FA Madness

**jzinser** · 12-21-2015 09:20 PM

Ugh last night I my most frustrating LD experience so far...

I had a kind of short LD in which I accomplished a task of the month so I wanted to wake up then to remember the dream. I had a false awakening but managed to spot it and become lucid again... I decided to go with it and managed to stay in the dream for a while. Then I wanted to wake up again and had another FA, spotted it again... this happened 5 times! I had no idea what to do, I even thought I was dead or something... I just couldn't wake myself up. Then I summoned a person I know and asked her to show me how to wake up, she started asking about what I had for dinner and while I was thinking about it I finally woke up!

Least to say... it was pretty intense. Has anyone had a similar experience?

JP.

**Redrivertears** · 12-21-2015 09:57 PM

Hey there,

For me, this happens when I'm really close to awakening. I figure impulses from my waking body must already be getting through to my sleeping mind, constantly FA'ing me back in my bed. Usually, not going after my dream goal right away but taking some time to immerse myself in whatever dream sensations I can find and grounding the dream breaks the FA chain (as it pulls me back deeper into sleep) and allows me to get into a longer uninterrupted lucid dream.

Just my 2 cents,

-Redrivertears-

**jzinser** · 12-21-2015 11:02 PM

Thanks Redrive! You're always so quick to respond,

I get it... though I might not have explained myself well. I didn't want to keep the LD going, I wanted to wake up! And instead I had one FA after another... the feeling of not being able to wake up was pretty intense. I normally get one FA after a LD, but not 5! At least I am not falling for them now... I RC always after "waking up"

**Sageous** · 12-22-2015 04:18 AM

This has happened to me many times, Jzinser, and I think you actually dealt with it quite well. A major factor in being unable to wake up is your extreme focus on needing to wake up.

When you summoned that DC for advice, she did exactly what needed to be done: she got your mind off the need to awaken.

I'm not sure about the physiology, but focusing on waking up can actually spur your dreaming mind into working harder at keeping you asleep and dreaming. The simple solution to breaking a long chain of FA's, then, is to take your mind off the desire to do so -- which is what your DC friend did when she got you thinking about what you had for dinner. As soon as your mind was off wanting to wake up, you did.

My solution to FA loops is very similar. Instead of trying to wake up, I choose to do something different in the dream, forgetting about waking up. Usually I leave the place in which I "woke up," with a real interest in what new things I will find outside that place. If I must get up quickly, I'll even allow lucidity to fade, literally forgetting my desire to awaken by becoming non-lucid... and, invariably, I wake up shortly after taking my mind off the need to wake up.

**Redrivertears** · 12-22-2015 09:51 AM

Ahh, I did misunderstand that.

For me, the easiest way to wake up from a dream has always been to stop experiencing it. I just sit down, stop moving, and close my eyes. That usually wakes me up (mostly the closing my eyes thing, this is how I used to wake myself up from nightmares when I was a kid, before learning about lucid dreaming). It does sometimes shift me into another dream or a false awakening, but I find that if I just keep still a little while and keep my eyes closed, it will wake me completely.

-Redrivertears-

**jzinser** · 12-23-2015 08:23 AM

Thanks for your replies Sageous and Redrive!

I will try that next time, just sitting there and doing nothing... I love to experiment in the dream state

. Sageous, that makes a lot of sense... just as when you are in cool LD and think "please don't wake up" I normally wake up instantly. It is a fragile state of mind indeed... The DC friend I summoned is actually a pretty spiritual and sensitive person in RL, that's why I chose her. I also think that the fact of thinking about something I did in RL could have brought me back? maybe?

Best wishes to you both!
JP

**Sageous** · 12-23-2015 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by jzinser

The DC friend I summoned is actually a pretty spiritual and sensitive person in RL, that's why I chose her. I also think that the fact of thinking about something I did in RL could have brought me back? maybe?

Maybe. But it was probably more your friend's advice that did the trick. Thinking about waking-life things is close enough to wanting to wake up that it might keep you locked in that FA loop as your dreaming mind simply incorporates your waking-life thoughts into the FA... better to simply think of something other than waking up, or waking-life, I think.