New and a few starting questions

[personne]

Hi, I'm new and I wanted to post the questions that led me to this forum here. I posted these first on yahoo answers and copy and pasted them here. "Can you create a sense of touch reaction? This was something that I though could be interesting. Would it be possible to feel like you're touching something you've never touched before? What I mean is: What you feel is caused by your nerves sending a signal to your brain which the brain accepts as "touch". That means, all feelings of touch you could possibly have are already programmed into your head, right? So, could it be possible if you were in some form of lucid dream-like state to do things in the dream and have it feel real? Even if you've never actually done said thing in your life? I would appreciate informed answers and any possible resources where this has been studied." and "Is it possible to make a lucid dream seem like a real memory? You know when you remember a dream it seems all fuzzy? Even when its a lucid dream? With dreams you can tell they are memories of dreams. Is it possible to make it so that a dream seems like a real memory in a way? Can you make it so dream memories are as vivid and material as real memories? Sort of like inception where the dreams are like real life in the way that you are aware of the moment. Currently, you are in the moment, right? You can recall being fully aware just a few seconds ago, right? You're not like that in dreams though. So would it be possible to create that "in the moment" feeling in dreams? Can you recall being aware in a dream? I for one any remember the dream after I wake up and by that point it doesn't feel like a real memory. So is this possible? I want informed answers and I would appreciate it if you pointed me towards any research don on this if there is any." And to add on here's a new question: Can you have a different form in a dream and feel it? What I mean is in a dream, can you have a third arm, or no arms at all, and can your mind feel that limb or lack of limb? Could you be a amorphous blob in a dream and know what its like to feel in that form? Can you mind come up the sense of touch that you'd have in a different form? This one relates to the being able to have a new touch in a dream. The reason I ask these questions is I would want to be able to experience anything. If I could do all these things in dreams I could experience whatever I wanted to, in my dreams. I have had things I've wanted to happen in real life happen in dreams. But those don't fill the quotia. They only barely mimic the experience. They don't feel like real memories. That is why I came to this forum.

[LucasPotter]

Hi! Welcome to DV! I'm not experienced at all, but I can tell you that it's very possible to have a different form in a dream and feel it. I'm biologically female, but I identify as male and, in many dreams (only non-lucid, so far), I'm a guy, have a penis and I've gotten really close to having dream sex in that body. It's really interesting to feel something you've never had so vividly.

[personne]

Hi! Welcome to DV! I'm not experienced at all, but I can tell you that it's very possible to have a different form in a dream and feel it. I'm biologically female, but I identify as male and, in many dreams (only non-lucid, so far), I'm a guy, have a penis and I've gotten really close to having dream sex in that body. It's really interesting to feel something you've never had so vividly. Okay.... TMI XD But that's interesting. But do those dreams ever the "in the moment" experience? Also, have you even had a non-human form in a dream? Or have you ever had anything as drastic as a missing limb?

[LucasPotter]

Sorry about the TMI! Hmmm... some of them, yes. It depends on how vivid they are. My dreams usually are very vivid, so a few of them actually feel like real memories even days after I've had the dream. For example, once I fell in love with a dream character. I spent the next two days thinking about her. Today, I don't remember her face, but I can still remember the strong feelings I felt for her in that dream. I've also dreamt about being in a house, then a few months later, I dreamt about the same house. In this second dream, the first dream was like a real memory, as if that had REALLY happened. Again, it depends on how vivid the dreams are (at least to me).

[personne]

Sorry about the TMI! Hmmm... some of them, yes. It depends on how vivid they are. My dreams usually are very vivid, so a few of them actually feel like real memories even days after I've had the dream. For example, once I fell in love with a dream character. I spent the next two days thinking about her. Today, I don't remember her face, but I can still remember the strong feelings I felt for her in that dream. I've also dreamt about being in a house, then a few months later, I dreamt about the same house. In this second dream, the first dream was like a real memory, as if that had REALLY happened. Again, it depends on how vivid the dreams are (at least to me). I wasn't strictly asking about the dreams AFTER you wake up. I'm also asking if as you dream, do they feel real. Right now, as you type, it feels like real life, correct? You are "in the moment", right? Have you ever had that in a dream? But you did answer one of my questions.

[LucasPotter]

Oh, I see! Yes, all the time, to be honest. In fact, whenever I'm driving, I have to do a reality check to make sure it's NOT a dream. My dreams always feel very real. As I said, I'm no expert on the subject (basically, I go to bed every night and dream... that's all the knowledge I have), but it sounds to me that your dreams aren't very vivid. Hopefully someone who understands this better will come along to help you!

[personne]

Well, that answers a few of my questions. Now all I need to know is can you have vivid dreams to that degree in a non-human form?

[LucasPotter]

I don't recall ever being non-human in my dreams, sorry... something to try in my next lucid dream, I guess!

[personne]

I don't recall ever being non-human in my dreams, sorry... something to try in my next lucid dream, I guess! I hope someone else has more infomation on this topic.

[JoannaB]

Well, I once had a non-lucid dream in which I was a giant fat goose sitting in the middle of a golf field, and I remember that I was pretty convinced that I was indeed a goose. Couldn't do much in that dream because I was too fat to fly or even waddle. I later interpretted this dream as my mind telling me that I am a silly goose. While all my lucid dreams that I can remember either I had a human body or I couldn't feel a body at all, but I have read lots of lucid dream accounts of people with nonhuman bodies in lucid dreams. For example, I read an account of someone while in the lucid dream transformed himself into a leopard, and as far as I could tell from his description, it was a pretty awesome experience. As for whether one can feel something that one has not felt before, do you mean like for example flying in dream and it feeling realistic? Yes, absolutely - well. at least as realistic as I can imagine it would feel to fly, given that in waking life I have no experience with flying, but dream flying is awesome, and feels as real as I can imagine - imagination and expectations are the limits here, and if those are not limited, there are no limits.

[personne]

Well, I once had a non-lucid dream in which I was a giant fat goose sitting in the middle of a golf field, and I remember that I was pretty convinced that I was indeed a goose. Couldn't do much in that dream because I was too fat to fly or even waddle. I later interpretted this dream as my mind telling me that I am a silly goose. While all my lucid dreams that I can remember either I had a human body or I couldn't feel a body at all, but I have read lots of lucid dream accounts of people with nonhuman bodies in lucid dreams. For example, I read an account of someone while in the lucid dream transformed himself into a leopard, and as far as I could tell from his description, it was a pretty awesome experience. As for whether one can feel something that one has not felt before, do you mean like for example flying in dream and it feeling realistic? Yes, absolutely - well. at least as realistic as I can imagine it would feel to fly, given that in waking life I have no experience with flying, but dream flying is awesome, and feels as real as I can imagine - imagination and expectations are the limits here, and if those are not limited, there are no limits. Okay, that's usefill info. If anyone knows of any research (books, documentaries, etc) done on any of these topics, let me know. And I mean on any of these questions, not just the whole non-human dreams one.

[CNGB]

I think most lucid dream research would tell you what people are already telling you: that if you're doing it in a dream (or a lucid dream--not always in a non-lucid dream) then there is going to be some kind of sensation that comes with anything. The rule of thumb in lucidity is that if you imagine it, it will happen. Therefore if I go up to an ape and pet him and expect him to feel dirty then he'll be that, but if I walk in the middle of a highway expecting to be ran over and only feel like I've been tickled with a feather, then that's what's going to happen. When a person achieves full lucidity their five senses are enhanced well beyond what they are in real life. When it comes to non-lucid dreams, however, things might be a bit different. Most non-lucids are fuzzy and difficult to remember, and generally speaking peoples' senses aren't nearly as in-tune with those dreams as they are in LDs. I remember a thread on here a few days ago where someone who had never smoked before tried a cigar and said that it tasted like barbeque (with a mixture of other things, I believe, but I can't remember exactly). Their brain was what supplied the "BBQ" taste because it didn't know what exactly a cigar would taste like. Therefore one should assume that if he or she was to shape shift into something else then they would feel "some" sensations--though those sensations probably aren't accurate since our brains don't know what whatever we're doing really feels like. Your memory question is something that I am also interested in knowing. I don't know if there have been any professional experiments on memory in dreams (there probably have been) but I know that I'm going to be conducting my own little experiment when the time comes. I'm sorry that I couldn't answer much there. ^_^

[personne]

I think most lucid dream research would tell you what people are already telling you: that if you're doing it in a dream (or a lucid dream--not always in a non-lucid dream) then there is going to be some kind of sensation that comes with anything. The rule of thumb in lucidity is that if you imagine it, it will happen. Therefore if I go up to an ape and pet him and expect him to feel dirty then he'll be that, but if I walk in the middle of a highway expecting to be ran over and only feel like I've been tickled with a feather, then that's what's going to happen. When a person achieves full lucidity their five senses are enhanced well beyond what they are in real life. When it comes to non-lucid dreams, however, things might be a bit different. Most non-lucids are fuzzy and difficult to remember, and generally speaking peoples' senses aren't nearly as in-tune with those dreams as they are in LDs. I remember a thread on here a few days ago where someone who had never smoked before tried a cigar and said that it tasted like barbeque (with a mixture of other things, I believe, but I can't remember exactly). Their brain was what supplied the "BBQ" taste because it didn't know what exactly a cigar would taste like. Therefore one should assume that if he or she was to shape shift into something else then they would feel "some" sensations--though those sensations probably aren't accurate since our brains don't know what whatever we're doing really feels like. Your memory question is something that I am also interested in knowing. I don't know if there have been any professional experiments on memory in dreams (there probably have been) but I know that I'm going to be conducting my own little experiment when the time comes. I'm sorry that I couldn't answer much there. ^_^ Thanks for the reply. I would like to hear your results! I'm not good at lucid dreaming personaly, I very rarely even remeber my normal dreams.

[CNGB]

I very rarely even remeber my normal dreams. That'll be your problem amigo. The first step to lucidity is remembering your dreams. How long have you been practicing dream recall?

[personne]

That'll be your problem amigo. The first step to lucidity is remembering your dreams. How long have you been practicing dream recall? Not very long. I just got into this. The reason I ask these questions is because they had just popped into my head. I have NO experience what-so-ever. Plus: Most things I read about dream recall just go over my head.

[CNGB]

Okay, I got'cha. Don't worry. I think I might be able to help you with that. Here's the only things you need to know about dream recall (for now, at least; you might get more interested later down the road): 1) dream journals, generally speaking, are essential. write down every dream you have--every detail, every name, every piece of dialogue--everything. if you want then you can do this in list-format instead of story-format--whatever is most comfortable to you. when you wake up in the morning write in your DJ, even if it's "can't remember crap," just write it down. 2) if you don't want to write in your dream journal then get a tape recorder. talk about your dream upon waking up in the morning. 3) you can also talk about your dream with friends or family members. 4) dream memory goes fast--it starts slipping away as soon as you wake up--so be careful not to do too much activity before writing in your DJ/talking in your recorder! The end! Please remember that preparing for a lucid dream is practically futile if you can't remember your dreams. We all dream every night whether we remember it or not, and so who knows how many times you've become conscious in a dream . . . and just don't remember it? Was that of any help? I tried to be to-the-point in case that's what you need to learn

[personne]

Thanks I guess I'll give it a shot...

[CNGB]

Yeah, I'm sorry if it still doesn't help.