Thread: Using lucidity to learn about/find yourself

I have become more aware during my day to day life because of lucid dreaming. I haven't really found myself or anything though.

Originally Posted by ReverendGreen

Hello, I'm new to the forums here at dreamviews. Well sort of. Ive been creepin' around here a while but finally became a member. Ive been practicing LD for about five months and have had around thirty lucid dreams. I'm finally to a point where i can finally consider myself not a beginner anymore. One reason i became interested in lucid dreaming in the first place, was to gain a connection with myself and learn more about the creativity and process my mind goes through. Another words, find myself, in some ways. I was wondering if lucid dreaming has had any effect on your mind-state (good or bad) and how you think of yourself. Any comments are welcome. Thank you

There is no reason why it can't, but it's not necessarily the ultimate or only key to learning who you are---your dreams may very well just represent the confusion of who you are. I do see your viewpoint, though; that is if you think your unconscious holds your true nature, and that lucid dreaming is directly tapping into it. I think that, regardless of how much you tap into it, your unconscious mind has always been with you and will perform the same way as it always has (whether it continuously develops or not). It will still show through your character, even if it is good or bad. Yes, it can be bad in some aspects.

How do you define your unconscious, instinctual, or 'inner' self? Is it a version of yourself that is not based on experiences, but something that is innate and based off a higher power? Or is it underlying effects of parts of your life that you didn't focus much on?

If it's the former, and you think that your 'inner self' is all pure and good, then you aren't exactly seeking good characteristics that you feel you should posses. You already know these characteristics, and the only thing that may be keeping you from mastering them are existing, conflicting qualities. Lucid dreaming might be a way to learn about these conflicting qualities and why you posses them, and how you can crush them down in order to possess better ones--- a method of becoming who you want to be, not who you currently are. However, if you believe that even your inner 'true' self might have some flaws, then it might be difficult to deal with them if you think that they are more natural, and thus should dominate existing qualities. This can be awful if your conscious mind disagrees with these flaws and feels as if it knows better. Some traits go a long way on how they make you out to be as a person.

If it's the latter, then it's extremely likely there will be flaws. Of course, it might be a good idea to confront them, but it's not always so simple. The mind can be a threat to itself, and you might not be able to overcome some things about yourself; just be careful. Don't open any doors that you aren't sure you can pass through. Confronting your unconscious mind can influence the personality you express, and it doesn't necessarily mean it will be similar to that of your 'inner self'/ unconscious mind/ true self.

Overall, dreams are a great way to learn about your present (the past makes up the present) state and way of thinking. I can't speak so much for lucid dreaming (though I would assume so), or much of anything at all, so take what I say (if anything I wrote is understandable...I'm horrible at explaining) as a grain of salt.

I guess the best way i can respond is that I'm not sure exactly of what i think of my unconscious, and that is what I'm trying to figure out. I do not believe that my inner self is based off of a higher power, but rather of things that are part of my natural being, or that i grew accustomed to through my enviroment i was brought up in. Thanks for the response, good read and made me think a little bit more about myself. So you actually helped me on my quest haha in a sense

my dreaming, lucid dreaming, and meditation experiences have definitely helped me come to a better understanding of myself. for me, ive gained some measure of assurance as to the what am i?, why am i here? what makes me tick? type of questions through my dreaming and my analysis of those dreams. if thats the direction youd like to take your dreaming in, its a wonderful tool for self discovery/rediscovery. good luck on your path