Hi I'm new :P

[NinjaBear]

Hi, call me Benji. As you can see, I'm quite new here. (Ignore the strange username, it's my sisters Pomeranians nickname. I couldn't think of anything else) I'm 20 years old and have always been quite interested in dreams and sleep patterns. I've always been good at remembering my dreams. When I was in middle/high school, I kept a journal. I don't any more but after last night, am considering doing so again. Since my dreams have always been vivid and off, I've always been interested in dreaming. Other than that, I'm a college student and a dog person and not very good at introductions. I do have a question, though. Most of what I've read online about lucid dreaming today has stated that most people spend a fair amount of time learning how to do it and that some people even have to use techniques. My question is... is it possible to be natural at it and are my dreams, indeed, Lucid Dreams? Many of my dreams (from a very young age) have involved me realizing that I was dreaming. My reality test is usually pinching myself (this started when I was young after seeing a cartoon in which the character pinched himself to make sure he was awake - the method stuck with me and followed me into adulthood) and if it doesn't hurt, I conclude that I must be dreaming because if I were awake, it would hurt. A great deal of my dreams have went with me realizing I was dreaming and when I was younger, I'd manipulate them a lot. (I recall one nightmare that involved a spider... I made the spider orange so it would be less scary ) Last night, though, was the most interesting. At one point in the dream, while I was walking with a friend, I said to her "I think I'm dreaming," and realized that if I was, indeed, dreaming, I could control everything around me. I tested this by changing people around me (genders, races, height, weight) and when it worked, I started completely controlling the dream. It was quite fun. At one point, a bad guy approached me and wanted to fight - knowing I was dreaming, I decided I wanted magic powers and just like that, I had them. Thing is, I haven't even heard of Lucid Dreaming until recently and have never practised. It's just something that happens while I'm dreaming from time to time. I've come here because if it is, indeed, Lucid Dreaming, I'd love to get better at it because I see it as potential. The dream I had last night was fun and if it's possible to get better at it, well, I'm game. This is an interesting forum and site. I will have a look around now. Hi again.

[Merro]

Hey there! Welcome to Dreamviews! ^_^

[NinjaBear]

Thank you for the welcome.

[Seroquel]

Welcome to DV And hi Skarr fancy meeting you here.

[mrdeano]

Welcome to Dreamviews It is great that you have a keen interest in dreaming already. It would be a good idea to start up your dream journal again, this will help you remember your dreams in more detail than before. As for your question, yes it seems so. There are a select few that seem to have Lucid Dreams on a regular basis with minimal effort. Although I would have to say this is pretty rare and it is more common for people to struggle to even get their first. It is also common for younger people to experience lucid dreaming more often than older. Anyway! I hope you enjoy your stay with us

[NinjaBear]

Thanks to both of you for the welcome. I was just looking at the dream journals here. I am definitely interested in starting one. Even though I can usually remember my dreams, I do tend to forget little details as time goes by. Thanks for answering my question. The whole Lucid Dream thing is really intriguing to me... so, I'm wanting to learn as much as I can. The fact that it's more common for younger people to experience it makes sense (since such dreams began when I was a kid). Thanks again and I'm sure I will.

[mrdeano]

Thanks to both of you for the welcome. I was just looking at the dream journals here. I am definitely interested in starting one. Even though I can usually remember my dreams, I do tend to forget little details as time goes by. Thanks for answering my question. The whole Lucid Dream thing is really intriguing to me... so, I'm wanting to learn as much as I can. The fact that it's more common for younger people to experience it makes sense (since such dreams began when I was a kid). Thanks again and I'm sure I will. You should look at Banhurt's dream journal software Dreamjournal 2.6. It allows you to journal all your dreams and upload them directly to this website It's fantastic! I think the childhood thing is something to do with nightmares. A lot of children would become lucid to get out of a bad dream. It would be like a natural instinct.

[NinjaBear]

I will have a look. It sounds pretty nifty. Yeah, that makes sense. I guess it would explain how I was able to change the spider in my one dream to make it less scary.

[fOrceez]

Hi there NinjaBear, It seems you may possibly be a natural lucid dreamer~ awesome The thing is about pain in dreams is, if you expect pain, you will get it, if you don't expect pain, you won't. Having pain may not necessarily mean you are awake. You should check out some other reality checks that are done aswell

[NinjaBear]

Thanks for the welcome. I've read that since I've started looking into it. I'm looking at other reality checks and will definitely try some out. Editing to say that I think I know what you mean. In a roundabout way, anyway. Because when I pinch myself in my dreams, I expect it not to hurt if I'm dreaming but at that point, I'm already wondering if I'm dreaming so, in a way, do not expect it to hurt. Even though I don't know whether it will or not. (That was a mouthful) But I do recall feeling pain in dreams regardless when I expected it to hurt. Going to check out some of the others now... Thanks again.

[MatthewOlson]

Natural lucid dreaming is definitely something you should be proud of, since it literally means you have a head start on the process already. Lucid dreaming isn't really an action (something you do) as much as it is a result. The fact that you have been dreaming lucidly even before knowing the term 'lucid dreaming' still means those are 'lucid dreams'. The base of lucid dreaming is simply knowing that you are dreaming WHEN you are dreaming; all of the dream control and dream interaction there-on is simply taking it to the next level.

[NinjaBear]

That's awesome (that it's something to be proud of, I mean). I've been having a look-see around the site and I think I can get the hang of it, so, I think I get it. That Lucid Dreaming is knowing that you are dreaming (when you actually are, like you said). I would like to get better at the control and the interaction, though. So I can take it even further to the next level. Thank you for posting.

[zebrah]

That's awesome (that it's something to be proud of, I mean). I've been having a look-see around the site and I think I can get the hang of it, so, I think I get it. That Lucid Dreaming is knowing that you are dreaming (when you actually are, like you said). I would like to get better at the control and the interaction, though. So I can take it even further to the next level. Thank you for posting. Here is a late welcome from me If you have any questions you can always post or PM me. Dream control is all about confidence in your ability to control the dream.

[dakotahnok]

Here is a late welcome from me too. Pm me if you have any questions. Don't be a stanger.