New here - Got a few questions.

Hi everyone :).

I found out about lucid dreaming a few days ago from friends, and it is really interesting me. Lucid dreaming is defiantly something I'd like to try. My friends described it as "a real picture of the subconscious mind" , and "similar to what is possible in the Matrix" :roll:. Obviously, I'm not chasing a Matrix simulation, however it sounds pretty awesome.

I've read everything on the main page on attaining the ability, and getting lucidity in dreams, along with some snippets of info everywhere else. The same couple of questions haven't been answered though... How realistic is it? How open are the possibilities of control over lucid dreams? (example: only minor control over surroundings or full control over physics, objects and the world) and is dream recall / a dream journal totally required? Lets just say people I know wouldn't be very accepting if they found a dream journal under my bed - hehehe.

Thanks in advance, glad to be here.

Lucid dreams tend to feel extremely real; sometimes more real than reality itself.

The possibilities for controlling your lucid dreams are endless. However, it can take a lot of practice before you can really control them they way you might want to. When I started out, I had very little control. Also, I would tend to wake myself up by trying to hard to control things.

Dream journals are recommended to help increase dream recall. Better dream recall increases the chances that you will have a lucid dream. Also, with poor dream recall, it is possible you could have a lucid dream and then not remember it when you wake up.

:welcome: to DV!

Thanks John, appreciate the answer.

Sorry for seeming like an idiot, but "more real than reality itself?" How is that even possible...

Okay, I've only had one really vivid lucid dream, but I think I can answer your question:

Have you ever looked out of the window of a car that wasn't exactly clean? Notice how through the window everything kind of looks... murkier or duller than when it is rolled down?

So, imagine that the way you see things everyday is actually through a dirty window, and that when you're in a lucid you get to roll it down.

Ah ok, I get what you mean. Thanks for the clarification :).

Just one more question if thats ok... Is there any way to recall a dream or two a night other than the way outlined on the homepage? ("...to salvage the memories of your dreams you’ll need to awake during the REM periods, while the dreams are still fresh in your mind..."). I'm a student, so I need all the sleep I can get. As it is, I find it hard enough to get to sleep so it could mean losing an hour or two a night if I were to wake up just to recall a couple. Thanks for the patience :).