Computers:

I have found, while lucid, that computers are very hard and sometimes frightening to use. One of the non-frightening ones was that I was doing a google search on a type of bird I had seen earlier in the dream (I wanted to ID it). Of course I didn't expect google to work over a dream, but I wondered if it might jog my memory of the species name if I had heard of it before. What I typed on the keyboard never came up as expected, sometimes just jumbled letters or unrelated words. The search results were all strange too, no complete sentences, just random words line after line.

Ever since I got a computer at age 10 I have had nightmares about them, usually while lucid (maybe the cause of becoming lucid, as after a while I caught on to the pattern and it became an indicator of dreaming). It usually involved the computer suddenly going strange and experiencing multiple graphical and performance glitches, usually in start-up mode when everything is on that black background with white lettering. Suddenly there would be chunks of Blue Screen of Death, letters looked misshapen, no complete sentences and sometimes no complete words.

I would try to pull out the plug, but they would not turn off. Then I would lose my lucidity as I would be frozen on the spot, paralysed, unable to move or flee. I'd usually have scary disturbing visions pop up on the monitor too.

Televisions:

My experiences with televisions are much like those with computers. It may begin with the television going fuzzy (like when you are trying to tune a channel, started scaring me even while awake from age 4). Then it might make strange noises or you might see strange things. The indicator is not being able to turn it off, I caught on to that indicator early on so it was not hard to use it on computers. I also suffer from the same paralysed-on-the-spot-in-fear syndrome.

Mirrors:

At the beginning, as I was getting used to the idea of lucid dreaming I discovered another indicator - mirrors. Mirrors used to be very freaky and unpleasant for me when I was learning lucidity. I would be aware of being in a dream but unable to control what appeared on the mirror. I would be overwhelmed with a need to look at the mirror, but terrified knowing it was going to be scary. My melted face, a mutant, an alien, a dark vortex, etc, but never anything normal, never my true reflection. Since then however I have had more interesting dreams about mirrors.

I had one many years ago about finding an old antique mirror (non-lucid so I'll be brief) where I had a normal reflection but got sucked into it, with the distinct sensation of being disintegrated, and re-formed elsewhere.

Nowadays, if I'm lucid the mirror will display a pretty normal reflection. I can look at myself and see it as normal, bar a few imperfections. However, there still seems to be a sinister feeling behind the reflection, something about it that just doesn't look safe and I can't put my finger on it - even while lucid and thinking relatively rationally.

Anything greatly out of the ordinary in mirrors for me now is usually something mundane appearing behind me, like an out-of-place piece of furniture that isn't in the "reality" side of the mirror, or in the same manner a cat just minding its own business, strolling by like some unaware member of the public that has just stumbled in the way of a film crew in the middle of a shot.

Light Switches:

Fairly interesting, but another one that caused me nightmares.

It was one of my very first indicators that led to lucidity, probably began as soon as I was tall enough to reach a light switch. From an early age I realised that if a light switch didn't turn on the lights in the room, turned them on extremely dimly, the bulb exploded, or the switch turned on something different entirely - like a T.V., computer, or fan, then I was dreaming.

Usually the realisation was so frightening, that I would force myself to wake up by trying to scream (always failed, but trying itself was always enough), the attempt to scream, tightening eyes shut, usually cause the dream to disintegrate.

What I was afraid of was not being lucid, but being stuck in a dream where it was dark and I wanted the lights on because I was scared, and suddenly I felt alone because I knew my parents in the dream world could turn into evil monsters at the slightest whim, so I had nowhere for comfort either. I was aware by that age that I was prone to seeing scary things in the dark in dreams.



Now, I am interested to know what your experiences have been for each of these things, T.V., Computers, Mirrors and Light Switches?