How Has Lucid Dreaming Affected Your Life?

Hey,
So, since practicing lucid dreaming how do you think it has affected your life?

Well, I've been LDing for over 2 years now and for me it's:

Enjoyment of my dreams - Even if i don't become lucid in a dream I still wake up with excitement and joy due to my new, amazing nightly adventures. I have also noticed that my dreams have become a lot deeper and vivd since working on my recall, the majority have quite intricate storylines.

Outlook on life - I am much more aware of day to day experiences. I am more open minded and enjoy every aspect life. I feel that my whole outlook has changed and I can't look at the world the same as I did before learning about LDing.

Self Discipline - Anyone who wake's up at 5am every morning to write down their dreams has to have at least a litte :P

Interest in learning - How can it be that a topic such as lucid dreaming could pass me by for nearly 20 years? If somehting so amazing isn't 'public knowledge' what else is out there worth learning about?

Taste in Films - I now appreciate any film that deals with the mind/ dreaming - especially films like Vanilla Sky, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, Waking life etc. I remember watching Vanilla Sky when I was 16 or so and not liking it (I probably didn't really get it :? ). Then when I got into LDing I decided to give it another watch and was absolutely amazed, it's now one of my favourite films.

Music - I still listen to the bands I liked before but I now find that I am open to enjoy listening to chilled out or dream-like music, such as Sigur Ros, Boards of Canada, Mum, Do make Say Think, Team Sleep, My Bloody Valentine etc.

I would say that every aspect of my life has changed in one way or another due to LDing.
Strange how something as common as dreams can change one's life so much.

You should check out "The 13th floor". I don't want to spoil it but it has a good plot twist along the lines of Vanilla Sky.

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Taste in Films - I now appreciate any film that deals with the mind/ dreaming - especially films like Vanilla Sky, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, Waking life etc. I remember watching Vanilla Sky when I was 16 or so and not liking it (I probably didn't really get it :? ). Then when I got into LDing I decided to give it another watch and was absolutely amazed, it's now one of my favourite films.

it has clearly demonstrated that all "reality' is created by mind...whether imagining, dreaming, or "awake".

The incredible potential of the human mind as far as its capacity to create.. oh and I have the label "dreamer" now instead of "stoner" among my peers

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Originally posted by Dangeruss
The incredible potential of the human mind as far as its capacity to create.. oh and I have the label "dreamer" now instead of "stoner" among my peers

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:lmao:

My life has been wholly affected by LDs. It has given me a chance to have complete control over my dreams, and in turn helps me to take control of aspects other of my life. It's so cool, and anything is possible in your dreams. Who wouldn't love em'?

Luciding has changed my life, for in dreams you can explore anything you wish. With the sheer amount of detail in a dream, you can see and do anything.


- Axis

I've unlocked things that have been trapped inside of my mind. (if that makes sense....)

Philosophically, how can one nightly experience vast vistas stretching toward a distant horizon that look and feel as detailed and real as one's waking life, yet know, truly know that there is no distance there, no breeze, no warm sunshine except as a manifestation within the mind, and not then awaken into waking reality to question its nature, as well? When I had my first (unintentional) LD at 14 or 15, it was the biggest and most profound mind-trip of my life. If dreams can be perceptually as real as our waking experiences, what does that say about the relationship between our mind and this waking reality which we inhabit for 2/3 of our lives?

I don't know if it actually changed my mind as I remember dreams that I had when I was four and I don't remember much of the reality from that period.
At first I used LDs to solve problems, now I just look for the alternatives.
The sure thing is that I found a definition to the word "freedom". When I have LDs I feel free. It's my reality and I can do what I want even though that I make myself dependant on someone in that dream. Can't really describe it but ...that's what I call freedom now. My mind it's my liberty and no one can take it from me and if this happens I won't be able to accept it.

When ever I see something cool or amazing, I end up thinking "I should come back here in a lucid" like when I was flying to gran canaria, the sunset on the horizon above the clouds, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. As soon as we went below the clouds I decided to visit that sunset in a lucid dream at some point. Now when ever I play a game I usually pick out moments from the game that would make good dream material.

Also I have become alot more philisophical, alot more open minded and I now know the power of self hypnosis after modifying HILD.

I wish I could remember the waking life enough during my dreams to recall moments to pull into the dream. Your dream with the sunset sounds neat. I'd like to have that dream. I remember one dream where I was floating above some blue-green terrain that looked almost watery.

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Originally posted by danbarber
When ever I see something cool or amazing, I end up thinking "I should come back here in a lucid" like when I was flying to gran canaria, the sunset on the horizon above the clouds, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. As soon as we went below the clouds I decided to visit that sunset *in a lucid dream at some point. Now when ever I play a game I usually pick out moments from the game that would make good dream material.

Also I have become alot more philisophical, alot more open minded and I now know the power of self hypnosis after modifying HILD.

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It's funny to have them, and I feel happier when I wake up, if I have had a good one.

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Taste in Films - I now appreciate any film that deals with the mind/ dreaming - especially films like Vanilla Sky, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, Waking life etc. I remember watching Vanilla Sky when I was 16 or so and not liking it (I probably didn't really get it *:? ). Then when I got into LDing I decided to give it another watch and was absolutely amazed, it's now one of my favourite films.[/b]

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im the exact same way, the second time watching it years later i was highly impressed and understood all the hidden meanings and was amazed.

It's so cool to belong to a minority that can lucid dream. Anyone I tell about this has never heard of it before. As soon as I heard of it I was amazed and started training. Lucid dreaming is an awesome thing and the world would be a better place if everyone knew it. I'm sure LDing is going to be a big thing in the future.

I have always been a little frustrated that you can't really do all the cool things they do in fantasy/sci-fi movies but now that I know lucid dreaming and get better at it I know it's possible! During the day I can concentrate on real life and in the night I just have this world of possibilities around me...

After all dreams are a big part of everyone's life. I'd hate wasting that time by not remembering what happened. Remembering dreams and having lucid dreams makes me happy. As simple as that. I wake up with a smile.

Being a little artist, dreams give me inspiration. Also if I have nothing to do I can lay back and just think about my dreams... Go slowly through them again and analyze them.

So, in a nutshell:

I'm happier, more patient, more aware, more optimistic

I kind of understand life better now.

Yea I agree with you Philip. Everyday I have a Lucid or a cool Non-Lucid dream I wake up very happy. I think I'm getting rid of my depressive side :) . After every night I feel i'm understanding myself a little more. And, the possibilities!!! I'm much more happier now that I can do ANYTHING. There's no limits, and finally I know how it is to be completely free.

To forget all problems, to live in peace, to make everything possible, to live forever... this is what lucid dreaming is all about.

You can learn everything you need to know about yourself. You can beat your deepest fears, see your greatest virtues, transform yourself in whoever you really are.

I would say Lucid Dreaming is part of my life too. :wink:

You put that well. It has become my life too. For instance, I can meet animated characters that I never could in real life, and have an intelligent discussion with them. I just need to work on having realistic smells and tastes. I am sometimes tired of rediculuos things I do in a non-lucid state that I wouldn't do lucid. Sometimes, I feel that non-lucids waste time. Also, if I had a bit more common sense in my dreams (even lucids) it would be less frustrating.

LDing has helped me w/ my writing.
A few years back I started to write a romance novel and never finished it, but since my Lding and recall has improved - I started to notice that I have these really amazing lucid book dreams that have helped put all my plots into focus and brings it all to life. Ive started to write again and I feel better about that. Its really good to know that Im capable of one day being published (hopefully) and its thanks to DV and LDing.

I self published my own novel, and did it before I studied lucid dreaming. With LD skills, I'm sure you'll be well on your way to achieving this.

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Originally posted by Starlite
LDing has helped me w/ my writing.
A few years back I started to write a romance novel and never finished it, but since my Lding and recall has improved - I started to notice that I have these really amazing lucid book dreams that have helped put all my plots into focus and brings it all to life. Ive started to write again and I feel better about that. Its really good to know that Im capable of one day being published (hopefully) and its thanks to DV and LDing.

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I've been struggling with my art lately, as making music has become painful and difficult. I'm taking time off, and I'm glad to have lucid dreaming to practice and enjoy as I return to trying to figure out who I am and what I want. Also, I've discovered a dynamic and engaging relaxation aide in the "looking-yet-not-looking" play of gazing into deep space (my eyelids), which activity provoked the joyful surprise of my first LD!

I'm also beginning to investigate the relationship between my body and dreaming, and I'm starting to wonder if my physical memory programs my brain memory as I dream! I'm not clear on what this implies quite yet, but I'll keep y'all posted as I work it out!

Plus, dream recall is fun!

Darrell

You should look into Binaural Beats. A good program that uses them is Brainwave Generator. By using binaral beats, you can sync your brainwave to any frequency.

Once you have a binaural beats program, reference this site for what different frequencies can do:

http://lunarsight.com/freq.htm

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Originally posted by dboooy
I've been struggling with my art lately, as making music has become painful and difficult. I'm taking time off, and I'm glad to have lucid dreaming to practice and enjoy as I return to trying to figure out who I am and what I want. Also, I've discovered a dynamic and engaging relaxation aide in the "looking-yet-not-looking" play of gazing into deep space (my eyelids), which activity provoked the joyful surprise of my first LD!

I'm also beginning to investigate the relationship between my body and dreaming, and I'm starting to wonder if my physical memory programs my brain memory as I dream! I'm not clear on what this implies quite yet, but I'll keep y'all posted as I work it out!

Plus, dream recall is fun!

Darrell

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It hasn't...yet. Though maybe in the future it will affect my life, for better or worse.

For me, the greatest effect it's had so far is not knowing myself better or something like that. Even the amazing things I've experienced thanks to lucid dreams haven't had a huge effect on my life overall (although any experience is a small, welcome addition).

It's mostly the new hobby and interest this has gotten me. Knowing how dreams work, to me, is an incredibly interesting subject. And it's something I can be working on whenever I have nothing better to do (as an alternative to playing computer games or watching tv and stuff). Also, explaining all about lucid dreaming to people who know nothing about it is a lot of fun. :D

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Originally posted by Ubik+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ubik)</div>

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Interest in learning - How can it be that a topic such as lucid dreaming could pass me by for nearly 20 years? If somehting so amazing isn't 'public knowledge' what else is out there worth learning about? [/b]

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Exactly how I see it.

<!--QuoteBegin-Hero of Dreams
It hasn't...yet. Though maybe in the future it will affect my life, for better or worse.

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I can't pretend to know for sure that there cannot possibly be any negative effects to lucid dreaming, but I've never heard of anything bad about lucid dreaming, and there is no doubt that you quitting completely is possible at all times.
In other words, the chance that it will affect your life for the better is much, much bigger to say the least ;)

It made me have a positive outlook on life. As you have to think "I will have a lucid dream etc." I believe this has transfered into 'real'-life and everything has never been better for me :) Additionally, it's given me some sel-fconfidence, which I suppose adds to the effect of 'everything has been better' idea.