Multiple False Awakenings

[I Hate Reality]

Hello all. Lately I've been trying to work on controlling my dreams better. The other night, though, I had about 15-20 false awakenings. I didn't forget that I was dreaming after most of them though, just towards the end. Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this before? Any tips? Thanks a lot.

[Abstract Fire]

The only lucid dream I ever had that was high was during an FA. From now on we should both do reality tests whenever we wake up.

[Placebo]

15 to 20 sounds excessive, but yes, I've had multiple false awakenings. It can be quite a strange sensation. If you do have this quite often, then I suggest using waking as a dream sign. I'm a bit confused as to what you're asking though - you said you didn't forget you were dreaming through most of them anyway?

[I Hate Reality]

Originally posted by Placebo 15 to 20 sounds excessive, but yes, I've had multiple false awakenings. It can be quite a strange sensation. If you do have this quite often, then I suggest using waking as a dream sign. I'm a bit confused as to what you're asking though - you said you didn't forget you were dreaming through most of them anyway? Yes, it was literally about 15 times that it happened, but i was still aware after every time, mainly because I was sort of frustrated by it. The very last time I "woke up," I sort of slacked off and went with it. I even saw 3 giant dog/camel type creatures. Perhaps I'm trying too hard.

[Placebo]

Hmm I remember having this problem a while back, where I'd have an FA as soon as my LD starts getting decent. I suspect it was my subconscious trying to give me a hard time. It's also possibly psychosomatic - that I believed my subconscious was supposed to try kick me out - who knows? Anyway, I can't say I know what caused it to stop happening. It just eventually did

[dream yogi]

i haven't had one in years but i used to love them, very fun. the last one i remember had about 3 or 4 of them in a row. in one i had gotten out of bed, showered, dressed and got ready for the day. i called my dog to go out. he came running over to me, past me, and out right through my bedroom wall. that was my first clue. so i stuck my head through the wall just to double check (also i wanted to see where the dog went). yup, still a dream.

[Blizzz]

If you have a false awakening and know about it you're lucid. So just get up out of your bed and continue on with your lucid dream That's what I do all the time.

[Citrusponge]

Last night I had about 6 false awakenings in a row. I managed to 'catch' most of them. For the first one, in the dream I was holding (and eating) a carrot. When I "woke up" I was still holding it. I'm going to experiment with this 'grab an object' method more... I tried to just get up and try to increase the realism so I could continue the dream... but my room was extremely dark and blurry. I tried to get out to somewhere brighter so I could increase the realism and stop myself waking up. After a barrage of FAs I managed to get to the window and pull up the blind, but all I could see was a blurry mess of green crap. I gave up and let myself awaken (there was one more FA though, I was just lying in my bed thinking I was awake. Then I really woke up).

[vic1torious]

i experienced something like 5 false awakenings yesterday. all of them had to do with me hearing my phone ring while i was dreaming, i would falsely awaken, look at the phone and then go back to sleep. Then finally during one of my lucid dreams the phone rang in the 'actual' dream. It ran once and then was answered by the guy i was with in the room. He started to talk, but the phone kept ringing. Then I awoke into real life and saw that my roommate had picked up the phone and started to talk on it. ...quite strange indeed

[Leo Volont]

This is the point at which many Dreamers decide to go to War against their own Minds. You see, what is happening here is that your Dream Mind has discovered that you are using Lucidity in order to circumvent the true utlility and purposes of your Dreaming. In order to protect the True Mission of Dreaming, your Dreams have set up for the favorite tactic for throwing Lucid Dreamers off the scent, that is, for luring Lucid Dreamers back into ordinary Dreaming. What I believe many Lucid Dreamers are doing is using Lucidity to suppress ordinary dream content. What needs to be understood is that normal Dreams have a healthy purpose. Our Dreams are attempting to give us experiential support to aid us in attaining ever more advanced levels of emotional and even intellectual maturity and to help us in our Spiritual Development. But many Lucid Dreamers would hyjack this Program of the Dream mind and substitute for it a mode of Play Box Entertainment... using Lucid Dreams for simple screwing around and empty entertainment. Certainly the Dream Mind would fight back in order to re-establish its important role in our personal development. As I have said, False Awakenings are the favorite tactic. So Lucid Dreamers write in, and there are those of us who take the side of the Dreamers who wish to go to war with their Higher Minds. For balance, I take the side of the Higher Dreaming Mind, and insist that one re-evaluate how one has been using Lucidity or plans to use Lucidity. Determine what you Higher Mind must be objecting to. After all, I still have Lucid Dreams and I am not interrupted with False Awakenings, and so it is possible to conduct yourself in a Lucid Dream without operating as a threat to the Higher Dream Mind. In your Negotiations with your Dream Mind, simply become aware of your Dream Content from night to night and your Dream Mind will send subtle messages and Oracles indicating what your Lucid Boundaries should be. But if you decide on out and out War and attempt to overwhelm the Dream Mind with various techniques, you may end up like one Poster on this Page who found ultimately that he was no longer having dreams. His Dream Mind apparently had determined that the only way to fight back after the False Awakening Strategy had been beaten back by successful techniques, was to cut off dreaming altogether, or at least the conscious recall of any dreaming. Remember, when you go to war against yourself, you are almost sure to lose.

[Enigma13]

Yes, actually about 2 nights ago I had about 5 false awakenings in a row. In the dream I would wake up, go out of my room and be scared by someone in a different way each time. It wasn't really a nightmare though, it was just a creepy dream. Anyway I got lucid and just kinda hung out till I woke up.

[Placebo]

Yep, I can't recall how many times someone asked me why their subconscious tries to stop them from lucid dreaming. That's a pretty good theory there, Leo. I agree that it is a natural defence mechanism of the mind. It does seem to be. Try not to fight it, and it will try not to fight you

[TygrHawk]

OK Leo, your theory makes sense, but... How do you explain multiple false awakenings in someone who isn't a lucid dreamer? I had one experience, some months before I joined this forum and actively began pursuing lucid dreams, where I had a series of 4-5 false awakenings in a row. What was my "higher mind" trying to do? Just screw with me?

[ShadowOfThePast]

Originally posted by TygrHawk How do you explain multiple false awakenings in someone who isn't a lucid dreamer? I had one experience, some months before I joined this forum and actively began pursuing lucid dreams, where I had a series of 4-5 false awakenings in a row. What was my "higher mind" trying to do? Just screw with me? Agreed, before I started lucid dreaming, I can recall having several false awakenings. Since I began lucid dreaming, I've only had one recorded false awakening (last night, in fact). Although in that case I woke up (for real) and went immediately back into a different (lucid) dream.

[Neruo]

Wow that's alot! Anyhow, my theory on FA's is, that becouse you 'kind of' know you are dreaming, and therefor know you are/should be in your bed, your dream 'takes you there'. In my last lucid I got lucid, had a FA, and got lucid again. Normally I hardly have FA's.

[dream yogi]

Originally posted by Leo Volont your Dream Mind has discovered that you are using Lucidity in order to circumvent the true utlility and purposes of your Dreaming. are humans really so disjointed? while someone might "fool themself", because they are in denial, is it not a bit paranoid to suggest that there is some jacques clouseau "dream mind" lurking about, stalking your brain, working to discover what you've been up to with your dreaming? what is it with this stalking mind-set these days. wasn't there a time when "stalkers" simply sent flowers? Originally posted by Leo Volont+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Leo Volont)</div> to circumvent the true utlility and purposes of your Dreaming.[/b] finally someone has discovered the truth of the utility and purpose of dreaming and has been kind enough to take the time and effort to proselytize such works. it's good to know to which god to pray. i was lost and getting worried. <!--QuoteBegin-Leo Volont the Dream mind and substitute for it a mode of Play Box Entertainment... using Lucid Dreams for simple screwing around and empty entertainment. on reading many of this board's messages, i first thought the kids today really were using lucid dreaming like a video game. so thank you for enlightening me in ways i suspect you did not intend. games teach many skills and allow and encourage exploration. i think this is wonderful. i have no doubt that today's "screwing around" (as you put it) will lead to tomorrow's introspection, discovery and empathetic application. "one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious." ~~ c.g.jung

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by TygrHawk OK Leo, your theory makes sense, but... How do you explain multiple false awakenings in someone who isn't a lucid dreamer? *I had one experience, some months before I joined this forum and actively began pursuing lucid dreams, where I had a series of 4-5 false awakenings in a row. *What was my "higher mind" trying to do? *Just screw with me? * Well, talk about the proverbial good question... False Awakening during an ordinary dream would indicate that the Higher Dream Mind is actively trying to have the Dream Persona integrate better with the Waking Persona, by actually invading the Waking Turf by making a Dream Scene out of the Waking Environment. Just as in the case of a Lucid Dreamer who is going too wild within the Dream Realms and is brought back to sobriety by a False Awakening, so I suspect the the same kind of dynamic is being demonstrated in the case of an ordinary dreamer who has a False Awakening... that the Dream Persona was going too far afield, which may often be the case when a Dream Persona is too extremely overcompensating for the restrictions and inhibitions imposed by ordinary life. Letting go a bit in dreams is to be expected, but if the Dream Persona goes to the extent of developing and completely different life style, which could possibly spin up into being a complex central to an alternate personality -- the makings of a Multiple Personality Syndrome. In this case, the far flung Dreamer is pulled back to the Primary Personality by the mechanism of False Awakening.