Inadvertant Lucid Dreamer Trying to Improve

Hi guys,

I'll cut to the goods: I've had a few abnormal dream experiences that resulted in somewhat lucid dreams. I've researched around a little bit and it appears that I might be able to hone my mental approach and take advantage of some really great lucid dreaming opportunities.

On two separate occasions this year I experienced intense sleep paralysis. The first was in April and entirely negative (immediate panic and confusion).

The second occurred last night and began violently; a dark apparition choking me lifeless. After a few seconds I relaxed and realized that although I was being strangled I could still breathe normally (RC mhmm). I laid there a few seconds longer, focusing on my breathing and inspecting my apartment and the shadowy figures drifting around. I realized my paralysis and began to try and rock myself awake, mostly moving my face forward. I succeeded and went back to sleep.

Later in REM I noticed some DS's (unfamiliar house, complete strangers that acted like lifelong friends) and began to half-control my dream. It was a Passive Control where I was inadvertently believing something positive would happen, but did not want to Actively Control it for fear that chaos or some shift in scenario would occur and I would screw up what was happening. Eventually my grip was lost and I went back to normal dreaming.

So, if my bedtime ramblings haven't helped you off to your own lucid dream yet, my main questions/self-diagnosis are:

1. If I'm Passively Controlling a dream, is Actively Controlling it as risky as it felt? The scenario I was in seemed very fragile. Does that means that I believed that my actions would cause a negative effect, ensuring that they would? Any techniques on dealing with apprehension?

2. If I accidentally had full-on sleep paralysis twice, is this something that I may be adept at doing regularly? Both occasions were the day after a night of intense stimulation (music festival, mdma). Probably not a coincidence? I have never researched lucid dreaming before, although I've toyed with the concept in my own head, so it'd seem unlikely.

3. I have often said "I am dreaming" in dreams, only to be swept off by my dream induced ADD almost immediately. I've breezed through some of the tutorials on this site and came across some techniques to retain control, but I can't picture myself overcoming the excitement and hazy distortion a dream provides. Is it as simple as practicing and remembering to RC often?

Hope I'm at least an interesting specimen for you guys. I certainly get a kick out of it.

-edit-

Also, how often does a successful lucid dreamer actually lucid dream? Is it a nightly occurrence?

Hey there, W&C. Welcome to Dream Views!!

Those bouts with SP can be pretty jarring, but it seems like you have a good handle on staying calm and 'riding them out'. I think that, alone, can help provide you with many opportunities to slip into lucid dreams, that many people don't get. :thumbup:

To try to answer some of your questions:

1) Apprehension and doubt is probably a lucid dreamer's worst enemy. With that being the case, it's probably the most common set-back you'll find yourself running into (if you're anything like me). Something so little as a stray thought - positive or negative - can completely alter the course of your dream. Knowing this gives you all the more reason to attempt to stay positive. It really doesn't matter if you're actively controlling or passively. It's the positive mindset that means all the difference. The thing about active control is that it gives you more opportunities to doubt yourself, or to overwhelm yourself by trying to manipulate too much at once. Once you lose that train of thought, or start thinking of too much at once, your dream (at least in my experience) will usually start to lose solidarity. Really, the only advice for this is to work on your confidence level. There really is no DV-specific way to do this, as it is a little more personal than any of the established dream-control 'techniques' around here. You just have to learn to 'let go' of all the reasons why you wouldn't be able to do something in waking life, and realize it's just a dream, and that it's as simple as just 'doing' it.

2) I would say so. If it's something that seems to work for you, go with it until you learn otherwise. Personally, I suck at Wake-Induced Lucid Dreams, but I know that SP is a good precursor to WILDs, so I would recommend learning to experiment with that state, if you can.

3) That can definitely be tough, depending on how immersive your dreams are. I'll usually find myself repeating "I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming," under my breath, to keep reminding myself. Also, stopping every now and then to solidify the dream by looking at your hands is another way to keep the thought fresh in your mind, that you are dreaming.

4) There really is no set scale of what constitutes a successful lucid dreamer. I've heard some accounts of people that can lucid dream every night, but I don't know. I consider myself an accomplished LDer, and I can fluctuate from a lucid dream a night to a dry spell for a month. There are so many different things that can affect whether or not you lucid dream at night, it's really hard to set a numerical scale of 'success', I think.

I hope you enjoy your stay here at DV. Start up a Dream Journal, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Welcome! Oneironaut has already gave you a great explanation and I'll complement it with some more things :)

1) Passive control is somewhat easier because you're finding logical reasons for events to happen. You force yourself to think "person X is meeting me here because we have a date", which is far easier for your brain and mental schema than to "summon" a person. Many lucid dreamers go with the flow, changing between passive and active depending on the task and the amount of lucidity, but in the end, I personally believe active control is better, because if you can make it possible, then you are fully lucid: you know you can do anything that defies logic or reason. Active control requires much more force of will though, but it will also come with practice.

2) Different techniques work with different people. An advantage that you have at the moment is that you are "used" to sleep paralysis. You seem to perfectly describe the sensation and feeling of the event, and this is crucial in order to perform WILDS, not so much the SP happening, but the feeling of numbness and relax you're at. So yes go for it, remember that every attempt will build up, even if you at a later point want to try another technique, you will have better chances at lucids ;)

3) The excitement will go away with practice. You can still feel great, but you will eventually learn to calm yourself down and stabilize. Try to read this guide if you haven't, it has helped me a lot. Remember, you have all the time in the world, all you need to do is something like "have a good breakfast, get your car keys, personal hygiene and you're done" aka "increase lucidity by doing reality checks often, stabilizing the dream, being careful when following the plot, and above all, remember you are the creator of what you see: means you command (don't be afraid to yell THIS IS MY DREAM I WANT MORE VIVIDNESS) it worked for me :P

4) Depends a lot. Some people have 1 per week, others 2-3 and others like 1 every night. At some point, people become so good it's just a matter of thinking (like MILD veterans) and others just randomly get lucid, because (and this is important) in the end, it's all about regular practice to get your brain so used to be aware that even if you don't think about the subject you can end up waking up in a dream. It varies with people, but in the end, it's like riding a bike: once you master it, just need to stay in shape in order to ride like a pro :)

Thanks guys, your advice makes a lot of sense. It seems that I could benefit alot from exercising mental techniques outside of dreaming as well as within.

I just made my first DJ entry with my attempt to anchor last night. Very satisfied considering I stumbled upon these techniques less than 24 hours ago. I'm very excited to continue practicing, it's like having a hobby in your sleep!