Reality and Dreams becoming more similar!

**rhythm432** · 08-31-2012 09:49 PM

After my second SSILD, I woke up not thinking much differently than in a dream. I seriously (seriously!) started to question my reality, because it felt just like a dream! I don't know if this is because my dreams are becoming increasingly real or because lucid dreaming is causing my reality to become hazy. I also cannot think like I used to. My mind is blank. I am presuming this is all from lucid dreaming?

**aquanisa** · 08-31-2012 09:51 PM

Ogodwat? That's creepy...

**Vortaix** · 08-31-2012 10:40 PM

Yap, it happened to me as well a long time ago.

I just got too paranoid that i am in a dream, i started thinking i am. It lasted for a week or so..
It's like you do reality checks, and you see you are not dreaming, but your mind keeps saying "this is a dream, this is a dream." And you feel all fuzzy and scared at the same time.

Just relax, do a reality check, and stop focusing on dreams for a short period

!

**rhythm432** · 08-31-2012 11:03 PM

Alright, thanks Vortaix! Just out of curiosity, are you still still lucid dreaming? And what method messes with your mind the least?

**Vortaix** · 08-31-2012 11:42 PM

None of the methods mess with my mind !

You just have a period where your brain must make a difference between reality and dreams. When it does, you can lucid dream all you want and be 1000% sure if you are in a dream or not !
Relax. It will all become natural in a few days..

You are doing great!

**Mindraker** · 09-01-2012 01:35 AM

Would we have better dreams if we could *not* differentiate between reality and dreams at all? (This is a serious question.)

Now, we would have a serious mental disability or psychological problem (I don't know what it would be called...) but there are people like that who are locked away in padded rooms with a white jacket...

**moSh** · 09-01-2012 02:29 AM

Buddhists, particularly those practiced in dream yoga, actually view both dream-time and waking-time as having the same levels of illusion. The only difference is that you're more physically limited while awake! To Buddhists, the more mindful and aware you are of the true existence of your surroundings, the more 'awake' you are.

Probably not 100% relevant to your situation, but you post just reminded me of that idea

You may be starting to see that in a way, dreams are every bit as real as waking reality.

**MadMonkey** · 09-01-2012 03:17 AM

Don't worry. Lucid dreaming doesn't mess with your mind or make it go blank or anything. Learning to lucid dream is suppose to make you more perceptive and aware, not a paranoid mess. I don't know if you realized this but dreams feel the same as real life for the most part. Everything you perceive even while you are awake is just an illusionary but very well made model of the world around you. When your dreaming the illusion is based on your imagination instead of your actual senses. The human brain is so good at making models of reality that most people don't even question it, even when impossible stuff is happening in their dreams. However it is possible to tell the difference. If you ever are not sure if you are dreaming or not all you have to do is a reality check. If you don't know how to do that I highly recommend learning more about DILD and lucid dreaming techniques in general before trying SSILD again. You can find tutorials for DILD and more here.

As for why your feel like your mind is blank I think its because your over thinking it. A little bit of paranoia and placebo can go a long way.

**moSh** · 09-01-2012 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Everything you perceive even while you are awake is just an illusionary but very well made model of the world around you. When your dreaming the illusion is based on your imagination instead of your actual senses. The human brain is so good at making models of reality that most people don't even question it, even when impossible stuff is happening in their dreams. However it is possible to tell the difference.

Well put, that's what I meant to say but you were able to phrase it far better than me!

**Spyguy** · 09-01-2012 01:27 PM

Well, dreams and waking life are essentially the same thing, with the difference that waking life is shared with others and that your powers are limited

Both of them are simulations of your own brain. In real life, your brain uses stimuli from your senses and turns it into a model which we know as our suroundings. In a dream, your brain does the same thing, but it uses thought schematics and expactation rather than stimuli from the senses.
Do not worry, it is a good thing to start questioning your real life. Just make sure to effectively check whether it is waking life or a dream, lucid dreaming will NOT make you unable to distinguish dreams from waking life. Make absolutely sure that you are dreaming BEFORE doing dream-stuff and you will be fine