Hey all. I'm very interested in lucid dreaming and am delighted to have found this forum!

By way of introduction, I'd like to try and start a discussion about a question I've been pondering lately.

Re-reading LaBerge's 'Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming' has made me curious about the worth of lucid dreaming itself - whether or not it is better to be able to have lucid dreams; to be conscious whilst sleeping.

I can certainly see the appeal of lucid dreams - to be equipped with all of the senses you have in waking life, in an environment which is limited only by your own imagination. However, I wonder whether we lose something by learning to become lucid in our dreams. I often have what I'd call meaningful dreams, dreams that have given me insight into my own life and feelings, dreams which, if I had been lucid in, would not have been so useful to me.

What I'm trying to say is: don't we need this access to our unconscious mind? Isn't it more valuable than appeasing ourselves through conscious, or lucid, wish-fulfilment?

In one sense, I can see how being able to have lucid dreams would be a very worthy thing. Considering how wildly different dreaming can be to waking life, it's a wonder how many more people aren't capable of lucid dreaming. Surely the ability to have lucid dream shows that you have a good clear grasp on the real world, on how things should be and really are in waking life.

Any thoughts?

Sorry about the over-long introduction! I'm a philosophy student forced into idleness by the waiting for the next semester!