I've long thought about dreams as being your subconscious mind's way to continue to work on problems for solutions throughout the night while your body rests. Images in your dreams being your subconscious mind's way of communicating with you. Its just up to you to interpret the images in a manner that makes sense to your waking consciousness.
I'd like to hear of any experiences others have had in which they've successfully used their dreams to solve their problems.
Just about every lucid I have full control over with clarity is life-changing. By no means of subconscious, but by means of "holy fuck that was epic." and having an uplifted mood for days or even weeks. Then whenever things are strange I think back and life is good. Some have changed my perspective on things and give me lots to daydream about.
Generally just a greater appreciation of life with each good lucid.
that's cool, but not exactly what I'm talking about.
What I mean is , say you're struggling with solving a certain problem in life, like you're an engineer , or a scientist , and you see something in a dream that gives you a new insight or a different perspective that makes a radical breakthrough in your field.
Never happened to me, but it's happened to a lot of people. Have you read "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jarrhead
nope , never heard of it. Who wrote it?
ok, I googled the title and it came back with Stephan LaBerge , is that the one you're referring to?
Yes. That is this forum's bible. It goes into detail about Lucid Dreaming for practicing skills, solving problems, curing depression, or just being a badass. Etc. It's 100% scientific.
I've been watching some of his videos on youtube, pretty interesting stuff.
The creative problem solving is what I'm most interested in. I was watching a program once about Nikola Tesla , in which they said he used to do something similar. Not 100% sure if what he was doing was lucid dreaming or not , but it was said that he could design entire projects in his mind before ever building anything. He also said Edison's method of doing things by trial and error building was slow and inefficient.
I would equate what Tesla was doing back then to what engineers do nowadays with computer modeling. How engineers wind tunnel test and design cars completely in a virtual environment before ever making a prototype.
I do the same. Except with music. The problem is that I can never remember it upon waking; I only remember my reaction to it.
this sums up what I'm trying to achieve with my attempts at lucid dreaming. There must be others on this site that use their lucid dreaming ability for creative problem solving. Those are the stories I'd like to hear about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASf55cov5F8
Yeah, I've done it once:
The night before my A.P Statistics exam, I decided I would try to use my LD to review material. So I WILDed that night, and I appeared in a classroom. I kinda envisioned Einstein being there, and his "ghost"(ish?) appeared before me, and I asked him to teach me Statistics techniques to use on the test. He asked me what I needed help on, and I told him linear regression. He pointed to the chalkboard in front of the classroom, and numbers and symbols appeared. "Approach it, and learn." he stated, and then disappeared. So I went up to the board, and the numbers literally jumped out of the board and started circling me REALLY fast, in a tornado like manner. At that moment, its difficult to describe what happened; but in the end I ended up getting clarification on what I needed help on, it's like my mind presented the information to me in a way that made sense. Amazingly, the entire dream lasted 15 minutes.
I ended up getting a 4 on the exam :D (only because I skipped a problem that counted as like 10% of the total grade)
I think I've mentioned this in another thread before, but I can pinpoint the moment I lost my faith in a lucid dream. It was really more of a realization than anything. I just realized that deep down I truly did not believe there was a God, or at least one that interacted with us humans. I have many times also had the revelation that my dreams were more than dreams, or rather there were elements or places or experiences that convinced me that the physical reality is not the only true, objective reality, and that my physical body is not my true self.
So I guess "kublakhan" is more than just an accidental moniker? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by kublakhan
First: Though this might be more along Naiya's theme than an answer to your question, I've had about a dozen LD's over the years where I had opportunity to unite with my soul -- or at least that is what it felt like. Each time, especially the first time, shifted my perspective of reality dramatically, and opened my mind to possibilities that I previously had no idea could exist. I can't (or won't, I'm not sure) describe the dreams, but suffice it to say that the moments they created were true epiphanies, even if they were just dreams.
Now, more directly to your question, kublakhan: I am a writer and artist in waking life, and almost all of my work comes from my dreams. Also, I've found LD's handy for solving small problems, like how to tell a friend when they're acting badly, or what the design for a room I'm remodeling should look like. In other words, yeah, LD's can be very handy for solving problems.
thanks for the replies , just the kind of stories I was hoping to hear , keep 'em coming.
[QUOTE=Sageous;1782106]So I guess "kublakhan" is more than just an accidental moniker? ;)
yep, one of my favorite songs , from one of my favorite bands, inspired by a dream.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAoUgKVpe10
..not so much my dreams themselves, but the Hypnogogic Hallucinations I have (I try to avoid them like the plague!!) are so frightening and disturbing they ALWAYS wake me up. The downside being the failure and waste of a perfectly good Lucid Dream, and me being freaked out of my dreamstate and sleep in general.
The upside, however, is that I become hyper aware of everything, every sight, every sound, every sensation, every thought, every feeling. This in and of itself has allowed me to view my fears/problems in a different light.
Not a real lifechanger but once I went through a portal to a place that I can only describe as "hyperreal". More real than anything in the waking world. It was just amazing to realize that my mind can make up something so fantastic. Too bad it didn't last very long...