Fear of Lucid dreaming

[deepthinkergirl]

Every time I end up in a lucid dream, I get scared and try to yank myself out. I'm not sure why I'm scared but apparently it runs in my family to have OOBE's while lucid dreaming. (My older sister admitted that it happens to her). How do others get over the fear? I don't want to have an OOBE- I have had a couple in the past and it was too scary for me. Once I felt myself flung up into the air from my bed at the fastest speed you could imagine. Another time I had one when I was actually awake. Anyway, how do I get over the fear? And when anyone here has had a lucid nightmare, how do you get out of it? I can usually force myself out of a lucid dream but it takes time- can't do it right away.

[Awhislyle]

If you have a lucid nightmare, remember, you are dreaming, you can control anything, you can make the situation end, start sometihng new, or turn all the bad guys into bananas

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by Awhislyle If you have a lucid nightmare, remember, you are dreaming, you can control anything, you can make the situation end, start sometihng new, or turn all the bad guys into bananas What silly and useless advice. Anybody the least bit familiar with this Page realizes that it is simply untrue that Lucidity in any way equates to Control, because, if it did, then we would not have so many people writing in complaining that they have trouble controlling things in Lucid Dreaming. Control is by no means unconditional and automatic, and even among those who have been able to exercise control, this control is limited. Those who say they have complete control are probably just communicating in an indirect way that they have very little imagination.

[wombing]

Originally posted by deepthinkergirl Every time I end up in a lucid dream, I get scared and try to yank myself out. I'm not sure why I'm scared but apparently it runs in my family to have OOBE's while lucid dreaming. (My older sister admitted that it happens to her). How do others get over the fear? I don't want to have an OOBE- I have had a couple in the past and it was too scary for me. Once I felt myself flung up into the air from my bed at the fastest speed you could imagine. Another time I had one when I was actually awake. Anyway, how do I get over the fear? And when anyone here has had a lucid nightmare, how do you get out of it? I can usually force myself out of a lucid dream but it takes time- can't do it right away. what is it you fear exactly? do you fear that something will happen to you whilst having a lucid dream/OOBE that will be irreversible? i've had some frightening experiences. the only way to get past them is to realize they cannot harm you, and face them (IMHO).

[deepthinkergirl]

what is it you fear exactly? do you fear that something will happen to you whilst having a lucid dream/OOBE that will be irreversible? [/b] I am not even sure what it is that I fear. I think it's mostly fear of the unknown. The buzzing sound in my head and voices scare me every time. I guess I have to go to bed remembering that nothing could harm me. I'm going to try and lucid dream tonight (as I mentioned in another post) and I'm going to really try and get over my fear. Just out of curiosity, what causes the buzzing sound that I hear when I'm just starting a lucid dream? Does anyone know?

[wombing]

Originally posted by deepthinkergirl what is it you fear exactly? do you fear that something will happen to you whilst having a lucid dream/OOBE that will be irreversible? I am not even sure what it is that I fear. I think it's mostly fear of the unknown. The buzzing sound in my head and voices scare me every time. I guess I have to go to bed remembering that nothing could harm me. I'm going to try and lucid dream tonight (as I mentioned in another post) and I'm going to really try and get over my fear. Just out of curiosity, what causes the buzzing sound that I hear when I'm just starting a lucid dream? Does anyone know?[/b] *smiles* i believe i know just what you mean about the buzzing. in my opinion it is what happens when sleep paralysis starts setting in. most people feel something similar when falling asleep, and some while waking up (if they are conscious while they are falling asleep, or waking up. the reason this sensation is so bizarre is because usually we aren't aware enough during these periods to feel anything) in one dream i was walking in the snow, and started to suspect i was dreaming. immediately i could feel my body buzzing in bed. i tried to hold on to the dream, but woke up. i have also experienced voices, whispers, demonic growling, etc, while falling asleep. at first they scared the bejesus out of me. actually, even the sleep paralysis (buzzing, tingling, vibrating) really freaked me out at first. with time i forced myself to get used to everything by telling myself it was all in my head, and couldn't actually harm me. now i love it when i feel the buzzing, as it means a lucid dream may be near. and i almost never hear voices or experience anything frightening anymore, after facing my fears. once i realized they were harmless, they stopped. good luck tonight, and take it from someone who's gone through the same thing... there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

[Ev]

There are many ways to deal with lucid dreams open to you, depending on what you want to do with your lucidity. For example if you dont want lucidity at all, you may just close your eyes for a few seconds and it is very likely that the dream will end/change or you will experience a false awakening. This is not the best way to deal with nightmares though. If you are at least a bit interested in the prospect of lucid dreaming, you may want to learn to travel while lucid. And I mean all forms of travel - from phasing through a window to flying to teleporting. This is good when you want to leave a dark room, escape from annoying foes or uncomfortable cituation. Depending on your character you may want to physically confront your opponents, using martial arts or weapons. You may be surprised at how easy it is to defend yourself if you know that you are lucid and you need help... all the power in the dream is often at your disposal, but only as long as it is done in self defense. This may turn a nightmare into an action dream, at least that's how it is for me... The ultimate method for dealing with nightmares is incredibly simple, yet extremely powerful. Talk to whatever is haunting you. And I mean *talk* dont scream for mercy or beg for help (dont act like victims in horror movies). Just speaking to something with even the slightest degree of confidence may bring amazing changes in your attacker's behavior.... Lucidity is a gift, not a thing to be scared of or avoided... Some of the most beautiful experiences I"ve ever had are related to lucid dreams... You cant get that sense of freedom doing anything else...

[Awhislyle]

Originally posted by Leo Volont What silly and useless advice. Anybody the least bit familiar with this Page realizes that it is simply untrue that Lucidity in any way equates to Control, because, if it did, then we would not have so many people writing in complaining that they have trouble controlling things in Lucid Dreaming. Control is by no means unconditional and automatic, and even among those who have been able to exercise control, this control is limited. Those who say they have complete control are probably just communicating in an indirect way that they have very little imagination. Can you tell me who creates the whole scenario and the whole setting? Isnt the same person who created the dream also the controller? Who is this omnipotent figure?

[Ev]

Originally posted by Awhislyle Can you tell me who creates the whole scenario and the whole setting? Isnt the same person who created the dream also the controller? Who is this omnipotent figure? I'm not leo, but I'll shed some light on this: there are many theories on where the dream content comes from. Some people think that the dream content comes from some form of "higher self". Higher self is supposed to be more spiritual, enlightened, righteous than you, therefore dreams carry some lesson or message that should be heed to. Therefore you shouldnt excercise control in order to fully comprehend this message. There's also a psychological theory, particularly Freud/Jung who state that dreams are a result of communication between the conscious and unconscious. For example Freud thought that dreams are simply wish fulfillment or punishment for not fulfilling certain wishes of the id. These wishes are very primal and often sexual, and their content is veiled by many layers of meaning. Jung believed that dreams are a message from subconscious. Now according to this theory it is ok to control dreams as you arent missing anything special AND you may actually start a dialogue with your mind. There's also a pure scientific biological explanation: your optical nerve is randomly firing impulses and your brain interprets them as images... Dreams also may take part in memory processing. There are few other explanations, but they fall somewhere in between these ones..

[Awhislyle]

THanks for giving more than one opinion on where dreams come from, that was very helpful. Can I ask which you believe in? Sorry to be off topic lol Just remember, even if you cant exert any control on the dream, you have the knowledge that none of it is real, continously remind yourself of that, and also think of how you could make the sitution better, it might just come true, maybe shout for help to the heavens, or for a friend, there are many ways the dream could turn better without you having to exert direct power over it

[BillyBob]

Iv tried all the advice that people have given here and none of it has ever helped me, my meathod for taking down nightmaires is just to get really angry at whatever it is that is causing the nightmaire (in the LD you get angry) then as your dream adrenaline (the power behind fight or flight) begins to start pumping your anger will overcome fear and you will either attack whatever it is headon, or you will realise that its nothing to you and it will cease to exist entirely, letting you walk by it PS. dream adrenaline is like a drug, it blocks fear and brings on a state of hightened awareness while also blurring your dream (for a short time) and opening the door to higher lucidity by waking up your conciousness even more

[Enigma13]

I felt something like that once. I was in a dream that started in my room, where I am 1/2 the time. I became lucid in my room and walked out into the hall. It looked pretty much the same as normal, but everything felt different. I felt so incredibly alone. Then I went back in my room and felt better. I'm not sure what it was but it scared the crap out of me. I felt an incredible lonliness.