Lucid Dreaming - Disappointment?

[kdavis]

I have had Lucid Dreams a few times over the years but was never intentional, and shortly after realizing I'm dreaming I would wake. A couple weeks ago I heard someone talking about lucid dreaming and it piqued my interest again. That night I had a lucid dream. It seemed to last quite a while. Since then, I have made it a conscious or what I really think for myself is a sub-conscious effort to attain LD's. I don't use any specific technique, I don't do reality checks, I don't keep a dream journal, I don't really think about it during the day or when I'm trying to sleep. A quick note in regards to dream recall. In the past I would sometimes remember that I had a dream and then try to remember what happened. Now, I don't need to do that. I think I'm conscious enough during my dreams that they're kind of like tv shows. If after I'm awake I want to think about a dream I had I will recall a few more details about what happened, but nothing is ever blurry. I really believe that just reading about it and putting it in the back of my head has been the key. When I'm dreaming it seems my sub-conscious becomes the foremost thing going for me. I'll usually see something strange happen in my dream and just say to myself "you're dreaming." I probably have a lucid dream a few nights a week, and usually more than 1 a night. Here's the thing. My LD's usually aren't very long. A lot of times I will realize I'm dreaming then I spend a few seconds trying to maintain the thought that I'm dreaming and I usually forget, and that's that. Other times, I will realize I'm dreaming and then attempt to float or fly and I am able to, but it's not really that exciting. I seem to be able to impose my will upon whatever aspect of my dream that I want to, but it's not really that fun or exciting. I have had a few LD's that seemed to last 10-15 minutes but they are hit and miss on the fun factor. I had one LD where I dreamt that I was a magician and could walk though glass and it freaked everybody out. I also do some tests in my LD's of what I have read on forums about lucid dreaming. People have said that time on clocks change and I thought to myself, I'll see if they're right. So while I was aware I was dreaming, I looked at my watch, (that I materialized on my wrist because I wasn't wearing one before) looked away, then looked back at my watch and the time was completely different. I thought it was hilarious. I've also looked in a mirror and saw that I had no head. Messed around with looking at my hands and spinning. For me, during a lucid dream, things don't seem that exciting and fun. Normal dreams where things happen are much more crazy and evoke such stronger emotions that lucid dreaming seems to be a slight disappointment. For example, last night I dreamt that I was hanging out with a friend of mine and we met two girls. One had a boyfriend and the other was single. My friend said he was gonna try and hook up with the girl with a boyfriend, so me and the single girl started talking and hanging out. Just the fact that my friend wanted the girl with the boyfriend and I was free to hang out with the other girl was so much more fun than the lucid dream I had later on during the night. It's a lot to read, but here is my real question I suppose. Does realizing you are dreaming cut back from how intense the emotions are? Perhaps I need more training on how to attain more from lucid dreaming. I will say this though, it's an extremely interesting subject and I do like the semi experiments I'm doing in my dreams. Thanks for reading, if you got this far!

[Klace]

It's a lot to read, but here is my real question I suppose. Does realizing you are dreaming cut back from how intense the emotions are? Perhaps I need more training on how to attain more from lucid dreaming. I will say this though, it's an extremely interesting subject and I do like the semi experiments I'm doing in my dreams.[/b] Realizing you're dreaming does not really cut back on how intense the emotions are, in my opinion. They are much more vivid, and clear than normal dreams, and you can even program what emotions you would like to feel. Sometimes people wake up on the wrong side of the bed because the dreams they had before left them feeling sad, or mad. Though in a lucid dream you could program yourself to feel a great emotion so that wouldn't happen. There's always the possibility you aren't at the highest level of lucidity in each of your lucid dreams, in which case, there are ways to increase this. Of course dreams are going to be more fun and exciting then lucid dreams, because they are always random, have a sense of direction and what is going to happen, lucid dreams are completely open and are your personal playground, sometimes that feeling overwhelms you and leaves you feeling empty inside and not enjoying lucidity to it's full effect. My tips are to try going along with your dreams when you become lucid, that way you will experience what it is you were meant to, and the emotions that go along with it will be more intense.

[Serith]

Lucid dreaming is definitely not less exciting for me, and I don't know why it is for you. I can think of some possible reasons, that might explain it, but I can't tell if they're right from you're post alone. First, you might not be using your lucid dreams to their full potential. The solution would be to take a few minutes, and try and think of the most exciting, fun thing you could possibly do, then resolve to try it the next time you lucid dream. If you can't think of anything exciting enough, I'm sure someone else here could if you post a topic asking. Second, your lucid dreams could simply not be detailed enough for you to find them as fun as they could be. Try increasing dream realism, through some of the methods found at this site. That should make the LD more fun. If neither of those is the cause, you could try simply addressing the symptoms. In a lucid dream, try summoning up pills that create whatever emotion you want your lucid dreams to have, then just take a bunch of them. Many people have reported success with that kind of thing, so it's likely you will too.

[Universal Mind]

Some of my lucid dreams suck, and I know why. The lighter your state of sleep, the easier it is to have a lucid. In a really light state, the dream quality is not as vivid and intense as it is when you are in a deeper state. You probably had those dreams when you were on the edge of waking up, and that is probably why you had lucid dreams. You need to train yourself to lower your lucidity threshold. Also, too much straining to control a lucid can make it lose intensity. You need to very lightly try to control the dream. Give a bit of effort, but let your subconscious meet you about 5-10% of your way there. Thinking songs that bring out the emotions and concepts you want to dream about is a good way to alter your dream quality. Thinking cartoon T.V. show theme songs from your childhood can take you to fascinating settings, for example.

[Ev]

Not planned LDs often turn into some random activity. In your case it's not too fun. For me it is mostly fun. Plan your experiments in advance and they would be more fun. As for emotions - it depends greatly on your approach to lucid dreaming. If you have a materialistic/scientific mindset that your dreams are entirely a product of your own mind you may miss out on a lot. But if you let go you would experience emotions that are unbelievably cool. At least that is how it is for me. Lucidity does not affect these greatly. Of course you may want to try vitamin and other dream enchancing supplements, it is likely that your dull dreams are a result of poor diet... As weird as it may sound, it is true.

[Alprazolam]

Sounds to me like the problem is, yourself. Don't take this the wrong way....But imagine a world, where ANYTHING was possible. A world where all your senses are intact. A world where the only limit is the imagination, and you are in total control. All you've done is levitate or float, and pretend to be a magician? It's time to start thinking outside the box. It's time to experiment with going to different countries, or even planets, flying at extreme speeds through a huge city....Taking a drug even(IN YOUR LD, lol), even a drug that you made up and having it affect you how you want (Euphoria, Invisibility, etc) Get good enough and have a 3 some with your "dream partners". Go beat down someone you have always wanted to, bring your friends in your dream, shoot fireballs and lasers from your hands and eyes, jump really high, put yourself in a championship sporting event or title fight. Ride a damn dragon into a midevil battle! The possibilities are endless. Levitating and preforming magic....Yea, I would be a little bummed too- That doesn't live up to the hype at all. As for LD's where you wake up right after becoming aware, thats where practice and repition come in to play and a skill is pulled out of this and developed. Dream control will also become a practiced skill. Next time you have an LD, do something amazing. Something not remotely possible in the "real world". Happy dreams!

[Oneironaut Zero]

Yeah...it sounds to me like you are lacking a lot of exciting themes. Even in your non-lucids. I mean, don't get me wrong, hooking up with dream girls is never a bad thing, but for that to be the one thing you decide to highlight as a significantly fun dream (ESPECIALLY for a non-ld) it looks, to me, like you are having a shortage of fun and exciting concepts. Go fight dragons. Go explore the cosmos. Go check out Heaven and Hell. Drive a Ferrari around a hotwheels track with loops and corkscrews. Have a lightsaber fight against 100 Darth Mauls, like they were Agent Smiths from the Matrix: Reloaded. Jump into a black hole and see where it takes you. Lead the Spartans to victory against the Persian empire....I mean, Jesus, man: you have access to a sensory experience where ANYTHING is possible, and your highlights, so far, have been walking through mirrors and other, subtle, parlor tricks. You've got to become a little more pro-active, during the daytime, and start thinking of things you want to do in your LD's. It would help to starts taking in some action-packed movies/anime, whatever, so that your non-lucids can become a little (a lot) more exciting, too. You mention that you don't really spend any time thinking about LDing, during the day. I think that might be your main problem. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[kdavis]

Thanks for the responses. Perhaps I should clarify a bit. I have regular dreams about a lot of different things, with a wide range of emotions. Some are very exciting, some are scary, it just varies. I used one night of dreaming as an example of how one small thing in a normal dream was more fun than flying in a lucid. I have had dreams about floating and flying before and they were really fun, but doing the same in a lucid dream didn't have the same impact. Perhaps I have to go about it in a different way. I'll try out these real life examples. I love rollercoasters, but the first time riding a new rollercoaster is always a lot more fun than going on the same one again. The first time I don't know what to expect and what element will happen next. After having been on that rollercoaster, the next time I ride there are no surprises. It is still fun, just probably half the fun factor is eliminated since I know what will happen next. Whenever I partake in a thrill-seeking activity, part of the thrill is not knowing what will happen. Sky diving or bungee jumping is intense because there is a chance that I could die. The chance is almost zero, but the human brain still knows there is a chance and not knowing what will happen is a huge part of the fun. In a lucid dream, I know I'm not going to die or get hurt, the thrill is greatly reduced. I'm fairly new to lucid dreaming and perhaps I need to look at it from a different angle. I usually don't change the scene when I become lucid, just see where I'm at and try something I think would be fun. One lucid dream, I jumped into a turbo-charged car and started racing down the street, in and out of traffic, running from the police, but since I knew it was a dream, it wasn't very exciting. If that were a regular dream it would have been incredible. Last night I dreamt that I was in a movie and doing a scene with Johnny Depp. Sure it may seem lame to a lot of you guys, but this is a real life dream of mine, and the dream was freaking awesome. In my dream I felt it was real, but in a lucid I would know that it's just a dream. I'm starting to think that my thrill-seeking mentality isn't compatible with the omnipotence of lucid dreaming.

[Serith]

It sounds like what might help is to learn how to make your dreams lose some lucidity. In your lucid dreams you're completely aware that you can't be harmed, and everything is predictable. If you were less lucid, it'd be more like a roller coaster, where although you know logically that it's actually less dangerous than driving a car, your mind still thinks its risky at some level, and finds it thrilling. Also, in less lucid dreams, unpredictable things are far more likely to happen. You probably want dreams that are lucid enough that you know you have control, but not lucid enough that all your fears are gone. Or, you could try setting up the situation you want while still lucid, then abandon most or all of your lucidity as you enter it. This should give you the benefits of lucidity, without the lack of excitement. As for how to actually lose lucidity, I'm not exactly sure, since as far as i know, no one's ever tried it before. However, the opposites of some of the methods used to gain lucidity might work. Try yelling, "less lucidity now!', or telling yourself your surroundings are very real, or taking anti-lucidity pills, or something like that. Alternatively, you could just not worry about lucidity, and try learning dream incubation. Try the VILD method, only instead of incubating a dream in which you become lucid, incubate a dream where you're doing whatever it is you want to do in your dream. That way, you can control what you dream about without losing excitement.

[gguru1]

As others already have, I strongly suggest having a plan in advance. I personally remind myself of whatever plan I have when I RC. If I dont have a plan, I waste time thinking about what I'm going to do.

[snackpacks]

Take some super dooper fun pills.

[BohmaN]

I have the exact same problem sometimes, so you're not alone .