Has anyone found that lucid dreaming has allowed them to manipulate/influence their waking reality?

I know I'm a newbie here, so I hope I'm not overstepping my mark, but this is where my real interest in lucid dreaming lies. I have had several striking "premonition" dreams and was lucid dreaming before I even knew really what it was. Now that I have started to educate myself about LD, my first experiences have been very powerful and I have been very successful so far I think.

I'm very intrigued by how the dream world presents seems so "real" when we are dreaming unaware, no matter how crazy the dreams get and this has led me to some ponderings on whether our waking reality might not be the same. How is it that most people unquestionably accept waking reality completely passively? Now that I have started to unleash my power to control my dreams, I want to know whether it is not possible that there is a related ability to control waking reality? Can this ability be trained and honed through lucid dreaming?

Has anyone found that lucid dreaming has allowed them to manipulate/influence their waking reality?

Would be very interested to hear your feedback and stories!:)

Technically your dream world is not another reality as it is in the walking reality. A dream is still limited by the rules placed on it in the walking reality. My point is that everything in a dream is created by your body in the walking reality, therefore what you imagine in your dream would give absolutely no evidence to suggest that it is possible in the real world.

Unless you're talking about learning new skills through lucid dreams like painting because then it is completely possible.

I think the practice makes you more aware of the present moment in waking life. And that could translate to being more observant, attentive, introspective, basically more 'awake' than those around you. Because learning to lucid dream is really a daily practice it would also strengthen a persons will. Which may in turn make other real life challenges easier to tackle.

I'm reading a book on Tibetan dream yoga right now and they compare our waking reality to our inner dream world.

I always found it fascinating how similar these two 'realities' (dreaming and waking life) operate. For instance when you go to sleep your mind shuts down and blocks any notion that you have a waking life and then when you wake up your mind seems to scramble to erase any memories carried over from the dream world. It's like they are parallel realities each denying the other one really exists. Even dream characters, when asked, will always deny that your dreaming!

It's really mind bending at a point and makes you wonder sometimes which reality is really the dream.

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Originally Posted by imfivebyfive

I'm reading a book on Tibetan dream yoga right now and they compare our waking reality to our inner dream world.

It's really mind bending at a point and makes you wonder sometimes which reality is really the dream.

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Yes, this is exactly what I'm talking about. To what extent is waking reality a projection of our subconscious, or collective subconscious? Can we train our ability to control waking reality through lucid dreaming- is this even possible?!! =)

Really to me, waking life and dreaming are no different from each other. We believe "reality" to be things that are "real" or not "real", when really everything is sculpted by our imagination when something is perceived by our senses. In a very vivid/lucid dream, thinking about waking life can be the same as thinking of dreaming right now while awake, in that the other "reality", does not seem "real" compared to the one you are experiencing at present. My belief is that everyone has their own reality, which is why some people believe in things that others don't find to exist. If a man lived his entire life without the ability to see colors, then in his reality colors would not exist. I've actually had a few moments in my dreams, where I have increased my vividity to the point where I am actually seeing my dream environment just as clear, if not clearer (I am short-sighted), than waking life, and it really is beautiful.

As for being able to manipulate the physical world, I believe it is possible. To manipulate matter with psychokinesis would involve using your imagination, or your "reality". I feel the reason why it is not possible for most people to do so is because no connection exists between your mind and the physical matter. In a way, we manipulate physical matter every day by controlling our bodies. For instance: when we cause a television to turn on, we are doing so by pressing the on button on the remote control. This button is pressed as the result of your finger moving down to push it, which is caused by the muscles in your finger to operate, which is caused by the neurological signal from your brain, which occurs as a result of your mind's thinking.

It makes me wonder, especially when I hear sounds from an object that sound like someone is flicking it with their fingers when I think about the object. Sometimes, I get this sensation even on my own face, in which case I react to it although someone is flicking me on the face (for some reason just before it happens).

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. :)

To put it simply, no, you cannot control reality while awake like you can control the illusions in your dreams. Sure I suppose if you had a good enough imagination you could control illusions while awake but that's called day dreaming.

You should definitely check out the Beyond Dreaming forum:
Beyond Dreaming

I haven't had any luck controlling reality the way I would control a dream, but that doesn't mean I will ever stop trying ;) As Iamfivebyfive said, the increased awareness of our relationship with the world gives us more control over life. We are influencing the world around us every moment of every day. It is easy to forget, but lucid dreaming helps remind us. Anything that encourages mindfulness and awareness will give us more power over life. Be aware of the decisions you make, your actions, and how they alter the world.

This is my opinion:

The only difference between dreams and reality are time and space. Dreamscapes don't have time and space, reality does. From that perspective, then perhaps you are right. I personally believe you cannot manipulate your reality, but you can influence it.

Well, I also have a hard time understanding the definitions of "time". Space, perhaps, but time I see to be another illusion like reality itself. They say time flies when you're enjoying yourself, but it doesn't "fly" for everyone else.

I dunno. I am aware that terms such as reality, time and space may have a different meaning depending on whether it is talked about in a scientific sense or a philosophical sense.

Also, I remember one strange thing occurring to me not too long ago. Before I upgraded my computer, I had to keep the case open to prevent it from overheating. The door to my case I kept standing against the radiator behind my chair. One night, I swore I heard a metallic banging sound, just as if the door was lifted up and dropped down against the radiator. And additionally, once at college I'm sure I heard one of the metal brackets on my bag strap drop against the table when it was near my hand. In both instances, I wish I had a video recording or something...

Anyway, it could just be me, but sometimes I feel like I am influencing my environment physically.

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Originally Posted by LaDankSkunk

This is my opinion:

The only difference between dreams and reality are time and space. Dreamscapes don't have time and space, reality does. From that perspective, then perhaps you are right. I personally believe you cannot manipulate your reality, but you can influence it.

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That is my belief regarding reality vs. dreams (well, dreams ARE a form of reality, but I can't think of a better way to explain this). Time and space exist in "reality." We cannot alter that aspect of reality. However, time and space do not exist in our dreams, at least not in the same way they exist on earth.