how far will you go?

first off, i would like to explain my level of lucid dreaming

i am a natural lucid dreamer
i frequently have dreams and remember them, and have had dreams in which i am very aware of my state and have utilized the dream for pure enjoyment, after which i have woken up in what i would describe as little less than complete tranquility, it was rather i woke up thinking the day would be great and i was just so ready to enjoy life. really great ones like that dont come often though, only maybe one or two in my lifetime.

when i was younger however, i once had a dream (nightmare) where iwas laying in my bed, and i woke up(not sure if i really did or not) and saw a skull in my closet on the platform above where the hanger pole is, also, i was in my backyard and my neighbor was like a zombie or something coming up from my backyard grass (the in betweens are hazy) nonetheless, i awoke with intense fear, by intense i wasnt going crazy or anything, but i was scared shitless for sure. i felt something inside me that is hard to explain, it was almost like i was being pumped with adrenaline, over and over and over, as if it was the beating of my heart, which it felt like, and i could feel in my eyes. first, anyone know what this could have been? but also,
is there any possibility that if i started practicing lucid dreaming i could have more dreams like this?


i have a lot of other issues regarding this lucid dreaming



of the questions circling my mind, one is thus
a lucid dreamer is someone who seeks to dream while knowing they are dreaming, however. my theory is that if the dreamer is aware that it is in fact a dream, then the dream would be less intensified than that of a dreamer who truly believed that the dream was real (everything would seem more real), so the ideal dream would be that of one that the dreamer was capable of controlling, yet did not know it was a dream?
also,
as a lucid dreamer improves his "dreaming skills", the dream and everything within the dream are more realistic, correct? so after becoming an extremely experienced lucid dreamer, how is it that one will tell that his/her real life is different from a dream? yes, reality checks etc. but it just seems too good to be true. it seems mentally dangerous to me.

but heck, maybe im just paranoid!

any thoughts on the above from experienced lucidreamers?

also,

will my dreams become more vivid as time progresses?
i frequently have dreams where i can see, however it is very blurry, as if i dont have my contacts on! its almost like my eyes are only cracked open just a tiny bit..

a lotttt lot of times in school, i will sleep in class after lunch(i get really tired after i eat, especially sick school food). anyway, ill be asleep right, and ill know im asleep. and ill know my eyes are closed, but its as if i can see with my eyes closed, and i can see a worksheet on my desk, i think ive been able to look around the room, but no more than that.

any tips on the vision problem?

also, i seem to regain conciousness when i try to control my dreams, though ive done it before. could it be that i am trying to hard to control them?

another add sorry!

the most amazing dream i probably ever had was one where i was in the clouds and i could see for basically forever and there were hills and stuff. i wasnt flying, but standing. (this dream did not last long) but amazing as it was, i saw something to my left that appeared to be a gigantic statue (which i concluded was god) and i think i might have seen like a castle ish thing (not sure)

anyway, ive tried to recreate the dream, at least the part of being in theclouds
by visualizing myself in that position but havent been able to yet..
it seems every time i try to focus and visualize myself in one certain place i am able to do it but i can only hold the thought for a second or two, any ways to make it so i can hold the thought longer besides pure practice?

thanks

Dreams are definately more real when you're completely lucid. Many times in dreams I will be able to control the dream (and even say to myself "its just dream"), but wont be fully lucid. The first time I was fully lucid I could feel the environment warp with my breath (like from the matrix, but this happened way before that). The colors were extremely vivid and rich. If a normal dream is watching a movie, then being semi-lucid is like playing a video game. A fully lucid dream is like real-life or, some might agrue, even better.

// cybereality

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a lucid dreamer is someone who seeks to dream while knowing they are dreaming, however. my theory is that if the dreamer is aware that it is in fact a dream, then the dream would be less intensified than that of a dreamer who truly believed that the dream was real (everything would seem more real), so the ideal dream would be that of one that the dreamer was capable of controlling, yet did not know it was a dream? [/b]

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at first my lucids weren't as clear as some non-lucids. however, they get progressively more vivid, and now almost every lucid is much more vivid than normal dreams.

in your ideal dream, 'you' wouldn't have control though. your dreaming mind would.

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as a lucid dreamer improves his "dreaming skills", the dream and everything within the dream are more realistic, correct? so after becoming an extremely experienced lucid dreamer, how is it that one will tell that his/her real life is different from a dream? yes, reality checks etc. but it just seems too good to be true. it seems mentally dangerous to me. [/b]

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well, i fail to see how it can be dangerous. its usually only when you're lucid that the dream becomes so realistic it could be confused with waking life but if you're lucid, you by defintion know that you're dreaming....so how could you be confused?

the worst that will ever happen regardless is that you will think you're awake, and you'll be dreaming. in which case nothing you do can hurt you. for instance, if i've had a lucid, i sometimes have a false awakening, where i think i wake up in my bed, but i am actually still dreaming.

the worst that could happen in these very realistic dreams is that i'll shower, eat breakfast, and head off to work before i wake up for real. *shrugs* that's not dangerous, its exactly the same as a normal non-lucid dream, except its more realistic.

the only mental danger could be that you'll think you're dreaming when you're not. well, RCs take care of this completely. if you can breathe through your nose with it plugged, jump in the air and float, and change the letters on a billboard, you are obviously dreaming.

if you can't, there is a one in a million chance you actually are dreaming, but how is that dangerous? its only dangerous if you think you're dreaming, do a dozen reality checks that fail, and then still conclude you are dreaming regardless and do something harmful/stupid.

well, its your waking mind that would make that dangerous decision, the same mind that is reading this right now. lucid dreaming won't suddenly make you lose all grips with reality. it increases your ability to tell what is real, and what is a dream.

the fact that you are worried only shows you are even less likely than most to do anything stupid if you aren't 100% sure its a dream.

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Originally posted by adam10
i awoke with intense fear, by intense i wasnt going crazy or anything, but i was scared shitless for sure. i felt something inside me that is hard to explain, it was almost like i was being pumped with adrenaline, over and over and over, as if it was the beating of my heart, which it felt like, and i could feel in my eyes. first, anyone know what this could have been? *

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there have been experiments conducted, and the results have been that the reason dreams seem so real to us is because, as far as the brain is concerned, they are real. So when youre coming to a situation where you may have to fight, are scared etc then youre real life adrenaline levels will shoot up, your blood pressure will raise etc

About the skull dream - most likely you had some kind of false awakening/ WILD experience. The most intense and unexplained (sometimes scary) stuff may happen during that phase.

There's almost no fear in an experienced lucid dreamer, it is replaced by curiosity. There may be an initial shock upon being surprised by something unexpected (such as a monster behind you) , but that's very rare. If you manage your attention and emotions in a LD, you may pretty much ignore just about everything you dont want to experience.

About vividness of LDs vs normal dreams - that's a very common misconception. Normally a lucid dreamer doesnt excercise the line of thought " All this is unreal, just a product of my imagination, etc", actually quite opposite, with the ability to look around at will and focus on small details, you will notice how absolutely real the dream world is. IT can be a flawless representation of the "real" world and at times it can surpass it and be even more "real", particularly cause of the clarity of senses.


About lucid dreaming skills and the real world - there's a definite change in your worldview and general shfit in attitude if you can LD multiple times every night... The border between the waking and the dream world indeed pretty much vanishes and you start thinking about your 2 lives as opposed to the real life with dreams at night...


I'm not sure about the vision problem, most likely poor diet and lack of vitamins, try taking some multivitamin supplements and note any change.
I do have the same " see through your eyes in class" thingie, it is really cool and I gotta do more experiments with it... Too bad that I dont sleep in class often :(


In order to recreate a dream you have to "jump" into it. THere are many techniques of jumping starting with spinning with the dream destination in mind (I dont like this one).
There's a method of direct teleportation where you imagine the new surrounding around you and momentally shift your attention from the old setting to the new one. ( you let go of the old dreamscape and accept the new one) I often use this technique to go to familiar places, but I'm not sure if it will work with the place you saw once.
Another powerful technique is the "Void" technique - you somehow get into the "Void" - the pitch black empty space where you are still dreaming, but there's no dreamscape. From there it should be pretty easy to visualize the new surroundings around you....

There is a difference between real looking, and being life like. No matter how real it may look, if you see a pink talking elephant, you know its not real. Thats why you can get better and get some great dreams that look very real or as some people say "more real than real life" yet it won't confuse you. If your flying or someone walks through a wall or your cat talks to you, there is a chance you will notice and become lucid. That is if you know what to look for.

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Originally posted by adam10
how is it that one will tell that his/her real life is different from a dream?

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about this. i have come to a very sad conclusion that my memory of dreams is the same as my memory of waking life and even worse is both are the same as if I just think about something. that probably made no sense. anyone feel a need for me to clarify?