Thread: Are Nightmares An Avenue To Lucidity?

For me, nightmares are the greatest avenues to lucidity that there is (are?).

When faced with a dangerous situation, your mind, instinctively, tries to find the most efficient way out of it. Continuous experience with nightmares will (or "should") present you with the realization that "I don't need to find a way out of this situation, because it's just a dream" as an instinctual "fight or flight" revelation.

While awake, set in your mind that, whenever faced with a dangerous situation, you will do your best to discover whether or not you are dreaming. Do this from here on out and, eventually, it will become a reflex. This is what introduced me to lucid dreaming, before I knew what lucid dreaming was, and it is still my #1 way to induce lucidity.

As far as movie choice: pick a horror movie and focus on that movie as you're going to sleep. Something having to do with dreams will probably be your best bet (ie; the Nightmare on Elm Street series)

Hope this helps. Good luck.

I've never been able to get into an LD from a nightmare, but that's just me, it would seem.

And yes, of course you can get some nasty nightmares after watching scary movies. Even if you're not actually genuinely frightened, it can still worm its way into your subconscious and come out in a dream...

The movie series Oneironaut mentioned is definitely the best choice, has a lot to do with the subject matter.

Originally Posted by Aesir

I've never been able to get into an LD from a nightmare, but that's just me, it would seem.

And yes, of course you can get some nasty nightmares after watching scary movies. Even if you're not actually genuinely frightened, it can still worm its way into your subconscious and come out in a dream...

The movie series Oneironaut mentioned is definitely the best choice, has a lot to do with the subject matter.
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Good, I will search for this moviefilm, thanks.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

For me, nightmares are the greatest avenues to lucidity that there is (are?).[/b]

I agree!
This has been a great and terrific thing. Not only do I often achieve lucidity but I also do not have nightmares any more. Or rarely.
To add to that I often can address the night mare face to face as I do become lucid.

Originally Posted by Howetzer

I agree!
This has been a great and terrific thing. Not only do I often achieve lucidity but I also do not have nightmares any more. Or rarely.
To add to that I often can address the night mare face to face as I do become lucid.
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Unfortunately, no sucess with this last night, yet I think I will continue to try.

Originally Posted by bro

Unfortunately, no sucess with this last night, yet I think I will continue to try.
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Attempt 2 -Tonight, I'm gonna watching hopefully MUCH more of "The Ring" (originally I thought this was a terrifying movie) while in bed, go directly to sleep with a creepy feeling, and maybe just maybe If I have a creepy dream or nightmare, I will recognize the fear. Hopefully it will be a regular nightmare ie: closet monsters (yes I still dream of those) or (things popping up behind me) (not to mention that creepy girl from "The Ring", and not some twisted experience with no genuine fear.

Attempt 1 (started by watching a few minutes of "The Ring" ended in disturbing ND's which some are too graphic for description but involved being chased on a beach (I was really eager to jump in the water with all these peeps I thought were my cool friends, (how wrong I was) they somehow dragged me out and tortured me on weird machines. Someone in the group helped me hide out from these torturing guys (military of some sort). (Maybe A fellow Dreamviews Dreamer in my mind?) It continued with me running through hotels (naked) in some beachy neighborhood . The most vivid memory I have of the dream was running naked through a hotel worried someone would see me( talk about dreamsigns)

a bit frustrated at my lack of recognition, but I know these things take time.


Anyway, now that I've described 1 result, I'm gonna try again tonight, (doing R.C's all the while + reviewing my dreams) trying to sit through the whole movie immediately before sleep.

Maybe then I will do a modifed MILD after 5-6 hours, with a phrase like " I will dream of "The Ring" or something terrifying and become lucid" Do you think this may work?

Wish me luck and I will post how it goes

Originally Posted by bro

Attempt 2 -Tonight, I'm gonna watching hopefully MUCH more of "The Ring" (originally I thought this was a terrifying movie) while in bed, go directly to sleep with a creepy feeling, and maybe just maybe If I have a creepy dream or nightmare, I will recognize the fear. Hopefully it will be a regular nightmare ie: closet monsters (yes I still dream of those) or (things popping up behind me) (not to mention that creepy girl from "The Ring", and not some twisted experience with no genuine fear.

Attempt 1 (started by watching a few minutes of "The Ring" ended in disturbing ND's which some are too graphic for description but involved being chased on a beach (I was really eager to jump in the water with all these peeps I thought were my cool friends, (how wrong I was) they somehow dragged me out and tortured me on weird machines. Someone in the group helped me hide out from these torturing guys (military of some sort). (Maybe A fellow Dreamviews Dreamer in my mind?) It continued with me running through hotels (naked) in some beachy neighborhood . The most vivid memory I have of the dream was running naked through a hotel worried someone would see me( talk about dreamsigns)

a bit frustrated at my lack of recognition, but I know these things take time.
Anyway, now that I've described 1 result, I'm gonna try again tonight, (doing R.C's all the while + reviewing my dreams) trying to sit through the whole movie immediately before sleep.

Maybe then I will do a modifed MILD after 5-6 hours, with a phrase like " I will dream of "The Ring" or something terrifying and become lucid" Do you think this may work?

Wish me luck and I will post how it goes
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Getting close to watching "THE RING" as I go to bed. I'm scared as all hell already, but I want to see If it can help me to L.D by recognizing fear...
I guess We'll see

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

While awake, set in your mind that, whenever faced with a dangerous situation, you will do your best to discover whether or not you are dreaming.[/b]

lol

"I think that guy is pointing a gun at me! ...But wait! Maybe this is a dream!"

*dead*

Cynicism aside, it is true that I usually remember my nightmares more than my run-of-the-mill dream. However, I attribute this to the fact that I almost always wake up directly from my nightmares (heavy breathing, fast heart rate), rather than because I am more aware of things in my nightmares.

Also, in my case, nightmares are very rare. I don't remember having one for at least the past year, so this method probably wouldn't work out for people like me.

I would never have had a lucid dream if it wasn't for nightmares. I only found out about lucid dreaming because I sort of... developed it... as a defence mechanism against nightmares.

I think that the urge to run away or combat fear is the best sort of feeling to encourage you to do something. I know that there are many things I would like to do eg. learn to drive, but I never get round to it. I''m pretty sure that if a guy pointed a gun to my head and told me to learn to drive then I would learn to drive...pretty damned fast!

Originally Posted by Lemonsoul

I would never have had a lucid dream if it wasn't for nightmares. I only found out about lucid dreaming because I sort of... developed it... as a defence mechanism against nightmares.

I think that the urge to run away or combat fear is the best sort of feeling to encourage you to do something. I know that there are many things I would like to do eg. learn to drive, but I never get round to it. I''m pretty sure that if a guy pointed a gun to my head and told me to learn to drive then I would learn to drive...pretty damned fast!
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Well, my second attempt didn't work (perhaps because i was expecting fear?) I dreampt of flying and bouncing and floating and runnig outside in the cold with only a t shirt, not the girl from THE RING or scary closet skeleton goblins. Oh well, on to the next idea! Forward!!!

Originally Posted by naikou

lol

"I think that guy is pointing a gun at me! ...But wait! Maybe this is a dream!"

*dead*

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A complete misinterpretation of what I said, but funny, nonetheless.

the strange thing for me is that nightmares are practically impossible, i've not had nightmares for the past year or two, quite funny, when i had nightmares i was a coward. When i was about 8 i had this nightmare- "I was being chased by a massive dinosaur and i knew what my fate was so i curled up in a ball and waited to be eaten!" lol

Originally Posted by lucid_seeker

When i was about 8 i had this nightmare- "I was being chased by a massive dinosaur and i knew what my fate was so i curled up in a ball and waited to be eaten!" lol
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8 huh? Must be something about that age and being chased then eaten. Presumably this was a reoccuring dream.
If you just curled up then how did you stop having nightmares?

Originally Posted by Lemonsoul

8 huh? Must be something about that age and being chased then eaten. Presumably this was a reoccuring dream.
If you just curled up then how did you stop having nightmares?
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it would make sense if i began standing up for myself in my dreams but it doesn't make any sense, i really want a nightmare now!

Originally Posted by Lemonsoul

8 huh? Must be something about that age and being chased then eaten. Presumably this was a reoccuring dream.
If you just curled up then how did you stop having nightmares?
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Hmm, haha -You should have said:not making fun of you) " Wait, dinosour, millions of years ago" "wait this has to be a dream". "Dinosoaur, are you a dream?" "NO!" "Yeah I guess you're right" ::continues curling up in a ball::