Stopping Lucid Dreams

[M28226]

I have come to the conclusion that lucid dreaming is what I am experiencing. Does anyone know how to stop it? I usually experience this lucid dreaming followed by sleep paralysis with no lapse in consciousness between dream state and waking up. For instance last night(and this is just one of many experiences) I was in a dream and then in that dream I noticed water leaking around the kitchen faucet so I went to go grab some paper towels to wipe the water up but as I go back to the kitchen sink the faucet is no longer there. So im like WTF Im in a dream. So im standing there all pissed off(knowing that im still in a dream) waiting for me to wake up but eventually when I do get out of it I will get a super tingling sensation/body vibrations(in the dream) and that will carry over into the sleep paralysis stage then I wake up. Keep in mind that there is no lapse in consciousness between going from the dream state to the current physical state. I am 100% fully aware of the transition. I have many more experiences but when something is out of place in the dream my consciousness will become fully aware that it is a dream. Its kind of scary tho because things start to get super vivid, much more vivid as compared to this physical realm. The only thing that concerns me is that my body/soul whatever you want to call it has been spending more and more time in the lucid dream state and I have no clue why this is happening. I want no part of this lucid dreaming/sleep paralysis, etc...... Is this some sort of a mental issue? or can any type of medicine stop these experiences?

[Sensei]

Hello. I wish to know why you don't like being aware when you are in a world where anything is possible. I am not trying to sound sarcastic, it is just a hobby of mine that I spend a lot of time on because it is more fun than any video game I have found, and it is hard for me to see why people don't like it. Also I can help if you say exactly what you don't like about it.

[M28226]

I just don't like how things seem so real, plus I don't like the transition from dream state to waking up. This usually accompanies strong body vibrations and sleep paralysis which I don't like. I just want to be able to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am, like every other normal person.

[Oreo]

Lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis are not signs of a mental issue. It really would be better if you just learned to live with it. Lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis aren't harmful, but medication could have some negative effects. If the thing you don't like about the lucid dreaming part is the vividness, I bet you could use your dream control to bring it down to a reasonable level. With sleep paralysis, I'd say the best solution is to learn that it's nothing to be feared.

[M28226]

Well I am not really scared of the paralysis, its just that it seems awkward. It almost seems like my soul is reconnecting to my body. I don't know why my soul would reconnect to my body if my soul is in my body to begin with during the sleep process. It was just much better in years past when I didn't have to deal with any of this.

[gab]

I don't know why my soul would reconnect to my body if my soul is in my body to begin with during the sleep process. It was just much better in years past when I didn't have to deal with any of this. Everybody dreams every night, more than once. The only different between you and people who don't lucid dream is that when in a dream, you know that you are dreaming. Everybody else thinks it's a reality, until they wake up. And some believe, that our dream body/astral body/part of the soul leave our body every night to go to the dream/astral world to experience these adventures, we call dreams. This ability to recognize that you are in fact dreaming, gives you possibilities to direct your own adventure. To do things, others can only dream about - see that? All of us here on DV strive to have lucid dreams, even if it means going through some sensations like vibrations and paralysis. Many of us embrace those less pleasant sensations, because we know, what the reward will be. Maybe you have not thought about all the fun things you could do in a LD? Without the fun part, I agree, that SP and other things could seem bothersome. If you like to explore this possibility of having fun in your LDs, you can read some dream journal entries of LDs, check out this thread 1000 things to do in LD, and maybe you will change your mind. But if not, that's ok too. I don't know how old are you, but I have heard from some, that as you get out of your teens, this natural ability to lucid dream diminishes or stoppes all together, unless you practice to have lucid dreams. So there is a good chance that you will stop having LDs. Please let us know, if you need help with anything.

[M28226]

Thank you for the reply Gab. I am actually 29 years old and all this started when I was about 22. At first things started out as seeing random images before sleep but then things just have progressed from there. Its like now if I am dreaming I remember the dream but heres the twist and maybe this is what happens during lucid dreams. Once I realize I am in a dream things suddenly become 10 times more vivid I see things change right before my very eyes once I realize that its just a dream. Its like I am in this physical world only things are 10 times more vivid what they are here on Earth. Its crazy

[gab]

Exactly, more vivid and detailed than life itself. Or should I say waking life. So you just got this ability out of the blue? Do you practice meditation or anything that raises your awareness? But yes, when we try to induce a LD via WILD method - into the dream straight from being awake, without lose of awareness, we can see images. At first they can be just swirls of fog, then some simple images made out of fog, and later images and videos. Those are the actual dreams. That's just one way to enter a dream. So, some people like LDs, because of the incredible fun they offer. Some, like to use them to learn more about themselves. When you in that state of mind, you can talk to your subconscious directly just by asking questions. As if you were talking to your older brother, who knows everything about you. If you interested in exploring this aspect of LDing, check out the book Lucid dreaming - Gateway to the inner self by Robert Waggoner. You can find it on google books and read a few pages to see if you like it.

[rastro13]

I bet if you read up on lucid dreaming you might have a change of heart. Its a gift you have. Takes alot of work to get to where you are for everyone else. The sleep paralysis too. Alot of people strive to reach both of these.

[Sensei]

I just don't like how things seem so real, plus I don't like the transition from dream state to waking up. This usually accompanies strong body vibrations and sleep paralysis which I don't like. I just want to be able to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am, like every other normal person. You don't like how things are so real? Why not? Well, Gab seemed to have answered most of your questions. I can say that if you find yourself in a dream and are not happy about it you can just wake yourself up. Find yourself in SP, you can just hold your breath or breathe really slowly. This will get you out of it. Oh! or you can get your recall down yo zero dreams. That would be hard though.

[Seykloren]

Even tho Lucid dreaming is one of the most amazing things one can get to expirience, I can completely understand that it is sometimes unwanted, because I have been in a similar situation. What I did to "stop it" was convince my mind that as long as I am wearing a ring on my finger I will be unable to be aware in dreams and I will never remember having any dreams at all. It worked for me and it gave me what I wanted at the time, many nights of just blank unaware sleep. But Lucid dreaming is something one should not avoid, but instead harness and turn into something that is enjoyable for him/her. I suggest that you take this gift you have and try to explore it, learn more of it, eliminate sp or perhaps learn to understand it better and see it with different eyes and I am sure you would actually enjoy lucid dreaming and feel blessed that you naturally developed an ability many try to develop for years. Gab gave a nice thread link where people give suggestions of what can you do in an LD that you should defenatly check out and try out some ideas or maybe get inspired to think up your own.

[M28226]

Exactly, more vivid and detailed than life itself. Or should I say waking life. So you just got this ability out of the blue? Do you practice meditation or anything that raises your awareness? But yes, when we try to induce a LD via WILD method - into the dream straight from being awake, without lose of awareness, we can see images. At first they can be just swirls of fog, then some simple images made out of fog, and later images and videos. Those are the actual dreams. That's just one way to enter a dream. So, some people like LDs, because of the incredible fun they offer. Some, like to use them to learn more about themselves. When you in that state of mind, you can talk to your subconscious directly just by asking questions. As if you were talking to your older brother, who knows everything about you. If you interested in exploring this aspect of LDing, check out the book Lucid dreaming - Gateway to the inner self by Robert Waggoner. You can find it on google books and read a few pages to see if you like it. Yes thats exactly how all this started. I started getting images, about a year later I started to notice videos. I then started to notice I want to say bluish color swirls right when I layed down at night and then those swirls would form right into the image/dream. About a year or so later is when the sleep paralysis started and to be honest with you I have experienced this sleep paralysis probably a few hundred times over the past 18 months. Many times multiple times per night. I got this ability(if you want to call it that) out of the blue and I have no clue why it came to me. I have also started seeing at times random images during the day even when I am not tired. I have 5 sisters and 2 brothers and not one of them have any of this. I just hope I dont turn out to be one of those nutty type of people. But yes I will check out that book that you mentioned. Thank you

[Alucinor XIII]

INB4 Illegal Advice... Start smoking weed. I used to remember 3-5 dreams a night, and have a lucid dream once or twice a week when i was in high school. I went to college and starting smoking pot, and I didn't remember any more than 15-20 dreams over two years.

[gab]

Yes thats exactly how all this started. I started getting images, about a year later I started to notice videos. I then started to notice I want to say bluish color swirls right when I layed down at night and then those swirls would form right into the image/dream. About a year or so later is when the sleep paralysis started and to be honest with you I have experienced this sleep paralysis probably a few hundred times over the past 18 months. Many times multiple times per night. I got this ability(if you want to call it that) out of the blue and I have no clue why it came to me. I have also started seeing at times random images during the day even when I am not tired. I have 5 sisters and 2 brothers and not one of them have any of this. I just hope I dont turn out to be one of those nutty type of people. But yes I will check out that book that you mentioned. Thank you I think this is what happened. When you started seeing first swirls, you started paying more and more attention to them, then you were able to see images and then dreams forming. Each time you were able to keep your mind awake little longer, while your body was falling asleep. Everybody is able to to the same, if he would start paying attention to the falling asleep process. These images are there every night, but we don't notice them conscioussly, because they happen after we start to fall asleep. Normally, body and mind would fall asleep almost at the same time. But if we try to keep our mind awake while our body falls asleep, so we can enter dream directly from being awake, we witness the HH and other sensations that are normal signs of body falling asleep. When do you see those images during day? If it is when you are just sitting, maybe watching tv, I think that's ok. Since I started practicing LDing, when I watch tv, just chilling on a sofa, if I close my eyes just for a second when kinda falling asleep, I sometimes get these clear images right away. If you take a nap during day, you go straight to REM. That's when you can see those defined images clearly and almost right away. You could be already falling asleep and not even realize that. If you wake someone up from first stages of sleep, while in light sleep, they deny they were asleep. They feel, like they were still awake. Could something like this be happening to you?

[OneirosOnkelos]

Man, I'd be happy if I could LD every night. I don't know why anyone would want to give that up. I'd accept SP, too, if that was the only negative thing attached to LDing every night.

[Scionox]

I'll never understand why people would ever give up on lucid dreaming when they have success... But either way if you don't want dream do be super realistic just dream control it to be less so, maybe summon some menu or switch that controls quality and turn it down? As for sleep paralysis, are you sure it is an actual SP and not short false awakening? I have had 'SP episodes' that were just false awakenings before when i was thinking about SP, if that's the case just don't think about SP during the dream and it might stop eventually, also don't think about things that you are experiencing, that only makes them appear more often.

[Superadam051]

You....You've got what many people would consider a gift lol. Don't waste it, at least experiment with it. So many people would give up hours to be able to not go back to a normal dream and sustain lucidity. Myself included lol. As with the other replies it's all down to you to learn to control what you want from the LDs and what you don't. My advice for SP has already been given but there's really nothing for it other than learning to cope with it and perhaps experimenting to minimize it; further research could help you there.