This was supposed to be at the end, but the story got really long so I moved my questions/concerns up to the top...
Unusual other happenings that I would appreciate other peoples insight on:
-Sometimes I dream lucidly in familiar places... one is a mall and one is a three story mansion that is very dorm like. When I'm walking through these places, I actually recall where things are... I know where I'm going, but I've never actually been to these places while awake... does anyone else experience this?
-I have no familiarity with the study of chakra and whatnot (<--- sorry if this sounds disrespectful to those that do... I promise, I mean no disrespect), but this past year upon entering my lucid dreams I feel this intense pressure in my forehead. I don't really know how to explain it... maybe like someone pushing on your forehead from the inside? I don't really care for it much. It's actually a little irritating and I've begun to sleep with a small blanket over my forehead because having some weight on it makes it not occur. Is this a third eye? What are third eyes for? I have not noticed any difference in the lucid dreams with the funny foreheard pressure versus without. Does anyone else experience this?
Okay, and onto my story... sorry for the length, I'm a bit long winded...
I just wanted to throw out a big thanks to the creator(s) of this forum for helping me to understand what I've been doing all these years. Apparently, unbeknowst to myself, I began to dream lucidly when I was in highschool (which was approximately 6 years ago). After reading the "how to" on the site, it appears my lucid dreaming initially began due to a very poor sleep schedule (in highschool and even now in college I sleep on average 3 to 5 hours at a time... *sigh* so much school work). Initially, my lucid dreams were terrible. Even now all of my lucid dreams begin with the feeling of a great weight on my chest and/or hips (which is apparently your body going into REM sleep). Let me just say first that I have a very overactive imagination and where I'm from (Hawaii) we have an infamous ghost called the kanashibara (aka. the choking ghost). According to the stories, this ghost sits on unexpecting people at night and well... chokes them. Sometimes the person will open their eyes and see nothing on them... other times people report seeing a large Hawaiian man or old Hawaiian lady lying next to them. Anywho... when my lucid dreaming experiences began... I thought the choking ghost was attacking me and each time I would fight desperately to get him off of me. Let's just say that this lead to many a sleepless night. Eventually, like a year later after blessing my room with countless Japanese charms and sprinkling Hawaiian salt everywhere, I gave up fighting (sometimes you are just too tired) and discovered that after the pressure of someone sitting on my chest subsided I would begin to dream with awareness. Let me just be the first to tell you that I am a self proclaimed retard when it comes to certain things... lucid dreaming being one of them. At first I did not recognize my dreams were dreams. I would dream of floating away and seeing my body and I would think that I died in my sleep, or I would see things and think that they were visions, or once I even had a falling dream and thought it was a sign from God of the hell to follow if I didn't change my ways and convert to a more religious lifestyle. It never occurred to me to look things up on the internet, because I thought these experiences were unique. I did talk to my mom and some of my friends about my experiences in brief, but no one else had them and thus thought I was over worked at school (actually, except for my dad... I think he might be a lucid dreamer but he's still at the "omg I'm paralyzed and must wake up" stage). Anyways, since going to college I've definitely developed more control over my dreams and have actually come to enjoy them.
The secrets to my lucid dreaming that I've discovered on my own...
1. A lack of sleep is essential! I only dream lucidly when I'm in school (i.e. when I'm always extremely sleep deprived and don't actually sleep as much as I nap). I've read about people setting alarms and such and well, if you find that works for you then go for it.
2. When I want to dream lucidly I just close my eyes, try to relax, and concentrate on images. Sometimes I see a really intense bright light (even at night there is no light). Other times I try to concentrate on stray thoughts that become images. These images usually mean nothing to me. It's quite literally most often colors... I'm a big green and yellow person... I don't know why.
3. The pressure on my chest is probably one of my biggest problems. I do not like the feeling of being sat on. But, if you experience this too, then you really just have to endure it and remind yourself that the lucid dream is coming.
4. About 10 to 20% of the time I also hear things. It varies from a little tune to the sound of my mom shouting at me once (<-- I don't know what this was about, but I'm in college and my mom is literally about 3000 miles away... so it was definitely part of the dream). Sometimes, when the sounds are nice, I like to listen to them intently and this pulls me into a lucid dream.
5. Lastly, try not to fall asleep. It's really easy sometimes, but just keep reminding yourself that you are in a dream. More often than not I fall into the dream knowing that I'm dreaming, but occassionally I forget and well... the lucid is quickly lost from the dreaming.
Anyways.... just wanted to say thank you again to the creators of this site and forum for helping me to understand myself... also the spinning trick is very cool and surprisingly helpful! And to all the newbies out there... good luck! For me lucid dreaming was a very jarring experience at first. But, over the years I've really come to enjoy it... in my lucid dreams I fly (I fly a lot) and I've kissed a few crushes too. Unfortunately I have yet to gain the ability to change my environment... sometimes I find myself in a very scary place (dark allies being chased by things) and lacking the ability to change it I often force myself awake (which is very exhausting my the way... just keep telling yourself... wiggle a toe... wiggle a finger... open an eye).
