are THE perfect visionairy prophecies on what to paint/draw/sculpt next.

Originally Posted by SKA

However I really DO believe in something miraculous and inexplainable just like what most religious folks would call God. I know very well the meaning of thne word "holy" Do you? Cuz if you do and I told you that (Lucid) Dreams to me are truely religious experiences then I need not explain any further on why I desire Lucid Dreams.

It is just feelings. Feelings change and are not proof of anything. I've had great dreams also and you can make yourself feel all sorts of things dreaming or waking.

I heard somewhere that u can use lucid dreaming to practice skills just like when awake. Try ta practice painting. Better yet, try ta find inspiration for your paintings through your dreams.

I dream of owning a lot of novels as if having a library or something. Might try reading one.

Feelings are not proof of anything? I didn't say that. But don't underestimate feelings. Aren't feelings exactly that which motivates us to do what we do? You can't denie that. We act out how we feel, no matter how well thought out we think our actions are.

We're all just doing what feels good. Some of us do what they THINK is good; these are the people hurting themselves and others but still with all intentions of doing what feels right

If I there was no meaning to life at all... You don't wanna know what my life would be like XD I'd probably end up just having fun everyday as some junkie sex freak, cause I'd be having as much fun as I possibly could!! But I do believe in some other reality, and dreams are definetely a part of it all!
If you say feelings or thoughts don't prove anything... Think better... I just can't understand consciousness confined to a physical brain and emotions as being limited by hormones! And I can't understand my own existence without some force creating me! If you can, congratullations!

You are not special. Thoughts, love, all that is just chemicals in the brain nothing more. Doctors can show you what areas of your brain are active during these emotions. It is all in the brain.

And because this is our only exsistance that is what makes compassion, respect, helping eachother and the other life on this planet, protecting eachother and the other life on this planet so important.

If you wanted to do what you said you'd be wasting precious time.

Cheers. I've had enough. You all can continue to wade around in some half dream fantasy and not see reality if you want.

Originally Posted by SKA

We're all just doing what feels good. Some of us do what they THINK is good; these are the people hurting themselves and others but still with all intentions of doing what feels right

Which is exactly why the world would be better off if we all woke up from this 'dream' and saw what was really there.

You could not help but have compassion and want to do 'the right thing' if you realized that this was all there was. If this is your only life you should really appreciate it and the lifes of everything else.

Now let us all hold hands and sing "koom by yahhhhhh"

I won't be bothered with this thread.

dont you believe in anything? all your posts sound so negative and sad and you keep saying how nothing is special and nothing has any point. You should to try to see the joy in life and things and not be so pessimistic, maybe you'd feel like you had a point in living

I heard somewhere that u can use lucid dreaming to practice skills just like when awake. Try ta practice painting. Better yet, try ta find inspiration for your paintings through your dreams.

the point is, its whatever you want it to be. as for me, i want to see it for myself.