Met Myself

Hello. I'm new to this site, but I'm happy to find a place where I can share my adventures. I've been off and on experimenting with lucid dreaming for a long time now. I remember having my first one when I was around 13 or 14 probably.
I started reading Stephen LaBerge's book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming a couple of years ago and just recently have been reading it exclusively. I've found I've been getting more out of it by flipping through and finding what interests me at that moment (Just recently became a mother and don't have a whole lot of time to read these days) But I've found, with the interrupted sleep and the 5 minute smoke breaks reading bit by bit I've been more conscious in my dreams lately.

Anyway. I really wanted to share a dream I had this morning after feeding and finally getting my son back to sleep. The description might seem vague because I had a few false awakenings. I will try to explain it as best as I can though. Here it goes:

First thing I remember I was in my home and I was standing right where the living room becomes the kitchen (I live in a trailer) and I can't remember who was sitting in a chair beside me, but I remember seeing my son Westley in his infant seat and it was so real, but at that point I just knew I was dreaming. I knew I was really laying on the floor right now and not standing here. I decided to test my state, but I didn't do the usual check the clock thing or my hands. I walked into the kitchen and noticed the door to one of the cabinets. I decided to kind of push it along and see if it would just slide off, not sure what I was thinking, but it worked. Next thing I knew I was watching a home video of me and my sisters. I was watching myself, and I had this shirt on which in the dream I thought it was familiar and I remember saying to myself, "Hey, I remember that shirt." But.... I don't remember it anymore. I decided to go into the movie. I just appeared next to myself, looked myself in the eyes and got a little creeped out. I remembered something at that point, something I read in the book about how I might not be ready to meet myself, so I decided to walk away and go explore. Just then my other self started to turn towards me as I walkd away and I looked back and she had a wine glass in her hand. She was getting ready to throw it at me, so then I remembered another thing. I remembered to confront this threat with friendliness and love. So I braced myself for her throw and caught the wine glass. I decided we were going to play catch. Then the wine glass turned into a baseball and we threw it back in forth for a minute. I was overwhelmed at how the situation changed, so my other self ran up to me and hugged me. Last thing I remember is telling myself that I loved her and staring myself in the eyes. It was very very intense at the end.

I'm not sure what that means. I know I have been having confidence issues. Hopefully this is a start.
If anyone took time to read this, I appreciate it, and would love some feedback on what you think about it, or a lucid dream that you might have had that is similar. thanks

Seems like a very emotional and helpful dream to me, saying that you love your other self might be one step forward towards ending your confidence issues.
Although this reminds me of a nightmare, probably the worst I've ever had. I was but a child, probably 5 or 6 years old, hm. Well doesn't matter, anyway.
Good luck with your research and your lucid dreams.

Thank you. I'd really like to hear about your nightmare though. I understand if you don't feel like describing it.

If you insist.
The whole setting of the nightmare was some kind of dark garden, a macabre version of those castle ones, forming a giant labyrinth full of plants.
I was the killer, a vampire from what I could understand from the dream, I was seeing through his eyes, smelling through his nose and feeling throughout his whole being, and it was one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had, although I don't quite think I had non-vivid dreams.
I sensed the heartbeats and the fear from each one of my friends trapped in the maze, I was hungry for their life, their blood. So, I decided to turn the already creepy garden into a slaughterhouse, stalking the ones that lagged behind the group, and silently killing them, while savoring their blood. Might I add now, it tasted like nothing I've ever tasted until now, so exhilarating and delicious.
And I chased, and I killed them, one by one, in the most brutal ways his warped mind could imagine, and I enjoyed every single moment of it. ( I will add this now, but one of my friends inside this dream, we weren't friends. Yet. In fact, I would only meet him, I think, 4 or 6 years in the future.)
Finally, I was the only one left, so I pursued myself, my other body. Eventually I found it, and I stared down at my scared eyes, and, suddenly, I was myself again, staring at his huge and terrifying form. Just as he lunged forward to kill me, too, the nightmare was over, and I was in my bed, sweating and panting.
That's it, hm.

That's intense. And you were a child. I thought I had crazy dreams when I was a kid. Wow. That is a nightmare, sorry, that must've frightened you. It seems to me you've probably learned a lot from your dreams then. I always had recurring dreams about witches for some reason. I never had a lucid dream that I can remember from childhood anyway, but I can remember a lot of disturbing dreams I've had. And I dream every night, not always vividly, but I always remember a dream from the night before. Thanks for sharing that with me. I need to try things like that. I'm sure it was terrifying, but if you knew it was a dream, wow, the possibilities with your mind.

That's the problem, I don't think I've ever had control inside a Dream. Thinking carefully, I don't remember a lucid dream at all. As I said, they're always realistic, and even though the setting may be ridiculous, it manages to feel real. Now, in childish nightmares, I remember lots of them, the more memorable ones. One might not believe they came from inside an infant's mind, but, there. On Recurring dreams, I don't think I've had those, too. About terrified, don't worry, as a child I was used to having nightmares like this one. I did learn lots of things from dreams, though. How to face my own phobias was one of the things only my dreams could teach me.
Hope you had better luck in the fields of Lucid Dreaming than me, hm. Good luck with your problems, too.

Thanks. Good luck with your attaining lucidity.