Hey Guys and Gals,

I just stumbled onto this site...literally (I have a firefox add-on called stumbleupon that brought me here). I've had LDs every night of my life, gaining seeming mastery of them by my early teenage years. I've always kind of thought I was alone in this. I have a degree in psychology, and none of my professors (who happened to be psychologists/etc.) could ever tell me anything about them, and, inasmuch, I haven't given them a great deal of thought in recent years. I've simply settled for having a blast every night.

I've lived out some of my wildest fantasies in my dreams and learned a great deal about myself in the process. I have exhausted my curiosities for my basest primal yearnings, traveled through the universe and seen far away paradises in my dreams. My LDs allow me to have ABSOLUTE control of my universe in the dream state. In a way, I feel like God when I dream. I can be anywhere and do anything with anyone I choose. You truly learn who you are when you are granted such seeming power. I believe that this feeling of power is exponentially increased by the knowledge that the dreamer's actions in the dream world have no effect on reality other than how the dream changes one’s view of oneself and how one being can fill their role in the real world once he/she is back in it the next morning.

Though, I have often wondered how far a person can immerse themselves in the fantasy that can be brought about in a LD. I live a happy, balanced life. I’m recently engaged and working in a job that I truly enjoy. I initially saw my LDs as mere entertainment. And while I do feel an extreme sense of power and the joy that accompanies it in my dream state, I don’t miss it when I’m awake because, over the past several years, I’ve begun using them to better myself in the real world. Honestly, I have reached the point to which that, from time to time, I will go along with my dreams and let them play out without my interference (even though I still retain full control to do so) just to see what is going through my head so that I can work out my day to day tribulations at night. It is therapeutic and somewhat meditative. As I’ve stated earlier, the dream has no effect on reality other than how it changes the dreamer once they wake up, and I, personally, want to change myself for the better. Though, I wonder if there have ever been cases where individuals with this remarkable ability have sought total escape into their dream universe, in the same way a video gamer might play a game to control their own little world and escape reality for a while. Are their LD addicts?

I am overjoyed to have found this site. I have many other questions, and I truly look forward to learning more answers about this phenomenon while meeting you all and hopefully contributing some of my personal knowledge on the subject as well. Take care and sweet dreams!