Thread: A Few Lucidity Questions

Originally Posted by Raevan

Well, I have a few questions pertaining to actual LDs and WILDs. Any help is greatly appreciated

1.) When doing a WILD (remaining conscious as you're falling asleep), is your body still getting the regular rest it would if you weren't remaining conscious or am I losing actual sleep?

2.) When doing a WILD, what's the first sign that will tell me I've entered a dream state? Will I all of a sudden be in a room and be in a first person perspective or will it fade into view?

3.) After LDing a few times, will it suddenly become habit and you start becoming lucid unconsciously?

And finally 4.) Does time pass realistically or is it faster/slower?

A lot of these answers are probably going to spark a little bit of debate, because the truth is that we honestly don't know yet!! But here are my experiences/beliefs:

1) You likely get the same amount of rest, although I have no experimental evidence to support this. I say it because, and the majoirty of the members will likely attest, that having a lucid dream makes you PUMPED! I wake up from my lucids absolutely FULL of energy. I usually get lucid at 5 am and I used to get up at 5 instead of 10 because I was so excited. Usually that excitement lasts and keeps me wide awake throughout the day. So maybe you aren't getting enough sleep, maybe you are, but either way it seems that you usually will feel like you got a great night's sleep

2) As to WILDing I am far from an expert, but it seems to vary even within lucid dreamers. Meaning, sometimes you'll POP! be standing in your room and go, "Hey wait a sec I was just laying down with my eyes shut... I'm in a dream woohoo!" Other times it will fade or you'll have to find some sort of trick to get the dream to materialize (or at least that's how I got my first one).

3) Depending on what techniques you use to induce lucidity, and how much you think about it and how dedicated you are, you can definitely become lucid spontaneously. I went from having two lucid dreams a year to trying really hard and getting a few through reality checking but also quite a bit by just suddenly knowing I was in a dream, or by unconsciously (meaning I still wasn't lucid in the dream, nor did I suspect) doing reality checks just because I figured "what the hell, I'm already looking at that clock may as well RC". So in short, yes

4) This one is the most up to debate and probably will be debated. There is some scientific support to the notion that time passes at the same speed as it does in real life. But many people are able to slow time down, or fly at supersonic speeds, and I personally believe that it can vary. Some people say that if a dream appears to have lasted for a long length of time, it's because you teleported of flew quickly somewhere, so it seemed like you traveled in addition to all the stuff you actually did. As I said, there's no firm answer to this one (unfortunately a lot of lucid dreaming is like this), but there is a lot of curiousity! If you browse the forums there are quite a few threads on this asking people their experiences and beliefs regarding the passage of time in lucid dreams. So, interpret what you read as you will, and maybe in the future we'll have a lot of science supporting one end of it. I'm skeptical of the few studies that have been done.

Lol, thanks a lot for the help Shift. I was really curious about my first and last questions. When I think back on my dreams, it seems like they flew by and I don't want that to happen when lucid. It's nice to know that all my hardwork of trying to become lucid will eventually be lessened and paid for. I can't wait to try again tonight ^_^

Alright, I don't have anymore questions now, thanks

my pleasure

man, I hear ya on that 1st reply, Shift... when I wake up early from a lucid dream, it usually keeps me flyin' high all day long.