hey im new and im a little scared...

[MarkusTheExcon]

hey .. my names mark.. a couple of my friends dable in lucid dreaming .. but i dont really know much about it .. i just read all about it in the tutorial .. but im still unsure... i wanna try lucid dreaming ... its just so intresting .. but im scared of not being able to decipher if im dreaming or not....

[mongreloctopus]

well you're in luck then, lucid dreaming actually HELPS you distinguish what's "real" and what isn't

[Gwendolyn]

Yeah, experiencing that wide range of things you can experience in LDs actually help you to distinguish real from not real.

[Tornado Joe]

well you're in luck then, lucid dreaming actually HELPS you distinguish what's "real" and what isn't[/b] Yeah, experiencing that wide range of things you can experience in LDs actually help you to distinguish real from not real.[/b] Ok, careful here folks, while these statements are true for most of the population, there are instances - while very few - in which lucid dreaming can be a problem for this very reason. I've heard LaBerge comment on this very topic when someone asked if lucid dreaming (or contents from a lucid dream) can be harmful to someone's health (mental of physical). I remember his answer being that lucid dreams have NO harmful effect on a person and that there was really only one instance that he could think of that might be a problem - and that would be for people who suffer from any mental condition in which they couldn't distinguish the difference between reality (schizophrenia, dimensia, etc). Assuming you're in above average mental health, Excon - you should not worry about having such issues. I just thought i should throw this out there. While the experience of lucid dreaming seems real (hyper-real sometimes!) you will, in 'reality', be safely lying in your bed when you experience these things. If your concern is confusing a memory of a lucid dream with reality that is something that I can't say I've heard happen. 1) Our dream content is usually so far fetched sometimes that it would be difficult to actually think something that happened in one could have really happened. 2) This is something that seems likely to happen with non-lucids just as much as lucid dreams. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[pj]

With Tornado Joe's rare exception in mind, I suspect you'll find what most seem to - that when you're awake, there is almost never any doubt about it. (When odd things happen, you'll simply do a Reality Check to make sure.) The hard part is quite the opposite - having (or finding) the presence of mind to figure out that you're dreaming. Figuring out that you are awake is a breeze. If you have concerns or doubts, pick up a book or two and read other people's experiences here. There's no rush... don't do it if you aren't comfortable with the idea, and take your time deciding. It IS quite a kick though... and that's an understatement.