Vivid, but not quite lucid; seeking enlightenment!

**Sirocco** · 05-09-2013 03:25 AM

Good Evening, all! Just wanted to introduce myself to these parts.

You can call me Sirocco. I'm in my mid 20s, and am an Architectural Designer, and have always been a lifelong dreamer. Ever since I was quite young, I have had what my peers have described as rather vivid, detailed, and spectacular dreams. I began to realize that perhaps something was different about my dreams when I was young, since hardly any of my friends and peers would have dreams quite so visceral, detailed, and riveting as the ones I had. This continues on to the present day; as I grew older, and my pool of knowledge grew, so did the intensity of my dreams. I've always been interested in a vast array of fields, from botany, to architecture (my career of choice!), to cinematography, the arts, music, sci fi to an extent, etc, and these have all had a profound effect on my nocturnal existence. Furthermore, after doing some research, I have also come to the conclusion that my ability to recall dreams is quite well developed; I can recall most dreams from the previous night upon waking, and sometimes, the memory will flood back to me after what I like to call a "trigger stimulus"; ie, something will stimulate a flood of recall to occur. In fact, I've had many instances where the trigger stimulus occurs within another dream! I've also had deja-vu's during waking moments, only to realize later that my deja vu was actually linked to a dream! Various other things like this have occurred, and I'll get into those more as I explore the forums, and participate more.

Although my dreams have ranged from the mundane to mind-blowingly vivid, I have not quite reached the state of lucidity in the vast majority of them. Once in a blue moon, I have been able to, but those are a rarity; I for one, would like to be able to enter a lucid state more often. Most people are not able to dream during short naps; however, I've had some particularly vivid ones during naps as short as an hour.

My recent attempts to achieve a lucid state have not quite worked out as well as I have planned; it seems that my mind tends to play tricks on me, and when I try certain techniques such as "questioning if I am dreaming" while in a dream, the conclusion tends to be a negative, and I continue on as if I were in a waking state. My dream sense also likes to play tricks on me when my alarm rings in the morning; I hit the snooze button, and arise and get ready for the day, and then this is interrupted by a rather rude awakening! It is almost as if my subconscious refuses to allow me to take control, and would rather I simply go along for the ride. I'm not complaining; I just wish I could have a bit more conscious influence now and then on what occurs! It also seems that what few lucid dreams I have had have been significantly less vivid than the organically spawned, deep-subconscious visions.

I have been seeking how to reconcile the two; I have been doing research into lucid dreaming lately, and this forum seems to have piqued my interests, particularly due to the exposure to the experiences, and discussions with others! I really hope to be able to participate in this community, and perhaps share my quest with some of you.

To sleep...perchance...to dream....lead us on!

**JoannaB** · 05-09-2013 03:50 AM

Welcome to DV, Sirocco! Wow, your dream vividness and recall sound amazing, I wish I could have similar. I find it interesting that the few lucid dreams you had were not as vivid - I think most people tend to say the opposite: that lucid dreams are more vivid usually than non-lucid ones, although come to think of it if I remember correctly my very first LDs maybe were less vivid because my awareness was low, but they got more viivid over time. (Now I am back to the hobby after a 20 year absence, and am struggling to get lucid, but I used to be quite good at it when I was a young adult.) I would disagree with the statement that most people don't dream in naps: they may not remember their dreams, but they do dream. In fact, naps are recommended as an ideal time for WILD: entering the dream without loosing awareness from waking, being aware the whole time whether one is awake or asleep. Given your mind's tricks, and given that you mention naps, I would recommend that you give WILD a try during naps (or rather a whole bunch of tries): from what you describe, I think (hope) this might work better for you. good luck!

**Zoth** · 05-09-2013 04:07 PM

Welcome Sirocco!

and sometimes, the memory will flood back to me after what I like to call a "trigger stimulus"; ie, something will stimulate a flood of recall to occur. In fact, I've had many instances where the trigger stimulus occurs within another dream! I've also had deja-vu's during waking moments, only to realize later that my deja vu was actually linked to a dream! Various other things like this have occurred, and I'll get into those more as I explore the forums, and participate more.

Very interesting, normally people have to work hard to achieve that level of recall. I'm guessing you would have many benefits if you began searching your Dream journal for dream signs, and associate reality checks to the most relevant ones, because it's a free long-lasting way to get lucids. Good luck in your journey, and be sure to use that amazing recall of yours to help you understand your dream world, many times you can get lots of insight regarding techniques and tricks. See you around and post any question you got