Introducing myself, cos im new :)

[Lokabrenna]

Hi, I have been lurking these forums for a few days, so i thought i should register and introduce myself. I have always been able to lucid dream, though have only recently been using some techniques, such as reality checks to help me trigger a lucid dream, from a normal dream. This way my lucid dreams are now about 2 a week. I tend to use looking at my hands, which in a dream will stretch and grow additional fingers. I have another life in my dreams, a whole town to live in and people I know and interact with on a regular basis. I can remember everything, and things remain in a sort of stasis till i return most of the time, though other times I lucid dream and years have passed and i have been away. I enjoy this a lot, and it is a sweet alternative to real life, though that isn't too bad! I just wanted to see if there was anyone else out there like me as I feel rather alone in the real world without anyone to compare notes with. I have used my lucids to control horrible personal nightmares, which has helped a lot, but I do still have nightmares about more general disasters, which I am mostly unable to lucid myself out of, and they often repeat themselves many times in one night. Even if i do lucid out of the nightmare, it creeps back in, till it has completed. Anyway, this forum is interested reading, and im thinking of adding to my skills to enable me to lucid my regulary and visit the other place more regular. I am having issues with time at the moment, in my lucids its very slow, i can dream a whole 24 hours in one 8 hour sleep, but the real world seems to be flying past at a fast rate!

[Luminous]

Welcome to DV! I find it quite interesting that you have a location and setting, and even dream characters that you return to often. I know there are people here that strive to achieve that. Great to hear that you have managed to conquer nightmares by lucid dreaming. By working towards gaining lucidity in the non lucid recurring nightmares, you should be able to conquer those, too. As you can see from the forums, you are not alone! I'm looking forwards to hearing more about your experiences. If you want to, you can start a dream journal in the dream journal section. It's a great way to share experiences, gain more lucid dreams, and improve dream recall. I hope to see you around!

[Lokabrenna]

Hi Luminous, The 'world' or town i dream in feels like it has been forming as i dream, to the extent that I could draw a map of what exists where, or i could paint a selection of scenes that would remain the same if i return to them in my dream. The people i meet are not people i know in the real world, they are new people just in my dream, i know some of them quite well. I have a few homes there, i live with different people at different times, like a lodger. Last night I was with a group who live in a large house where i have one of the upstairs rooms, but i really want to move into the attic room and i was trying to negotiate that last night with the home owner. We also went to a garden, and a maze together, and met a group from another house for dinner. I do wonder though, if the other people are me, or parts of me? Occasionaly real world people come into my dream, i think this may be beacuse I have been thinking about them, but they dont seem to fit in with the others. Only one real world person I dream about fits just fine, and it feels like we are having a joint dream but they are not lucid. I have tried to get this real world person to lucid, but they are not able to. Maybe i should draw them map, make sure i really do know the place.

[Luminous]

I find the psychology of dream characters in lucid dreams quite complex. I know they technically are created in my mind, figments of my imagination. Still, they can represent other people, or anything else going on in my life, also emotions.

[dallyup52]

I just wanted to see if there was anyone else out there like me as I feel rather alone in the real world without anyone to compare notes with. Lokabrenna, Like you, I have always beeen able to LD and OBE . I go back to places in my dream world often. And like you they are the same and the people are the same. Some of the people from this world are there repeatedly. I have the sense that I work with them over there doing things all the time. It is very familiar. there are several locals that I particularly like to return to. Dream time is very different for me also. I have come to the realiztion that for me time is a relationship not a thing. The relationship is different here sometimes also. I have not found that many people who remember being "out" as long as you and I and I am 60 years old and have been asking many people these questions over the years. But there are others. I can be in what seems like a year long dream and be back to this reality just a short time later. I remember one dream where I had three years of memories when I woke up. Once when this was all newer to me (the time thing), I thought that my body surely was dead since I had been "gone" for so long. Didn't bother me much. I was just noting it. I would be interested to hear more of your experience and what you have found meaningful in your travels.

[Lokabrenna]

Hi Dallyup52, Its nice to know someone else has a dream 'world' with the same people and places too. As for what I have found meaningful in my travels, I think the main thing is my relationships in my dream world are very honest and emotional. I enjoy these personal relationships, and i feel very connected to whoever it is I am with in my dreams in a very special way. These dream relationships and people have helped me explore all sides of my personality and sexuality and have helped me clear away some personal demons. So lucid dreaming, and being in my dream world is very healing. Unlike the real world, I can drop into and out of many relationships in my dream world, with no hurt or jelousy from anyone, its very liberating and i often feel warm and in love when waking from a dream and being with someone there that I love deeply. I am an artist, I am also bi-polar (in the uk we call it manic depressive), with a very short bi-polar cycle. My dreams have helped me deal with this also, and I often 'see' paintings in my dreams and reproduce them IRL. This is soothing also, and helps when I am especially depressive or manic. It's interesting that my lucid dreams became very regular when I was on anti-depressant medication and would sleep for most of the day, this it seems is when my dream world formed, but its never gone away even though I no longer take medication. I am happy in my dream world, at ease, and its a fun and beautiful place. Though some of the dream charaters I encounter are not happy, but i help them and they work towards being happy. I wonder if this is parts of me, that need healing, and through my dream self helping these 'other' selfs, I am healing my own emotions? In my dream world there is a cinema, large park with lush gardens and a old country house, simple and fancy restaurants, peoples homes, suburbs with manicured lawns, a school, a city with dark broody alleys, I can travel between these areas and they remain the same and in the same place. I also have a horse, he arrives when i need him, and hes loyal and easy to ride, with no saddle or reins. I used to ride IRL. There is also a small black cat, like i used to have IRL, and also a large black panther, massive, who comes to my shared house sometimes and sleeps with my small black cat. He also talks to me, and I think may be my guide. If anyone is interested i am an ENFJ, with an IQ of 162. Dunno if that makes a difference! I used to be a regular roleplayer, and i have a VERY active imagination!

[dallyup52]

I can drop into and out of many relationships in my dream world, with no hurt or jelousy from anyone, its very liberating and i often feel warm and in love when waking from a dream and being with someone there that I love deeply. At some level very high up everything is us. IMO. In my dreams I have, when I am lucky, encounters with parts of my "soul connection". These are those parts of me that I feel this "in love" with experience that is so deep and accepting and no matter what it is always there. These people (hard to call them "people", more like parts of my soul split off), for me, are here in this reality also. When I come back to them, no matter how long it has been, they are always there for me and I for them. It may be that we are not supposed to be married or lovers but we are certainly able to experience this exquisite love/connection. I wonder if this is parts of me, that need healing, and through my dream self helping these 'other' selfs, I am healing my own emotions? I certainly heal/harmonize myself in the Dream Scape.

[Arjen]

Welcome to the site, I'm new myself ^^ 162 IQ is really high, my mom is also ENFJ, and my IQ is around 150 too =) This town you dream of, is it like your dream world? A place you go to when you dream? For me, my dreams are in various random locations, it's pretty interesting to have this other life next to real life. The time issue is very common, in fact it's rare to have a normal sense of time in your dream. From what I've read here, people can feel like they've slept for some years, while they only slept a regular night. Good luck with your lucids ^^

[Lokabrenna]

Hi Arjen, I mentioned my inteligence, as I was wondering if it had any correlation with lucid dreaming. The same for my my MBI... 150 is a high IQ, do you lucid dream, are you a natural too? My town i dream of is like a dream world, but i don't know how big it is, as I have not ventured far from the main town, it could be a whole world I guess I dreamt I was there last night, the big black cat was in my room in the shared house when i arrived, sleeping on the floor stretched out, then i knew it was a dream as soon as I saw him, and i was lucid. He took me to the maze in the garden again to see one of my dream soul mates who was waiting there, but another person was watching us, it made me feel uneasy, I'm not sure who they were, they moved to fast for me to see their face. It was a sunny day, lots of birds singing, and me and my soul mate chatted and played in the maze till we hit the middle, where we lay down and watched the clouds together, I thought of a field of corn and the leafy maze crumbled away and corn grew up around us, my friend was pleased and we kissed. He had brought food, wine, and some books for me to take back to my room for another time. Later I went to the bridge to scene change, and chose an image of the room I want to move into in the shared house, the attic room. The attic was full of junk when I arrived there, I'm not sure what to do with it all, its all books and stuffed birds and things. The light in the room is amazing, tall roof windows with the sunlight streaming in. They overlook the gardens and the big house, when I looked out last night there were loads of people streaming into the house, for some event maybe. I stayed in the room, its my fave place at the mo, just looking at the old things and sitting on the windowsill watching all the people at the house. I thought about painting, but couldnt get motivated, I don't know how long i stayed, a few hours maybe, till night came and I left for the house. I used the bridge again, and joined the party at the house. Lots of people I knew were there, my dream friends and lovers, the rooms were fluid though, i was loosing control of the dream and for a while things became a bit hecktic and noisy as i went back to a normal dream, not lucid. It was headonsitic, fancy dress and animals all over the place, drugs and drink. I got control and became lucid again when I saw my little black cat sat on a windowsill watching me, its a good trigger and I had my fun there with my dream friends and woke this morning still sleepy.

[Dreamhope11]

Hey welcome to DV I wish that i could dream like you, my dreams are like only 2 minutes long at the max lol.

[Arjen]

I'm so jealous of your dreams right now it's pretty amazing to have so much detail and control, without 'exercising' as much as others. That cat must be very useful too . Have you tried to find dream signs? It must be quite easy for you with that quality of dreams. I was loosing control of the dream and for a while things became a bit hecktic and noisy as i went back to a normal dream, not lucid. It was headonsitic, fancy dress and animals all over the place, drugs and drink. I got control and became lucid again when I saw my little black cat sat on a windowsill watching me, its a good trigger and I had my fun there with my dream friends and woke this morning still sleepy. You were lucid all the time, because of the fact that you realized you were still dreaming ^^ You just lost the ability to control your dreams for a while. What's MBI? Is it like the emotional IQ? I'm pretty sure intelligence matters, so that could explain some. I've had quite some lucid dreams before without knowing what it was. When I woke up I often was like "aw why didn't I realize it was a dream".. I thought having control was just something that randomly happened, and I usually hoped for them ^^

[Lokabrenna]

Hi Arjen, What sort of dream signs should i be looking for? What will they point me towards? or are they signs that I am dreaming? like looking at my hand or a digital clock? MBI should have read MBTI and its a myers briggs personality profile, I had mine done at the same time as my IQ tests as a child, and then later on as part of therapy for my Bi-polar disorder. You can take one online, though i have no idea how accurate those are. I am an ENFJ which is described as 'the teacher' 'the sage' and loads of other descriptions by various sites. I don't tend to 'excersise' my lucid dream control as such, though i have been reading about it recently and trying WILD rather than my usual DILDs. I have also picked up the bridge technique, and some reality checks which are useful. I don't have god like control, just lucid enough to make my own decisions and occasionly play round with the dream, have some fun, and create an alternative reality. My dreams are as colourful and detailed as real life. I have started a journal to see where this is going, but my dreams rarely have anything very exciting in them, just another life

[Chewnie91]

Hello, I really enjoyed reading your post, i find it quite interesting that you could almost initiate Lucid Dreams on your own without much practice. I on the other hand, cannot. But that is why i came here so i can learn I just wanted to keep in touch with you maybe in hope that if i have any questions or just to simply talk with someone about my dreams, you could a be friend to do that with

[Lokabrenna]

Hey Chewnie, sure you can keep in touch, i'm new here but will be sticking around I'm from the uk, so will mostly be online between 8am and 6pm GMT standard time. I don't really initiate my LDs, they just become that way when i realise the cat is here, and i'm dreaming.

[Arjen]

The best explanation would be here http://www.dreamviews.com/dreamsigns.php It's basically things that often return in your dreams (such as that black cat), I'm not talking about reality checks You'd probably be able to get those God Lucid dreams, if you concentrate on your talent ^^ It would make your dreams more exciting aswell.

[Chewnie91]

Alright that sounds good to me Right now my current obstacle would be realizing im dreaming, i will have some of the most awkward occurances happen in a dream (such as the one last night where i was in a space ship that fell apart) and i still will not realize that i am dreaming and just go with the flow, then come morning, im all furious because i passed up another attempt to have a LD

[Arjen]

Hey chewnie, if you find it hard to realize you're dreaming.. There's plenty of tips on the homepage, if you didn't check them out already Other than that, it's all about practise I guess ^^ Good luck

[Chewnie91]

Alright thanks ya i did check those out, i guess it really is all in practice. I have also been experimenting around with WILD's which i have been having a small amount of progress with, i had one LD the other weekend using this technique, although it only lasted a few minutes, im getting somewhere

[Lokabrenna]

Arjen, I see what you mean now, I would say my usual dream sign is the big black cat that talks, or the little black cat. I had a small black cat who died, so if she is there then its obvious its a dream, and the talking black cat is quite obviously not real! If the big black cat comes, I become lucid very fast. I also have location dream signs, as all my dreams take place in the same town and i recall the place from a previous dream, I have a strange de-ja-vue feeling, like my dream is trying to say' nope nothing new here' but my brain realises this is a copy location from another dream, and therefore I'm dreaming! This doesnt work when its somewhere new, and i will dream a normal dream, and only become lucid when i move from this new location into one of my familiar locations, and therefore see how it links into the dream town. Sometimes the black cat comes though, to the new place, and then i just need to go for a wander to link things up. Sometimes i see its a dream, and im lucid, but i dont try to change anything as such....i just play things out. Other times i mess with it, changing people and places. I'm not sure I want god control, as i currently like the feeling that the people in my dreams are at least controlling themselves, and i'm not making them do things. Sometimes i become lucid, stop all the action, use the bridge and go where i want. This is my usual action for a nightmare. I go to my room, in my house, and play with the cats. Chewnie, i'm not sure I have any advice for you, as I'm not sure what i'm doing myself to realise its a dream, and i have help from dream signs that i know well. I often go to bed thinking about the lucid i had the night before, and this helps me as i dream the same sorta place, and it triggers the lucid i think. As i'm not a taught LD, i don't have much of a technique!

[Chewnie91]

Yes i suppose it will just take practice for me to realize my dream signs as i still am not sure of what they are yet. I wish mine was as simple as appearing in the same place haha, my dream locations are more sporadic so its harder to pinpoint if i am dreaming. Yes i have also heard as you said, going to bed with it on your mind is sometimes enough to initiate a LD that night

[Arjen]

This bridge you talk about, is this what you mean? http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ead.php?t=2917

[Lokabrenna]

No, my bridge is a learnt teleportation method. If i want to go somewhere else i just turn round and there is a bridge, nothing fancy its just wooden. At then end of it are scenes flicking past like an old movie, and i walk to these scenes over the bridge and use my hand to move them past left and right, slow and fast, till i see the want i like, or need, and then stop it with my hand and step in. The scenes are like still postcards of places in my dream town, my room, the attic room, the shop, garden, big house....

[Arjen]

That's amazing.. if you like, could you send me a message when something special happens with your dreaming? ^^

[Lokabrenna]

Hey Arjen, I have started my DJ, so you can read that....its all pretty special to me! I have started to experience some SP recenlty, when waking from a dream and trying to go back to sleep, but the swooshy noise in my ears is freaking me out!