I'm trying to learn how to LD...

... and decided to join this forum in an effort to reinforce the seriousness of my aim. I've had a couple of close calls in the past, and last Monday I very nearly made the leap. Now I'm resolved to learn how to LD.

Here's the ending of last Monday's dream. It's excerpted from my newly-started dream journal (so sorry if the style is a little too lax at times). See what you make of it:

Next, I'm sitting at a table with a small group of young men (maybe 5 or 6). Open air, clear darkening summer sky. A stone wall (a fragment of some larger structure?) is near our wooden table. The table is located a little higher up than the rest of the landscape: maze-like stone walls and cobbled streets snaking in their midst.

We drown our pints and the effect is instantaneous. Things get truly weird: all of us are laughing, totally losing control over ourselves. The drink had no taste, but I'm reacting to it as if it had contained a large quantity of alcohol: I'm sliding down the bench I'm sitting on (I'm the only one on it, the rest of the group face me). I think to myself: "What is this?", refering to the drink's hysterically sudden effect.

Then, I lose control over my hands. An invisible force picks me up, seeing how I'm slouched on the wooden bench. I become terrified. I'm sure I'm having a nightmare. As I panic more and more, an ethereal voice begins to speak to me. It says something close to: "Because I know you wish to control your dreams, I have come to guide you through..."

At this point I'm thinking that I am a schizophrenic and my cuckoo serial killer's "voice" has finally awoken. I begin to withdraw from the dream. Just then I realize that the voice (which echos slightly) is my own! I just hadn't recognized it because it sounded somewhat alien, more somber and dark.

But it's too late. I wake up and curse. I was so close! What would have happened if I hadn't panicked? I guess the "meta-me" would have shown me the robes, some basic dream manipulation tricks and then let me try my hand at it. He wasn't trying to possess me: there's a clear story unfolding here: first, the magic drink makes me lose all control and then the meta-me picks me up. Sort of like rebooting a computer. Or reprogramming it.

Hey there and welcome to the forum!!
Interesting dream, there. Did you by chance know you were dreaming?
What I would recommend is putting dreams like this one into a DJ, so that your dream recall will increase.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! :wink:

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Originally posted by nesgirl119
Did you by chance know you were dreaming?

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There was a near-constant, um, level of commentary. Throughout the dream, I had really strong opinions about the stuff that was happening and I voiced them to myself.

However, early on in the dream there was a serious clue that I was really close. From the DJ:

"I walk in an urban setting (industrial stuff in the background, a stone road). Two smart-alec schoolboys start to shout at me as I pass them by. Insults, stupid jokes. I get angry and decide to turn around and teach them a lesson.

The dream becomes like a 3D action game (the boys' figures change so that it looks like they are made out of polygon textures). I kick the shit out of them. I have hightened control over the way I beat them up. I throw each of them against a lamppost which has a square stone slab at its base.

I throw a boy against the stone and see the blood spurt and the visible damage to the face. And then do it again and check the new bruises. It is very alarming. I realize how violent and sick this is. Yet I continue to bash the boys."

So I could actually *control* my behavior, but I was not clever enough to truly take the reins. I think this is because of two main things: A) my actions still seemed rather hazy & B) my actions were so awfully violent that I felt revolted. And this incident is the reason why I felt so freaked out when the ethereal voice grabbed me. The nightmare vibe was too strong.

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Originally posted by Whitefield


There was a near-constant, um, level of commentary. Throughout the dream, I had really strong opinions about the stuff that was happening and I voiced them to myself. *

However, early on in the dream there was a serious clue that I was really close. From the DJ:

"I walk in an urban setting (industrial stuff in the background, a stone road). Two smart-alec schoolboys start to shout at me as I pass them by. Insults, stupid jokes. I get angry and decide to turn around and teach them a lesson. *

The dream becomes like a 3D action game (the boys' figures change so that it looks like they are made out of polygon textures). I kick the shit out of them. I have hightened control over the way I beat them up. I throw each of them against a lamppost which has a square stone slab at its base. *

I throw a boy against the stone and see the blood spurt and the visible damage to the face. And then do it again and check the new bruises. It is very alarming. I realize how violent and sick this is. Yet I continue to bash the boys."

So I could actually *control* my behavior, but I was not clever enough to truly take the reins. I think this is because of two main things: A) my actions still seemed rather hazy & B) my actions were so awfully violent that I felt revolted. And this incident is the reason why I felt so freaked out when the ethereal voice grabbed me. The nightmare vibe was too strong.

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So, if you did know you were dreaming, you were Lucid, just so you know!

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Originally posted by nesgirl119

So, if you did know you were dreaming, you were Lucid, just so you know!

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I'll call myself a Lucid Dreamer when I can dictate and design everything that takes place in my dreams. I think I'll get there eventually... :wink:

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Originally posted by Whitefield


I'll call myself a Lucid Dreamer when I can dictate and design everything that takes place in my dreams. I think I'll get there eventually... :wink:

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That is called having good dream control, but LDing itself means that you are aware you are dreaming while doing it!

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Originally posted by nesgirl119

That is called having good dream control, but LDing itself means that you are aware you are dreaming while doing it!

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Yeah, sorry about that. But I think I know why I mixed up LD with dream control... I've had several LDs before!

At least a couple of times I've been able to wake up from nightmares by saying to myself: "When I go to the next room and pull the blanket over my body, I will wake up." And - presto - I woke up calmly. Overall, I seem to "inhabit" my dream worlds pretty urbanely.

I think I have above average dream recall. The simple reason is that my dreams have always been very vivid and visually rich, so I've been motivated to remember them. I would also say that ever since my teenage years, my dreams have grown more elaborate and visually stunning. Most of my dreams also have a very strong and (relatively) logical narrative structure.

So, my dreams mean a lot to me. And this is why I think I have a fairly good shot at gaining good dream control.

Welcome to the forum, Whitefield! :D

That's a good excerpt from your DJ - make sure to also record how you feel after waking up, and any interpretations you may make out. After you collect several dreams in your DJ, you can start noticing patterns of dream signs or characters. This will help you later with reality checks and attaining lucidity.

Have you checked out the tutorials yet? They come highly recommended. :wink:

Please feel free to PM any Dream Guide with questions after you've tried a few techniques. Good luck!

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Originally posted by Burns
After you collect several dreams in your DJ, you can start noticing patterns of dream signs or characters.

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Yeah, I'm going to read and digest the tutorials over the next few weeks. I've already skimmed through them - and in fact misunderstood the idea of the "dream sign". Here's what I wrote in the journal after the pivotal dream:

"I thought about a dream sign I'd want to encounter in the next dream: an oversized metallic key, levitating. Key: opens doors, unlocks potentialities, reveals secrets. Levitating: reminds me to do a reality check after collecting the key. The check: start to levitate.

The key is just a sign, a kind of scepter: I do not need to find a locked door! All I need to do is get the key, start to levitate and once up, begin to spin around. Gently at first (rising consciousness), quicker later on (changing the dreamscape)."

So, instead of treating the dream signs as indigenous elements, here I am trying to design an object that I can jam into my future dreams! :-P

I guess I'm really interested in the "control" aspect of LD!

:lol:

Yeah, it's easy to get ahead of ourselves, because it's such an exciting prospect to be able to control your dreams.

If you're interested, I'd highly recommend reading Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge. I just bought this book the other day and it's great! Everyone says it's the Bible of LDing. I read it before bed with great effect.

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Originally posted by Burns
Yeah, it's easy to get ahead of ourselves, because it's such an exciting prospect to be able to control your dreams.

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Right. I'm maybe too eager. At least the last two nights haven't had any lucid elements. Or at least I thought so. Then I realized something: that "level of commentary" thing is quite a common feature in my dreams. I suppose it could be one way of attaining lucidity.

I mean, once a thought occurs to me, all I'd have to do is prompt more and more questions and comments. If the number and range of the questions got absurd enough, that could trigger a LD. "Hey, I'm the one posing these weird questions! Oh, this is a dream." Just a theory. Easier said than done, though.