Dream stage fright?

[DanaN]

Normally I dream a lot, 3 to 6 times a night, and I have pretty good dream recall. So last night I set up my dream journal with new book light attached, listened to a Le Barge meditation, said repeatedly to myself, In my next dream I'm going to know I'm dreaming. So then I couldn't sleep. Finally got to sleep around 4 am, then had old ex husband yucky dreams. I think I might have set myself up for that because in the day I thought since I don't see him much, I would know I'm dreaming if I dream about him. I remember the first time I tried to meditate, my thoughts were all over the place, couldn't get my mind to settle. Then on the next meditation, I made my thoughts the focus object, and they wouldn't come out to play. It's like, IF you're going to watch, I'm not going to come out. I think that happened with my dreams too. During the day, I'm doing reality checks, but I think I need to ease up a little at night, take some pressure off. The dream I did have this morning, I wasn't lucid at all, not even close, and I've drug the yucky emotions along into wake time. Maybe later today I'll take a nap. Do you find you scare your dreams away by promising to know you're dreaming?

[jeffreyhkccd]

Originally posted by DanaN Normally I dream a lot, 3 to 6 times a night, and I have pretty good dream recall. So last night I set up my dream journal with new book light attached, listened to a Le Barge meditation, said repeatedly to myself, In my next dream I'm going to know I'm dreaming. So then I couldn't sleep. Finally got to sleep around 4 am, then had old ex husband yucky dreams. I think I might have set myself up for that because in the day I thought since I don't see him much, I would know I'm dreaming if I dream about him. I remember the first time I tried to meditate, my thoughts were all over the place, couldn't get my mind to settle. Then on the next meditation, I made my thoughts the focus object, and they wouldn't come out to play. It's like, IF you're going to watch, I'm not going to come out. I think that happened with my dreams too. During the day, I'm doing reality checks, but I think I need to ease up a little at night, take some pressure off. The dream I did have this morning, I wasn't lucid at all, not even close, and I've drug the yucky emotions along into wake time. Maybe later today I'll take a nap. Do you find you scare your dreams away by promising to know you're dreaming? Last nite was my first try and I really worked myself up by telling myself that I'd be prepared to notice as soon as I start dreaming: I did with all the 4 dreams but as soon did, the dream stoped and I was back to plain sleeping. This happend four times and I woke up remembering the dreams that I did have and wasnt awared of. Maybe I was too exited when I realized I was dreaming?

[DanaN]

Well, now I'm having trouble getting to sleep at night. I think I need a different approach than concentrating on remembering dreams and knowing I'm dreaming. I did dream a lot this morning, but absolutely no clue that I was dreaming.

[jeffreyhkccd]

Good thing that I could at least fall asleep. DanaN give it a rest for a nite or two 'cos sleeplessness invites the same.

[DanaN]

Yup, that's what I figure too. Tonight I'll try to just sleep as usual.

[Fallen.Rain]

I've found that I couldn't sleep as well when I began trying to LD, so right now I'm taking a break. I can't afford to lose sleep when I have to work but hopefully soon that won't be a prob. anymore and when things calm down I'll give it another shot. But I do agree, it is like the more I think about it the harder it becomes but that seems to be the case with anything remotely like meditation. Thinking on it too hard wakes you up too much. What you need, and I need, is a "no-thingness" approach as in Buddhism. It's not so much an active attempt to force everything out of your head but more of a gentle existence in nothing. I need to get back into meditation in general as well. Meditating at times other than those when you feel you want to accomplish something can help to leave you more relaxed altogether and more open to other things.

[jeffreyhkccd]

I'm seriousely considering using a machine to remind me that I'm dreaming when I do *there is such a machine* . But learning it is s'posed to be part of the fun. What you guys think?

[DanaN]

The last two nights I went to sleep like regular, but read about lucid dreaming before going to sleep. I slept as usual, with no pressure added, and last night dreamed most of potatoe casseroles. Weird. But this morning when I went back to bed after dropping my son off at school, I dreamed a lot and vividly. In one of the dreams I was talking to this man who was painted black, and had weird dyed gray hair. I thought he was really odd, and I looked around to see if anyone else noticed. They seemed not to. So he and I talked about where we should have the next Buddhist retreat, but the whole time I was wondering why he was painted black. I don't mean black as in black people, but black as in as spray pain black. So bizarre! So, now I'm wondering if that was my reality check. You know, hello, Dana, this is a dream! Or maybe it meant something else. Dana

[jeffreyhkccd]

Dana you dreamt about food? Did you try to taste that potato dish? I dream about food too. And the last time I was eating some chicken & chessnut (a chinese dish). It was really yum yum stuff. I wish I could get lucid real soon and when I do, I'm going to stuff myself guilt freeeeeeeee.

[DanaN]

I do dream about food frequently, and it tastes real in the dream. When I woke from the potato cassorerole one, I could still taste the potatoes! I'm having really vivid dreams lately, and last night wrote down four of them. All I've been doing before going to sleep is saying, I will remember my dreams. I'm not putting on any pressure about lucid dreaming yet, as that seems to scare away my dreams. I notice when I first wake, my first thought is, hmm, I don't think I dreamed. But as I lie there it all starts coming back to me. Oh, yeah! And then I write it down. Right now I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of several books on dreaming and lucid dreaming. I plan on reading those to see what other techniques are available, and to just practice writing down my dreams for now. I've had some pretty odd ones, and I see some patterns evolving. It's also giving me some glimpses into some areas I need to work on in my waking life. It's a lot of fun just noticing dreams and thinking about them later, what they might mean, what the possibilities are. I'm reading this book right now called Conscious Dreaming, which is excellent. I recommend it to all.