What do you call a dream that continues after you wake up?

I once had a dream that I saw a man continuously falling in a bottomless pit. His screams were so unbearable to listen to (like fingernails on a chalkboard kind of terror) that I couldn't stand it. I realized it was Lucifer (in the future) when reading the account in Revelations about Lucifer being cast into a bottomless pit for 1000 years.

What is weird is that I woke up from this unpleasant dream and walked into another room to try to get away from the thing I just saw (to calm down). I was completely awake and had the lights on in another room. But, to my amazement I was still seeing and audibly hearing this vision. The screaming of Lucifer's torment was audible in my ears. I finally prayed to God to take this away and it stopped. Note: I had no sympathy for Lucifer and his torment. It was just an unpleasant sight and thing to hear. Very strange experience. What would you call this? This was not a drug induced hallucination (I don't do drugs or even drink alcohol).

You had a hallucination..it happens alot after a person first wakes up, but sometimes it can last a few minutes.

Either it was a false awakening, or you were still very tired and hallucinating (you don't need drugs to hallucinate *cough* dreams *cough*) Either way, I don't think this god fellow would be able to change the chemical content and electrical currents in your brain. Next time this happens, drink some milk. It has placyborhytinal in it which inhibits hallucinations for a couple of hours.

Is this type of forum comprised of mostly athiests or are there others who believe in a creator as I do? The above comment brought this question. I'm not criticizing anyone's lack of belief in a being greater than themselves, just asking a question.

I'd actually say it's split down the middle.

If half of the members here are athiests then that is quite a large percentage compared with the world's percentage of athiests which is about 2.5%. Why is a forum about dreams made up so much by athiests? Interesting.

I'm Christian, and most of the members, i would say are not atheist, just this forum has many beliefs. LDs have nothing to do with religion unless you want them to.

This forum attracts all sorts of people with different beliefs and faiths. But I think the most common is atheism, just have a look at the extended discussion forum.

so to clarify you had that experience where you realized you were still asleep, but when you "truly" woke up everything was normal? if so it was a false awakening

Could be one of two things:

1) An FA (False Awakening dream);

2) A "Waking Dream"; a little-known and little-understood phenomenon where one "hallucinates" the dreamworld super-imposed over and/or around the edges of one's "waking reality". Anecdotally reported by a very few as a somewhat shocking side effect of LDing, usually (but not exclusively) after many years of LDing.

Castaneda wrote about it, BTW.

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Originally Posted by Eddy

If half of the members here are athiests then that is quite a large percentage compared with the world's percentage of athiests which is about 2.5%. Why is a forum about dreams made up so much by athiests? Interesting.

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Because the educated learn to question. We have access to the internet, meaning we are fairly well off, and have access to education.

Also, why do you have no sympathy for Lucifer? Were you not taught to love your enemies? And if evil didn't exist before Lucifer, and everything comes from God, then God made Lucifer evil. It is ironic that a country which prides itself on its glorious revolution would feel not the slightest sympathy, or even understanding for a man who dared to question.

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Originally Posted by Ethereal

Because the educated learn to question. We have access to the internet, meaning we are fairly well off, and have access to education.

Also, why do you have no sympathy for Lucifer? Were you not taught to love your enemies? And if evil didn't exist before Lucifer, and everything comes from God, then God made Lucifer evil. It is ironic that a country which prides itself on its glorious revolution would feel not the slightest sympathy, or even understanding for a man who dared to question.

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Blind faith is an ironic gift to an omnipotent creator.

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Originally Posted by Eddy

What would you call this?

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I've had a handful of these. I usually just call it "residual imagery/audio." I had one, in particular, where I was dreaming that there were a bunch of people outside my bedroom window, looking to jump me. Even after I woke up and sat up in bed, I was hearing them talking and snickering outside my window, for a few more seconds. I just kinda sat there staring at my window until the sound faded away, and I finally got the courage to step out of bed.

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Originally Posted by Eddy

If half of the members here are athiests then that is quite a large percentage compared with the world's percentage of athiests which is about 2.5%. Why is a forum about dreams made up so much by athiests? Interesting.

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Because this forum is also comprised of many 'scientifically-minded' people. That is not to say that the 'scientifically-minded' are inherently atheists, but I believe that there are more atheists who adhere to the scientific method of analyzing the world around them, than there are people of faith who do the same.

There are plenty of religious people around here, though.

To get into Lucid drreaming in the first place requires an artistic and open mind..those two things often lead to someone being an atheist or at least agnostic. As for myself, i see no reason to believe in any gods. I do, however, believe science is the future of humanity, not religion.

i mean, personally, i don't see any reason not to believe in god. That is all you have to do to get into heaven (if you believe in it) i mean, to me it is worth it, but really, it is up to you. there is always the question of if my religion is right, and some people don't believe any of them, and that is their choice, as long as we don't try to push our religions on each other, it is all good. The only "bad" religion is that which harms others. Just don't get offended when someone doesn't believe what you do.

You define bad as harming others. Does that include:

The crusades: Christianity
Witch burning: Christianity
Oppression to women: Islam and Christianity
Persecution of "infidels": Islam and Christianity

Can some mod close this thread? It's way off topic, and we atheists and theists are unable to stop ourselves from arguing.

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Originally Posted by Conkt

You define bad as harming others. Does that include:

The crusades: Christianity
Witch burning: Christianity
Oppression to women: Islam and Christianity
Persecution of "infidels": Islam and Christianity

Can some mod close this thread? It's way off topic, and we atheists and theists are unable to stop ourselves from arguing.

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also anti gay/lesbian, anti stem cell, anti aborion anti technology anti porn etc etc

false awakening, if you were still in a dream. If you actually were awake, it could have been a hallucination.

There's a thread about this elsewhere on the forum which contains an article about various stages of consciousness, microsleeps, and how when people first wake...they can still basically be in a dreaming-like state for awhile and experience such things. The lines between sleep and wake are becoming more and more blurred.

You were not blessed with a disturbing and seemingly pointless religious vision that only prayers to God could manage to make go away.

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i mean, personally, i don't see any reason not to believe in god. That is all you have to do to get into heaven (if you believe in it) i mean, to me it is worth it, but really, it is up to you.

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That's Pascal's wager -- there have been some very good rebuttals of it. IMHO, actually there are very good reasons to not believe in "god", but as you said, it is up to each of us.

I would say that this type of thing has happened to me often -- the carry-over from a dream to real life, especially the sounds from a dream. This usually happens with really intense dreams. More often, the feelings and emotions from dreams linger after waking, so I suppose it isn't really that surprising that it happens sometimes.

First of all, I didn't try to start a religious debate. It was a snide comment about God that someone left as a response to my experience. In a dream forum that should not be permitted.

Secondly, God did create Lucifer and Lucifer was at one time perfect and loving. But, he got lifted up within himself and pride ruined him and he became evil by his own free choice. God even gave him an opportunity to humble himself in love, but Lucifer rejected God (his creator) and all that God stood for including love and peace.

Adam and Eve had the same free choice and unfortunately ruined this earth for the rest of us. And, just because something bad (the Crusades) was done in the name of God, doesn't mean He had anything to do with it. God gets blamed for a lot when it is man's stupidity that should be blamed.

It is people's choice whether they want to believe in God, but don't criticize those of us who do. Why criticize and make fun? What offends you? Why does it get under your skin? Some athiests are so opposed to any mention of God that they even have to make a comment about someone's dream on a dream forum of all things. Now that is a closed mind.

I just don't happen to like watching my dad, myself and about 20 of my relatives be 'disowned' by my grandfather when he switches churches. Neither do I like people gasping in horror and running for the weapon shack when I reason that, gee, perhaps the pregnant mother of Jesus wasn't a virgin!

It's not belief I have a problem with, in fact I would have loved to be raised believing in God - talk about comfort and security that only Bob Marley and heaven can bring -, it is organized religion that I have issues with. People making money off of other people's good will.


Back on topic; how long did the waking-dream last for? And what was 'waking up' like? As in, how did it end?

The proper term for still experiencing a dream after you wake up is Hypnopompic Imagery. I don't know why, but these are generally unpleasant. I've never heard of anyone waking up to see a naked woman standing there, it's always shadow people or something.

Eddy...no one criticized you. Try to be a little less defensive about your religious beliefs, especially on an online forum such as this. As well, it's probably not a good idea to assume that everyone that doesn't share your beliefs is automatically atheist (which I'm not) and closed minded (which I am absolutely not). When you stop viewing people's comments as a personal attack and become more confident in your own beliefs you will realize there is no need to be so defensive or to make incorrect generalizations about others. Again, I'm not criticizing you, just trying to give you some general advice that will likely make your stay here more pleasant. ;)

Eddy, dreams don't have to have anything to do with religion.

It doesn't matter if you have a religious beliefs about what dreams are, or if you have a scientific belief of what they are.

Hell, scientific people even believe in beyond dreaming type stuff.

And, I don't see why there should be different rules about religion from any other forum. I do think people should respect religious people an ANY forum, don't think it should be any different just because it has to do with dreams, because like I said, dreams aren't a specific thing to religion.

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Originally Posted by Aquanina

Eddy...no one criticized you. Try to be a little less defensive about your religious beliefs, especially on an online forum such as this. As well, it's probably not a good idea to assume that everyone that doesn't share your beliefs is automatically atheist (which I'm not) and closed minded (which I am absolutely not). When you stop viewing people's comments as a personal attack and become more confident in your own beliefs you will realize there is no need to be so defensive or to make incorrect generalizations about others. Again, I'm not criticizing you, just trying to give you some general advice that will likely make your stay here more pleasant. ;)

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I realize no one was criticizing me. What I was referring to was Conkt snide remark they just had to put in about God when commenting about my experience. Conkt said, " I don't think this god fellow would be able to change the chemical content and electrical currents in your brain."

First of all, I don't feel this was personal toward me. I was just shocked that a forum about dreams would get a snide remark about God when commenting on someone's dream.

I also didn't say others who don't believe as I do (they don't really know what believe anyhow) were athiests did I?

So, if I go on to talk about other dreams involving religion or God in any way am I to expect snide remarks such as what Conkt said? Is what they said appropriate in a forum that's supposed to be from open minded people discussing dreams of all things?

Why do emphasise the fact that it is a dream forum? Why do you seem to think that a dream forum should be more strict about religion?

But, I think it is wrong to say bad things about religion, but I do not think it should be against the rules to say things like what Conkt said.

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Originally Posted by slash112

Why do emphasise the fact that it is a dream forum? Why do you seem to think that a dream forum should be more strict about religion?

But, I think it is wrong to say bad things about religion, but I do not think it should be against the rules to say things like what Conkt said.

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I just thought that since this isn't a religion forum full of debate that people would simply comment about a person's dream without weird remarks. Since this is a forum about dreams I thought differently about it and it's users thinking they must be open minded people that can accept the person's dream from what it is and not delve into religious debate. I never will again bring up any experience I've had in that regard on this forum. Those are the deepest ones anyhow and would'nt be appreciated by many on here. I'd rather not start debates of that nature.

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Originally Posted by Aquanina

There's a thread about this elsewhere on the forum which contains an article about various stages of consciousness, microsleeps, and how when people first wake...they can still basically be in a dreaming-like state for awhile and experience such things. The lines between sleep and wake are becoming more and more blurred.

You were not blessed with a disturbing and seemingly pointless religious vision that only prayers to God could manage to make go away.

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It certainly wasn't a pleasant experience, but it did make an impact. Maybe that was the point, to see someone that many believe has caused such trouble for mankind be trapped in a pit. I was awake for a while, actually out of my bed and walking and then sitting down and the experience continued for a while.

I know someone who prayed and fasted for 40 days (drinking only water) to get reality of God. They asked God to let them see an angel. Sometime toward the end of the 40 days an angel appeared to them in their house. The man was not sleeping. They were simply wide awake and saw the angel appear. It frightened the man so much to see such a bright holy being that he prayed to God to take it away. The angel vanished instantly. BTW, my friend told me the angel did not have wings, had hair down to his shoulders and had pure eyes of love and peace. But, the experience frightened him so much he wanted it to go away.

My experience, since I was coming out of sleep, I believe as others (after reading some unbiased comments) that it was just hallucinatory. I don't believe it was a true vision. But, it must have had some importance for it to have the impact that it did. I asked a minister about it and they also did not confirm it as a vision, but an experience of worth.

I didn't mean any offense, I just meant that praying will have almost no effect on alleviating nightmares.
Oh, and about Dreamviews being an open minded forum, open minded people generally lean towards atheism and agnosticism. We are open to new ideas, such as scientific discoveries, as opposed to religion which only follows a 2000 year old book. For a visual representation, click the afro :fro:

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Originally Posted by Conkt

I didn't mean any offense, I just meant that praying will have almost no effect on alleviating nightmares.

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Speak for yourself my friend. It worked for me.:)

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Originally Posted by Conkt

Oh, and about Dreamviews being an open minded forum, open minded people generally lean towards atheism and agnosticism. We are open to new ideas, such as scientific discoveries, as opposed to religion which only follows a 2000year old book.

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I can't think of a more open minded person as one who uses pure faith to believe in someone they've never seen before. As far as science, I've studied botany and biology and was headed into that field knowing full well all of Darwin's studies. Many don't realize the first mention of any evolutionary idea was in Genesis. It plainly states fish of the sea and fowl of the air both came from the sea. The big difference is whether the current race of Homo sapiens had any connection to pre-historic man (the 'caveman' as some would say). I know a Christian minister who believes (based on current science) that current mankind is indeed a new species and that there is no 'missing link' only similarities. And, that of course the earth is VERY old and there's a great gap of time between the first and second verse of Genesis. There are other passages that refer to a civilization before the earth's ice age or 'void' mentioned in Genesis 1:2. Many mistakenly think the Bible says the earth is only 6000 years old, but they don't realize it doesn't say that anywhere, but only focuses on this new civilization with man created in God's image. The creatures of prehistoric times, many theologians believe, did not have souls. They were entirely different.

Forgive us for getting off topic. Conkt and I couldn't resist.:)

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Originally Posted by Eddy

I just thought that since this isn't a religion forum full of debate that people would simply comment about a person's dream without weird remarks. Since this is a forum about dreams I thought differently about it and it's users thinking they must be open minded people that can accept the person's dream from what it is and not delve into religious debate. I never will again bring up any experience I've had in that regard on this forum. Those are the deepest ones anyhow and would'nt be appreciated by many on here. I'd rather not start debates of that nature.

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Ah, I see. Well, us dreamers are a very mixed community. And that would be the reason for the amount of different off-topic sections. (i.e. a religion section and a science section)

But really, don't worry about saying stuff like that. But maybe it's best that you say in brackets something like "this is how I feel it is", or "in terms of my beliefs" kind of thing.

Most of us are open minded to everything, but there are unfortunately some here which are very ignorant of people's beliefs. But don't worry about them.


And Conkt, you do realise that even if God does not exist, praying still gives confidence, and confidence is a big big part in lucid dreaming.

I don't understand how it double posted my comment so I removed the second one.

Slash is right, dreams have nothing to do with religion. we are getting off topic

but conkt, and yuri, you are right. Those are horrible things that come from religion. I am talking about more passive religion. As long as we dont use religion as an excuse for murder and such, the belief that there is a God will not hurt you. it does not say anywhere that you should not do stem cell research, and even what the bible says will not be fully correct. you have to remember that people have changed it over the years. That is the problem with people, that they take it to literally and stubbornly. The religions' books are guides, not textbooks, and shouldn't be read like textbooks.

it is not necessarily the religion, but the stupid people in the religion that is bad, and those stupid people will be in every religion. Like i said, though, it is your choice to believe in what you want. If Christianity is wrong, i am screwed, and i don't know. no one can really know for a fact can they?

sheo, you are right, no one can know for sure.

So me myself, I like to stick with things that have an argument. I suppose Conkt's picture is kinda my opinion on things.

BUT, I am open minded, I respect most beliefs.

And woa, you are right, this has gone WAY off topic.

So, to answer the OP, it is either a false awakening, or hallucinations.

It has been proven that praying changes the way your brain works, but it does the same thing when you meditate. The act of praying can help with lucid dreaming, but no more than meditating, and it's not by an god's hand that you become lucid.

Open mindedness alone is not a good thing. It must be paired with a healthy level of skepticism, else one risks becoming gullible. To quote Noogah, "Careful. Being too open minded will make your brains fall out." I'm not saying that there is no god. For all we know, god very well could have created the universe. I'm saying that there is no proof of him/her ever touching the Earth or altering it in any way. Because of this, all human religions are but superstitions, losing all credence. They are an immature means for early mankind to make sense of that which was, until recently, beyond understanding.

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Originally Posted by Conkt

..there is no proof of him/her ever touching the Earth or altering it in any way.

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Well.. hmmmm..

"String Theory" posits something that may point to the existence of "God".

I'll try to explain as I understand it:

"God" as "Creator".. "God" as the source of all life/energy..

According to String Theory, the Universe that we inhabit, although inordinately large, is essentially finite..

And at the limits of the Universe is a cocoon-like structure of intermeshed lines of "energy" which are the source of all "energy" contained in the universe, and that includes you and me, the stones, the dust, everything.

So.. if this turns out to be true, then, being the source of all energy, this cocoon could well be termed "God".. not a human-like God who hears our prayers and who cares for us, but a rather impersonal entity, who couldn't really give a damn one way or the other, because it is too far removed from the human to be affected by our petty machinations.

Just a thought.

I agree. If there is a god, it is not a white man with a beard who lives on a cloud, as many people seem to believe. I will believe in god once adequate proof of its existence is discovered.
String theory is rather strange, though. Here is a visual representation:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/string_theory.png

Is it not possible that all gods of all religions were actually human beings in some far ahead future tampering with the timeline in order to fix something that would have inevitably doomed us, creating a paradox with an explanation that is so complex that we could only classify it as gods due to the inability to explain it to people who don't even know what electricity is, much less quantum mechanics.

now magnify the complexity of that by one thousand and you have the string theory :)

That's called science fiction.

Locking the thread for now, may move it to R/S if it continues to get too far off track.

And guys, let's please not derail every thread where someone mentions having some kind of religious beliefs, especially in the on-topic forums. :(