Hey dreamers

[Woozie]

Hi all I'm new to this place. Came across the website while googling for information on Lucid Dreaming. And I guess i'm pretty new to the concept of Lucid Dreaming aswell. Even though I was introduced to it years ago and actually tried to achieve "Lucidity" I gave up pretty quick. Anyway, now i'm getting back on that horse. My initial problem first and foremost was my lack of Dream recall. I've never been able to remember more than fragments of my dreams. I've been keeping a Dream journal now for a few weeks, and i'm starting to improve my recall a little bit. I can now remember atleast 1 dream per night. But still pretty much only bits and pieces.. Mostly I only remember "half" of the dream. Like i've just missed half of a movie and stick around for the ending. Despite this i've already begun experimenting a little with achieving lucidity. And i'm already making a little progress using reality checks, which leads me to my question... Tonight when I was just about to fall asleep I found myself suddenly looking at my hands and counting my fingers to make sure I have all 10 of them (So obviously I had fallen asleep) and it turned out I had 6 fingers on my right hand. I questioned this immediately and realized this wasn't right.. Then I go "Uh, 11 fingers? What's going on here? Wait.. Am I dreaming?"And BAM! I'm back to being awake. This also happens to me everytime I "sense" that i'm about to fall asleep and I notice myself drifting off into my thoughts and the scenarious that start building up in my mind. All in all this has happened maybe.. 5-6 times up to this point. And i'm wondering if anyone has any idea why this is happening? Because everytime I get "pulled out" of my sleep like this i'm very tense and I won't be able to fall asleep again for another couple of hours

[dectomax]

Hey Woozie, Sounds like you are very close to having a full blown lucid dream. I think it may be the shock of knowing that you are dreaming that is waking you up. The more this happens, the more you will get used to the feeling. At some point, you will get chance to say to yourself "I know iam dreaming, i must stay calm". Try and relax when you relaize that you are dreaming. If you keep up with the dream journal, a full lucid dream won't be far away. Good luck.

[Woozie]

Yeah that makes sense. I've got a bad habit of analyzing anything extraordinary or unusual that's happening to me. And the sensation of becoming lucid in my sleep really puts my mind on overdrive But I guess i'll just keep trying and work on my ability to stay relaxed and calm. Thanks for the advice

[Clairity]

Woozie, I'm glad you decided to join us! You might want to review the Newbie Zone Guide for helpful information about this site: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=36723 You might also want to check out the Tutorials forum which contains information on the various lucid dreaming techniques and other helpful stuff: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...splay.php?f=25 If you should have any questions, please ask and we'll do our best to get you answers. Welcome to Dream Views!

[Woozie]

Thanks alot. I had no idea there was so much, actually helpful, information about this stuff o.O i'm really glad I found this site. Oh and thanks for the welcome!

[Oneironaught]

Woozie, I like the name (and the game (GTA:SA)). I knew another "Woozie" once. Ahh, good times. Anyway, welcome. You're right there, Woozie. Emotional involvement can be your worse enemy if it gets the better of you. Try to focus your excitement and involvement in a calm, somewhat detached manner. At least at first. Once the dream has stabilised, you can become more involved and analyse it in greater detail. You can always jump into the dream harder as you practice. But it's beneficial to avoid getting overly giddy and attached. Doing so tends to pull you back into a non-lucid state, where you again forget you are within a dream and become fully engaged in the "reality" of the dream world. Or, as with you, you're simply jarred awake. I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy your lucid dreams. Quite the contrary. By taking it easy, you can extend your average lucid time by huge leaps. And, as in your case, it can help you avoid waking up from the system shock that can occur at first realisation that one is dreaming. Expect to become lucid. You know it's coming sooner or later. So it pays to expect it and be prepared rather than be surprised or caught off guard by it. Expectation breeds familiarity: even to a newcomer. Because - even if you've had only very modest success (or none) - you'll at least be comfortable with the concept. The initial realisation is almost always going to be exhilarating and eye-opening. But a sense of familiarity and comfort lightens the emotional load when it matters, leaving you with the resources to enjoy what's going on and ultimately have great control on a fairly regular basis. Expectation --> familiarity --> comfort --> success. Calm, cool and collected. Generally speaking, of course

[Woozie]

Hehe yeah, Woozie is my favorite character in GTA:SA. He always cracks me up. Yeah I really hope that, in time, I will become more familiar with this sensation so it doesn't freak me out quite as much anymore. I have actually started using binaural brainwave beats with both the programs I-doser and Brainwave generator, to experiment with this. I find some presets help me both relax and fall asleep easier (or reach the point where i'm about to fall asleep) since I often have a hard time falling asleep naturally without spending a couple of hours with breath excercises and relaxation techniques. The problem is that with these binaural beats my "falling asleep" sensation is even more intense. Last night when I was just about to fall asleep my entire body became very tense, and I saw a bright light in my eyes as my "dream body" was litterarly swept off the bed and I was thrown towards the window.. At that point I snapped out of it as I usually do, and I found myself lying in bed all sweaty and very tense. Does anyone else experience anything similar to this? I really hope I can "train" myself into being more calm and stay relax when this occurs.