Thread: Effects of LD on real life

Hi everyone,

First of all, this is my first post here, so... hi.

A couple of months ago I had my first LD. It's kind of strange actually, because I am not the kind of person that is "good at dreams"; i usually never remember what I dream about at all, except when I abruptly wake up during one. Maybe the fact that I had recently heard of LD's helped in making me realize I was dreaming (so it was what you would call... a DILD?)

Anyway, it was pretty cool for me. To test it out, I tried to levitate a (maybe pool-)table telekinetically. It worked, and I woke up immediately after, the whole thing lasted very short. My memory of the dream isn't very vivid, but I clearly remember the moment I became aware I was dreaming, and how excited I was the table thing worked. Obviously I woke up because of that excitement.

So considering the potential coolness of these dreams, I may put some effort into becoming better at LD-ing. I'm not going to ask you how, but rather I am interested in the effect it has had on your real lives.

I can imagine that having a wondrous world at your disposal in your dreams leads to the real world becoming boring. What are your opinions on this? I can see a resemblance with video gaming - being able to do things you can't in real life. Does it become addictive like video games can? Do you think about it all day and wait for the moment you get to dream again?

And finally, a somewhat more practical question: do you feel rested after waking up from a LD? I can imagine not; you're "active" while sleeping, taking away the chance your brain usually has to rest. Is this true?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Originally Posted by LePeL

I can imagine that having a wondrous world at your disposal in your dreams leads to the real world becoming boring. What are your opinions on this? I can see a resemblance with video gaming - being able to do things you can't in real life. Does it become addictive like video games can? Do you think about it all day and wait for the moment you get to dream again?

No. Lucid dreams are great, but most members (who have actually had a substantial amount of them) agree that they couldn't ever replace waking life. And while it's hard for some newbies to imagine, the novelty does wear off over time, as is true with anything. Lucid dreams will always be something to value and look forward to, but most agree that they are hardly worth obsessing over.

Originally Posted by LePeL

And finally, a somewhat more practical question: do you feel rested after waking up from a LD? I can imagine not; you're "active" while sleeping, taking away the chance your brain usually has to rest. Is this true?

I feel the same as if I had been dreaming normally. Truth is, your mind is always "active" while dreaming, regardless of whether or not you are lucid. I would even argue that your mind is more active when you're not lucid. Most of my lucid dreams are relatively tame compared to my non-lucid dreams, which are usually bizarre and rife with conflict.

Originally Posted by DuB

I feel the same as if I had been dreaming normally. Truth is, your mind is always "active" while dreaming, regardless of whether or not you are lucid. I would even argue that your mind is more active when you're not lucid. Most of my lucid dreams are relatively tame compared to my non-lucid dreams, which are usually bizarre and rife with conflict.

Good point, I hadn't thought of it that way. Guess that eliminates one potential downside to LD.

I'm starting to think I will try to get better at this (even though it might be difficult considering I have poor dream recall as it is). I'm still interested as to whether other people agree with you on the addiction thing - I can see myself becoming a "dreamer" in the bad sence of the word

I've learned that I definitely have an "addictive personality." However, lucid dreams just don't have the same addictive potential as certain other things. They don't offer that instant gratification. No matter how much I practice, it's unlikely that I will have more than one lucid dream per week (although some people do). Furthermore, most of my lucid dreams last from 30 seconds to 5-10 minutes. It's hard to become addicted to that, even if they are really cool.

Originally Posted by DuB

I've learned that I definitely have an "addictive personality." However, lucid dreams just don't have the same addictive potential as certain other things. They don't offer that instant gratification. No matter how much I practice, it's unlikely that I will have more than one lucid dream per week (although some people do). Furthermore, most of my lucid dreams last from 30 seconds to 5-10 minutes. It's hard to become addicted to that, even if they are really cool.

Haha, well it's really only when I'm very stressed out or depressed. I think I just like to be in control of things.

That's true. Considering I have only had three real LDs in the past 2 years, it's hard to become obsessed with. It's just dreams in general and sleeping that I love, but I do think about it quite a bit.

Originally Posted by LePeL

I can imagine that having a wondrous world at your disposal in your dreams leads to the real world becoming boring. What are your opinions on this? I can see a resemblance with video gaming - being able to do things you can't in real life. Does it become addictive like video games can? Do you think about it all day and wait for the moment you get to dream again?

LDing is incredibly amazing. My life is sort of boring (I'm a student, that's basically all I do) anyways, and I've always loved dreaming. For example, if it was a Saturday, I would often spend the entire morning sleeping until 2pm just to have dreams. Non-lucid ones, mind you.
I do think about Lucid Dreaming very often throughout the day, especially when I actually have one and it is fresh and recent. I think of it like any other hobby, though. I'm really into photography, and when I come across something interesting I think about how to frame the shot, what exposures to take, etc. I do the same thinking about opportunities in dreams when I see things, or when I do reality checks. I sort of think of it just like any other hobby.

It's probably important to note that I have a rather addictive personality anyways. For example, I will eat the same food for dinner for weeks on end until I get sick of it, then move on to something else. Or I will watch a show obsessively for a long time, then get tired of it and move onto a new one. Either way I think enjoying LDing and thinking about LDing is a healthy sort of thing to do. I feel more in touch with my subconscious, happier overall, and have higher esteem than I did 5 days ago from the one I had the other night.

Originally Posted by LePeL

And finally, a somewhat more practical question: do you feel rested after waking up from a LD?

I feel better after waking up from a lucid dream than I ever have in my life. I find I am always filled with this excited, exuberant energy and that my enjoyment of even menial tasks is elevated. I've never felt tired. In fact, the other day I woke up at 5:30 from a lucid dream. I didn't have class until noon, but I got up at 5:30 and stayed up until one in the morning without feeling tired once all day. I don't even remember having any dreams last night, and felt so painfully exhausted this morning that I wanted to skip class.

Originally Posted by Shift

LDing is incredibly amazing. My life is sort of boring (I'm a student, that's basically all I do) anyways, and I've always loved dreaming. For example, if it was a Saturday, I would often spend the entire morning sleeping until 2pm just to have dreams. Non-lucid ones, mind you.
I do think about Lucid Dreaming very often throughout the day, especially when I actually have one and it is fresh and recent. I think of it like any other hobby, though. I'm really into photography, and when I come across something interesting I think about how to frame the shot, what exposures to take, etc. I do the same thinking about opportunities in dreams when I see things, or when I do reality checks. I sort of think of it just like any other hobby.

It's probably important to note that I have a rather addictive personality anyways. For example, I will eat the same food for dinner for weeks on end until I get sick of it, then move on to something else. Or I will watch a show obsessively for a long time, then get tired of it and move onto a new one. Either way I think enjoying LDing and thinking about LDing is a healthy sort of thing to do. I feel more in touch with my subconscious, happier overall, and have higher esteem than I did 5 days ago from the one I had the other night.


I feel better after waking up from a lucid dream than I ever have in my life. I find I am always filled with this excited, exuberant energy and that my enjoyment of even menial tasks is elevated. I've never felt tired. In fact, the other day I woke up at 5:30 from a lucid dream. I didn't have class until noon, but I got up at 5:30 and stayed up until one in the morning without feeling tired once all day. I don't even remember having any dreams last night, and felt so painfully exhausted this morning that I wanted to skip class.

I kind of recognise myself in that, though I must say your dinner behaviour is quite amazing.

Anyway, your post calmed me a bit, since I like to see myself doing just that: enjoying LD-ing like a hobby. And I do remember being quite happy the morning i woke up from my first one.

Originally Posted by LePeL

I kind of recognise myself in that, though I must say your dinner behaviour is quite amazing.

Anyway, your post calmed me a bit, since I like to see myself doing just that: enjoying LD-ing like a hobby. And I do remember being quite happy the morning i woke up from my first one.

I'm glad, that is absolutely how you ought to feel about it!

well you still get the same amount of rest because your mind is active but you body is sleeping

People who can become addicted to lucid dreaming need to be addicted to lucid dreaming, or else they'll become addicted to something like tieing their shoes.

Yes, you are just as rested after LD's. In fact, the less you dream, generally, the more tired you are. So, if you can lenthen your LD's, you should, theoretically, be less tired.

reesespieces, your quote seems wrong:

"Next time your eating a Reese's and some guy named Reese comes up to you and says let me have that. You better give it to him. I'm sorry Reece, I didn't think I would ever run into you." - Mitch Hedberg

Shouldn't the red be "Reese", or was Mitch Hedberg wrong?

Originally Posted by ubigcow

People who can become addicted to lucid dreaming need to be addicted to lucid dreaming, or else they'll become addicted to something like tieing their shoes.

How do you figure?

Yeah, your just as active in your dream regardless of whether or not you know it's a dream.

I've been LD'ing off and on since I was a teenager. And I'm 36 now. I can honestly say that the Novelty of it has never worn off for me. Every taste of Lucidity, no matter how short it may be, is a total thrill for me.

As far as being addicted to it goes. I certainly wish I could be Lucid in every dream I have. But even if I was that good, I wouldn't sleep any more than I already do. A person can only sleep so much anyway. Though, some people are able to sleep more than others.

oh i never noticed that i will have to go change it i just got it off the internet thanks though!

Just like Caradon the novelty has never worn off for me. Well, I have only being doing it for about a year but still... I love every bit of the ld's I have and I wake up so happy. I've never lost the excitement my first ld gave me. After I have an ld I get this joy I don't get from anything else.

I have been doing the LDs and OBEs for 55 years and the novelty has never worn off. I am excited and amazed each and every time (I have gotten "out" thousands of times). It is an integral part of my spiritual/everyday life. What I shift internally in this reality effects the other side and what I change/learn over there effects my life here in this waking reality. The two are not all that different. Some rules of physics are different and there isn't the same appearance of linearity. Minor stuff when considering the whole.

BlessU
Sam