Some Notes You Should Remember

[paigeyemps]

These are some of the questions I often see around the forum which I think deserve a little bit more attention. If you have some other ideas, feel free to post them in this thread. Comments are appreciated, but please be decent in expressing them 1. What does it mean when people say "put a lot of thought in your reality checks"? Spoiler for Answer: •Quality over quantity. It doesn't matter if you do a hundred reality checks a day, if you do them mindlessly and just go *plug nose* "I can't breathe. Okay it's not a dream. ", chances are you'll do the same in dreams and not get lucid. Remember that reality checks don't always work right, sometimes they indicate you're awake even though you're actually dreaming. This is why you need to put a lot of thought in your reality checks. How? Don't just settle with knowing if it's a dream or not. When you think you're awake, ask yourself why? How sure are you? What if it is actually a dream? Don't just question reality, question yourself questioning reality. (If that makes sense.) 2. I was starting to fall asleep, and I started to feel all these weird things with my body. I think it was sleep paralysis? Spoiler for Answer: •Nope. Those tingling feelings, numbness, buzzing, popping in the ears, and any forms of hallucination that you experience while drifting off (especially during a WILD attempt) is NOT NECESSARILY (and probably isn't) sleep paralysis. They are just normal bodily sensations that you get to notice because you're staying mentally aware while your body falls asleep. Sleep Paralysis Demystified - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views 3. I wanna choose what I will dream about! How do I do this? Spoiler for Answer: •Think about it. Day dream. Imagine. Inspire yourself with video clips or pictures or stories. Incubate your dream. http://www.dreamviews.com/general-dr...-tutorial.html 4. I'm not trying WILD because I'm gonna see scary things! Spoiler for Answer: •With that mindset, yes you will see scary things. Listen, first of all, not everyone has hallucinations during WILD. Many people have WILDs without even hearing or seeing hallucinations or noticing the aforementioned bodily sensations. It really varies per person. Sometimes you may, sometimes you may not notice them. But whatever you feel/see/hear during your WILD attempt, remember that they are all in your mind. They are fueled by your thoughts. So if you think you're gonna see a demon, you WILL see it. And the worst thing is if you feel scared, what you experience will seem much scarier as well, which in turn will fuel more scary thoughts. It is a continuing chain. So the best thing is to mentally prep yourself and internalize and remember: What you see, hear or feel. Calm yo tits, they're not real. 5. If I open my eyes during WILD, I might see some stuff. So I'll just keep them closed. That'll do the trick, right? Spoiler for Answer: •Weeeeelllll. Not really, no. If they are projections of your mind, it won't matter if you open or close your eyes, you will still perceive them because....well...they're...in your mind. Sorry :< 6. So what can I do if I have visual/auditory/tactile hallucinations? Spoiler for Answer: •Well if you can't convince yourself to calm down, play with them! It can be hard and annoying, but you can do it with practice. If you see something scary, try turning it into your mom or something (assuming your mom isn't even scarier) or maybe a celebrity or a funny person you like. If you hear scary things, try turning them into your favorite singer or actor. My personal favorite is Morgan Freeman because, well, who doesn't want Morgan Freeman personally talking to them in that oh so glorious voice? If you feel scary sensations, maybe you can imagine a warm shower against your body. Or my personal favorite, try sinking yourself into the bed! The hallucinations will most likely morph into the dream and become part of the dream scene, so try your best to stay aware so you are lucid once you actually enter the dream. Unless you're not going for WILD, then you can just have fun with them. 7. Sometimes I have a dream that I [sensation felt], and when I wake up I realize that the [object] was [object activity that might explain the sensation in the dream]. What's going on? Spoiler for Answer: •It's called dream incorporation. Basically, it's when waking life elements are perceived by your physical senses while you are sleeping, so they end up seeping into your dream. An example is when you dream that you are flying and the wind is blowing in your face, and you wake up and the fan is in front of you. Another common example is when there is music in waking life and you end up having it playing in your dream, maybe in the form of a concert or just background music in the dream. Remember, we still have natural survival instincts so the body doesn't completely shut down when we're asleep, and we still sense some things in the waking world that may be picked up by our senses and transformed as dream elements by our brain. 8. I had a dream that __________! What does it mean? Spoiler for Answer: •Dream interpretation can be subjective or objective. It is objective in the sense that certain elements of the dream are considered to be symbolic and a manifestation of what is actually happening in real life (dream dictionary). On the other hand, it is subjective in the sense that the interpreter uses his own judgment to associate those symbolisms and give the message which he thinks the dream is trying to relay. Ultimately, it is up to the dreamer which interpretation to accept. Many people can offer advice and different interpretations, and you should be openminded about them all, but ultimately it is up to you to decide whether the dream really holds any significance or if it was just some random creative outburst of the brain. Got a dream you want others' insights on? Dream Interpretation 9. I've been practicing [induction technique] for [insane amount of time] but nothing's happening! I'm giving up! Spoiler for Hell naw: •Don't. Sure, it is recommended to stick to a technique for at least a few weeks, but it doesn't mean that's all you do. You don't just keep doing it over and over and hope it works. You have to evaluate your attempts. Record important details like what you did prior, during or after the attempts that might've made a difference with the outcome. After a few days, if nothing is changing, then YOU need to change something. Maybe timing or preparation or just a different approach altogether. Keep experimenting. Remember that guides are just those — guides. They are not set in stone, and what works for someone may work slightly differently for you, so the utmost thing to remember is: Don't adjust yourself just to perfect a known technique. Instead, hone your own by using the others as a guideline. That way, when you find what works for you, you can rely on it because it is your own personalized technique and you're not merely trying to satisfy what an established technique mentioned you should do. Who knows, maybe your technique could be what others use as guideline for theirs next time. So yeah. Don't give up. If Britney Spears got through her bald phase, you can get through this dry spell, damn it! 10. In my next lucid, can I _________? Spoiler for Answer: •Yes, yes, yes, you can! Just try it. (If someone tells you otherwise, punch them in the face. Then ask Hukif or Lucidis to do it and they will prove it is possible. Or even better, prove them wrong yourself! ) ** The content and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own views and learnings, and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, site, or community. Please bear in mind that every experience is personal, subjective, and varied. So I highly encourage you to post and ask questions about any experiences you have. Sloths are awesome, awesome creatures. If you don't think they are, then you are not awesome.

[Zoth]

Great post Paige! A FAQ for lucid dreaming seems a nice initiative I'll be sure to round up the questions I most see being asked and later post them here A thread like this one could turn out as a highly helpful sticky.

[gab]

Here is another one: Q: I can't get into SP. A: SP is a disorder.You can't get into SP at will. SP is not part of lucid dreaming, or WILDing process. Just follow a good WILD(sageous) tutorial, and you'll do fine.

[Sensei]

Awesome! I love it. I'll have to remember the name of this thread so I can link people to it! I agree with stickying it.

[paigeyemps]

Great post Paige! A FAQ for lucid dreaming seems a nice initiative I'll be sure to round up the questions I most see being asked and later post them here A thread like this one could turn out as a highly helpful sticky. Thanks zoth00 [zooth :} ]. Yeah this could be a helpful thread. I'm aiming to gather the not-so-common questions though — the ones that haven't been concisely answered yet, as opposed to "how do i control my dream?" or "how do i improve dream recall?" since we have well-established tutorials for those..you know what i mean? Any help would be much appreciated! And thanks gab, that's a very good one.

[Scionox]

Nice job! I agree on stickying as well. Also got ya another one. Q: Should i write something in my DJ when no recall? A: Yes! Write something positive, like "No recall today, but it will be better next time!".

[djpatch999]

I also agree with it being stickied, brilliant FAQ and hey, even I learned something

[JoannaB]

Even though I really like this FAQ, and personally I agree with all the answers; however, one thing to keep in mind is that often there is more than one answer, and the DV community is very diverse. For example, in dream interpretation there is a divide to some extent between those of us who believe that interpretation is an individualized thing and depends mostly on the dreamer's experience, versus the point of view that there are universal dream symbols. While personally I am very strongly in the first camp, but I appreciate that DV brings together people who have different points of view, and I would not want the people who believe in universal symbols interpretation of dreams to feel excluded. Such an FAQ could be interpreted by some people as a claim that this is what we all here believe, and it may not be. On some topics such as dream interpretation or many of the beyond dreaming topics there are many different points of view in this community, and those differences make DV a richer community. Just something to watch out for when building such an FAQ - I am sure there are some members who would disagree with some answers, and that does not necessarily mean they are wrong or not welcome here.

[Sensei]

Even though I really like this FAQ, and personally I agree with all the answers; however, one thing to keep in mind is that often there is more than one answer, and the DV community is very diverse. For example, in dream interpretation there is a divide to some extent between those of us who believe that interpretation is an individualized thing and depends mostly on the dreamer's experience, versus the point of view that there are universal dream symbols. While personally I am very strongly in the first camp, but I appreciate that DV brings together people who have different points of view, and I would not want the people who believe in universal symbols interpretation of dreams to feel excluded. Such an FAQ could be interpreted by some people as a claim that this is what we all here believe, and it may not be. On some topics such as dream interpretation or many of the beyond dreaming topics there are many different points of view in this community, and those differences make DV a richer community. Just something to watch out for when building such an FAQ - I am sure there are some members who would disagree with some answers, and that does not necessarily mean they are wrong or not welcome here. Hmmm... Interesting point Joanna. I agree with ya, there are people that believe that dream interpretation is not subjective. It might be a good idea to edit that or add to it. I personally think that things that happen in dreams can easily show you your state of mind at the time, not so much an interpretation of the dream, but your dream showing you how your mind interprets what you have seen through the day. Most of the time I think that they are just random though. Something to think about Paigey.

[NyxCC]

Great idea! I will surely add this thread to my recommended links, when replying to people that need help.

[paigeyemps]

Good point, JoannaB. Thanks! I edited and added a little note at the bottom. I hope people don't take the info on this thread the wrong way. We would never want anyone to feel outcast because of what they think. Everyone is welcome here. Cheers

[Zoth]

Two questions I've found while digging around. Q:Why can I control X but not Y? A: Dream control isn't uniform. Some things are easy to do because you convince yourself that they are easy, and others are hard because you believe them to be so. Starting out with things you know that will work is a simple way of eliminating doubt and giving you confidence. And of course, if something doesn't work at first, you can always try it again later! Q:Why did I suddenly stop having lucid dreams? A: That is called a dry-spell. Sometimes, for several reasons (like stress, changing sleeping schedules, eating habits, etc) a person cannot achieve lucid for some time (it can be days, it can be more than a week). This is not reason to be discouraged, and it's solved by having patience, letting your mind go off the subject for a bit, and keep practicing. Eventually the lucid dreams will show up again.

[pog]

Great stuff. And some good points from other posters that could/should be incorporated to provide a more rounded and comprehensive view.

[Sensei]

I Reality Checked and it said I wasn't dreaming! Is that even possible? You can put your own answer here, I am having troubles with sentences again. My mind wanders to dreams and then to random other things too much. All the sentences I have when explaining things right now are filled with things like "Thee" and "thus". My tired mind is weird...