Lucid dreams, anyone?

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From very early childhood of mine, I remember having dreams in which I knew I was dreaming. I have got this kind of dreams still from time to time but they have become much more rare than they used to be. I later found out that these dreams are called lucid dreams. The most cool thing about them is that you can control the dream any way you want, and only your own imagination sets limits. And trust me, your imagination really sets those limits. For example if you want to fly, you're free to go. Just that you've never been soaring in the air before, right? So you have to come up with idea what it feels all by your own. But yes, it's possible and I have to say, flying around your dreams is pretty nice experience. This means that "never done before" things are really the only problems.

When I was a child, I didn't know that these dreams can be controlled so I just kept along and enjoyed the ride of my own mind. This resulted me having pretty unique nightmare, and I believe not too many people can say they've had similar. Before it I had had many dreams that for one reason or another started going really scary. For example I might have been dropping from a cliff, or I could've been sitting in burning house or something like that. Then I would do a very simple thing: I just opened my eyes, I was awake, and that bad dream was gone. This happened very often so this trick of opening my eyes came my trusted weapon against all the bad dreams. Funny thing was that it was doable without even first closing my eyes in the dream.

In this nightmare of mine this didn't work and you can trust me it scared the hell out of me. The dream wasn't even originally a nightmare. In the dream I just thought that I've had enough sleep for one night, so I did the trick as usually, woke up in my bed as always. Moment later I realised that everything wasn't normally so I had to be still in the dream. Okay, no problem I thought. I opened my eyes once again and there I was another time, in my bed ready for the rl. Well, it didn't quite work. This time I touched the wall, it had the familiar pattern in it, then I pinched myself, it hurted just as it should've had, but then I watched out from the window and I saw a giant toy train going trough the houses yard. That toy made me "realise" that I was stuck in the dreamworld for eternity and that made me really desperate. I mean, from all of the nightmares I've had in my life, seeing a giant toy train was the worst? Well, it was. I tried to do the wake-up trick countless of times, on each time I got just more desperate as I just warped back to my bed, and moment later those dream-things started to happen. I was really afraid of it. Nothing really scary happened, it just was the situation. You can just imagine how long it took to trust the world after I really really woke up. I certainly got some hilarious memories. Not to make people think their own, better to tell I was like 6 yo when this happened.

I've had, as I said, really many lucid dreams in my life, but when i've asked other people, most of them NTs, none of them had.. The way I got to know about these was one AS/ADHD person who had read article or something. He asked me if I had and he was pretty amazed when I told I had one just day before. So I thought about asking here if somebody else has similar experiences. So have you had lucid dreams, and if you have a juicy story to tell about it, I'd love to read, just to make myself feel bit more normal. Just "usual" lucid dreams do, it doesn't need to be like the one I described.

Wikipedia has pretty good article about lucid dreams if you want more info.

EDIT: I did some slight changes to the language.

Last edited by Aze on 10 Sep 2007, 1:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

Lucid dreams have always been fairly rare for me, but yeah I have them from time to time. They're very cool. I think those are the dreams we most remember.

I have also had lucid dreams, though not very frequently. They usually start out like an ordinary dream, but at some point I realize that I am asleep, and from that point on I have total control over the dream. Lucid dreaming is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced; I wish I had them more often. I'm not sure how common lucid dreaming is among NTs, but I do know that there are sleep labs where doctors can induce lucid dreaming using this flashing-light contraption that goes over the sleeper's eyes.

I have lucid dreams all the time. Well, not all the time, but every other night or so. I used to think it was normal until I heard that it's actually quite a rare phenomenon. I've read a lot about it on the internet. I believe there actually exists some kind of research institute for the study of lucid dreaming, the Lucidity Institute or something similar, but I'm not sure whether that's really a scientifically "sound" organization.

Often when I'm dreaming a lucid dream I visit this strange, mysterious place that seems vaguely familiar in a very strange, abnormal way. There's a lake there with a wooden bridge over it, surrounded by forests. The landscape is hilly and there is a small mountain with a set of old brick buildings on top, in one of which there is a very large library. I've never really discovered what those buildings are used for, but I guess it might be a college of some kind. It's neither night nor day, but some strange intermediate form of night and day (not like late evening or early morning, but something completely different, like an as yet undiscovered daily period). There's also a small town with a bookshop and a restaurant with excellent Asian food. I could go on for hours describing everything that occurs in those dreams, but that would make it too long-winded.

Had my first lucid dream when I was 14, Really weird, involved alien life and I was terrified until I "changed it up" a little, Then I was cool with it, did't know what it was called until I was in my 20's.(Parapsychology Major, until I once again Quit!) Have asked others about it and have only found one other person who knows whhat I'm talking about.
There are a lot of ways to help lucid dreams along. The first is to ask yourself if you are dreaming at lots of different times during the day and night. (The idea is that sometimes dreams can seem so "normal" that you must always question if your in the dreamworld or not) Another test is to think about "flying" If you lift off, your definatly dreaming (unless you happen to live in different gravity) also thery say a good test is to try and read something, the words won't be exactly right or the same if you read it through twice. The first time maybe, the second not at all. The ever popular "Dream Journal," helps to train your subcouscious to remember the dreamworld. Also for some reason if you set your alarm for like 4 in the morning, make yourself stay up for an hour and then go back to sleep for some reasson your dreams seem more vivd and easier to "get into"
(Can't exactly remember the reason, something w/ REM sleep andf the cycles of it ect.ect.)
I love to change my dreams now. Was a defense mechanisam when I was younger. Don't klike this nightmare...hang on, let me change it. Now it's just for fun. When I quit smoking (2 packs a day for 26 years) I used the "Chantix" (the magic pill, it really dioes work through) anyway... one of the side effects was "May cause vivid dreams" Boy did it, I had a great time. Will look for my old books on it and see what else I can find. Sorry so long.

I have read that being woken up in the middle of a dream makes it easier to remember; I'm not sure if the subsequent dreams are more vivid. It is easy for me to switch from regular dreaming to lucid dreaming if I just ask myself "Is this a dream?" When I realize it is a dream, I can take control. The only problem is, I don't remember to do it when I'm actually asleep. I think it might be possible with practice, though. In the book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", Feynman says that he trained himself to have lucid dreams in order to write a thesis paper on the subject.

I have only a handful of time realized while I was dreaming that I was just dreaming and was able to take control, eather I would fly or explore the lasdscape, but thats only 2-3 times in my life as far as I can remember, the rest I had no control and did not know I was dreaming. In fact lastnight I had a dream I was in a car in the city, and their was a huge brownbear outside the car with glowing yellow eyes, it busted in the car and bit my neck, for some reason, i was screwaming go to the driver, but he just sat their, i felt the bite, but it did not hurt. I wish I could know more often that Im dreaming, rairly I have nightmares, but on occasion I do and have never to my recollection been able to change it, heh.

Heres the book title Called "Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming" A step-by-step guide by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. and Howard Rheingold by "Ballantine Books" copyright 1990 ISBN 0-345-37410-X

Funny how I am unable to lay my hands on any article in my home w/out looking for it (Organized Chaos) and yet that book, which I haven't picked up in over 5 years was in a basket sitting on my computer desk about 8 inches from my face under a piece of paper. Synchronistic I think.
Good luck w/ your "travels" it really is fun. It just takes practice

I love having lucid dreams but often I will wake up before I have done all I want to.

One night I will have one and fly forward in time to the draw of the national lottery then wake up with the numbers

Must remember to keep a note book by the bed

I saw the movie "Waking Life" recently, which renewed my interest in lucid dreams. But still no luck with actually having one. It's hard to get into the habit of doing all of these exercises that are supposed to help (dream journaling, looking at hands, asking "Am I dreaming?"). I demand instant gratification!

This happens to me quite a bit.

I was very interested in lucid dreams fora month or so. I read a bit on them, was active on some LD forums and in IRC chat, practiced a number of induction techniques each day. Didn't have an LD though. The dream journaling really helped my recall so I may return to that. I'm really into Jung right now so the journaling is still quite helpful.

I almost always know I'm dreaming, there are only few exceptions. I can control the dreams as well, but I prefer not to do so. I never did anything to be able to have lucid dreams, I just have them as long as I can remember. I think this is the reason why I remember my dreams so well - the more my consciousness is aware of the dream, the better I can remember details.
I think I may had my first lucid dream when I was two or three, because at that time, I had a horrible nightmare that made me cry when I woke up. It was about dinosaurs and a baby dinosaur and when the people wanted to kill the little dino, the dream suddenly started to change and I miraculously could do anything I wanted, including saving that dino. I can't remember any dream before this, but maybe that is when my lucid dreams started.

Due to my lucid dreaming, I had the same dreams many times in my childhood. In these dreams I was never aware that I was still asleep and in bed, because I dreamed that I got up and walked to the bathroom or the kitchen. Everything was so unbelievable real. The only difference to reality was that the light never worked.
For some years I was so silly that I believed that the lights never work during the nights.

I don't think I've ever had those. There again, I may just not remember them very well - I'm not good at doing that unless they're really vivid and/or close to my waking-up time.

theye tho only kind of dreams i have

At younger age I did that wakeuptrick i told to get away from all of the bad dreams, but when I got to know dreams can be controlled I started doing that exact same trick you said. I made myself think "am I dreaming now?" every time I got to anxious situation, and when I had nightmare after that: "Sorry, but the party's over now." Had fun after that, no doubt. Zero nightmares ever since.

I'm actually quite surprised how common lucid dreams are among here. AS might have something to do with this, increased imagination or something like that.