Thread: Keep going forever?

A lucid dream could, in theory, last as long as an entire REM period. This at its maximum could be up to between 45 minutes and an hour, there are dreamless stages of sleep, so it's not possible to have a continuous lucid dream the whole time you're asleep.

There is such thing as time distortion in dreams, but probably up to a few day at most.

There's people who affirm that they've spent years and life times in a dream.
I find that hard to believe, though. I'd say one week maximum.

But dont usual dreams like only a few seconds?
if in real life 45 minutes go by, cant that be DAYS?

Originally Posted by Lizh

But dont usual dreams like only a few seconds?
if in real life 45 minutes go by, cant that be DAYS?

Yeah. But one day isn't like you're 24 hours on it. It's like on movies, they cut off the boring parts, and leave only the good stuff.

Well even if you can only last 45 minutes to an hour maximum in a dream you can WILD back into your next dream the moment you wake up i guess. Chaining your dreams together. although recording that in a dream journal would write a novel in a month.

The longest an LD can last is until the end of the REM cycle you are in. Usually much shorter than that.
Time isn't linear at all in dreams.

Such a debatable topic. Here's the way I think of it: At the beginning stage of lucid dreaming, are minds are bound to laws we have in the waking world. Through practice we learn to break these connections and in turn we can act in ways not likely possible in this reality. Time may also be a law of the waking world we have imposed on ourselves. Perhaps through more practice we can learn to alter our belief in time in order to have "long" lucid dreams.

Haven't really tried it, or had an opportunity to try it. But when I manage to test it I will let you know

On the other side, from what I have read. This would depend on definition of a dream.
For example, if you follow the purely scientific approach then a dream could last a few days. few years, few decades, but it would never be an infinite amount.
Since time in dreams isn't linear, as you jump from evening to morning in a dream. You could jump a whole year. But you could not do that infinite times.

On the other hand. You have more esoteric or occult approach to dreams.
Where you have a definition - that whenever you dream you are actually in Astral Plane. In your own, little, dream pool.
This way dream sharing could also be possible. You just jump to someone else pool
Also Astral Plane doesn't have the time dimension, our brain 'adds' that to it.
So looking at dreams from that angle it could very well be possible.

But once again, I cant really tell you anything because I haven't really manage to try it
Maybe some more experienced lucid dreamer will have an answer supported with a little more actual experiences.

Personally, I think fck definitions everything is possible.

Oh but I've had many dreams where I lived months in one night. And a very few even years. Time 's really irrelivant in dreams. It's all about the experience

Well when u think about i mean like how much u think went by. i can sit in a chair for a while and say "hmm, ive sat here for like about 5 minutes"

Time is an abstract concept created by carbon-based life-forms to monitor their ongoing decay.

I don't think you can actually live out more than a few hours in a dream, given the fact that REM periods are relatively short. There can be time distortion, but not much. "Months" or "years" may be fragments of time, one after the other, that adds up to give the illusion that you've dreamed for that long. Upon awakening, memories may be filled in for you. I've had this happen to me after one lucid, remembering certain details and then realizing I hadn't actually dreamed them. It was a mind trip. o.o

Another issue, if it is possible to stay in a lucid, is just that - staying lucid.

Given the length of REM periods, I find it slightly hard to believe. Perhaps reoccurences could happen but aside from that, I'm not sure. I don't think it's very possible, though.

i wouldnt want to have a very long dream.
IT WOULD TAKE FOREVER TO FILL OUT IN MY DJ

Time is subjective in dreams so theoretically I suppose they can go on for what seems like years. Longest one I had felt like about an hour. I found a trick to keep LDs going. Dunno if its like this for everyone but a problem I have is that the dream often blacks out, it just turns black then if I try to move my physical body will move and I wake up. The trick I've found is to just lay there without moving a muscle and the dream starts up again. Thats how I made one go on for what felt like an hour.

u mean a lucid dream of hours long , dont u ? i'm pretty sure that it's possible but since we all have problems to make them last more than 10 minutes i suppose it would be difficult. maybe if u develop a 100% effective technique for u to not to dissolve the dream u could do it every X time and remain in a dream for an hour or two for example . I have to say too , now that I remembered , I had an experience with a normal dream about 4 or 5 years ago , I fall asleep 20 min before having to go school , and it was a fuking loooooooong dream , I remember in that dream passed even years , and when I woked up I had this sensation of ''wtf, I have been sleeping 2 or 3 hours at least '' , I looked the clock and I was been only 15 minutes sleeping . This clearly shows how time can be SO relative in dreams.

Originally Posted by CrimpJiggler

Time is subjective in dreams so theoretically I suppose they can go on for what seems like years. Longest one I had felt like about an hour. I found a trick to keep LDs going. Dunno if its like this for everyone but a problem I have is that the dream often blacks out, it just turns black then if I try to move my physical body will move and I wake up. The trick I've found is to just lay there without moving a muscle and the dream starts up again. Thats how I made one go on for what felt like an hour.

That's a technique called Deild.

thanks for all the great responses guys