Aside from everything everyone already said here, which is beyond question more than enough argument for pursuing lucidity, here are a few more long-term, if occasionally over-the-top, potentials and benefits of a dedicated pursuit of lucid dreaming, in no particular order:
* LD'ing is something to do with with the one third of your life that you are currently sacrificing to generally forgotten, oblivious, sleep... aka adding 33% of waking life to your life.
* As has already been mentioned somewhat, LD'ing is an excellent tool for personal growth. As your skills advance and your experience progresses, you will find out more about your self than you ever would have imagined you could know: You can examine and challenge the measures of your fears, your hopes, your love, your memory, and above all your imagination in ways that are simply not possible in waking life. Ultimately, you will necessarily develop a sense of self-awareness that will empower you in waking life.
* There is an excellent chance that humanity is approaching a rare moment in history that's been called a "singularity," where "big things" like technology, genetics, biology/medicine, physics, and philosophy reach simultaneous and complementary apexes that will change the human condition forever. Call it the next step in human evolution, though this time the step will not be genetic but one of mind and spirit. And when it comes, the mental discipline and self-awareness required for advanced lucid dreaming will be very helpful for anyone wishing to surf the crest of the wave caused by that singularity -- indeed, even if not so advanced, a soul fortified with successful consistent LD'ing -- or one just open to its existence -- has a much better chance of surviving the wash of that wave at all, should it come.
* LD'ing is the foundation (or side-effect, depending on your point of view) of the yogas of dream and sleep. Dream yoga is just cool, because it helps you to practically comprehend the non-dual nature of dreaming, which reveals the real potential of what you can do in the universes of your dreams. Sleep yoga is the real kicker, though, because mastering it means that you have learned to hold onto your self-awareness in any state of being you might encounter -- including death. So, if all the mythology is correct and we do have an afterlife/ascension/reincarnation/what-have-you waiting for you after death, LD'ing (through sleep yoga) might give you a leg up in navigating that next step.
* Because of the metaphorical nature of dreaming, conscious immersion in dreams through LD'ing offers an opportunity to learn to communicate via means that transcend language, which can be quite handy as the world gets smaller and language becomes an impediment to exchanging information efficiently.
* Aside from hyper-advanced meditation, LD'ing may be the only effective tool for consciously "communicating" with your unconscious mind, and perhaps your soul. Imagine the ability to freely swim the oceans of your memory, to tap without resistance or confusion the supercomputer-level power of your mind, and perhaps to communicate viscerally with the non-cognitive bits of your brain, perhaps to control, heal, or enhance the mechanical bits of your physical body.
* Then there's transcendence. If there are higher states of being, advanced LD'ing may be an excellent tool for reaching them, and remembering where you were when you get back.
I could probably do this all day. Suffice it to say that the potentials inherent in a discipline that serves to unite the deepest workings of your body, mind and spirit under the umbrella of your waking consciousness are pretty much without limit, and as your skills improve you will not help but be able to tap those potentials.
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