Hi from a new user!

Hiya!

Just thought I would take the time to say Hi! and to introduce myself.

I'm 22, and currently live in Florida, working on a pyschology degree. I've had vivid dreams most of my life, but during one dream two years ago, I accidently went lucid. It changed everything I had ever thought of about dreaming, and lucid dreaming has become one of my hobbies ever since.

Unfortunatly, most people I have talked to before have had no idea what lucid dreaming was. Most of the information I could find on it either fell into the catagories of mundane, or mythical. Up to this point, I've depended on my own experimentation (and luck!) to try to make progress with lucidity.

Imagine my delight and suprise to find this place... ! Call me a dork, but it was exciting to read the tutorials, and discover that many of the techniques I've tried in the past are advocated by people far more skilled then I am! I havn't delved too deeply into the past threads yet, but it should be some interesting reading....

Simply put - I'm looking forward to becoming a part of this community!

<3

-panzer

Welcome!

It will be interesting to compare your experiences on your own with the cumulative body of knowledge here. With all LD topics and techniques, it seems to me that expectation has more impact than anything else... so I often wonder how much of this is really necessary as opposed to what we have come to expect is necessary.

How do you induce lucid dreams? How do you stabilize and prolong them? What have you learned on your own?

Thanks for the welcome.

As for your questions:

I learned early on that I needed to remember my dreams before I could even start trying for lucids. Currently, I only write down my most vivid or "important" dreams - but I spend time every day after initially waking up going over the details of the dreams I just had. I really need to get back into the habit of writing each one down. :

If I can't remember a dream, but KNOW I've had one, I've found that 'blanking' my mind often helps (up to an hour after waking). A single dream image/scene will often pop into my head, and I can "string" large parts of the dream (backwards/forwards) from there.

Stabilization has been nothing short of an act of will-power for me. The realization of
"I am dreaming!" has thus far been a very volatile act. In my earliest attempts, I got so excited when I realized that I was lucid, that the adrenaline rush woke me up immediatly. I literally felt like Neo seeing the Matrix for the first time -- and my subconscious reflected that. In some of my early lucids, after I intentionally melted the 'world' around me, I got a little too drunk on power. :D

Over time, I guess I became more hardened to the idea of lucidity, and the problem has instead switched to maintaining focus. I often find myself going lucid, but I have "fake" wakings (where I dream that I have woken up), or else find myself distracted from the lucidity by events in the dream. From what I've read here, that is fairly common.

Right now, I'm working on improving my 'reality checks', and dream signals. One of the most common images that occurs prior to me going lucid is that of a guide, leading me up stairs. The most recent example, from my little journal:

"I am outside, on a grassy field. Directly in front of me is a tall, medieval tower. Standing in front of that, facing me, is a tall woman in red cloak. I cannot see her face, but she beckons to me, and I know I am to follow her. We go inside the doorway to the tower, and begin climbing a long spiral staircase. While climbing - I feel that I have done this many times before, and instantly go lucid. I KNOW I am dreaming...."

As for what I have learned... a LOT. This reply is already longer then I intended though... so I'm going to stop rambling now. :D

Quote:

---

Originally posted by panzer
As for what I have learned... a LOT. * *This reply is already longer then I intended though... so I'm going to stop rambling now. *:D

---

You are not rambling. Thanks for posting all you have. I'm looking forward to your perspectives on the various discussions around here!

Do consider setting up a dream journal here.

Hi there, panzer! :D I'm so glad you found the forum! It sounds like you've got loads of LDing experience. Good to hear that you've already looked through the tutorials, and you've set goals for yourself.

This is a fantastic forum for learning different techniques and discussing experiences with other members. I'm sure you're going to love it here. The community is awesome. So please feel free to post any questions or experiences you may have. Also, the Dream Guides (green people) are available via PM.

I look forward to reading more about your experiences! Please stick around for awhile! :cooler:

Quote:

---

Call me a dork[/b]

---

Yes!! I've had so many people given me crap about that word - like they've never heard of it before or something --
so.... DORK, DORK, DORK! :D

Anyway, welcome to the site! :okbyenow: Looking forward to hearing more about your dreams and progress.

Quote:

---

or else find myself distracted from the lucidity by events in the dream. From what I've read here, that is fairly common. [/b]

---

Ah, yes - good news is that there are methods of dealing witht his problem. And since you're new I'll waive the regular $59.99 advice fee and tell you about one here you can try: that is the rubbing hands technique in which you simply rub your hands together (in your dream, of course) when you feel the lucidity slipping away. You could try other activities, but the main point is to keep your mind focused on your 'dream body' sensation and not on the physical body lying in bed.

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to have if you are a lucid dreamer. I hope that you have a great time while you are with us, and if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask!

Hey dude welcome to the site!

i'm actually a newbie myself (to the site and to LD's) but that doesn't meen i don't have common courtesy.

Take a look around you might be surprised. This site really helps me out alot.

:putemuppunk: see ya around town clown..........brown?

yeh dude. im also a nub here, startin out wi lucid dreams. i used to have em all the time (or at least some of the time), but a few years ago they just stoped, so ive been trying to rediscover the experience.

btw panzer, noice name. props to you :!: :D :!: