I am scared :(. Questions.

Hello,

I don't think I have ever had a lucid dream in my life. Lately, I have heard people on the internet talk about lucid dreaming. Well I want to try it since it sounds cool.
So I found this site and the info on the homepage is extensive but a bit confusing.

There are some things that are puzzling (and scaring) me.

1) False Awakenings - I have read about how people can think like they are waking up but they are still on a dream. Well, I am scared because i think that might actually awake and think that its a false awakening and do some stupid stuff. I dont want that to happen. :?
Are false awakenings always obvious?

2) Reality checks - What exactly is a reality check and how do I do it?

3) Lucid Nightmares - OK I am scared of this one. How often do people have lucid nightmares? Do you know whether you are still dreaming or not when having a lucid nightmare?
If it matters, I don't frequently have nightmares (once a month usually).

4) General precautions - Are there any general precautions I should take before I try to induce a lucid dream? Is there any danger in lucid dreaming? Brain-damage? Physical damage? Does your physical body move when lucid dreaming? Does lucid dreaming help sleep-walking (which I don't want to do)?
In one sentence, what is the catch?

Thats all the questions I have for now. :)

Thanks in advance. http://img499.imageshack.us/img499/2430/heart2kv.gif

I can answer one and two, but I also suspect that someone else will be able to expand on it... :-P


a reality check is basically looking for something that indicates that you're dreaming.
see this link for infoness: http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4935

as for false awakenings, simply make sure that you're dreaming via a reality check

Hey there, Genci! Glad to have you here! :D

As promised in my "official" welcome, I will try to answer your questions.

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Originally posted by genci88
False Awakenings - I have read about how people can think like they are waking up but they are still on a dream. Well, I am scared because i think that might actually awake and think that its a false awakening and do some stupid stuff. I dont want that to happen. Confused
Are false awakenings always obvious?

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No, they are not obvious. But you shouldn't have to worry about thinking that you're dreaming when you're not -- usually it's the other way 'round. The best thing to do is to perform a reality check any time you suspect that you're dreaming, such as pinching your nose with your hand and trying to breathe through your nose. Or trying to levitate yourself off the ground just by thinking about it. If you can do these things, or anything else that simply isn't possible in reality, then you know you're dreaming -- if not, well then you're probably awake. Once you get used to the sensation of being in a lucid dream, it's fairly easy to tell just by the \"feel\" of it. Bottom line -- don't do anything stupid or dangerous, like jumping off a building to see if you can fly, unless you are absolutely sure that you are dreaming.

I gave you a couple of examples of reality checks. Those are my favorites. Other people like to count their fingers (if you're dreaming you usually will come up with something other than 10), putting their finger through the palm of their other hand, and many other things. Keep reading DreamViews, and you'll see lots of ideas for reality checks -- you just need to find the ones that work best for you.

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Lucid Nightmares - OK I am scared of this one. How often do people have lucid nightmares? Do you know whether you are still dreaming or not when having a lucid nightmare?[/b]

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FIrst of all, if you are lucid (whether it's a nightmare or not), then you do know you are dreaming. That is the definition of a lucid dream -- being aware that you are in a dream.

If you are having a nightmare, and you become lucid, then you can usually take control of the dream and make whatever is frightening you go away, or at the very least, wake yourself up. Personally, I have never had a dream that scared me ever since my first lucid dream, which started as a nightmare. Once you are secure in the knowledge that nothing in the dreamworld can hurt you, you should be able to control or eliminate nightmares. That, IMO, is one of the best things about lucid dreaming.

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General precautions - Are there any general precautions I should take before I try to induce a lucid dream? Is there any danger in lucid dreaming? Brain-damage? Physical damage? Does your physical body move when lucid dreaming? Does lucid dreaming help sleep-walking (which I don't want to do)?
In one sentence, what is the catch? [/b]

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No catch. No dangers. Your physical body does not react any differently during a lucid dream than it would during any other dream, so you would not sleepwalk or anything like that unless you are already prone to do so.

I hope that helps ease your fears. If you have any other questions or concerns, please ask. There are plenty of people here that are more than willing to help, and you can always PM me or one of the other DreamGuides if there's something you don't want to ask in public.

See you around! :mrgreen:

OMG I think I had a lucid experience last night.

Basically, I distincly remember that I was driving a car and then some strong winds come and blow me in the air (out of the car), at that point I realise I am in a dream and started controlling my direction in the air. Then I decided to land.

At the moment I landed I think I lost my lucidity because I did not have any control on the subsequent actions. :(

Oh well, but the wind blowing me away felt so real. :o

I think I induced it using WILD. I basically slept for 4 hours, then a friend of mine knocked on the door so I woke up and I had to go somewhere. After 15 minutes I went back to sleep. The lucid experience was on this second part of the sleep.


I think that qualifies as a lucid experience since I HAD control while I was in the air.

:)

BTW. Thanks Sciboy and TygrHawk for your explanations.

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Originally posted by genci88
Is there any danger in lucid dreaming?

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i would not assume that there is no danger in lucid dreaming, particularly of psychological damage. if one is not stable enough, the questions and thoughts such new experience will surely entice could throw you over the edge, especially if such a person tends toward escapism. otherwise it is likely safer than much of other daily activity & likely at least as rewarding.

Welcome to the site!

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I think I induced it using WILD. I basically slept for 4 hours, then a friend of mine knocked on the door so I woke up and I had to go somewhere. After 15 minutes I went back to sleep. The lucid experience was on this second part of the sleep.
[/b]

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A wild is a wake induced lucid dream, and involves imagery and body paralysis. So if you woke up and then stayed up a bit and then went back to sleep, doesnt really match up with a wild :P But good job on your dreaming success!

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1) False Awakenings - I have read about how people can think like they are waking up but they are still on a dream. Well, I am scared because i think that might actually awake and think that its a false awakening and do some stupid stuff. I dont want that to happen.
Are false awakenings always obvious?
[/b]

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--- False awakenings are not always obvious. If you have a false awakening, you will probably go black in the dream like the back of your eyelids, then open them to your normal room. You assume you are awake. That's why it's called a FALSE awakening :P it may me more obvious if say, you sleep in the dark and you wake up with the light on... but if your \"waking\" up you may not think twice about anything till something really bizarre happens. ---
--- Not doing stupid stuff is where the reality check comes in. Another example is if you plug your nose and try to breathe through it, no air goes through. If you do it in a dream, air does. If you think its a FA then do a reality check, if its a dream, then now your in a lucid dream... give yourself a high five :P ---

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2) Reality checks - What exactly is a reality check and how do I do it?[/b]

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A reality check is to check if you are dreaming or awake. http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4935

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3) Lucid Nightmares - OK I am scared of this one. How often do people have lucid nightmares? Do you know whether you are still dreaming or not when having a lucid nightmare?
If it matters, I don't frequently have nightmares (once a month usually). [/b]

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Here is the difference between normal dreams and lucid dreams.
Normal : You watch the dream, can't control it, or don't realize your dreaming.
Lucid : You realize you are dreaming, can control it to some degree. or Concious enough to realize you are dreaming and watch the dream.

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4) General precautions - Are there any general precautions I should take before I try to induce a lucid dream? Is there any danger in lucid dreaming? Brain-damage? Physical damage? Does your physical body move when lucid dreaming? Does lucid dreaming help sleep-walking (which I don't want to do)?
In one sentence, what is the catch?
[/b]

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4.1 - General Precautions
4.A - Breathing
4.B - Go to the bathroom
4.C - (optional) Having any lights/sounds turned off.
4.D - Being Comfortable (laying down)
4.2 - Dangers in Lucid Dreaming
4.E - The dangers of lucid dreaming are the same as normal dreaming.
4.F - Warning : Do not attempt to kill yourself in a lucid dream or a F/A.
4.3 - Brain-Damage
4.G - No known studies have shown any damage to the brain while attempting lucid dreaming.
4.H - Refer to 4.E
4.4 - Physical Movement
4.I - Same movement as a normal dream.
4.5 - Does lucid dreaming help sleep walking?
4.J - Refer to 4.I
4.6 - The Catch
4.K - Attempting to lucid dream takes time, practice, and expierence. Some people dont have lucid dreams their first times till days, months, weeks, even years after attempting it. The catch is it does take some effort from the person, unless you are a natural lucid dreamer or amazingly gifted.
4.L - Dissapointment.
4.M - Hours spent online talking with dream views people cause their so cool... ((move to benefits section))

Haha, hope my rambling helped :P

Sincerely,
3z3|<131
Ezekiel

Hey genci :)

That definitely qualified as an LD, but I don't think it was WILD. While different people experience different things while WILDing, it involves going straight from a conscious state into a dream. Not everyone experiences vibrations or excessive HI (hypnogogic imagery), but there is a realization that you're going from being awake to being asleep. I'd suggest looking at the tutorials for WILD if you're interested in that.

If you have any more questions just let us know.

-Amé