Dream Characters

[conure]

I dont know what is wrong with my lucid dreams, but as soon as I realise I am lucid I have little/no control over my surroundings, although I can move normally. The dream characters I encounter, also are non reacting. They have nothing to say, and seem to be just shells with no personality inside them. I lucid dream quite often, and I have many false awakenings which are so vivid that when I actually do wake up, I need to wait a few seconds to find out if I'm floating or not. any ideas on why the dream characters are empty? Also, another question. Why do I find it impossible to wake myself up? Sometimes I'll be lucid dreaming and just want to get out, but I can't. I often end up thrasing about violently in an attempt to wake up but it never works. It can be quite terrifying because you start to wonder why your body isn't reacting.

[Tornado Joe]

Hi Conure, but as soon as I realise I am lucid I have little/no control over my surroundings, although I can move normally[/b] I think this sort of thing comes down to the ability to control your environment in dreams. This is something you develop with time and practice. When you're lucid you really have to believe that you are, in fact, in control of everything. Without this belief or confidence, your dream-maker (mind) will control you. As for the characters not saying anything or interacting with you, that might be a more complex issue that could have more to do with your personality and how see and interact in waking life with others. Why do I find it impossible to wake myself up?[/b] There's a simple solution to this one - when you're in a dream and want to wake up, close your eyes and "go to sleep"! At least that's what is suggested by LaBerge in his book. I have not tried it (since I would NEVER want to wake up from a lucid dream), however, it does make sense in that you're essentially "turning off" your dream when you decide to no longer interact with it. This does, however, leave you open to the possibility of false awakenings.

[conure]

Thanks for the response :-) As for the characters not saying anything or interacting with you, that might be a more complex issue that could have more to do with your personality and how see and interact in waking life with others.[/b] Any ideas how I could get around this? I lead a pretty normal life and have no problem interacting with people in real life, it's just in the dreams the characters tend to be empty shells, with nothing inside. I think that this is possibly why I sometimes feel the need to wake up so badly. If I am already dreaming, the characters will be interacting/acting etc, but the second I become lucid they just 'freeze'.

[FreeOne]

If I am already dreaming, the characters will be interacting/acting etc, but the second I become lucid they just 'freeze'.[/b] maybe it was just a bad lucid. dreams can be pretty weird somtimes. how many times has it happened before?

[conure]

maybe it was just a bad lucid. dreams can be pretty weird somtimes. how many times has it happened before? [/b] Hmm, probably about 4-5 times. I'm beginning to think that my mind does it on purpose now. lol

[Umbrella]

I have a very good idea about why your dream characters are "empty". Everything that happens in your dreams is a result of expectation and motivation. I'm sure you don't actually want your dream characters to be zombies, so this must be a result of your expectation. Whether it be consciously or subconsciously, you expect your dream characters to be the way they are. I could elaborate endlessly on this whole expectation thing, but that won't help you find a solution for what I assume you experience as being a problem. Except that it means this solution is always going to be as easy as you make it for youself. You might want to be creative here. I'd call someone to ask why everyone is so empty. Someone that might have authority. If you're under the impression that you do not have enough control over your environment, just know that this is really easy to do and always works for me. All you have to do is call out to whoever you think can answer your question (i.e "Dreamguide!" "God!" "Subconscious!" "Jimi Hendrix!" "Grandma!" etc.) If you decide to try this method (or if you don't and try something else, for that matter) and find that it's not working, know that the reason for this is that you're making it hard for yourself. Just calm down a little and reassure yourself that you have every reason to be confident. It will surely work. Of course, seeing as this is a dream we're talking about, the possibilities and therefore the solutions are literally infinite. You could solve it by hanging up side down from a tree while playing poker with yourself, as long as you know you can. About waking up. That principally works the same way. I can at least tell you a common method that works well for me though: just stare intently at one point for a few seconds. Your dream surroundings should start to get more blurry and soon you will lose your sight and wake up. Be prepared for possible false awakenings when doing this. Check your state as soon as you wake. If you're still dreaming, simply try again. Never panic if this keeps happening. Not that it's dangerous to do so per se, but there's just nothing to get worked up over. When your REM-sleep ends, you'll stop dreaming anyway. However, I, personally, can't think of any reason to wake up from a lucid dream. I've always been more interested in not waking up myself. Why would you want to wake yourself up?

[FreeOne]

Hmm, probably about 4-5 times. I'm beginning to think that my mind does it on purpose now. lol[/b] well im no expert or anything, but maybe its just the placebo effect. like it happened on your first ld just by coinsedence and then maybe you thought "gee what if all lucid dreams are like this?" making you believe that they were and tricking your mind to do that all the time. EDIT: Umbrella nice idea! basicly just follow what umbrella just said. but he wasnt there when i posted so oh well lol EDIT

[conure]

However, I, personally, can't think of any reason to wake up from a lucid dream. I've always been more interested in not waking up myself. Why would you want to wake yourself up? I don't want to sound big headed or anything, because I'm not. The thing is, for the past 4 or so years I've been able to lucid dream extremely easily with no training. I experienced sleep paralysis, and vivid hypnogogic/pompic imagery which used to terrify me. I am reasonably sure that 99% of ghost sightings//alien abductions are the results of people dreaming, or at least, hallucinating around sleep. I remember my first experience, years ago. I was laying in bed and suddenly felt harsh vibratings and a bright white light. I then felt like I was being sucked forward out of my body, and I panicked. I literally felt as though I was about to die, and managed to pull myself out of it and go back to sleep 'normally'. At that point I realised, there was a distinct point between being awake, and being asleep. I believe we don't slowly drift to sleep, so much as undergo a violent loss of conciousness (of which we are only partially aware). Actually, to be honest I've never had the guts to have a WILD, because the feeling is so terrifying. The lucid dreams I generally have are through sudden awareness in a dream, and false awakenings. They are often so intensely realistic that when I wake up properly, I lay in bed thinking 'Am I about to start floating?', and if I don't, it generally means I'm actually awake. The problem I have is, I have no problem staying lucid. I naturally become lucid and there is no loss of clarity until I wake up. I've at times felt trapped in my dreams, because I'll start trying to punch a wall to get out, but deep down I know no amount of violence will wake me up because it's all in my mind. This has been increasingly frightening since watching the film 'waking life', in which it hints that after so many false awakenings, you could be dead, unable to wake. Anyway, the point is, after what seems like 30 minutes of pure lucidity, in a world that is devoid of life and interaction outside of the occasional 'zombie characters', it can soon become frustrating and frightening.