Thread: So many lucid dreams, yet so little control ?

Originally posted by KryCheQ
Ive been practicing lucid dreaming for awhile now, and have had many of them in the process. However the majority of them, seem to either be extremely short and uneventful, or they are long but, I never trully become fully aware in them, yes I am lucid, yes I have control over many things that are going on, but many times thruought the dream the lucidity will fade and then come back later on in the dream, only to fade again, never really giving me a long extended period where im am completely lucid, I mean really, I dont consider myself ever trully lucid...

By this I mean Ive never had a lucid dream, where ive been completely aware and thinking perfectly clear like I do when im awake. When im lucid I seem to react more on urges and impulses, then thought, I almost never completely think anything that im doing through, which isnt anything like myself, it almost feels like I have A.D.D. when im in a lucid dream, I just keep going and going doing anything that I may have an urge to do, without being able to calm down, relax, and actually become completely aware of whats going on like if I were in a waking state. Is this problem normal, are my expectations for lucid dreams just to high? Do you ever really have a perfect clarity of thought as you do when your awake or is this just the way our minds work when sleeping? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

There exist perfectly clear, long, lucid and aware dreams. I call them "epics", they arent all that common though. Most of the time I find myself doing whatever comes to mind simply because I'm not prepared for the lucidity. I may go around talking to people, admiring scenery, doing some simple tricks like passing trhough walls, flying or telekinesis. All this stuff is fun, but there are better things to do.

I have much more coherent and lucid dreams when I have a definite experiment planned for the night. Believe me, it is much easier to come up with an experiment or a list of things to do while being awake and aware than to think of if on the spot. So try to think of one or two things you want to do before going to sleep.

There's a bunch of tricks that help you stabilize the lucidity and get your thinking together. Some recommend looking at your hands, I personally prefer looking at digital clock - as it changes and shifts unpredictably I become more lucid and fully aware that I'm in a dream. Letting go of the dream plot that you experienced before is also helpful. An example - if you find yourself taking a test in a dream classroom, completely let go of the test, ignore the teacher and classmates, etc. Without these things to burden you, your mind will be much more clear and coherent.

As for thinking just as straight as while being awake - it's rare, as parts of your brain are asleep or at least suppressed. So it's hard to truly be "yourself" in the middle of an REM cycle. I had some success being very much myself during WILDs and FAs, but I dont experience them that often anymore.

Hmm, intresting, thanks alot for the response, it answered many of my questions =)

If you still find that you have troubles doing things, and if you find yourself asking "can I do this", stop what you're doing, and start saying that you can do it.