Thread: Spinning as a Method of Stabilizing/Lengthening the dream: Misinformation?

I find talking to myself once lucid keeps my dreams from becoming destabilized. I also try to occupy my other senses for good measure.

I've tried the falling backwards and spinning method before to test it out.. It's like a last resort.

Last lucid I had I didn't even reality check, I just dropped right to the ground, pressed my face up against it, feeling the dream world. The dream became much more stable.
Closing your eyes when spinning is one of the easiest ways to destabalise.

Stabilized a lucid by spinning when I was a kid, but whenever I spin now everything goes black or I teleport. Activating senses is a much more reliable method. Chewing on something works quite well only I start to drool and I can feel it running down my cheek.

I think you're simply misunderstanding the intended effect of the technique. You're correct in saying that LaBerge suggested spinning as a method for prolonging lucid dreams, but he said that new dream scenes resulted in 85% of his personal research. Using the technique as a method of stabilising the current dream scene is obviously a bad idea, since it is likely to result in a new dream scene. The point of spinning is simply to preventing awakenings, if you want to stay in your current dream scene then only resort to using the spinning technique when the dream begins to fade.

Your poll is asking the wrong question, the only misinformation is the idea that using the spinning technique is a good way to stabilise your current dream scene, LaBerge never suggested this. As for technique for its intended purpose, my personal experience reflects LaBerge's, and I'm sure if your poll posed the question "Do you feel the spinning technique is an effective way of prolonging dreams and preventing awakenings?" then the response would be very positive.

I think it depends on the speed, so to simply say "spinning" might be too general.

To me at least, spinning fast is more often associated with changing locations; however, people may also spin fast in order to stabilize (and in many cases, this is when the waking up happens because they aren't mentally projecting the new location enough). Spinning slowly, and not fast, helps me stabilize my dreams just because of the wide range of visual input. Because of this, I'd say it's definitely helpful, and along with touching objects, it can make a killer stabilization technique.

Definitely spinning slowly has helped me stabilize. When I spin fast, I end up waking up in my bed, or the dream gets ripped to shred, and am in blackness. Whenever I need to stabilize, I get on the back part of one foot, and then spin, while focusing on stabilizing. Helps. Nowadays, haven't had the need to stabilize, but def, spin slowly.

I'm really glad you mentioned spinning speed! I clearly didn't spin fast enough last time I attempted, it made the monster that bit me when attempting to do so feel all the more real! Dammit! :3

Originally Posted by unda

I think you're simply misunderstanding the intended effect of the technique. You're correct in saying that LaBerge suggested spinning as a method for prolonging lucid dreams, but he said that new dream scenes resulted in 85% of his personal research. Using the technique as a method of stabilising the current dream scene is obviously a bad idea, since it is likely to result in a new dream scene. The point of spinning is simply to preventing awakenings, if you want to stay in your current dream scene then only resort to using the spinning technique when the dream begins to fade.

Your poll is asking the wrong question, the only misinformation is the idea that using the spinning technique is a good way to stabilise your current dream scene, LaBerge never suggested this. As for technique for its intended purpose, my personal experience reflects LaBerge's, and I'm sure if your poll posed the question "Do you feel the spinning technique is an effective way of prolonging dreams and preventing awakenings?" then the response would be very positive.

Great post! Thanks for clearing up the mixup for me, unda. I think it was after seeing all of the "spinning didn't help me stabilize the dream" posts, I forgot the exact context of that part of the book, as it was written.

Already posted my thoughts on the subject pretty thoroughly here: dream stabilization and clarity tutorial

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Great post! Thanks for clearing up the mixup for me, unda. I think it was after seeing all of the "spinning didn't help me stabilize the dream" posts, I forgot the exact context of that part of the book, as it was written.

No problem! It's easy enough for information to get confused between communities like this, it only takes one person distort a technique slightly for it to spread around as if it were fact. It's interesting that people have found spinning slowly a good stabilising technique, though it seems counter intuitive to me. Physical sensations certainly seem to keep the dreamer from drifting back to the waking world, it would be interesting to devise a stabilising technique with a more vivid physical sensation than simply rubbing hands together that doesn't distort the dream scene.

I would say one of the best ways for me at least to stabilize was to actually clap my hands forcefully several times right before you lose the dreams. It brings your attention back to the dream. At least in my case.

I don't get LD's often and when I do, they are pretty short. So far spinning worked once or twice but a few other times where I used it, there was no difference and my LD ended and I woke up. I suppose once I learn to calm myself and control certain things, it will work better.

I have found that focusing on my hands 10/10 times will stabilize any dream that was fading on me, at any time. All I have to do to stay in a dream is focus on my hands until the clarity returns.

It will work if you allow it to, anything can if you believe.
clap if you believe!

This is the first time I've come across a site or any online resource (never really looked before), so I'm quite surprised to see this listed as a stabilization technique. For me, it almost always results in a wakeup. Even turning fast can lead to an instant wakeup. At the very least, it puts me in a completely different place.

I think the tip to spin slowly is a tough piece of advice to take. In real waking life, I personally have a quick tight turn, so any type of spinning I'd do instinctively will wake me up. I hurt my back a few weeks ago, and it was hard to break that instinct in real life.. If its hard for me to remember to do in real life, its just not going to be remembered in a dream.

Unless you turn/spin like an old man, I'm not sure this would work well for a lot of people.

Spinning had never failed to totally destabilize the dream for me. I don't usually recommend it because it only seems to work for some people, and for others it doesn't more harm than good. I normally recommend touching objects or rubbing/clapping your hands together instead---that's always helped me and it doesn't seem to give people trouble the way spinning does.

Spinning doesn't stabilize dreams. S. LaBerge actually was writing about not waking up. After a spin you just appear in the next dream. If you don't do this when the view becomes less vivid, you will probably wake up (this is what usually happens to me).

I didn't even vote since I've never remembered to try it in a dream... Though I think it's hilarious that each choice has exactly 8 votes...