Who says you can't control light levels?

Well I had another lucid last night, and I decided to practice some control. I went outside onto my deck (I was at my house) and used some jedi force powers to telekenetically throw some chairs around. That was pretty fun. Anyway, next thing I tried was clicking my fingers and changing the light. It was a very dark and cloudy setting in my dream, and when I clicked my finger, the clouds on the horizon changed to a bright orange.

It was actually quite bright at first, and the light stung a little bit. The colours weren't very natural, very crazy, don't know how to explain it. But I did manage to change the light! :)

OMG the Steelers just scored a TOUCHDOWN! Yeah! :D

Sunlight you mean?

It are electronics that don't work. Like your mind doesn't understand how lightswitches work in your dreams. I think the mind does understand that Sun = big ball of fire = Light ^_^

I understood that it was the lighting that also cannot be controlled - light switches or otherwise.
Honestly, I've never tried it, but it doesn't suprise me that there are exceptions to the rule.
For example, I can read just fine in my dreams. With a bit of difficulty, but I pull it off okay.

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Originally posted by Neruo
Sunlight you mean?

It are electronics that don't work. Like your mind doesn't understand how lightswitches work in your dreams. *I think the mind does understand that Sun = big ball of fire = Light ^_^

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Yeah I heard that electronics don't work, but I was under the impression that the overall light levels were unable to be altered. I mean, it was quite wierd when I did it. Crazy kind of light.

Can't say I've ever tried to turn on a light switch, or used any type of electronics when I'm LDing. :)

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Originally posted by Night Wolf


Yeah I heard that electronics don't work, but I was under the impression that the overall light levels were unable to be altered. I mean, it was quite wierd when I did it. Crazy kind of light. *

Can't say I've ever tried to turn on a light switch, or used any type of electronics when I'm LDing. *:)

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Well in this dream there were like 25 light switches, and they all worked. However it wasn't a detailed dream. So not like the light being on had any effect on the surroundings. It was like really basic just the image of a light being ' on' . Like just yellow n shit not really sending out photons 8)

In theory you change light levels, in like an LD if you just really put your mind to it. Like tell the silly unconcious how lightswitches work, sorta.

It is indeed easier to change light levels outside - once I put a tremendous amount of effort into it and got something very much like what the OP did - the sun slightly rose above horizon and some street lamps flickered on and glowed dimly. But the overall light level changed only slightly and it required so much effort that my LD collapsed.

Changing light levels indoors is much trickier tho - even if you make that light bulb glow, it is not very likely to illuminate the room.... Pretty much there's light, but it's only inside the lightbulb...

IMO when people say they cant control light levels they mean that the effect is not worth the effort invested :(

I've always found it interesting how your brain lights your dreams. It doesn't actually light the dream with the light sources in the dream. Rather, the lighting you get is from an "aura". One night of WILD, I had about 5 dream inductions, and they were all dark. I could see shapes, countours, and lines clearly, but no light or color. The next day I tried again and used a technique I had read about of taking a lighter out of your pocket and lighting it. I lit the lighter and indeed a small glow came to the room. But most interestingly, a few seconds after I lit the lighter, it was as if someone turned all the lights on and my dream was lit normally and I no longer needed the lighter. After that, lighting was not a problem (occasionally on later nights I have had to repeat the technique).

Any time someone says that something is impossible in a dream, I don't think it should be taken as a hard-and-fast rule. Dreams are full of exceptions.

I haven't played with light levels enough to know how adjustable they are in my dreams. I know that I've turned on light switches and they've sometimes worked, sometimes haven't, and often the lights would come on but wouldn't illuminate the room, as others mentioned.

I have often read in dreams without difficulty, though, and electronic devices operate quite realistically for me. But that is probably due to my fascination and understanding of how those things work.

does no one here understand?
Lucid dreams have no rules but those our concious mind gives them...

Update:
Heres a little news flash, dreams are nothing more than your minds best fake of the dream world, when you see light in a dream you must think, "what am I seeing?" you arent seeing the light that you see in our real life world of set rules, what your seeing is the outcome of those normal life reactions but without their causes, you arent seeing light thats reflected off items, your seeing the items themselves, colors... thus you dont need a light source for light in dreams, you just need to make the colors brighter no light source whatsoever

peoples problems are that they try to make the source and not the result. you dont need the sun you need to take off your dark sunglasses ;)

Good point. The whole dreamscape isn't real, it is only based on experiences from life.

But there is an awful lot we don't know about how the brain works, especially when you get down to something as grandios as lucid dreaming. There may be underlying rules to them just like life.
However, the light levels are just part of whatever your dream is constructing at that point in time, and I agree that it should be as easy to change as anything else.
And it is........ :)

sorry that was vague, I updated post ;)

Anything is possible? Shared Dreams? Precognition? Telekinesis? Astral Projection? Make someone fall in love with you when you wake up? :D

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Originally posted by Placebo
Anything is possible? Shared Dreams? Precognition? Telekinesis? Astral Projection? Make someone fall in love with you when you wake up? :D

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you can have dreams about all that although that doesnt mean that your really doing it ;)

I know what you meant, just getting a dig at you ;)
I'm not entirely sure that everything is possible in a dream though. People who have traumatic past experiences that have been blanked out of their memories, for example. Their subconscious may well try very hard to prevent the uncovering of that information.
There are definitely difficult things to overcome as well, like forcing yourself through an area of your dream that feels 'forbidden'

I dunno, if you could gain a high enough level of lucidity and a stable dream environment theres no limits to what is possible (your conciousness takes control rather than your subconcious)

I don't think that's truly possible. You underestimate how much of who you are is embedded in your subconscious.
You wouldn't be able to move your arm, or recall anything, if not for your subconscious.
It is you, and what your conscious mind has made it.
As such, I doubt you can just remove it entirely from the equation. The closest is more like a visualisation exercise. Which isn't the same thing really.
Personally I believe that if your subconscious has one idea firmly in mind, nothing your conscious will can do will overcome it. At least not directly.
eg. Anorexia.Even after accepting that they are ill, they can't simply stop. Why? Because it's more complicated than just a conscious decision.

Anyway, that's just my opinion :)

The lucidity institute did an experiment on light control. About 50% could affect light levels.
http://www.lucidity.com/NL52.LightandMirror.html

I had a NLD where part of a house was dark, I found a light switch that had five different positions. As I moved the switch to different positions lights went on and off in different parts of the house.

The next night I had an LD where I was in a dark room, by saying aloud "More light" I was able to change the light levels. I have low level of dream control, so the fact I could do this, suggests its no great feat.

I am very interested in how our beliefs affect our dreams.
I have difficulty believing in the push finger though hand RC, so it never works for me in dreams. On the other hand, flying is very easy for me.

Some times beliefs limit dreams, other times, a dream may change your belief about whats possible in dreams.

I had a LD last night and I was able to change the light effects outside. I just walked out of my house and saw a light switch. I flicked it on and it was bright out, not dark like it was before. The light faded, though, so I said, "Lights, brighter!" I kept saying that until the light got to the right level. I then proceeded to use "the force" and bend the rules of gravity to run up some walls. :fro: Overall, I agree with Billy Bob and others that there are no rules in a dream except for the ones that you make.