Thread: Nightmare

I'm not that great at dream control so I can't be much help there, but I used to had nightmares as a kid and had a few little things to wake myself up from them.

Firstly I listen to either Classical music or NPR at night, that helps me to fall asleep easier, and I figure Classical music can't hurt.

Then when I was in a nightmare and I knew it was a nightmare, I would start to hold my breath and begin blinking rapidly along with pinching myself and anything else to try to wake myself up. The breath worked the best, and the breath combined with blinking would wake me up in an instant.

Hope that can help some.

Welcome to Dream Views forums, Katmew

The thing to know about nightmares is that fear is their main component. Bad things happen because you expect them to or are afraid they would. The easiest way to stop a nightmare is to calm down and stop worrying. Once you are no longer scared the dream turns into something more peaceful as well. If you know it's just a dream then this shouldn't be too hard to pull of. Because you know that nothing can happen to you anyway, and so there is no need to be afraid. And if you're afraid of LDing itself then well... know that there is nothing wrong with being aware in a dream, just like there is nothing wrong with being aware while being awake. LDs can be a wonderful experience if you give them a chance; they offer all sorts of exciting possibilites. Perhaps you could read some threads about what other people do in their dreams... there's a lot of things to try and explore.

Originally Posted by Katmew

I don't know whether to post this as a lucid dream but I can control myself in my dream, it just seems that I can't control everything around me. But when I try to control the things around me, the opposite effects happen.

For example, when I try to run away someplace else, and I try to spin, I stay where I am. Or when I try to think of a place to hide, my pursuer finds me and taunts me.

All these relate to my nightmares. I can control myself but that's about it. There was one time that I was trying to wake up from a nightmare, everyone around me were about to die and the death was a slow death (volcanic explosion was about to happen) and I didn't want to go through the pain and see other people suffering, so I tried to wake myself up. I started hitting my head in my dream and scream but nothing happened until I was about to drive a knife through my chest. Scary... ><

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I've tried to lucid dream and control my surroundings, but I realize I'm dreaming and I get really scared. I get so scared I can feel the fear rushing through my body and my heart pounding, and then I lose lucidity.

Help?

I can relate to this, occasionally LD's turn to nightmares for me as well. I often make myself wake up rather than face what's in my dreams. I think it's true that it has a lot to do with fear. I'm a fairly anxious person and still have trouble controlling my fears, so that comes out in my dreams too. I've conquered many of them through dreaming though, so I think it can be a way to make positive progress as well.

Originally Posted by Katmew

I don't know whether to post this as a lucid dream but I can control myself in my dream, it just seems that I can't control everything around me. But when I try to control the things around me, the opposite effects happen.

For example, when I try to run away someplace else, and I try to spin, I stay where I am. Or when I try to think of a place to hide, my pursuer finds me and taunts me.

All these relate to my nightmares. I can control myself but that's about it. There was one time that I was trying to wake up from a nightmare, everyone around me were about to die and the death was a slow death (volcanic explosion was about to happen) and I didn't want to go through the pain and see other people suffering, so I tried to wake myself up. I started hitting my head in my dream and scream but nothing happened until I was about to drive a knife through my chest. Scary... ><

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I've tried to lucid dream and control my surroundings, but I realize I'm dreaming and I get really scared. I get so scared I can feel the fear rushing through my body and my heart pounding, and then I lose lucidity.

Help?

The yogis suggest that you not run away from nightmare bad guys. The ideas is that the bad guy is a part of you which needs to be accepted and perhaps integrated.

One technique is to break bread with the bogey man! Sharing a meal is apparently a powerful ritual, an archetype of reconciliation and comaraderie.

So the next time an 8 foot, 12 headed Republican menaces you, offer it a cookie!

(Let me know how this works out)