young lucid dreaming

**dacher2** · 08-13-2011 03:16 AM

how do you think it would be if you had discovered lucid dreaming at a younger age. I bet alot of people here didn't discover or know what it was until their teens or later. what do you think it would be like if you found it at a younger age? Like 7 or 9, just a question because people say it's easier the younger you are.

**Mancon** · 08-13-2011 03:18 AM

I probably would have thought it was really cool, tried it for 2 weeks, and then gave up. When I was younger (1-10) I probably wouldn't have enough patience and dedication to keep at it until I succeed.

**Randoman** · 08-13-2011 03:23 AM

When i was a kid i did it all the time i didt know what it was but i would just go to sleep imaginig this story in my head then i would dream it i would love going to sleep i never really stop beacuse i whould imagian things when im awake but i started getting bad recalll so ididt remeber my dreams so i just nedded to get my Recall back bam lucid dream

**yuppie11975** · 08-13-2011 04:38 AM

Well I'm only fourteen.
I don't think I would have upheld the dedication required for lucid dreaming at any age lower than ten anyway. I'm happy I learned about it, it means I have ages of time to perfect it.

**divinemission** · 08-13-2011 05:07 AM

I may be wrong (don't hate me if you think I am), but I think most kids in the younger age group really wouldn't be able to fully grasp and understand the idea of lucid dreaming. Sure they may find the topic interesting and may make a loose promise to try and have one, but in the end I don't think many would follow through and actually have an LD.
Lucid Dreaming is a very thought provoking subject and requires dedication, and only the most committed of kids that age could possibly do it.
This is not to say, however, that parents shouldn't encourage their kids to try it. Who knows? It could pan out if they're reminded enough and be beneficial for them.

**Mancon** · 08-13-2011 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by divinemission

Lucid Dreaming is a very thought provoking subject and requires dedication, and only the most committed of kids that age could possibly do it.
This is not to say, however, that parents shouldn't encourage their kids to try it. Who knows? It could pan out if they're reminded enough and be beneficial for them.

This is what I was thinking. When I have kids, I am definitely telling them about lucid dreaming too

**MischiefManaged** · 08-13-2011 06:04 AM

I know for sure that if I've gotten into lucid dreaming at young age, 8-10 years, I'd be a master lucid dreamer now. Mancon mentioned patience and dedication that kids tend to lack, but I was a really determined and ovelry ambitious as a child. Once I knew about being able to create/control my own dream world, real and tangible, I'd think I'm natural and talented at this in no time. And why not? I'd already been writing stories and making other kids believe in crazy stuff (as probably all children do). The approach of an adult and a kid towards LDing is so different, but both are beneficial, in my opinion.

I think I will tell my children about this as well. If my parents knew about lucid dreaming and didn't let me know, I'd be offended. Of course, no pressure should be involved X)

**Darkmatters** · 08-13-2011 06:11 AM

Most natural lucid dreamers started as kids, usually due to excessive nightmares - becoming lucid was a way to escape the nightmares.

For me, when I was a kid there was no freakin' internet, and LaBerge hadn't yet written EtWoLD, so all I had were a few random lucids I experienced and was unable to learn anything about it. I suppose there were a few books even then, or you could find something about it through ypga or Buddhism, or I guess Castaneda was writing his books when i was a teen, though I didn't know about them.

All I discovered about it even in the 80's (my 20's) was a single full-page ad in the back of a sci-fi/fantasy mag for the Lucidity Institute... it was really more just tantalizing than anything else. It was LaBerge just starting the institute, there was nothing published yet I think. Basically if I remember right he was looking for volunteers to go to the institute. It affected me deeply, but I was young and didn't have money to travel and just uproot my life like that. But in the ad it said that keeping a dream journal was of key importance, and they were selling lighted pens for writing in the dark without waking yourself up too much as well as the early prototypes for the Nova Dreamer masks. That's probably when I really started writing about my dreams (including a bunch of old ones I still remembered), though I couldn't afford a Novadreamer. Always wished I could though.

It's a shame I didn't hear anything else about LaBerge or what he had discovered until I joined this here forum two years ago!!

**randosity** · 08-13-2011 08:16 AM

I did learn at a young age, I think 6 is about as young as I can remember. I didn't know the term lucid dream until I was about twice that age, but now in my late teens, I really don't remember my dreams much anymore but when I do some of them are still naturally lucid. As a result in the lucid dreams I can remember from then and the few i remember having more recently, I don't use any sort of stabilizing or reality check, or many of the conventional methods, as I didn't know they existed when I was learning, and simply knew that sometimes i could tell when I was in a dream, and it didn't matter what I did.

As for the people saying kids that age don't have the discipline, they don't, I never used any technique at all i just had these spontaneous dreams, though i do remember at least one occasion where I tried to go back to sleep after waking from a good dream (I was maybe 10) and I ended up performing something like a DEILD, but I do find it interesting to compare the lucid dreams I have that I developed with no techniques or knowledge to the ones that someone who learns later has. For example I never really developed my dream control at that age. Mostly i ran around doing stuff I couldn't normally do like stealing stuff from stores and driving cars. I only remember trying to levitate once ever in my lucid dreams, and that wasn't completely successful. I also mostly just start lucid in dreams, or I don't.

I am however somewhat surprised more people haven't discovered lucid dreaming this way. I know my sister had and may still have lucid dreams this way, however I can't remember any of my friends ever mentioning it...It just seems weird to me that most people never dream lucidly.

**Bobblehat** · 08-13-2011 09:01 AM

I've always wondered if children would find it much easier to become lucid regularly than adults too - apparently youngsters spend longer in REM and they find it harder to distinguish between real life and dreams. When I was young I can remember someone telling me I could pinch myself if I thought I was in a dream. I soon tried it out and, inevitably, felt a real pinch and concluded I was really awake. If only they'd told me to nose pinch it could've been a different story and I wouldn't have to go through purgatory now just to have lucids!

**Marm** · 08-13-2011 11:57 AM

I actually started lucid dreaming when I was very young, around age 4. Didn't know they were called "lucid dreams" until I watched a discovery channel programme about it.

I'm 17 now so I've had LDs for 13 years now

Now I pretty much have at least 1 every night, all of them extremely detailed and vivid. So to answer your question: Yes, it is definitely easier if you start having them early on.

**MischiefManaged** · 08-13-2011 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by ThePieMan

I actually started lucid dreaming when I was very young, around age 4. Didn't know they were called "lucid dreams" until I watched a discovery channel programme about it.

I'm 17 now so I've had LDs for 13 years now

Now I pretty much have at least 1 every night, all of them extremely detailed and vivid. So to answer your question: Yes, it is definitely easier if you start having them early on.

You're so lucky!!! I'm not even so jealous of naturals, rather of people who got early into it

**Marm** · 08-13-2011 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by MischiefManaged

You're so lucky!!! I'm not even so jealous of naturals, rather of people who got early into it

Yea. To be honest, I've never used any techniques such as WILDs or DILDs. I just fall asleep and have one

I do however use WILD to break a dry spell though.

**bihon** · 08-14-2011 03:40 AM

I could still remember quite a few LD's from when I was around 6.. All stemming from nightmares actually. but I didn't get into it and practicing it again until about 3 years ago. Haha, imagine in a few years seeing a picture book saying "Lucid Dreaming for Toddlers" as the title xD That would be amazing, hopefully we could teach the next generations to improve this skill

**Darkmatters** · 08-14-2011 03:49 AM

LOL I can see it now... Barney teaching the youngsters to do reality checks...

**nito89** · 08-14-2011 03:52 AM

Its something im gonna teach my kids when they can read and write

**mikeac** · 08-14-2011 04:17 AM

I discovered it at age 11, although I wish I had discovered it earlier.

I just did it as a nightmare fighter until last year, where I really got into it. I'm a somewhat casual lder now, I don't LD as often anymore. Maybe once every couple weeks now where before I had up to nine a month.