Thread: My friends don't believe in lucid dreaming

Plus my family thinks I'm into some weird cult now.

Well, first things first, right?
My first contact with lucid dreaming was through my Theory of Knowledge teacher. He mentioned it in class, and after a few weeks came back to the topic and showed us some scenes from "Waking Life"

It's been almost two years since I've graduated from high school, and I had completely forgotten about it until a few months ago, when stumbled upon the Wikipedia entry on Lucid Dreaming.

I'm going to omit the boring details now and just say that last week my copy of "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" (by Stephen LBerge and Howard Rheingold) arrived by mail.
I must admit I bought it on impulse, and I was just wondering if it is as good and practical as it's back cover says

Well do you blame them? They don't know what lucid dreaming is and its not like you can show them. They're just going to have to find out with experience hopefully they do.


P.S what brought up the topic?

Tell them it's basically awareness when you're dreaming, caused by a sudden burst of awareness (which happens to be biological/mental). That means it must be real!

And lucid dream's no cult. We're more of a tight-knit group of people who value the benefits of knowing that they're dreaming.

Why is lucid dreaming so hard for some people to believe? It's simply being aware that you are dreaming. It's a pretty common experience to try to wake up while in a nightmare because you know you're dreaming, which is basically being lucid.

As for the "cult" thing, explaining to them that it's just a harmless, fun way to utilize dreams, and that it's been scientifically proven should dispel their worries.

Originally Posted by strael

Why is lucid dreaming so hard for some people to believe? It's simply being aware that you are dreaming. It's a pretty common experience to try to wake up while in a nightmare because you know you're dreaming, which is basically being lucid.

As for the "cult" thing, explaining to them that it's just a harmless, fun way to utilize dreams, and that it's been scientifically proven should dispel their worries.

Well some people don't believe it because 1. they probably can't do it 2. they think your saying you have magic powers or something.

Just some people have to "see it too believe it" and there is nothing wrong with that.

Originally Posted by Kolten

Well some people don't believe it because 1. they probably can't do it 2. they think your saying you have magic powers or something.

Just some people have to "see it too believe it" and there is nothing wrong with that.

I some what feel this post is directed towards me.

Uhm, I wouldn't really know, I don't really talk about it with anyone I know.
I'm pretty sure if I'd tell them that I perform RC's or attempt wild's, some of them would think I'm crazy or part of some weird cult.
However, if I'd just tell them that I'm sometimes aware that I'm dreaming in a dream (lucid), I think that would be more easily comprehensible.
Plus, I don't even want to imagine what they would think if I described some of the dreams I had.

I have a very good friend, whom I've told some things I do, and some of the dreams I had, and he has a very hard time grasping "dream logic" (he never had a lucid).
See, talking to animals and jumping out of windows to try flying are things someone who never had a lucid dream cannot really understand.
They would never ever jump out of a window, because they cannot understand the difference between "knowing you are dreaming" and "thinking you are dreaming (in which case jumping would be insane!)".
At least that's how my friend explained it to me, that is why he finds the whole stuff hard to understand, and just cannot follow my "reasoning" I have in dreams.

There was a was wise man who once said "We testify to what we have seen and speak of what we have known."

It should not be a problem that people should believe anything based solely on words, after all, they have not participated in the naming convention--i.e. no experience to go with the words. This is not a problem, and in fact, is right response.

The fault is when you want belief to mean things one has not experienced, or when one refuses to experience. Some people cannot experience, and will then never believe, but that is how it should be.

In this day and age, you may have no real experience, but should not believe what you read, or others say, you should seek your own experience and understanding. All you can do in many cases is test the words of others. Part of that testing can actually be done simply by words, because there is a foundation for right usage. When violated, you know people are speaking bullshit.

No one eats supper for someone else we may or may not eat supper with someone else.

Your friends don't know what they are talking about. It is hard to get people to overcome their ignorance. Maybe you could buy them a book, or watch Waking Life with them?

What's there not to believe? It's a scientifically founded phenomena. It's as real as anything that's considered "normal". Tell 'em to google it or something. That's like not believing in dreams because you can't remember them.

Oh and I also JUST bought Laberges book on impulse. I'm probably 60 pages into it... It's awesome. Very informal and he brings alot of experience to the table, so to speak. He has a load of different induction techniques and relaxation techniques (that I've read so far) that sound really promising. He is a lil bit dry but if you're interested in the topic it shouldn't be a big deal.

Just thought of something else: tell them they most likely had a lucid dream before, but they just can't remember it.

Olá, bem vinda ao DV
The book is good, but you'll probably find everything you need to know here at the forums. The book includes lots of theorical and technical about lucid dreaming and mind, but if you want to learn lucid dream and techniques, better stick on the forum.