How you Lucid Dream-Reality Checks, Control, Etc.

[Sierrala]

Alright, so I've always wondered how my dream experiences compare to others - everyone else I've ever talked to in person can't lucid dream if they can even remember their dreams, so this is a great place to ask! Some things I've noticed about how my experiences seem to differ compared to others based on what I see people talking about - but then again, most people seem new to it, which is probably why.(I haven't read that deeply into what people say, which is why I'm asking). I've been able to lucid dream almost as long as I can remember. Mirrors don't look strange to me. I used them once as portals in a dream, in a sort of Alice in Wonderland way. I can read and write (I've often tried desperately to save things from my dreams to bring them into the real world this way) I can feel pain, unless I don't want to. I often feel intense emotions that don't match the context, or, don't feel the way I should (e.g., terrified for no reason, or unperturbed when I should be flipping out) I experience states of being that I could never imagine, yet somehow feel - like being an animal or the opposite gender, or using magic/healing/bending (Avatar-style) And the most interesting, that I didn't realize was weird til I though about it - simultaneously watching myself and being in myself without it feeling weird - I see both view without them blocking or overlapping or anything, and I don't feel detached from my body at all. There may be a few more that I can think of, but those are the ones I'm most curious about. More experienced dreamers, can I get some input on what these things are like for you?

[TheSilverWolf]

Are you talking about dreaming in the third person, with that last part? I've had that happen before, where it seems to be the most normal thing, which when you think about it, is pretty dang wierd. Not being an experienced LDer (I've only had 2 that I can remember), I can't say too much about that. In my non-lucid dreams, mirrors look normal for me too; although I've only seen them a few times in the dreams I do remember (I'm working on my recall). Like you, I feel pain at least in my non-lucid dreams. Never tried in one of my lucid ones, I was too preoccupied with doing other things, lol. My emotions didn't seem abnormal in my lucid dreams, but I've had some pretty bizarre emotions in my non-lucids. ~SilverWolf~

[Bobblehat]

Yeah, regarding the emotions there often seems to a break between stimulus and response: I've fallen to my death without batting an eyelid, while on the other hand I've been absolutely terrified of an empty room for no reason.

[JoannaB]

I think the things you describe match very well what others experience in dreams, though of course individual experiences may be different: -most people can read and write in dreams. The reality check connected to reading is often misunderstood. It's not that reading is not possible in dreams, it's that one can using expectations change what is written by looking away and willing it to be different upon looking back. -not feeling pain in dreams is also often misunderstood. Many people do feel pain in dreams, sometimes even extreme pain; it's just that often the amount of pain does not match waking ciscumstances - sometimes in dreams one can experience a situation which in waking life would be quite painful, but in a dream it is not at all or only a bit. -yes, I have had dreams of being different gender or an animal (and so have many other people, so this is common), and also some dreams are watching oneself in third person and others are identifying in first person with protagonist, and at times it switches back and forth. -and yes, dreams with extreme emotions that do not necessarily match context are common too. Many of these apply to both non lucid and lucid dreams. I think people who do not have as much experience observing dreams have a lot of weird misconceptions about dreams. Also some people's dreams are different, for example some individuals always or usually dream that they are the same person as in waking life and in similar contexts as waking life and other people will have a lot of dreams where we are someone else including different gender / different job / different family. Also while many of us do feel pain in dreams, there are some people who do not have tactile sensations that are at all realistic in their dreams. So some of these misconceptions may be due to some people generalizing from their own experience, and others due to people not having observed enough of their dreams.

[TheSilverWolf]

I think the things you describe match very well what others experience in dreams, though of course individual experiences may be different: -most people can read and write in dreams. The reality check connected to reading is often misunderstood. It's not that reading is not possible in dreams, it's that one can using expectations change what is written by looking away and willing it to be different upon looking back. -not feeling pain in dreams is also often misunderstood. Many people do feel pain in dreams, sometimes even extreme pain; it's just that often the amount of pain does not match waking ciscumstances - sometimes in dreams one can experience a situation which in waking life would be quite painful, but in a dream it is not at all or only a bit. -yes, I have had dreams of being different gender or an animal (and so have many other people, so this is common), and also some dreams are watching oneself in third person and others are identifying in first person with protagonist, and at times it switches back and forth. -and yes, dreams with extreme emotions that do not necessarily match context are common too. Many of these apply to both non lucid and lucid dreams. I think people who do not have as much experience observing dreams have a lot of weird misconceptions about dreams. Also some people's dreams are different, for example some individuals always or usually dream that they are the same person as in waking life and in similar contexts as waking life and other people will have a lot of dreams where we are someone else including different gender / different job / different family. Also while many of us do feel pain in dreams, there are some people who do not have tactile sensations that are at all realistic in their dreams. So some of these misconceptions may be due to some people generalizing from their own experience, and others due to people not having observed enough of their dreams. Funny you should say that--I feel the need to share that the first dream that I can remember being someone completely different occured for me, after reading someone's dream post where they said they always dream they are other people! Kinda have to wonder if that post didn't influence, in part, that dream lol ~SilverWolf~

[Scionox]

Mirrors are fine for me too actually, for the most time at least, and in some dreams i get many reflective surfaces or non-surfaces. I can read and write too, as JoannaB said it's based on expectations. Pain varies for me from dream to dream, sometimes it's here, sometimes it's not. For emotions, i sometimes also feel emotions not matching context, though not really often, and i also appear to not have any fears. As for feeling different, that's not only in dreams for me, but that be a long story. As for magic and dream control, that's pretty awesome too. Also if that's third person view you are talking about, i have experienced that as well a few times and even freely switched between first and third person, it's pretty useful at times.

[Sierrala]

Hmmm, I wonder if maybe the weird emotional ones are non-lucid? Although I suppose there's no reason a dream has to be just one or the other, I think I usually have control in all my dreams but occasionally it's limited (e.g. I can fly but to do so I have to get in the air by jumping, I swim through the air, etc.) Maybe a lot of reality checks work for sleep paralysis dreams? Those are the dreams where I have trouble realizing I'm still asleep. And has anyone felt like they experiences first and third-person simultaneously? Or perhaps it's harder to remember it being as such because it's so incredibly bizarre your waking brain can barely reimagine it.