» Tue Jan 08, 2013 2:07 pm I decided to make a second thread, since the first one was kind of a success (even though it took 2 years for it to reach post limit)...
What is Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid Dreaming is when you are in a dream, and you are aware that you are dreaming. You will remain in the dream and be able to manipulate and influence the dream as you wish, and basically giving yourself a limitless playground! Lucid Dreaming is extremely realistic if you have practiced it a lot, and could as well be as real as reality itself.
So how many of you have practiced this art? Maybe you've experienced it by accident? What do you think about it?
The information below is gathered from http://www.dreamviews.com, so go there if you want to learn even more.
Why should I lucid dream?
- Adventure and Excitement
-Artistic Inspiration
- Social Practice
- Stopping Nightmares
- Problem Solving
- Personal and Spiritual Exploration
Many scientists and artists have claimed to gain answers and inspirations through lucid dreams, as you are able to go deeper into the subconscious mind. So many problems in your life can be solved via lucid dreaming. Some people even consider this technique as therapy.
If you want to be really good at Lucid Dreaming: Write a dream-journal! Many people who practice lucid dreaming keep a log by their bed so they can write down their dreams before they forget them. Being able to recall your dreams is fundamental when it comes to lucid dreaming!
Induction Techniques
Gaining lucidity can be tricky, but there are several ways to increase your chances of getting one:
Reality checking and dream signs
With reality checking, you make use of your known dream signs by performing a reality check whenever you spot a dream sign. The simplest form of reality check is just asking yourself "am I dreaming?" If done consistently, this habit will carry over into your dreams and you will eventually get lucid by doing a reality check in a dream.
It is important to note that you should never do a reality check mindlessly. Take a minute to look around you and ask yourself if your surroundings are really logical. Ask yourself how you got there, why you are there, and where you are going.
It is of course possible to do reality checks that are unrelated to dream signs. Reality checking alone can help you induce lucid dreams.
Even if you’ve completely convinced yourself that whatever you’ve seen that is out of the ordinary is quite possible, perform one more unrelated test. Read some text, or glance at a digital clock or watch. Wait a few seconds and then do it again. If the text or time inexplicably changes, then you are in fact dreaming. Even if the time or text doesn’t change, try to focus on changing it for a moment. In dreams text often changes upon a second glance and we almost always accept it, even though clearly it is an alarming clue that we are dreaming.
MILD
This technique was created by Dr. Steven LaBerge who wrote about it in his book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. It can often overlap with reality checking because the goal is to do a reality check in your dreams. Typically, though, this technique involves spending a little time every night doing an affirmation or visualization that you will have a lucid dream as you fall asleep.
WILD (The most common technique, I believe)
WILD techniques can be so wide and varied that they could never be covered in one page. Because WILD depends on the dreamer to pass directly from a waking state to a dream state, each person will experience the transition differently as we each have different physical and mental responses to it. The best way to learn to WILD is to practice it.
Nearly every WILD technique will have the same basic structure. Normally the you would set an alarm or wake up naturally during the night or morning (though some take daytime naps). This is known as a Wake-Back-to-Bed. You would go back to sleep, only you would keep yourself conscious as your body falls asleep. By doing this you can directly enter into a dream and be lucid from the beginning.
At first it will be difficult to continue a dream immediately after becoming lucid. The reason for this is that upon realizing you are dreaming for the first time you will likely become really excited. If you still aren’t convinced about how amazing it is to have a lucid dream, you won’t understand until you have experienced it. The realization that you are dreaming is usually accompanied by a profound appreciation for just how real everything seems in the dream— it feels like part of the real world. This appreciation is followed by the excitement of the prospect of actually being able to control something that seems so real. It is extremely common among first time lucid dreamers to wake up due to the sheer excitement alone, so don't be discourage if your first experienced isn't as lengthy as you'd expected.
December 29th 2012 update: Dayum, this OP is a mess. I might update it if this thread regains some of its popularity from last year.
