Simple curiosity

**Cindyst** · 01-06-2014 02:21 AM

Hi, the other day I saw a movie "Waking life" (It's about lucid dreaming for the ones who don't know it), they said that while you're lucid dreaming if you try to turn off a light it won't turn off... I remembered that and I tried it while dreaming, but it did turn off. Haha that made me doubt if the dream was real or not (I was at my previous job, so it was very likely that I could go there for some papers)then I lost concentration and I woke up. Has anyone tried something like that?

**Kraom** · 01-06-2014 02:58 AM

I've found that, it's very hit and miss with the whole light not turning on or off thing for me. This is usually how it plays out, (Background info: I can't control my dreams well unless everything is well lit...) I'll go to a light-switch, since I need light, and I'll turn it on, but the light won't turn on. Then, I actually have to focus and will the light to to actually turn on, and then it will. Although, this doesn't happen all the time, sometimes I don't have to put much thought into it and it will turn on. But yea, just my experience with this whole light-switch phenomenon.

**AnotherDreamer** · 01-06-2014 05:09 AM

I can always seem to turn them off, but for some reason turning them on is a little bit harder. Even when I'm lucid, turning them on can be kind of hard for me. Weird, huh! By the way I love that movie, Waking Life, one of my favorites.

Have you tried having 360 vision in dreams yet?

**LouaiB** · 01-06-2014 05:15 AM

Huh, never tried it before,but it's about expectation, bla bla bla. My dumb brother did everything in his LDs. He is still a beginner with 9 LDs, but in his 8th, he teleported, flew, summoned,etc. I so envy him

. But who cares, I'll show him when I understand LDing 100%. Got off topic a little

**Cindyst** · 01-06-2014 04:27 PM

Not yet, I bet it's amazing. I loved that movie too , have you watched The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?? Loved that one!!!

**DreamyBear** · 01-06-2014 04:50 PM

Iv'e seen the movie "Waking Life", that's one awesome movie! Especially for LD-geeks

I have never tryed to swich a light on and off, but I think I have start doing that. It seems like a good subtle RC! A RC that has never let me down before, is pinching ones nose and breath thru it anyways. If one does that, then it's very had to not notice that your dreaming.

**TranquilityTrip** · 01-06-2014 06:41 PM

Very little is certain in our dreams as they are shaped by our doubts and expectations. If one doesn't expect that the light will turn on, it likely won't. If one truly believes the light will turn on, it probably will. And if one cares so little as to what happens then the subconscious mind will randomly choose whether the light turns on or not.

On this topic, there are no foolproof reality checks that I know of, only ones that seem reliable for most people.

**AnotherDreamer** · 01-06-2014 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Cindyst

Not yet, I bet it's amazing. I loved that movie too , have you watched The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?? Loved that one!!!

Yes! Such a great movie, and it gave me a ton of inspiration for dream creation.

Very little is certain in our dreams as they are shaped by our doubts and expectations. If one doesn't expect that the light will turn on, it likely won't. If one truly believes the light will turn on, it probably will. And if one cares so little as to what happens then the subconscious mind will randomly choose whether the light turns on or not.

Then why do you think it is that the lights will not turn on when I am non-lucid, completely expecting them to turn on? It happens when I'm not doing a reality check in dreams, just hanging out doing dream stuff. I'll start freaking out in dreams wondering why none of the lights will turn on and I'm stuck in a dark house. Expectation doesn't make too much sense in this case because I honestly, fully expect the lights to turn on when I flip that switch and they don't.

**TranquilityTrip** · 01-07-2014 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by anotherdreamer

Yes! Such a great movie, and it gave me a ton of inspiration for dream creation.

Then why do you think it is that the lights will not turn on when I am non-lucid, completely expecting them to turn on? It happens when I'm not doing a reality check in dreams, just hanging out doing dream stuff. I'll start freaking out in dreams wondering why none of the lights will turn on and I'm stuck in a dark house. Expectation doesn't make too much sense in this case because I honestly, fully expect the lights to turn on when I flip that switch and they don't.

In hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have made that statement with such authority as it is just something I, as well as many others, have observed. As for your why your experiences seemingly differ from the norm, I am not sure, but it's generally believed that there are two major creative sources that create and control our dreams:
The random subconscious mind: The subconscious mind seems to create the majority of our dream worlds and spawns most of the beings inside these dream worlds.
The dreamers expectations/beliefs/thoughts: Our expectations, on the other hand, seem to control how the interactions between us (the dreamers) and the dream world play out.

**RavenOfShadow** · 01-07-2014 11:47 PM

Simply put, some reality checks work for some and don't work for others. Many people on this site use the finger-through-hand technique, but for some reason it always fails in my dreams. For whatever reason our brains and dreams won't allow us to fool them in certain manners.

I would just find a new reality check and ignore lights, as I have also not had good luck with light sources. For me, its all about plugging my nose