don't care anymore what friends/family think
I've been studying lucid dreaming for about fifteen years, but I've been interested in or studying dreaming for as long as I can recall.
At first, when I told my husband I wanted to buy a NovaDreamer, he just humored me. My interests have always been eclectic and often esoteric...he thinks this is cool, but he also knows I'm a little flaky - by my own admission:D
My sister and one of my cousins find the idea of lucid dreaming fascinating, yet have never tried it.
One of my husband's friends was interested enough to borrow some of my books on the subject.
But unfortunately, most of my extended family thinks I'm just immature, wasting my time on yet another silly idea. I don't even try anymore to discuss the concept with them. In fact, I have one sister who keeps telling me that something is wrong with me because she is sure that people are not even supposed to remember their dreams! I don't know where on earth she got that idea. (Of course, this is the sister who actually lectured me one time about me taking anti-depressants. She used herbal remedies at the time and had this holier than thou attitude about the whole thing. She never considered that my degree of depression might possibly have been more severe than hers. Now, years later, she's on Wellbutrin. ;))
These days I only bring up the subject with friends if I know they are open-minded or if the subject of dreams comes up in conversation. I discuss it often with my children. A lot of times, we'll spend dinnertime sharing our dreams.
Why expose myself to ridicule or closed-minded ignorance if I don't have to? I shall believe what I choose to believe and no one has the right to judge me or my beliefs.
This is one of the reasons I am so glad to have found a forum like this one where I can share my experiences, my beliefs and theories, with other people who are like-minded.
I'd like to thank all of you who post here on these boards and share your experiences, as well as your knowledge and advice.
Tina