My first post here - What lucid dreaming means to me

[Devoney]

Hi there, Introduction This is my first post here on the forum. I am hoping for a warm welcome. I am looking for a place to share my experiences, and get in touch with others about lucid dreaming and stuff related to it. I would like to start off with sharing my most recent lucid dreaming experience, and what lucid dreaming means to me. Maybe you find yourself in a similar position to mine, or my story may stimulate your motivation for lucid dreaming, and motivation is a BIG factor in success. Anyway, I hope you like reading it. So here my story goes I would like to help people, friends, family, people I do not even know. And I do, online, when people approach me, free of charge. It just makes me feel good to help some one out, giving them a new perspective. In this process, most of the time, ego plays a part. The problem, seeking for solution I was wondering about the phenomena why people are offended when you pose a solution to their problems that involves diminishing their ego. (Ego as in what defines them, NOT in the terms of the slang "look at me, i'm so good" ego). A few months later, the reason suddenly came to me. If you do NOT realize that all originates within, you think the origin of the feelings of conflict are external, namely, the one posing the ego diminishing solution is causing the conflict. And people turn away from it. So one has to accept and understand, as part of their wisdom, that any feelings of conflict originates within. Now that sounds simple enough. But how do you teach such thing, how do you make someone accept that all originates within, and all is interpreted as a reflection of their reality. I have to get more familiar with the dynamics/paradigm of ego in order to be able to define a rock-solid strategy. Of course, I have an ego myself (too bad, but its true), and I must work on diminishing my own ego as well. So its vital to me as well, that I learn the best strategy. As the ego has mastered the skill of creating belief traps to cover up the whirl pools of fear with illusions that seemingly make up your reality, it can be a tricky business. To counter these traps, absolute honesty to your self is of utmost importance. The method: lucid dreaming Now what is more honest to you, than your dream world, filled with projections of your subconsciousness?! Your ego is circumvented (unaware) of you gathering information. Its guard is down, and you are standing face-to-face with your own created reality where everything is possible. Now of course, one important factor, you have to be consciously gathering this information (detached from your own created drama): it must be a lucid dream. The motivation: Proof of Concept All in life requires motivation. Doing a non-physical task as lucid dreaming even more than physical tasks. So I made myself an attractive plan: Next time I am dreaming lucid, I will walk up to one of my dream characters and ask them about me, and try to obtain important information about me. Hoping for information that directs me on the path of enlightment. The induction of a lucid dream So as I went to bed, I performed my favorite concentration exercise: Focusing on the moment of now, becoming aware of roaming thoughts, marking them as 'not the moment of now', appreciate the moment of recognition of the roaming thought, and continue on repeating the previous steps. As it became harder and harder, I fell asleep, not being able to maintain this concentration. Now where is that magic? My was mind entrained with this exercise, and sooner or later, it would become conscious of thoughts that aren't the moment of now (those just feel different, loaded with drama and all): dream thoughts. And I got lucid. Let the reflection begin!! First I was just playing around, doing funny stuff, manipulating physical dream objects, having (respectful) fun with people. And then, I remembered my mission: Find some one and ask them about me, trying to get useful information. So I did. I was in a library (typical, as thats a place that contains loads of information), and I walked up to a guy. I asked him, do you now [Devoney]? He said, yes I do, but not really. (As I was 'talking' to the guy, it felt more like telepathy, he presented me feelings and images. He transferred more information to me in other ways than with words.) I asked him if he could further explain. He said: He used to be together (as in two persons), but that isn't anymore. Its not that big of a deal but I mis that other guy from time to time. It happened to be the end of the conversation as my lucidness fade away, I woke up, and I immediately wrote down the whole story with every detail. The conclusion It took me a moment to figure out what that guy was actually telling me. But here it is: As a child I had those moments, that I was just feeling happy, I didn't felt the need to analyze stuff and search for a method to extend the moments of happiness or to increase its magnitude. No, I was just feeling happy, lots of times. Whenever I felt sad, the logical reasoning side in me solved the issue by putting things in perspective (that was the metaphorically two persons the guy was talking about, one for emotion, one for logical reasoning). But now a days, with the illusion of feeling very busy (I am married now, and have two kids < 2 years old), I don't experience those moments of true joy any more, and when I come to think about it, i miss that!! Since that particular dream, I feel this moments of true joy again. Those moments of pure happiness, where all is well. What the dream character guy told me, woke me up in 'real' (physical) life. And I could not ever have come to the conclusion 'my self' without 'him'. So it works, to ask your subconsciousness for useful information while dreaming lucid. I will put this into use for finding a strategy that is best at diminishing ego, for me, and for others keen to learn, to give direction on the path of enlightment. Thanks for reading. Questions, comments, remarks, criticism, motivating thoughts, other lucid induction methods, what ever, are all welcome! Or do you happen to have the solution to the major question of this post? Then PLEASE enlighten me!! I hope you are doing more than fine. Devoney

[IAmCoder]

Hi Devoney. Welcome to DreamViews and thanks for sharing! Beautiful story... glad that you got to experience joy again. For anyone who might have missed it: So as I went to bed, I performed my favorite concentration exercise: Focusing on the moment of now, becoming aware of roaming thoughts, marking them as 'not the moment of now', appreciate the moment of recognition of the roaming thought, and continue on repeating the previous steps. As it became harder and harder, I fell asleep, not being able to maintain this concentration. Now where is that magic? My was mind entrained with this exercise, and sooner or later, it would become conscious of thoughts that aren't the moment of now (those just feel different, loaded with drama and all): dream thoughts. And I got lucid. That is a great exercise for lucidity, well put! You might appreciate this: Ken Wilber - I Am Big Mind - YouTube.

[Phased]

Welcome to dreamviews you'll love it here. Thanks for sharing that story, and the above stated exercise with everyone, it also seems that your somewhat experienced which is always nice. If you have any questions about the site feel free to PM Me and I will try and help as best I can.

[bemistaken]

Hi Devoney, Enjoyed reading your story! I hope you find everything you are looking for and have many, many more lucid dreams. Welcome to dream views!

[Devoney]

Hi Devoney. Welcome to DreamViews and thanks for sharing! Beautiful story... glad that you got to experience joy again. Thank you! You might appreciate this: Ken Wilber - I Am Big Mind - YouTube. I just watched the video. Not wanting to judge him with my limited view on things, but I find it a persuasive teller. I extremely like his usage of the word infallible, as it absolutely is. No one can argue with the experience of the self, there is no need for more evidence or whatever to experience the "I amness". I will watch some more videos of Ken Wilber. Thank you for the attention on the video.

[Devoney]

Hi Devoney, Enjoyed reading your story! I hope you find everything you are looking for and have many, many more lucid dreams. Welcome to dream views! That is nice of you to say. Are those [X]'s in your signature the achievements of your set goals in dreams? Or do you teleport at will without being in a dream? If so, I am so eager to learn! I never did teleporting in my dream, never tried it actually, but now you inspired me and I have just put in my list of things to try in the dream. I tried telekinesis (in my dreams) and discovered a general law for it: Never wonder how or why its possible, never be amazed, but have full confidence that you will achieve whatever you want to do with telekinesis, and it will happen. This law (what I like to call it) also applies for physical matter reality, but the results come more slowly it seems. When you WILD, do you experience the transition from being awake (in physical reality) to seeing the dream world become real? I only noticed the transition once, and it was a thrilling ride! All the sudden patterns start to merge and created a dreamworld view. What is your technique for inducing WILD? Have you got some topics (of yourself) you might want to refer me to? Thanks!

[Devoney]

Welcome to dreamviews you'll love it here. I get the idea I start to do so, yes! Alot of other sites (like philosophy sites or so) contain a lot of arrogance and short mindedness. This seems like the perfect place to share open minded ideas to try out in the dream world! Thanks for sharing that story, and the above stated exercise with everyone, it also seems that your somewhat experienced which is always nice. I would like to add (for others to read, who might be more at the beginning of their path), that it took my quiet some years to gather the experience. It took me certainly 6 years before I really got the hang of what I should (and should not) be doing with meditation to induce a lucid dream. If you have any questions about the site feel free to PM Me and I will try and help as best I can. Thank you, its very nice to be able to turn to someone when having questions. Are you a moderator here? Then the same applies to you, my profession is developing software, and I got quiet a few years experience with web techniques. So never hesitate to ask me (anything for that matter) about helping out with maintenance/improvements/extensions for this website!

[JoannaB]

Welcome to DV, Devoney! While Phased is not on staff, however as you just found out we have very nice and helpful members and a lot of people who are glad to help eachother, whether they are on staff or not. If you are curious about who is on staff here, here is the list Show Groups - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views. I am a dream guide, which means that part of my role is to welcome newcomers and to help you find something or try to help answer questions whenever I can. Of course, anyone who is a member is welcome to be helpful in similar ways. Once again, welcome to the forum. Feel free to let me know if you need any help, and if I can help, I will be glad to, and if I cannot, perhaps I can help direct you to someone or a part of the forum that can.

[Devoney]

Welcome to DV, Devoney! While Phased is not on staff, however as you just found out we have very nice and helpful members and a lot of people who are glad to help eachother, whether they are on staff or not. If you are curious about who is on staff here, here is the list dv.com/showgroups.php. I am a dream guide, which means that part of my role is to welcome newcomers and to help you find something or try to help answer questions whenever I can. Of course, anyone who is a member is welcome to be helpful in similar ways. Once again, welcome to the forum. Feel free to let me know if you need any help, and if I can help, I will be glad to, and if I cannot, perhaps I can help direct you to someone or a part of the forum that can. Wow another friendly message. Thank you for the welcoming and the list of staff people. I see there aren't many dream guides. What defines your role? Does your role engage 'dream decoding' as well? I just found several other LD induction techniques that got my interest. I am going to try one tonight (and upcoming nights). I feels so good 'to be'among fellow travelers. Not many people around me (family, friends, colleges) share the experience of LD, let alone other open minded topics. I once heard/read "Da vinci never slept, he said it was a waiste of time", googling on similar phrases yield some websites about people wondering whether he said something like that. I can understand he never 'slept', he was brilliant, he probably LD and OOBE a lot himself, and that certainly ain't sleeping!. I try to twist the habit of saying "i'm going to sleep" into something like "i'm going to let my body rest" or similar phrases. Aiming for lucidity 24h per day!

[JoannaB]

I would say that what defines the role of dream guides is being very actively involved in the forum community in a helpful way. We do have some of the accesses to allow us to moderate the on topic sections of the forum to for instance move misplaced threads to the correct subforums. However, our main responsibility is to be active and helpful.

[bemistaken]

That is nice of you to say. Are those [X]'s in your signature the achievements of your set goals in dreams? Or do you teleport at will without being in a dream? If so, I am so eager to learn! I never did teleporting in my dream, never tried it actually, but now you inspired me and I have just put in my list of things to try in the dream. I tried telekinesis (in my dreams) and discovered a general law for it: Never wonder how or why its possible, never be amazed, but have full confidence that you will achieve whatever you want to do with telekinesis, and it will happen. This law (what I like to call it) also applies for physical matter reality, but the results come more slowly it seems. When you WILD, do you experience the transition from being awake (in physical reality) to seeing the dream world become real? I only noticed the transition once, and it was a thrilling ride! All the sudden patterns start to merge and created a dreamworld view. What is your technique for inducing WILD? Have you got some topics (of yourself) you might want to refer me to? Thanks! Hello Devoney, I am more than happy to answer your questions to the best of my capabilities! 1. The 'X's' in my signature does indeed represent my achievements of my set goals. 2. I have only teleported once...so by no means am I an expert, but we do have several experts here on Dreamviews. Canis Lucidus taught me how to teleport and he will be happy to give you some tips on how you can do it also. The one time I did teleport, I was consciously aware that I could just imagine that when I opened my eyes, I would be in Egypt...and when I did open my eyes, I was there (read more about it here: http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/bemi...h-crook-49387/)! 3. When I WILD, I do experience a transition of somewhat...for me, I experience several 'signs' like strong vibrations, HI, or sleep atonia. I use these signs as my warning that I am on the verge of becoming lucid or already lucid, but please understand that these 'signs' can be different for everyone. Just because I experience these 'signs' doesn't mean that it will happen for everyone. You must go by your experience and pay attention to your body to know what your personal signs are. You sound like you already have an idea of some signs that has happen to you (like seeing patterns and creating a dreamworld)...sounds like you are right on track! 4. The only tactics that I have used so far is lots of practice and a strong desire to become lucid and not get frustrated when I don't. There are several tutorials available here on the site...go the the main forum page and scroll down to 'Resources' and you will see the tutorial section (or click this link: Tutorials). Right below the tutorials section is the Education Center...lots of great stuff there . The best advise I can give you is to try a method and stick with it for a while...give your body time to adjust and learn new methods without switching to something else just because you did not receive results as soon as you would like to. You already have the experience of becoming lucid, I believe (and correct me if I am wrong) you just want to be able to control it better. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to lucid dreaming. I would also become familiar with the administrators and moderators of dreamviews. Many of them teach courses that you will also find in the forum section under Lucid Dreaming called DV ACADEMY (click here: DV Academy). There, you can sign up for a class and do activities that will help strengthen your control and stabilization of your lucid dreams. Then you can move onto the different techniques (DILDS, DEILDS, MILD, WILD). You will be able to fine tune which method works best for you and you will be lucid dreaming on a continuous basis in no time! Don't give up, there are no failures...just more opportunities to learn from the experience. Good luck to you and don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how irrelevant you may think they are! You are among friends! One love.