• Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views




    Results 1 to 12 of 12
    Like Tree15Likes
    • 3 Post By ThreeCat
    • 3 Post By NyxCC
    • 1 Post By AnotherDreamer
    • 1 Post By ThreeCat
    • 1 Post By Eamo24
    • 2 Post By ThreeCat
    • 1 Post By virusje
    • 2 Post By Eamo24
    • 1 Post By RebelSeven

    Thread: Question about maintaining lucidity

    1. #1
      Member Achievements:
      1000 Hall Points Veteran First Class
      Eamo24's Avatar
      Join Date
      Dec 2013
      LD Count
      39+
      Gender
      Posts
      228
      Likes
      111

      Question about maintaining lucidity

      I know there are several techniques for staying lucid in a dream -- like rubbing hands together, engaging more senses, spinning around etc. But I think these things only tend to be useful when you are already waking up -- to avoid full awakening and to bring the dream back to stability.

      The thing I’m really wondering is, what sort of general mindset should you have in the dream so that you don’t easily wake up in the first place? I’ve heard of people who can LD for hours with no threat of waking up -- but I doubt they would have to constantly use techniques like hand-rubbing, dream spinning etc. to maintain the dream for this long. I mean what would be the best way to mentally conduct yourself so as to avoid hitting that “wake switch” so often? Is it simply by not thinking or worrying about waking up? I know from experience that these thoughts tend to inevitably end the dream. But are these thoughts the only threat? Is there perhaps more to it?

      Thanks.

    2. #2
      Nine Lives in Theory Achievements:
      Created Dream Journal Made lots of Friends on DV Referrer Bronze Tagger First Class 1000 Hall Points 3 years registered
      ThreeCat's Avatar
      Join Date
      Jun 2014
      Gender
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1844
      DJ Entries
      59
      I (and some others on this site) believe that stabilization can actually create the issue of early wake-ups. Dreams often create obstacles based on what you fear will happen, and if you fear you are going to wake up, well . . . . On the other hand, I have had several LDs where I wanted to wake up (due to thinking I needed to be awake, damn false memories), only to find that, magically, the dream was so stable that waking seemed impossible.

      My best advice would be to not worry about waking up. I have had decently long lucid dreams (longest was approximately 2 hours, with others ranging between 20, 30, or 45 minutes), but all of them contained a single element: it never occurred to me that I might wake up--or at least not until the end of the dream. However, merely thinking about waking up and leaving the dream world often carries us that way.

      So don't think about it! Relax and enjoy the moment. Hope that helps.



      *Moved to General Lucid Discussion*
      Last edited by ThreeCat; 12-19-2014 at 10:25 PM. Reason: Didn't want to set a bad example . . . .
      NyxCC, AnotherDreamer and Eamo24 like this.

    3. #3
      Dream Guide Achievements:
      5000 Hall Points Populated Wall Referrer Bronze Tagger First Class Made lots of Friends on DV Vivid Dream Journal Veteran First Class
      NyxCC's Avatar
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      LD Count
      -190
      Posts
      3,107
      Likes
      5347
      DJ Entries
      202
      Great advice from Threecat!

      I want to add that recently I have noticed doing a short affirmation during the dream that I am convinced that I am soundly asleep at this point and know I am not going to wake up. I either do this little affirmation which comes very naturally or alternatively not think about dream end at all and go about my tasks and the dreams last much longer.
      Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.



    4. #4
      Member Achievements:
      Made lots of Friends on DV Tagger First Class Vivid Dream Journal 1000 Hall Points Veteran Second Class
      AnotherDreamer's Avatar
      Join Date
      Dec 2013
      Gender
      Location
      Australia
      Posts
      815
      Likes
      1558
      DJ Entries
      87
      Quote Originally Posted by NyxCC View Post
      Great advice from Threecat!

      I want to add that recently I have noticed doing a short affirmation during the dream that I am convinced that I am soundly asleep at this point and know I am not going to wake up. I either do this little affirmation which comes very naturally or alternatively not think about dream end at all and go about my tasks and the dreams last much longer.
      Coool idea, I'm going to try that!
      NyxCC likes this.

    5. #5
      Nine Lives in Theory Achievements:
      Created Dream Journal Made lots of Friends on DV Referrer Bronze Tagger First Class 1000 Hall Points 3 years registered
      ThreeCat's Avatar
      Join Date
      Jun 2014
      Gender
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1844
      DJ Entries
      59
      ^^I also am going to try this--thanks Nyx!
      NyxCC likes this.

    6. #6
      Member virusje's Avatar
      Join Date
      Nov 2014
      Gender
      Posts
      48
      Likes
      26
      Quote Originally Posted by ThreeCat View Post
      I (and some others on this site) believe that stabilization can actually create the issue of early wake-ups. Dreams often create obstacles based on what you fear will happen, and if you fear you are going to wake up, well . . . . On the other hand, I have had several LDs where I wanted to wake up (due to thinking I needed to be awake, damn false memories), only to find that, magically, the dream was so stable that waking seemed impossible.

      My best advice would be to not worry about waking up. I have had decently long lucid dreams (longest was approximately 2 hours, with others ranging between 20, 30, or 45 minutes), but all of them contained a single element: it never occurred to me that I might wake up--or at least not until the end of the dream. However, merely thinking about waking up and leaving the dream world often carries us that way.

      So don't think about it! Relax and enjoy the moment. Hope that helps.



      *Moved to General Lucid Discussion*
      Do you do something special to stay lucid so long, so it doesn't change in a normal dream?
      http://cs307204.userapi.com/v307204079/524e/w2tecuGkZw8.jpg

    7. #7
      Member Achievements:
      1000 Hall Points Veteran First Class
      Eamo24's Avatar
      Join Date
      Dec 2013
      LD Count
      39+
      Gender
      Posts
      228
      Likes
      111
      Great advice, ThreeCat, thanks!

      Quote Originally Posted by ThreeCat View Post
      My best advice would be to not worry about waking up. I have had decently long lucid dreams (longest was approximately 2 hours, with others ranging between 20, 30, or 45 minutes), but all of them contained a single element: it never occurred to me that I might wake up--or at least not until the end of the dream. However, merely thinking about waking up and leaving the dream world often carries us that way.

      So don't think about it! Relax and enjoy the moment. Hope that helps.
      This really makes sense. My earliest lucid dreams were actually the longest ones I’ve had, lasting up to 15 minutes (not quite an hour yet ). I think it was because I was mainly focused on dream goals rather than “I better not wake up”. Also in reality I’ve often thought “how come I’m not wondering about waking up now? If only I could do this in a LD!”. Now all I’ve got to do is induce an LD to try this out, hehe.

      Quote Originally Posted by NyxCC View Post
      I want to add that recently I have noticed doing a short affirmation during the dream that I am convinced that I am soundly asleep at this point and know I am not going to wake up. I either do this little affirmation which comes very naturally or alternatively not think about dream end at all and go about my tasks and the dreams last much longer.
      great idea Nyx; I’ll make sure to try this as well.
      NyxCC likes this.

    8. #8
      Nine Lives in Theory Achievements:
      Created Dream Journal Made lots of Friends on DV Referrer Bronze Tagger First Class 1000 Hall Points 3 years registered
      ThreeCat's Avatar
      Join Date
      Jun 2014
      Gender
      Posts
      1,204
      Likes
      1844
      DJ Entries
      59
      Quote Originally Posted by virusje View Post
      Do you do something special to stay lucid so long, so it doesn't change in a normal dream?
      No, not especially. I think this is where meditation becomes helpful (and in particular, shamatha) in that you develop stability of mind--not chasing down random thoughts or becoming engrossed in thought processes (which is basically what dreams are made of--currents and undercurrents of thought). But that is a passive benefit, I think, and not something that needs to actively be done. So meditate!
      virusje and AnotherDreamer like this.

    9. #9
      Member virusje's Avatar
      Join Date
      Nov 2014
      Gender
      Posts
      48
      Likes
      26
      Quote Originally Posted by ThreeCat View Post
      No, not especially. I think this is where meditation becomes helpful (and in particular, shamatha) in that you develop stability of mind--not chasing down random thoughts or becoming engrossed in thought processes (which is basically what dreams are made of--currents and undercurrents of thought). But that is a passive benefit, I think, and not something that needs to actively be done. So meditate!
      Yeah I should get into meditation, thanks.
      AnotherDreamer likes this.
      http://cs307204.userapi.com/v307204079/524e/w2tecuGkZw8.jpg

    10. #10
      Member Achievements:
      1000 Hall Points Veteran First Class
      Eamo24's Avatar
      Join Date
      Dec 2013
      LD Count
      39+
      Gender
      Posts
      228
      Likes
      111
      Quote Originally Posted by ThreeCat View Post
      However, merely thinking about waking up and leaving the dream world often carries us that way.
      Indeed! In fact I just wanted to report back to say I had one of my longest ever LD’s just this morning from following the advice on this thread. I did accidentally wake myself up in the end, but I was able to do quite a bit in the dream, including standing idly around the house wondering what to do next (probably should’ve had some goals prepared! ). Bottom line though: don’t think about waking up!
      Last edited by Eamo24; 12-20-2014 at 01:27 PM.
      ThreeCat and NyxCC like this.

    11. #11
      Listener Achievements:
      Created Dream Journal Tagger First Class Referrer Bronze 1000 Hall Points Populated Wall Veteran First Class
      RebelSeven's Avatar
      Join Date
      Nov 2010
      Gender
      Location
      Koholint Island
      Posts
      410
      Likes
      296
      DJ Entries
      59
      Great thread! I tend to have especially long lucid dreams (45min-2hours depending on if I use WBTB or not and sometimes up to 3-4 hours through non-rem sleep) and I attribute that to my meditation as well.

      The only thing I might add is that whenever lucid I try to take the time to have a short meditation while I'm dreaming, as soon as I am lucid. I don't know if this would work for everyone, and it was difficult to learn to do well, but it has paid off!
      Eamo24 likes this.

    12. #12
      Member Bobblehat's Avatar
      Join Date
      Mar 2010
      LD Count
      111 +
      Posts
      885
      Likes
      339
      DJ Entries
      1
      ThreeCat, could you chuck down a short guide (I'm thinking one paragraph max) to what shamatha is? (Google's not broken, but sometimes it's just easier to ask someone for a quick paragraph rather than go "wading" through pages of search results.)
      My LDing record, if you want to hear about it, is about 4 WILDs, 1 DEILD, and the rest DILDs.

    Similar Threads

    1. Maintaining Lucidity
      By Petrokov in forum Attaining Lucidity
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 06-01-2012, 04:42 AM
    2. Maintaining Lucidity
      By Reaping Clarity in forum Introduction Zone
      Replies: 3
      Last Post: 05-07-2008, 05:02 PM
    3. Maintaining Lucidity
      By obeygiant982 in forum Introduction Zone
      Replies: 6
      Last Post: 08-16-2007, 05:54 AM
    4. Maintaining Lucidity
      By LifeisExperience in forum Dream Control
      Replies: 5
      Last Post: 02-04-2007, 11:48 PM

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •