Thread: Why Is Lucid Dreaming Not A Commonly Known Topic?

Why is lucid dreaming not a commonly known topic? It is so amazing, and I think everyone would like to be able to manipulate their dreams. Do you think people are morally against it? Do you think that some are in denial that it exists? Or do you think some have too much trouble attaining lucidity for the first time? Do you have any evidence to support your claims?

I think ppl dont take the time keep a dream journal and when trying lucid dreaming, they just give up cuz its to frustrating to some.

I don't know exactly.. good question though.

Some people just don't find any intrest in it.

Or even if they do they're too lazy. Fools

i think that people would love to learn to control their dreams but to them dreams are just that, dreams. Nobody has ever told them that its not just in the movies, that it can really happen. they think they have no choice. And the few that do find it think it would be cool but give up after the first night of not having one.

Not only is it an uncommon topic, some people actually find it weird when they do hear about it. I've mentioned that I keep a dream journal and want to induce lucid dreams at work, and I've gotten looks like I must be insane. I actually feel sorry for these people who are so confined in their tiny little boxes of perception that they'd actually think lucid dreaming is weird. Of course, I'm into way weirder things than lucid dreaming so I'm amazed that people think that about lucid dreaming.

I think most of them are afraid.
Last year 48 people died from lucid dreams. They just suddenly burst into flames while having lucid dreams.

...Heh. Just messin'.

Some just aren't interested because they don't realise what it really is like. Some try a few times, and can't do it. Some deny its existence. Some are afraid of disrupting the sleep pattern (Ha).

As far as evidence for its existence, lucid dreaming has been scientifically proven.
They put 25 people, who claimed to have lucid dreams a lot, in a room. They told them to go to bed, and when they knew that they were in a dream, to move their eyes in a certain pattern. They did this every night for weeks. They monitored the subject's brain activity so that they could prove that the person was in fact asleep. They proved it over and over. They even studied ways to induce them, and found that flashing lights in the person's eyes, and warning them about it beforehand, increased the likelyhood of lucid dreams.
After the experiment, they took all of the test subjects out back and shot them with ... Uhh... AK47s!

Okay, Actually, I made that last part up, but it sure made the story sound cool, Heh.

-sloth

I just think most people have no clue what it is. I have asked some people irl and they went "lucid what?" I think that the people that HAVE heard it are skeptical that it actually exists. You have to be pretty open minded to believe it, and well... look around you, 90% of people are close minded.

People are too focused on "reality"--jobs, school, friends, love. The stuff you do rather than who you are, and how you fit into the grand scheme of things. They don't think about their dreams for more than thirty seconds after they wake; and they dismiss any "Huh, I knew that was a dream" moments by breakfast time. There are more "important" things to think about, and the dreams slip away.

What they don't understand is that their own minds are part of reality... that there are things to discover internally as well as externally. That knowing the abilities and limits of your own mind is just as important as knowing your way around your city. Dreams are your mind's way of rebooting, recharging, organizing. It's the machinery of mind at work. What could be more amazing to watch than that?

I'm an idealist. I think about things like philosophy, metaphysics, religion... I think that life is more than just money and popularity and beauty. But these days, it's not popular to admit that you're wondering about who you are and what you're supposed to do with your life... because everyone is supposed to have it all together.

Thing is, nobody has it all together, least of all me. And, since my mind is the interface between me and the world--really, I can't prove that the world exists outisde my own sensory input--then, knowing the internal me is the key to knowing the external world, and what I'm to do in it.

Like I said: Idealist. 23-year-old science student. Christian. Maybe hopeless romantic.

But still, people really should think more about dreams. I'm not exactly a Freudian, but they *are* quite a good way to know your own mind, conscious or not.

Originally Posted by anothrguitarist

Why is lucid dreaming not a commonly known topic? It is so amazing, and I think everyone would like to be able to manipulate their dreams. Do you think people are morally against it? Do you think that some are in denial that it exists? Or do you think some have too much trouble attaining lucidity for the first time? Do you have any evidence to support your claims?
[/b]

Lucid Dreaming is still of just recent invention, and so far people are still trying to get a clear idea of just what it is and what it is capable of, and the damage that can be done to one's own pyschological makeup, and so forth.

Here, read some essays: http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/tableof.htm

If you read deeply, you will find that is what now promulgated and promised regarding Lucid Dreaming, is NOT what the Native Cultures that we borrowed Lucid Dreaming from, it is NOT what they were doing.

All of that Control Control Control. it may be so extensively interfering with normal dream process that it may spawn a generation of perverted lunatics. Normal Dreams may be Healthy and Corrective. But this Free For All of Lucid Dreaming where all you killers and Jerkoffs get to do anything you can imagine, well... what if on you 30th Birthdays you simply wake up one fine morning thinking its all a Dream and begin all your Killing and Raping for REAL

As you Materialists would say, we are perhaps just dealing with the MIND.

What if the Dream Control Emphasis on Lucid Dream is simply one broad and effective Gateway to Insanity?

Well, Lucid Dreaming and all its HYPE and Propaganda have been around since the 70's and not too much harm has been done.

But then, the Mind has developed ways of defending itself. it seems that people have some luck with Lucid Dreaming and then after awhile the Mind jumps in to defend itself. We have once Expert Lucid Dreamers begin to ask how to defeat endless chains of falseawakenings, and then there are those who are blocked from Dreaming altogether. Once stellar Lucid Dreamers going YEARS without being able to remember a single Dream.

So, no, LUCID Dreaming, as it is now Marketed, is far from the Panacea you think it would be.

Read those essays.

http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/tableof.htm

I often wonder this myself, Maybe theres not enough word of mouth :S Its not mentioned very often anywhere

I don't think a lot people have heard about it. None of the people i talked to (family and friends) knew what it was, altough some friends experience "dreams in whih they know they're dreaming" "all the time".
But even if they did know, I think I am the only one of my friends who would be willing to keep a DJ...My father on the other side, says that it's not true and that it's never been tested...My effort to exlpain the contrary was useless.... My mom tells me that all my friends who tell me they can lucid dreaming are just lying (did I spell that right? I have problems with that verbe).

I remember when I told my friends about lucid dreaming.

They thought it was interesting and a little bit strange, but seemed to have no inkling to try it themselves.
It seemed rather odd to me, because what else is there to do when you're asleep?

In a sense, lucid dreaming is a spiritual endeavour, and true spiritual work takes discipline. Most people are not brought up with self-discipline; people require external rewards and punishments. People want other people to do their work for them; if you could sell lucid dreams, people would eat it right up. I think most people are turned off by the work it requires, even if that work is simply keeping a journal and paying attention to your own mind.

I don't like the focus on controlling dreams, either. I think it's more a matter of awareness than control. But I'll put that in another thread.

Originally Posted by anothrguitarist

Why is lucid dreaming not a commonly known topic?[/b]

Because the vast majority of people never realize when they're dreaming... simple as that...

And even if wasn't such an uncommon phenomenon, most people just don't talk about dreams. Hell, there's even a huge chunk of people who are convinced that they don't have dreams.

Originally Posted by anothrguitarist

I remember when I told my friends about lucid dreaming. They thought it was interesting and a little bit strange, but seemed to have no inkling to try it themselves.[/b]

Heh, mine too :\

for the same reason psychedelic drugs don't appeal to a large segment of the population.

they are secure in their view of the world, and seek to reinforce it, rather than challenge it.

People don't care about lucid dreaming because they don't understand what your telling them when you say: "its when you realize your dreaming in a dream"

They instantly go to what they've experienced in dreaming, A weird state of mind where you have tunnel vision and will believe anything you hear. This brings them to the conclusion:
"Lucid dreaming is a blurry retarded dream where you can make things appear and stuff, its nothing like real life, I'll forget what I did in it 5 minutes after I wake up, and everything that I did will just be something I remember doing a long time ago."

Even if you tell them that its all as real as life they'll just think
a) your an idiot
b) you had a dream where your dream ego said "I'm dreaming" and started doing random stuff

We're raised to think of dreams as pointless things that some mentally challenged morons use as windows into what their magical "subconscious" mind is thinking. To 90% of the population dreams are stupid things that we only have every now and then, they have no affect on life, and thus no use for us in our everyday lives.

That, and the fact that its just way too good to be true

Personally I think it's because first off people don't know enough about dreams and don't even remember their dreams to start off with. Awake -sleep- than get up again. There is nothing to them with sleep. Most people will tell you that they don't remember their dreams and wouldn't take the time to have a dream journal. Gernerally most people will remember dreams that scare them or wake them up instantly if that at all. So if they don't know much about dreams even remembering dreams why should they know about lucid dreaming. I think first to even know about lucid dreams you have to remember your dreams so you have to start with something.

I always knew I was dreaming in a dream but I never knew it was anything special that there was a word and a study to go with it. But I found out just about reading about dreamsone day and said "oh thats what it is."

Leo Volont: "Lucid Dreaming is still of just recent invention.."

I couldn't disagree more. LD is not an invention, it is a discovery. What people are doing today is the evolution of a practice that may be thousands of years old. Just check out Carlos Castaneda.. and if you want to counter with why don't I do the research myself, well I have. I would point you to do the same. The only thing that's "new" about it is the prefix "lucid" which I believe was first coined in the 1930s.

I think it's just because most people haven't heard of it. Telling someone (like a friend) about it can get mixed results- I've had people basically tell me I'm crazy or think I'm really weird. Now, when I want to tell a friend about it, I describe it as if I don't know it's an actual thing that people practice. I'll bring it up like, "What if this was a dream?" Or "What if you were dreaming and you knew you were dreaming- you could do anything, wouldn't that be weird?" People tend to "accept" it more as just a concept. One friend that I told about LDing this way has actually had several lucid dreams since then, and always tells me about them! So I guess it has a lot to do with how people tend to be wary of new things or ideas that aren't really accepted as common (yet.)

In the case of my friends and family, their opinions on lucid dreaming are varied:

a) It's childish and immature; it's stupid to dwell in a make believe world

b) It's wierd and unproven; some hippie crap that doesn't actually work

c) I'd like to believe in this, it seems very enlightening, and I've had several instances where I've become aware I'm dreaming; but everyone would think I'm wierd and uncool, so I better not.

It's a shame really; if people would just release their stereotypes and approach it with an open mind they would see how cool it actually is.

Originally Posted by BillyBob_001

People don't care about lucid dreaming because they don't understand what your telling them when you say: "its when you realize your dreaming in a dream"

They instantly go to what they've experienced in dreaming, A weird state of mind where you have tunnel vision and will believe anything you hear. This brings them to the conclusion:
"Lucid dreaming is a blurry retarded dream where you can make things appear and stuff, its nothing like real life, I'll forget what I did in it 5 minutes after I wake up, and everything that I did will just be something I remember doing a long time ago."

Even if you tell them that its all as real as life they'll just think
a) your an idiot
b) you had a dream where your dream ego said "I'm dreaming" and started doing random stuff

We're raised to think of dreams as pointless things that some mentally challenged morons use as windows into what their magical "subconscious" mind is thinking. To 90% of the population dreams are stupid things that we only have every now and then, they have no affect on life, and thus no use for us in our everyday lives.

That, and the fact that its just way too good to be true
[/b]

This is an excellent point.


I'd like to add that some people think that it takes too much effort and reduces their quality of sleep making them more tired in the morning.


Btw, I believe that psychedelic drugs are applealing to quite a lot of people. Or at least there was an interest in psychedelics at some point in their life... The problem is that the best psychedelics are illegal making them pretty hard to get. The psychedelics still legal are obscure enough so most people dont know about them.

Originally Posted by Pensive

In the case of my friends and family, their opinions on lucid dreaming are varied:

a) It's childish and immature; it's stupid to dwell in a make believe world

b) It's wierd and unproven; some hippie crap that doesn't actually work

c) I'd like to believe in this, it seems very enlightening, and I've had several instances where I've become aware I'm dreaming; but everyone would think I'm wierd and uncool, so I better not.

It's a shame really; if people would just release their stereotypes and approach it with an open mind they would see how cool it actually is.
[/b]

That's usually what I would get too. Luckily though, I can actually talk to my dad (who happens to be a very close-minded and old-fashioned guy) about lucid dreams, because he has them almost every night without fail. Nobody ever taught him how, it's just how he's always dreamed. I respect him for that. (And I'm jealous D

But excluding him, I doubt anyone else I know would be very open to the idea of lucid dreaming. Some world we live in, huh? :\

I agree not many people are aware of LD's, but I also notice how many young people there are on this forum. So maybe it's becoming more well known?

It indeed is really weird how un-know it is. Hardly any one ever even Heard of it. Why doesn't discovery do an article about it? Or some magazine like Science? I thought that since Freud dreams had shed their hippy-image. (Ok freud was before the hippies, but still).

I think alot of people that are in their teens or younger think it's eighter uncool or weird. And the people that are older think it is a waste of time (; this kind of people often allso forgets how to have fun).

I guess the current society isn&#39;t willing/able to accept such a spiritual thing. Kind of silly for it is completely harmless.. and fun&#33; <=/