Patience?

Hello all. I've been having a problem recently, in that I keep having dreams where I realize I'm dreaming, and tell myself this fact, but I don't actually become lucid.

Example: a few nights ago, I dreamed that I was working in a job I had several years ago. I was behind, and scrambling to get things done, and then suddenly I was getting yelled at by a coworker for the job I had last summer. I kept thinking out loud, "Hey, how did I get here, when I was just there?"

Finally, I convinced myself that that didn't make any sense (which I'm never able to do), and I tell everyone around me, "That means I'm dreaming!"

To prove my point, I took the broom I was holding and snapped it in half over my coworker's head, crouched down, and launched myself through the ceiling. Then I relaxed, fell down through the floor and into an entirely different dreamscape.

The problem was that I wasn't really lucid the whole time. The dream wasn't any more realistic, I only had a small amount of control, etc. This kind of thing has happened to me a lot lately, and it's pretty frustrating.

Suggestions? The only thing I can think of is that I need to slow down and concentrate on what it means that I'm dreaming, but the one time I did that, I just felt like I was trapped in a reality that I couldn't do anything about, which was a pretty weird sensation, but it didn't help me attain a higher level of lucidity.

Well it sounds like you were Lucid. All Lucid means is that you know your dreaming. You don't have to have any control for it to be Lucid.

Maybe you should do like you said and slow down. Maybe instead of trying to control it right away. Just relax and enjoy the moment. Do what ever seems like fun at the time. Or just walk or around exploring, and see what amazing things turn up. Then after you feel comfortable with that, try controlling different aspects of the dream. Maybe flying or jumping off a high place to start. A couple of my favorite things.:)

i didn't get you ...

you say you realize that you are dreaming but you don't become actually lucid ?!?!
((once you've realized you're dreaming implies that you are lucid ... whether you are in control of your actions or not))

Okay, so I'm technically lucid when this happens because I know I'm dreaming. However, the dreams aren't any more realistic, and I have little to no control over anything, even myself. And obviously, I'd like to change those things.

I also get this weird feeling that only a part of my brain is registering the fact that I'm dreaming, and the rest isn't so sure. That probably sounds weird, but it's about the best I can describe it. It's like part of my brain spends much of the dream trying to convince the rest of my brain that I'm dreaming, and so it makes me do things like flying to prove its point. But the rest of my brain never really gets it.

I feel like I'm not making any sense here...

I don't have much in the way of advice but yes, I hate those pseudo-lucids. You feel excited in the dream but when you wake up you realize you still had poor cognitive thought and were doing vague, retarded things or actually lost true lucidity after the first few seconds. :furious:

Try doing some reality checks like pinching your nose and breathing through it. Or, push your finger through the palm of your hand. Maybe if you do that a few times in the dream, you will be more convinced your dreaming. Sometimes I need to do that a few times before I have full lucidity.

Just keep practicing, you will get better as you go. The more Lucids you have the better you will be able to comprehend the situation your in.

Some of the "experts" have suggested several techniques for improving clarity and control. You might try browsing through the Dream Control forum, I'll bet you'll find some great ideas! For example, BillyBob has said when he becomes lucid, he kneels (in his dream), focuses on something on the ground or on his own hand, and examines it in great detail. Spend quite a bit of time appreciating what you are looking at, look at all the intricate details -- the lines and grooves in your hand, the shape of your hand, for example. Let yourself be calm, tell yourself "I am dreaming, I am calm and in control, now I can appreciate what I'm about to do." After a few minutes of examining your own hand and calming yourself, when you stand up and look up at your surroundings, the clarity, control, and length of the LD are much greater.

Also, tell yourself before you go to sleep that you will follow these steps (kneeling, looking at your hand) upon becoming lucid, and have an idea of what you'd like to do in your LD before you go to sleep. That way, you're less likely to just get swept up in the feelings and the dream itself. Lots of LDers actually rehearse in their minds what they want to do before they go to sleep.

Good luck, and congratulations on successfully LDing!

well B-6 is supposed to make the dream more vivid... or something like that. So if it's more vivid then you might be able to gather up enough control to take the one step you need to go from "i'm dreaming" to actually lucid. if you dont have access to a B-6 supplement, you can always eat foods that have B-6 in them.

my favorite: bananas!! :banana:

Gah! I think I had a WILD last night, but I forgot my dreams almost as soon as I oppened my eyes. All I can remember was thinking right before I entered the WILD that "I'd better not forget this dream in the morning". Blast it!

Unfortunately I am having the same problem. I will be able to tell myself I am dreaming, but I don't know if I am actually realizing it, or if I am just saying it in my dream.

I also get very frustrated because sometimes when I realize that I'm lucid, I'm more interested in finding out what is going to happen during my dream than actually controlling it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PaleRider

Also, tell yourself before you go to sleep that you will follow these steps (kneeling, looking at your hand) upon becoming lucid, and have an idea of what you'd like to do in your LD before you go to sleep. That way, you're less likely to just get swept up in the feelings and the dream itself. Lots of LDers actually rehearse in their minds what they want to do before they go to sleep.

---

This sounds like some pretty solid advice, thanks. I'll have to remember to start doing this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ash901

Unfortunately I am having the same problem. I will be able to tell myself I am dreaming, but I don't know if I am actually realizing it, or if I am just saying it in my dream.

---

Wow, that described it way better than I did, and in much fewer words. Hopefully we can both get better at this!

I've just had one lucid dream so far, and I had the exact same problem. Was it really lucid, or just me dreaming I had a lucid dream? I'll try the rehearsing before I go to sleep from now on, and see if it works any better. Stupid subconscious.

I still put it in my sig as a lucid dream, because, hey, positive thinking!