Does flying in LD destabilize them?

[beachgirl]

it seems that when i fly, there's a good chance my lucidity ends. is this just because i'm inexperienced with ld'ing (have flown maybe 20 times) and need to focus more on stabilization? at this point? or is there something about flying that is inherently destabilizing? Maybe i should try other things more, even though i love flying. thanks

[Hukif]

Weird, do you fly high or low? Maybe you just aren't customed to one of the two and thats why it wakes you up.

[beachgirl]

both... high, low, through buildings, hop from table top to table top... i like to swim, too! same sort of question. it just seems like when i do fly, i don't "focus" on the very intricate details that people say help keep you lucid. and that it does help when i focus on specifics, like details very close in. but i love to fly! and i don't want to come to any conclusions that it's going to be destabilizing, if it's unwarranted. appreciate your input, thanks!

[kingofhypocrites]

both... high, low, through buildings, hop from table top to table top... i like to swim, too! same sort of question. it just seems like when i do fly, i don't "focus" on the very intricate details that people say help keep you lucid. and that it does help when i focus on specifics, like details very close in. but i love to fly! and i don't want to come to any conclusions that it's going to be destabilizing, if it's unwarranted. appreciate your input, thanks! Perhaps you are getting to excited. I would make sure you stabilize the dream first. This happens to me during sex. I'm still working on remembering to stabilize first. i've never had any problems flying, but probably because sex to me is much more enjoyable. Maybe that and I've always flew since I was a kid. Anyway, that stabilization would be my guess. Getting excited about anything always wakes me up instantly.

[shooshtime]

Perhaps you are getting to excited. I would make sure you stabilize the dream first. This happens to me during sex. I'm still working on remembering to stabilize first. i've never had any problems flying, but probably because sex to me is much more enjoyable. Maybe that and I've always flew since I was a kid. Anyway, that stabilization would be my guess. Getting excited about anything always wakes me up instantly. I think you are spot on with the excitement thing, my first LD I flew without any problems for a while and it was amazing. My second LD I tried flying right away but instantly woke up, I think the excitement of having my 2nd lucid and trying to fly was just too much. I think working on stabilization is the key to working on all your dream control goals.

[beachgirl]

i think in my case it feels like a universal thing of "not having details to focus on". i get kind of "swept away"... not so much exicted as that ... i lose focus. do i need to start focusing why flying? lucid dreams are so visual, and flying is more kinesthetic. maybe i just need to try to look around more? observe the clouds, slow things down... i'd hate to stop flying.

[louie54]

According the the Dream Control tutorial, flying too high can destablize the dream, but if this also happens if you are flying low, maybe you are just losing focus?

[Darkmatters]

Maybe you could look at your hands while you're flying? I don't know though... guess that's not a great idea. Kinda hard to see where you're going, and an odd position to fly in. Maybe rub your hands together every now and then while flying, to help with stabilization? I'm just throwing out suggestions here.

[kingofhypocrites]

i think in my case it feels like a universal thing of "not having details to focus on". i get kind of "swept away"... not so much exicted as that ... i lose focus. do i need to start focusing why flying? lucid dreams are so visual, and flying is more kinesthetic. maybe i just need to try to look around more? observe the clouds, slow things down... i'd hate to stop flying. Maybe it's the speed at which you are flying. I always fly fairly slow. Perhaps this allows more visual stimulation as opposed to blur.

[JustinS]

I have had similar issues with flying. For the first 20 or so times, I had little or no problems with flying and maintaining lucidity. However, the more that I started to try and control the flight or the more that I thought about the fact that I was flying, the more frequently my lucidity ended. Not to go against the grain here, but my take on it is that it has little to do with how high, low, fast, or slow you fly. There really aren't any physical laws or governing rules with lucidity or flying. I think the trick of it all has more to do with expectations. If you read that flying lower will maintain your lucidity, then your expectations will most likely follow. I have had the greatest success with flying (and lucidity for that matter) when I simply relax and let go of trying to control the experience so much. It seems that this method allows my expectations and intentions to rise to the surface on their own. I suppose you could say that it is doing without thinking or willing. The idea would be to let the seed of the thought be the driving factor and not the actual though or statement that it would grow to become. Over thinking seems to be a stop sign for lucidity in my experiences. I hope that makes some sense. It is my theory for now anyway, and has helped me.

[The Cusp]

it seems that when i fly, there's a good chance my lucidity ends. is this just because i'm inexperienced with ld'ing (have flown maybe 20 times) and need to focus more on stabilization? at this point? or is there something about flying that is inherently destabilizing? Maybe i should try other things more, even though i love flying. You say lucidity ends, so I'm assuming you don't wake up. Is there something about flying that is inherently destabilizing? No. Not if you do it right. There is ratio between height and speed that keeps things stable. For high altitude, fly fast. For low altitude, fly slow. The real problem with flight is that it's too big of a distraction, too much fun. I lose my lucidity almost every time I fly, which is annoying because I use flying to stabilize the dream once I get lucid. Personally, I have to stop myself from flying to do anything constructive in a lucid. Definitely try other things more. When you lose lucidity, it's because you go along with whatever is happening and start to believe it. You need that sense of separation, of things not being real to keep you lucid. Flying can overwhelm your senses so that you have no choice to go along with it.

[beachgirl]

sometimes i wake up, sometimes i don't. but i think it's true, not to get too excited or believe this will end lucidity, which is why i posted the question. i don't want to believe this. i like the thought of maybe experimenting with doing other things instead of flying for a while, until i get to be a better lucid dreamer, and my lucids are more stabilized, i'll try other things... teleporting, for example, seems harmless enough! or walking through doors and portals. i think i may be flying before they are stable *enough*, since i'm a flying "hound".

[Clyde Machine]

Do you fly for a specific destination? I've read material on flying during lucid dreams that suggests that not only does high-flying endanger the life of your lucid dream, but also flying without imagining where you want to go.