Realism and vividness. Any advice for making lucid dreams sharper?

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03-02-2016, 04:13 AM
NateDogg

Realism and vividness. Any advice for making lucid dreams sharper?

Just made this account today.

I don't have much trouble having lucid dreams, and I'm pretty casual with it (I don't do reality checks at all, although I used to) but as of late I decided I'd like to get into lucid dreaming more seriously.

My LDs are not as vivid as some people on this site describe theirs to be. Things just feel off somehow. It still feels like a dream, things are foggy, etc. Sometimes I can get the details to look okay, but again, it doesn't feel like I'm "grounded" in real life. Meanwhile, I remember reading statements from people here saying that sometimes the realism of their lucid dreams confuse them into believing that it may actually be real. How can your dreams actually feel that convincingly real? Jesus.

Anyway, maybe someone has some advice as to how I can make my LDs more vivid? If you had dreamlike LDs before, and now have more real-life like LDs, how did you progress?

Thanks.
03-02-2016, 05:22 AM
dolphin

:welcome: NateDog!

To make the dream more vivid, try to notice the finer details you usually don't pay attention to. Think of these extra details you're noticing as filling in the dream, making it feel full and vivid. Really focus on the dream and you'll see the dream snap into focus in front of your eyes.

I see grounding as separate from making the dream vivid. To me, grounding means feeling solid on the ground as in real life rather than floating all over the place. As far as grounding yourself in the dream, this is something I struggle with too, sometimes. I have that I heard an idea another member brought up though, which is to literally lay flat on the ground, perhaps rubbing your arms and legs against it until you really feel the ground. When you get up, you should now feel the ground solidly, thus feeling grounded. I haven't tried this before but that's how I think it would work.
03-02-2016, 03:55 PM
NateDogg

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolphin

:welcome: NateDog!

To make the dream more vivid, try to notice the finer details you usually don't pay attention to. Think of these extra details you're noticing as filling in the dream, making it feel full and vivid. Really focus on the dream and you'll see the dream snap into focus in front of your eyes.

I see grounding as separate from making the dream vivid. To me, grounding means feeling solid on the ground as in real life rather than floating all over the place. As far as grounding yourself in the dream, this is something I struggle with too, sometimes. I have that I heard an idea another member brought up though, which is to literally lay flat on the ground, perhaps rubbing your arms and legs against it until you really feel the ground. When you get up, you should now feel the ground solidly, thus feeling grounded. I haven't tried this before but that's how I think it would work.

Hello Dolphin. :) Thanks for all of your advice and the welcome. I really appreciate it!

I have tried to focus on the finer details many times before. Things like examining the palms of my hand, or if I'm in a forest area, I look at bushes and try to concentrate on the leaves and their specific details. Sometimes doing that does manage to make things look "real" for a short while, but there's always a constant sort of distortion that goes along with everything. It's difficult for me to put it into words. Take for example a dream with a family member in it. I know that that person is supposed to be my brother or mother, but when I try to observe their faces in greater detail, I notice how wrong their faces are, and by trying to examine them it just goes completely askew. This is what happens with everything, not just people.

As for the grounding part, that is some valid and helpful advice! Thanks again!
03-02-2016, 06:25 PM
LiLeila

Hi NateDogg, welcome! Great that you have LD easily!

I don't have much expercience however I would recommend for you certain commands, like "Vivid dream!" or "More light!" while rubbing hands. It really worked for me last time, like a spell.

Are your non-lucids are also blurry? If they are, then maybe here is the problem. Work on your awareness and memory. Since I pay more attantion to world around me I had new experiences in my dreams (like feeling temperature, rain, wind, hearing more, scents etc).

Good luck!
03-02-2016, 07:05 PM
NateDogg

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiLeila

Hi NateDogg, welcome! Great that you have LD easily!

I don't have much expercience however I would recommend for you certain commands, like "Vivid dream!" or "More light!" while rubbing hands. It really worked for me last time, like a spell.

Are your non-lucids are also blurry? If they are, then maybe here is the problem. Work on your awareness and memory. Since I pay more attantion to world around me I had new experiences in my dreams (like feeling temperature, rain, wind, hearing more, scents etc).

Good luck!

Thank you!

I remember I use to use commands like that. Something like "Clarity now!" although it worked only slightly. I might try it again in the future, if I get the chance.

My non-lucids aren't terribly blurry, no. They've always been mostly sharp. As for awareness and memory, you're probably right about that. Although I like to think my dream recall is quite good, at least for someone who doesn't actively write in a dream journal. I'll work on implementing more awareness in my everyday life. :)
03-02-2016, 07:41 PM
Nfri

My dreams are real as real life. It's the same. Not much fantasy, but the same perception and places like in reality...
03-02-2016, 08:08 PM
NateDogg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nfri

My dreams are real as real life. It's the same. Not much fantasy, but the same perception and places like in reality...

That's honestly incredible. Have they always been that way, or were they less realistic in the beginning? And if they weren't always realistic, how did they become more realistic?
03-02-2016, 11:52 PM
Intet

In addition to what people have already posted about doing things that engage your senses during lucid dreams, practicing meditation might help. If you practice a form of meditation that involves focusing on sensory stimuli, then you'll start paying more attention to sensory details even when you're not meditating. This will carry over to dreams and make your dreams more vivid.
03-03-2016, 05:14 AM
dolphin

Quote:

Originally Posted by NateDogg

Sometimes doing that does manage to make things look "real" for a short while, but there's always a constant sort of distortion that goes along with everything. It's difficult for me to put it into words. Take for example a dream with a family member in it. I know that that person is supposed to be my brother or mother, but when I try to observe their faces in greater detail, I notice how wrong their faces are, and by trying to examine them it just goes completely askew. This is what happens with everything, not just people.

To correct this is very different from making the dream more vivid.

No matter how good our minds are at recreating reality, there's often going to be some flaws. The more attention you put on these flaws, the more you'll find and the more vivid the flaws will be.

So, try to disregard the flaws rather than focusing on them. This way, you'll notice less flaws which will result in the dream seeming more real.

Look at the glass half-full rather than half-empty so that it seems more full than empty.
03-03-2016, 04:22 PM
NateDogg

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolphin

To correct this is very different from making the dream more vivid.

No matter how good our minds are at recreating reality, there's often going to be some flaws. The more attention you put on these flaws, the more you'll find and the more vivid the flaws will be.

So, try to disregard the flaws rather than focusing on them. This way, you'll notice less flaws which will result in the dream seeming more real.

Look at the glass half-full rather than half-empty so that it seems more full than empty.

That makes some sense. Thanks for your input.
03-03-2016, 09:24 PM
Nfri

Quote:

Originally Posted by NateDogg

That's honestly incredible. Have they always been that way, or were they less realistic in the beginning? And if they weren't always realistic, how did they become more realistic?

Well, it has been always the same, only with increasing lucidity in dream you remember it better and therefore it seems more realistic after waking up. Going through a wall is bit tough for me, it almost always hurts especially if I stuck inside a wall. It's like a concrete appears in your chest, so not very pleasing :D but sometimes it's easy, and I dont feel any barriers, it depends on your mind set.
03-04-2016, 08:22 PM
NateDogg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nfri

Well, it has been always the same, only with increasing lucidity in dream you remember it better and therefore it seems more realistic after waking up. Going through a wall is bit tough for me, it almost always hurts especially if I stuck inside a wall. It's like a concrete appears in your chest, so not very pleasing :D but sometimes it's easy, and I dont feel any barriers, it depends on your mind set.

Thanks for sharing. Wise words. :)