Thread: Best thing to do when lucid? Nothing.

Originally Posted by EEclips3

Why sit when you can explore? Some people don't get a second chance to lucid dream. It would be a waste to just sit it out.

Well, obviously you wouldn't do this on your first few lucids. Once you're more experienced, doing nothing in a lucid is a form of exploration, really.

Originally Posted by Pensive Patrick

Well, obviously you wouldn't do this on your first few lucids. Once you're more experienced, doing nothing in a lucid is a form of exploration, really.

haha Pensive Patrick....I love that name!!

Anyway youre 100% correct!! You can see some crazy shit
in your LDs if you just stop and take the time to look around.
Dont try and summon stuff either, just take a look-see whats
already there. And no matter how crazy or weird it is, it is
something your mind has created! And sure its cool to feel
the warmth of the sand on your feet or to feel the dream
sand flow out of your hands and also see every grain of the
sand as well as in reality....or a piece of wood or something.
But the weird, crazy shit is even more interesting! Hell you
might even see two grasshoppers talking to one another!
I saw a rabbit walk by me under the water the other night
in a LD while i was immobile under the water.
I didnt think that up as far as i know, but i guess i must
have unconsciously done!

Originally Posted by supreme

haha Pensive Patrick....I love that name!!

Well thanks, but I don't

I thought it up when I was still an idiot.

I think it would be good to do nothing maybe on the odd occasion.

Sounds like a good way to have a crazy long lucid dream too.

By "nothing," it should mean to not control the dream in anyway possible. Just walk around or sit at a bench or something.

Originally Posted by LobbyDonut

People keep talking about sex. Is that really what people do in dreams? I can think of so many cooler things to do in a dream.

Maybe if you figure out what sex you are it would be cool for you too.

I tried this and it was one of my favorite LD's yet. I stared at the grass, and was amazed at how real it was when I ran my hands through it. The sky was the prettiest blue. Everything was just very bright and vivid. I look forward to going to sleep tonight so I can do it again!!

I think LD's might be a way of finding the meaning of life? Think about it. Why is it so real. Why does it leave some people with a deeper meaningof their lives? I havn't yet been able to LD so please tell me about your experience of finding the meaning of life.

Originally Posted by RunflaCruiser

Maybe if you figure out what sex you are it would be cool for you too.

Sex in dreams is okay. Its a treat or an indulgence.

Experiencing great visualisation, going into deeper parts of consciousness or exploring your personality through dreaming is work. Its valuable and has an effect on your life.

Sex in dreams is basically masturbation. We all masturbate, but its hardly a hobby. Dream working on the other hand is a hobby thats very valuable.

Hi, I have been trying to lucid dream for a long time now, mainly because I have alot of nightmares and they make me feel like shit when I wake up!

But, due to tips I have read on the net, I have actually started to get the hang of it. I figured out I was dreaming once when I jumped and I went really high, also when I looked through a view finder in a camera it was really dark looking, and when I has talking to someone on the phone they sound really distant.

Problem is, that even though I figure out I'm dreaming, I can't control it. I try to will things away, and for other things to emerge in their place, but it's not happening. I have noticed alot of people on this page talking about doing nothing and enjoying it. But what if I want to get anyway from it if it's horrible?

Can anyone help?

Originally Posted by DNK

How real is real here?

Excessive lucidity almost scares me. I like to know when I'm dreaming and when I'm not.

Lucid Dreaming can get more real than waking life. I always talk about it in terms of resolution, thats essentially what it is. and the resolution can expand beyond the threshold of regular experience...as for why? My best hunch is that it is because all the sens data bypasses a need for input. Imagine for instance watching a streaming film on a low bandwidth connection Vs. watching a film that resides on your computer HDD. The one on your HDD will run more easily, and because it doesn't need to be piped through a bottlenecked channel of input it can run at a higher resolution.Similarly I think that because the sense data comes direct and doesn't need to be piped through the natural input pathways it is no longer limited to the constraints of those input channels. ....which is interesting because it suggests that the brain has greater ability to experience than the senses can provide for.

Sound interesting to say the least. But then again, I could just sit in a real-life field, and observe the birds fluttering around the polluted landscape, the crisp packets scintillating the raging sun, and the chavs and chavettes causing havoc to the unsuspecting public.

Then again, the dream world is without such. I'll give it a try.

Originally Posted by Expatasapien

Lucid Dreaming can get more real than waking life. I always talk about it in terms of resolution, thats essentially what it is. and the resolution can expand beyond the threshold of regular experience...as for why? My best hunch is that it is because all the sens data bypasses a need for input. Imagine for instance watching a streaming film on a low bandwidth connection Vs. watching a film that resides on your computer HDD. The one on your HDD will run more easily, and because it doesn't need to be piped through a bottlenecked channel of input it can run at a higher resolution.Similarly I think that because the sense data comes direct and doesn't need to be piped through the natural input pathways it is no longer limited to the constraints of those input channels. ....which is interesting because it suggests that the brain has greater ability to experience than the senses can provide for.

If what we know of the world is from the input of our senses, then how could a dream world ever be more realistic than the real world? I can see in some respect that if I had slightly impaired vision, and I then put on glasses, the world would look more 'realistic', i.e. clearer. Thus, in a dream world, your mind obviously has the capabilities to bring the surroundings into greater focus, but other than that I cannot fathom any greater realism. This is what you mean, right?

There are other possibilities however which I failed to mention such as the possibility that preexisting biases in perception either sway or dominate the individual conception of reality creating the perception that things are appearing at a higher resolution when really it is only that more attention is being payed to some classes of ephemera over others. what I mean is that it could be the case that some things are being increased in resolution at the cost of others, this would constitute a change in contrast but not a change in resolution, not the same thing as a pure increase in resolution.

Honestly however I have payed very close attention and I don't believe the ladder to be the case...but then how would I ever know? there isn't any way to tell. All I can do is try to keep everything in balance, concentrate remain centered and impartial and try to understand what is going on so I can help it happen with more quality.

Originally Posted by Expatasapien

Lucid Dreaming can get more real than waking life. I always talk about it in terms of resolution, thats essentially what it is. and the resolution can expand beyond the threshold of regular experience...as for why? My best hunch is that it is because all the sens data bypasses a need for input. Imagine for instance watching a streaming film on a low bandwidth connection Vs. watching a film that resides on your computer HDD. The one on your HDD will run more easily, and because it doesn't need to be piped through a bottlenecked channel of input it can run at a higher resolution.Similarly I think that because the sense data comes direct and doesn't need to be piped through the natural input pathways it is no longer limited to the constraints of those input channels. ....which is interesting because it suggests that the brain has greater ability to experience than the senses can provide for.

I think this is a great description, and I agree with it, only I wouldn't say it's more real than waking life. I'd describe it as more clearer than waking life.

Originally Posted by Quark

If what we know of the world is from the input of our senses, then how could a dream world ever be more realistic than the real world? I can see in some respect that if I had slightly impaired vision, and I then put on glasses, the world would look more 'realistic', i.e. clearer. Thus, in a dream world, your mind obviously has the capabilities to bring the surroundings into greater focus, but other than that I cannot fathom any greater realism. This is what you mean, right?

This is exactly what I mean. But you have missed it on a certain point, all we know is not from the senses, and the senses are not the only path to knowledge, they are merely inputs. the mind cross references everything that comes from them and analyzes the patterns which share common structures in search for symmetry.

this is called pattern recognition. Much of what we call "comprehension" is part of a latent effect of understanding what our senses do.

you see in order for the brain to interpret anything that comes from the senses it MUST comprehend what they are doing, why , and what it's function must be in relation to this. the brain's job is to interpret symmetries in variable contexts, so this latent ability may also be applied to self pattern recognition, what this means is that the brain understands what the purpose of the sense is well enough to actually model them with greater clarity than the senses themselves can ever produce. The result (if you are not locked into experiential preconceptions) can be a steep increase in total resolution of experience within a lucid dream.

get it?

Originally Posted by Misbijoux

I think this is a great description, and I agree with it, only I wouldn't say it's more real than waking life. I'd describe it as more clearer than waking life.

Yes of course you are right that was a slip on my part, in fact probably "Resolute" is best because it does appear to be a question of resolution.

Originally Posted by carolann1975

Hi, I have been trying to lucid dream for a long time now, mainly because I have alot of nightmares and they make me feel like shit when I wake up!

But, due to tips I have read on the net, I have actually started to get the hang of it. I figured out I was dreaming once when I jumped and I went really high, also when I looked through a view finder in a camera it was really dark looking, and when I has talking to someone on the phone they sound really distant.

Problem is, that even though I figure out I'm dreaming, I can't control it. I try to will things away, and for other things to emerge in their place, but it's not happening. I have noticed alot of people on this page talking about doing nothing and enjoying it. But what if I want to get anyway from it if it's horrible?

Can anyone help?

Have you tried any other lucid powers or is it just manifesting/demanifesting that you've tried? that can be a tricky power to use... sometimes you need to wave your hand in front of you or make something manifest behind you or close your eyes because the mind has trouble manifesting/demanifesting something visually right in front of your very own eyes. I would suggest next time close your eyes and visualise where you want to be, imagine you are there and can sense the environment around you, then open your eyes. Alternatively, you could imagine the environment behind a closed door, and when you open the door you can walk on through into a different reality.

Originally Posted by Expatasapien

This is exactly what I mean. But you have missed it on a certain point, all we know is not from the senses, and the senses are not the only path to knowledge, they are merely inputs. the mind cross references everything that comes from them and analyzes the patterns which share common structures in search for symmetry.

this is called pattern recognition. Much of what we call "comprehension" is part of a latent effect of understanding what our senses do.

you see in order for the brain to interpret anything that comes from the senses it MUST comprehend what they are doing, why , and what it's function must be in relation to this. the brain's job is to interpret symmetries in variable contexts, so this latent ability may also be applied to self pattern recognition, what this means is that the brain understands what the purpose of the sense is well enough to actually model them with greater clarity than the senses themselves can ever produce. The result (if you are not locked into experiential preconceptions) can be a steep increase in total resolution of experience within a lucid dream.

get it?

I think I do. I understand the brain's capabilities in striving for recognition and modeling realistic mental constructs. Obviously this helps to cut down on processing times, and therefore decreases recognition and comprehension latencies. Understandably, if this did not occur, then it would be like incessantly perceiving the world as a new born child. However, this model that it constructs is not, therefore, real. It seems that what you're saying, is that the brain attempts to make things that are perceived more 'perfect' (symmetrical, logical, patterned, aligned), and thus not more realistic? Am I far off? lol.

So, in a dream these 'perfect' constructs are projected to define the fabric of the dream world. Ultimately then, the dreams are not more 'real' so to speak, but just more 'perfect'.

I could just be chatting a load of crap. But I'm interested in your reply.

Originally Posted by Expatasapien

Lucid Dreaming can get more real than waking life. I always talk about it in terms of resolution, thats essentially what it is. and the resolution can expand beyond the threshold of regular experience...as for why? My best hunch is that it is because all the sens data bypasses a need for input. Imagine for instance watching a streaming film on a low bandwidth connection Vs. watching a film that resides on your computer HDD. The one on your HDD will run more easily, and because it doesn't need to be piped through a bottlenecked channel of input it can run at a higher resolution.Similarly I think that because the sense data comes direct and doesn't need to be piped through the natural input pathways it is no longer limited to the constraints of those input channels. ....which is interesting because it suggests that the brain has greater ability to experience than the senses can provide for.

Yes, I have thought this as well, although obviously have not fully experienced it yet.

It is interesting if you think of the brain in terms of muscle control. If you never really use your muscles, coordinating large amounts of muscle activity at once is difficult for the brain. If, however, you train at this, over time your ability to coordinate many muscles and send commands increases significantly, basically allowing you to increase the nuance and complexity of your activity as well as the throughput of your brain-muscle control. It's possible the same could happen between the various parts of the brain involved in the experience of the physical world, and that they could come to have a higher processing rate than the senses could possibly deliver on... yet (cybernetics, of course, could change this).



What's just as interesting as the resolution is the reality or coherence of the experience. Again, at first this could be very weak - the spatial aspect of the dream and its level of simulation might constantly shift of be inappropriate - but over time it also could be expanded and improved upon, to the point of nearly mimicking reality. It seems obvious that the brain can at least mimic the vividness and clarity of sensation, but getting it to mimic the more subtle but basic aspects of "objectivity" would be interesting, just to see how close to reality it could get in that sense.

Originally Posted by Eonnn

Have you tried any other lucid powers or is it just manifesting/demanifesting that you've tried? that can be a tricky power to use... sometimes you need to wave your hand in front of you or make something manifest behind you or close your eyes because the mind has trouble manifesting/demanifesting something visually right in front of your very own eyes. I would suggest next time close your eyes and visualise where you want to be, imagine you are there and can sense the environment around you, then open your eyes. Alternatively, you could imagine the environment behind a closed door, and when you open the door you can walk on through into a different reality.

Thanks, I might try the door thingy. I have tried squeezing my eyes shut and willing things to change, but doesnt work. I might try it again but keep them closed for longer, though. But the door idea sounds like an interesting option. Now I just need to try and get into a lucid dream again! I can only get the hang of it sometimes! Oh well i will keep practicing.

thanks

That seems like a great idea! I think I'll try it in my next LD.

Also, though, there were a few things that I thought of while reading a couple of posts here:
First of all, I read DNK's post, "I like to know when I'm dreaming and when I'm not." I've always thought (at least subconsciously, without putting a name on the idea) that this is the true 'sixth sense,' the sense of knowing when one is awake. If you think about it for a while, you'll realize that you instinctively know when your awake, there's no question about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work to let you know when you're not awake, in fact that's what makes lucid dreaming so difficult.

The second idea is a bit more on topic. I always find it interesting when someone says, for example when slayer wrote, "Look at what your brain is making infront of you." I'm not saying that anything stupid was said, but instead that it seems strange is that you can look at what your brain/mind is creating in front of you when, theoretically, you are the mind, and therefore you are looking at what you are doing without actually doing or seeing it. Sort of like the saying, "Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing." In fact, it adds another layer to this idea, where you are only one part of your being, and can only be that one part. In that assumption, would it not be to far a stretch to assume that there are other parts of your being watching at the same time, and other parts of your being, that watch when you create? I think I might make another thread devoted solely to this topic...

Sorry if I'm interrupting a conversation, but I wanted to post my thoughts about this. For a while, I've had a lucid dream maybe every one or two months. One of the coolest things I've done is had a super power. You get this happy feeling no matter what your power is. I usually don't even remember my powers and sometimes never even get the chance to know what they are, but I still get that feeling.

I might try this idea sometime after my next LD, (i haven't flied in a while). It sounds kinda scary though.