Can you use lucid dreaming to "re-connect" with your former self?

[Yuusha]

There are certain aspects of myself that I am not entirely happy with - mostly social ones, since I am kind of a loner, and I don't think this is me "being myself" either, since I don't enjoy it - and I have realized that I was probably most happy with myself at around age 14-15 or so (I really felt very satisfied with myself and very comfortable around people back then, smiled and laughed a lot etc, and I cannot see any reason why I shouldn't pursue this feeling); I would like to re-connect with how I was back then, but adapt it in a sensible way to my current 28-year-old self of course. And I was wondering, is it possible to "meet your younger self" in a lucid dream and somehow transform your own behaviour and feelings this way? I once heard Robert Waggoner mention a woman who managed to fight anxiety by repeatedly telling her dreams that she wanted to "be free from anxiety" in waking life, and apparently this calmed her so much and had such a real positive effect on her that her doctor was amazed and could barely see any signs of anxiety in her whatsoever, so maybe you can apply this to similar types of feelings as well? Of course I am not expecting to dramatically change my whole personality from a couple lucid dreams alone (although I guess that's possible as well, but probably not a realistic expectation), but I am hoping that they should give me important clues and make me feel more comfortable with this new behaviour so that it becomes much easier to change as quickly as possible in waking life. I don't exactly suffer from "social anxiety" or anything like that, because I can function around people while working with others in groups etc, but I am having a seriously hard time feeling comfortable with myself in general for some reason, and I wish to get rid of that feeling.

[DreamBeard]

It might be possible. There are some pretty interesting experiences that people talk about on the internet about the "self" in their dreams. For example, having a conversation with the subconscious. I'm not sure how that works out as I haven't experienced this yet myself. But some also say that their subconscious can help change their mind and show them some secrets about their lives that they previously didn't know about. I'll definitely try to experiment around with this. Is the subconscious part of what you're talking about?

[SinisterDezz]

I believe it is possible, yes, but I don't think it's the lucid dream that will help you reconnect, but the life style that comes with it. If you choose to take up practices like meditation and such, it comes with great benefits. Not saying that lucid dreams wouldn't help, but the real effect would take place with the life style of the dreamer. Anything is possible with LDing! (Disclaimer: To an extent)

[Roseburg]

I JUST did this today! The Handsome Indian told me he Missed that part of me. - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views I do think that you an reconnect and remember those qualities you thought were positive, that is what I learned from my experience.

[Sageous]

No, you cannot reconnect with your "former self," Yuusha. Why? Because you are already connected. Your former self is not former at all, but just the way your actual self (the one who is "You" right now as well) happened to present itself to the world back then. Your former self is apparently easily accessed, too, because you can remember how you were back then. This tells me that the attributes of that former self have been securely stored in your memory. You may only need to decide, consciously, to reinstall the personality bits you remember so well, because they arealways with you; perhaps even waiting, patiently, to be summoned. Though it sounds to me that "reconnection" falls more towards a life decision than it does toward the result of a LD exercise, here is a thought: If the way you felt and navigated your world when you were 15 is your genuine ideal "self," then you are very likely already enjoying the presence of that self during NLD's. I could be wrong, but I would bet that your non-lucid DC "You" during NLD's is very much that 15-year-old, regardless of the content of the dream. Your mind tends to give you what you want in dreams, and, in dreams, what you want is a reflection of how you truly see yourself, regardless of how you might be behaving right now. One side-effect of LD'ing is that, when lucid, you are seeing your dream from the perspective of your waking-life self. So, when you become aware you are dreaming, you tend to lose whatever character traits your DC "You" might have been presenting at the time. Also, your NLD's content and even theme tends to change dramatically when the "real You" arrives, even if you don't notice. In a sense, the presence of your consciousness is interfering with the consciousness that was already present in your dream-body DC and the surrounding schema, creating a new pattern of experience as soon as you arrive. I know this sounds a bit like the quantum mechanics concept that observation changes the state of a particle, and it should; the defining concern -- you -- is the same in both instances. Anyway... What I would suggest, LD'ing-wise, is that you do three things: * Make a special effort to remember your NLD's, and see if you can spot your teenaged self in those dreams. Given the level of value you attach to the memories of this time, I have a feeling you will spot that "You" fairly quickly and regularly. I could be wrong, but here's a funny thing: If you make a point of looking for that version of you in your NLD's, in time it will begin appearing, even if it did not initially. Expectation/intention is a powerful thing sometimes. * When you are next lucid, try to take a moment to quietly pay close attention to what is going on around you the instant you arrive, and then try to compare it to what was going on just before you arrived. This is a lot harder than it sounds, because your dreaming mind has a tendency to install new memories to correspond with the "you" that just arrived in the dream, so that the dream world properly matches your expectations. But if you can pull it off, you might find that your DC "You" was indeed just behaving like your teen self. From there you might be able to "pull" that teen self back into your dream, and navigate your dream with that persona firmly attached to your dream body. * If you are unable to spot your teen self in NLD's or during the above exercise, you can try one more thing: Simply decide to behave, when lucid, like you did back then. Move through your dream with the attitude and composure you remember, and allow that old persona to swallow up your waking-life persona. Unlike my previous suggestion, this one is a lot easier than it sounds... you can even do it during waking life; and I recommend that you do! tl;dr: I believe, Yuusha, that your old self is still connected to you, and there is no need to reconnect; and you have already proven this, given that you remember that self well. You can reinstall this memory into your current personality with little more than a decision. But, if you want to do it through dreams, just carefully examine your NLD's and pay attention in your LD's, and you will find that connection (and, if not, decide to make that connection during a LD, and you will have it).

[PercyLucid]

I JUST did this today! The Handsome Indian told me he Missed that part of me. - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views I do think that you an reconnect and remember those qualities you thought were positive, that is what I learned from my experience. Love it

[Yuusha]

It might be possible. There are some pretty interesting experiences that people talk about on the internet about the "self" in their dreams. For example, having a conversation with the subconscious. I'm not sure how that works out as I haven't experienced this yet myself. But some also say that their subconscious can help change their mind and show them some secrets about their lives that they previously didn't know about. I'll definitely try to experiment around with this. Is the subconscious part of what you're talking about? Well, it would probably be a long story, but basically there are many parts about myself that I felt went "missing" more and more in my later teens, and now I feel kind of "shut out" from the social interactions because I have distanced myself more and more from such situations. I don't know why, but somehow it just ended up that way, probably because I had no job for some time and I also went through a depression for three years partly because of that (this was some time between 2006-2009). So it became like a domino effect, where one thing affected something else etc, and now I feel that although I can function among people when I "need" to, and can certainly get along quite well with some people, I still feel that I am lacking way too much about what I had in myself naturally at around age 15. And it's often very hard to just decide to change and start acting like that when you are used to your current self, because it often feels forced and faked. That's why I like the idea of practicing in a lucid dream, because there I would feel less inhibited since I would know there was no risk of making a fool of myself in front of anyone else. I feel that it would be so great to just be able to completely relax, laugh and have a good time with my classmates for example. Right now it's more like some of them are trying to convince me to go with them to school parties, and I am like "yeah I might sometime", because the few times I have actually gone to parties lately I have just felt uncomfortable and wished I could feel completely relaxed like I used to do before. I can feel very clearly that I still have that personality within me, and usually I can more easily show it when I have a discussion with someone, for example while I'm working in groups with a couple classmates, because then it's easier to think of things to say, since there is an obvious topic of discussion.

[JoannaB]

I think one of the greatest benefits of lucid dream practice is that it encourages increased self awareness in waking life as well, and enables self improvement and self change. However, I don't think one can ever really become a former self because one has changed in the meantime. You can however become a new self that may have some characteristics of a former self.

[Yuusha]

I think one of the greatest benefits of lucid dream practice is that it encourages increased self awareness in waking life as well, and enables self improvement and self change. However, I don't think one can ever really become a former self because one has changed in the meantime. You can however become a new self that may have some characteristics of a former self. Yes, certainly, what I mean is that I simply want to get back those obvious beneficial personality traits that I had back then, and I can feel that I still have close access to them. I am not completely socially awkward, although I do tend to feel kind of tense and uptight around other people, and probably look rather grave and intimidating as well, which is not really that fun. I remember I almost always looked very happy and smiled easily several years ago, and that's one trait that I want to get back. It takes a lot of energy to almost always feel stiff and "on your guard" around people, and almost never feel comfortable with being spontaneous and impulsive in that special lively and wonderful way, like most of my classmates seem to be during more "casual" gatherings. If I got a foretaste of similar situations in a lucid dream a couple times then I am sure this would be so uplifting that it would make it dramatically easier to "switch on" that type of personality again.