How do you enjoy exciting things?

[Cobalt Storm]

How can I enjoy epic and adrenaline-filled adventures without popping out of sleep? EDIT: Also, how much time do you suggest I stabilize for?

[Memm]

How do you enjoy your normal adrenaline filled adventure dreams? Or I guess a better example would be nightmares, they seem to go on forever and the entire time you're sweating in your bed without waking up; Answer: you don't know you're dreaming. The key is don't think that you're in a dream. Your consciousness basically goes wherever your mind goes, so if you're in the middle of the dream and you start thinking about your real body, in your bed, you'll start waking up. If you just concentrate on the dream world and forget about everything else then no matter how exciting it is you'll be fine. "Don't get excited" is what newbies get told because they don't know how to control themselves yet, when new LDers get excited they start thinking about too many things and inevitably realise it's "a dream" and they are "asleep" and "in their bed" etc... and so they pop out of the dream because their mind is now all over the place and not in the dream. Generally the more practice you've had the more excited you can get without waking up. So just don't worry about it. =]

[Oneironaut Zero]

'Ground' yourself into the dream. Look at your hands and take in the experience of the dream around you. Touch things. Rub your hand along the wall and 'focus' on the detail of the dream. It will usually draw the dream into a more solid state, and you can make it last longer. I've done that multiple times in LDs (when I can remember to), and I've had LDs that just go on and on, to the point where I don't think I will be able to remember anything else, and I wake myself up. I don't know that I agree with the advice of 'not thinking it's a dream', though. For me, that just pulls me out of lucidity. I often have to remind myself "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming...", while I'm walking around, just so I stay lucid and don't get drawn into the scenario too much that I forget it's not real. So, that's something to keep in mind, as well.

[MisakaMikoto]

Hi, If dream is stable enough i guess even strong emotions and usually dream breaking stuff won't do much harm I'd suggest some lenghty stabilization and then get to the work

[Memm]

I don't know that I agree with the advice of 'not thinking it's a dream', though. What I mean is know that you're dreaming but don't think about being in bed sleeping. It's kind of like if you want to pick something up with your left hand, your mind first "goes" to your left hand and then you use it and then if you want to use your right hand, just before you do so your "mind" goes to your right hand. When you're in the dream and you start thinking about your sleeping body your mind goes to your sleeping body, which is outside of the dream.

[Sageous]

^^ I don't know, Memm; I've found that remembering that my actual body is sleeping right where I left it does a lot to maintain my lucidity and keep me focused on the dream. I have also never experienced my mind "going back" to my sleeping body just because I remembered it, or thought about it. As far as I'm concerned, remembering your sleeping body is an excellent tool for lucidity. Aside from helping you to access memory, remembering your sleeping body is also a good tool for remaining lucid during exciting dreams, because doing so reminds you that this world you are experiencing is definitely a dream, and all the exciting events happening are doing so in your mind, and are therefore safe and manageable. Also, ignoring the fact that you have a sleeping body can potentially reduce lucidity, because by doing so you are accepting your DC dream body as your only body, which heightens the profile of the "reality" of the dream -- a sure ticket to non-lucidity.

[Memm]

I guess these things are a bit too subtle to describe in words properly, because I've never had a case of losing lucidity once I had it, it's kind of like once I'm awake I have to lie in bed and relax and forget to fall asleep; once I'm lucid in the dream I would have to really forget about the dream world to lose lucidity. As far as I'm concerned my DC body is my only body for the duration of the dream, I know it's a dream and that I'm actually in bed but I don't think about that, the dream is my current "reality" and I'm quite happy about that since I can do whatever I want in the dream reality. =] I've lost lucidity by waking up but not while still in the dream so I find it hard to relate to that particular problem, how often does that happen for you?

[Sageous]

I've lost lucidity by waking up but not while still in the dream so I find it hard to relate to that particular problem, how often does that happen for you? These days I too tend to stay lucid at some level until I wake up, though I will admit that I still will occasionally lose or intentionally abandon my lucidity during the dream as well... and this is only after many years of developing my skills and learning to maintain lucidity as a matter of course (in other words, it hasn't always been this way for me). As long as I'm here: Respectfully, Memm, why, if you have no experience losing lucidity during a dream, are you advising on how not to lose lucidity during a dream? Shouldn't you have "been there" a few times and adopted a working method for maintaining lucidity before telling others how to deal with it? This is sort of like a "natural" inventing an induction technique (why would someone who has never needed a technique know anything about techniques, or even care about them, much less invent one?). Also, I've found (as have many others) that considering your dream body as real, and your dream as reality -- be it "current" or not -- essentially prioritizes the dream above actual reality (the fact that all this is a dream, and that your actual body is elsewhere). Such an attitude generally risks, perhaps welcomes, non-lucidity, which is the state where you literally know everything is real. Yes, there is a difference between what you describe and NLD reality, and I understand it well, but that difference is indeed subtle. This stance might work for you, which is fine (and actually pretty cool). But keep in mind that many people just learning about this art might not share your ability to understand that the place you are in is "just" a dream while simultaneously calling it real... that kind of subtlety of self-awareness is admirable, sure, but it is also decidedly rare. Also, if I can dare to advise at this point: I've found that doing without a DC body during LD's generates far more flexibility and control, dramatically raising your ability to do anything you want to do, then remaining in a DC body can offer. After all, if you have a body in a dream, then you also have to overcome the perceptions of physical limitations that accompany that DC body; that's doable, of course, but why bother? Part of achieving this "no DC body" condition, BTW, is remembering where your actual body is sleeping (no need to think about it, just remember!), and remembering that this entire dream world is an aspect of you and your imagination, and is by no means real. Sorry about any apparent harshness here, Memm; it was not intended. This is really not about you. I guess I've been seeing one of the more successful (and simplest) methods of maintaining and enhancing lucidity -- remembering that your actual body is still asleep in bed, and this dream body is not it -- has been getting knocked about quite a bit on the forums these days, to the point where even mentioning remembering your dream body is seen as incorrect, and your post was simply the last straw for me. I seem to be rambling, and drifting off topic, so I'll shut up now.

[ageofthunder]

One time I rubbed my hands and then shouted "DREAM CLARITY!" and it was super HD. It grounded me, also I find it helpful to tell yourself to stay calm. Make sure you don't take it too slow, or you will slip out of lucidity (that happened to me almost every lucid dream I've had!...the others I wake up with no choice)

[Hukif]

"Exciting" is another word for "losing touch with the dream", imo. Why don't you wake up during horrible, awesome nightmares? It is because, despite how frightening it is one will pay attention to the events of the dream to try and escape even if you want to either die or wake up at the time. So why can't people use that same attention when doing something awesome? Just pay attention to the dream around you and what you are engaging into. For example, pain is a lot of times something that makes people wake up so just pay attention to what causes the pain and your surroundings to avoid getting hurt further. Remember once that I fell on a trap of thorny vines that went through my leg, it was pretty damn painful to take them out but didn't wake up. Sex isn't that much of a problem either, simply using the body of the partner is enough for me to keep engaged into the dream and finish (and its kinky) then continue on with the dream.

[Memm]

These days I too tend to stay lucid at some level until I wake up, though I will admit that I still will occasionally lose or intentionally abandon my lucidity during the dream as well... and this is only after many years of developing my skills and learning to maintain lucidity as a matter of course (in other words, it hasn't always been this way for me). As long as I'm here: Respectfully, Memm, why, if you have no experience losing lucidity during a dream, are you advising on how not to lose lucidity during a dream? Shouldn't you have "been there" a few times and adopted a working method for maintaining lucidity before telling others how to deal with it? This is sort of like a "natural" inventing an induction technique (why would someone who has never needed a technique know anything about techniques, or even care about them, much less invent one?). Also, I've found (as have many others) that considering your dream body as real, and your dream as reality -- be it "current" or not -- essentially prioritizes the dream above actual reality (the fact that all this is a dream, and that your actual body is elsewhere). Such an attitude generally risks, perhaps welcomes, non-lucidity, which is the state where you literally know everything is real. Yes, there is a difference between what you describe and NLD reality, and I understand it well, but that difference is indeed subtle. This stance might work for you, which is fine (and actually pretty cool). But keep in mind that many people just learning about this art might not share your ability to understand that the place you are in is "just" a dream while simultaneously calling it real... that kind of subtlety of self-awareness is admirable, sure, but it is also decidedly rare. Also, if I can dare to advise at this point: I've found that doing without a DC body during LD's generates far more flexibility and control, dramatically raising your ability to do anything you want to do, then remaining in a DC body can offer. After all, if you have a body in a dream, then you also have to overcome the perceptions of physical limitations that accompany that DC body; that's doable, of course, but why bother? Part of achieving this "no DC body" condition, BTW, is remembering where your actual body is sleeping (no need to think about it, just remember!), and remembering that this entire dream world is an aspect of you and your imagination, and is by no means real. Sorry about any apparent harshness here, Memm; it was not intended. This is really not about you. I guess I've been seeing one of the more successful (and simplest) methods of maintaining and enhancing lucidity -- remembering that your actual body is still asleep in bed, and this dream body is not it -- has been getting knocked about quite a bit on the forums these days, to the point where even mentioning remembering your dream body is seen as incorrect, and your post was simply the last straw for me. I seem to be rambling, and drifting off topic, so I'll shut up now. It's okay, I learn a lot from your posts. =] The OP was asking how to not wake up from being too excited and while I don't have experience losing lucidity while still in the dream I have plenty of experience waking up from LDs against my wishes. ;]

[Sageous]

^^ Fair enough!