Justeazy
Todo is the pfuf!
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
Sorry if there is already a thread like this. I looked through GD and couldn't find one.
Lucid dreams have been in and out of popular culture in the last decade. I remember an old episode of Star Trek in which Spock(?) used the Earth's moon as his queue, since they never were near Earth it could be used as a reliable tell so he could know he's dreaming and wake himself up. This captured the essence of Lucid Dreaming fairly realistically. More recently, there was an episode of American Dad in which Steve sees a red ball and knows it's a dream, and can manipulate the world to his suiting. This was more used as pure entertainment and is not based on actual lucid dreaming. Lately, I have seen and heard a lot about it, so I decided to post a thread here giving my input.
I discovered lucid dreaming through recurring dreams. One of my earliest recurring dreams took place in the check out of a grocery store, where I would see myself buying groceries, and then it would zoom out, and the end of the checkout would lead to an open cargo hatch of a super-huge jumbo jet, which would be rolling down the runway getting ready to take off, while a cat burgler tried to climb a ladder into the open cargo hatch. This was when I was very young, and I knew it was a dream but couldn't do much about it.
Later in life I started having a recurring dream where I was trying (and failing) to run up a steep hill, while others on either side of me did it with little effort. I eventually managed to control myself to fly, thus eliminating the need to climb. And at the top of the hill was a soccer field where we would play and I would be the sky-soccer star....
Yeah, my dreams make no sense.
Anyway, ever since then I have been able to lucid dream more and more effectively. Though, I would like to point out that in my experience, no matter how lucid your dream is, you can only control yourself and your own actions, but your environment is still semi-random. When you reach the point that you are running the entire thing with your imagination you aren't dreaming any longer.
I wanted to just share a few examples of how you can teach yourself to lucid dream. Although I discovered these all myself, I make no claim to them as they may have been discovered prior to myself discovering them; I'm just sharing what I have learned to help you to achieve lucid dreaming if you so wish.
A few tips for starters:
1: Turn off the TV, radio, computer, etc. Any un-predictable influences on your dream can prevent or even counter a lucid dream.
2: Do not drink water/soda before bed. A need to use the bathroom during a lucid dream can lead to some bad consequences....
3: Go to bed early. It's possible to wake yourself up while lucid dreaming, and without the extended time appointed for sleeping, you can be too tired for school/work.
There are two active methods you can use. Both of these are things you would do at inconsistent, random points all day as you are awake. Through constant, conscience practice you will incorporate them into your dreams, where they will have different results. These methods require active participation throughout your day, and as such are harder than the inactive methods below, but allow much more diverse dreams.
One thing you can try is just attempting to fly. I don't mean jump in the air and flap like a bird, I mean just think "fly" and see if it works. If you've ever flown in a dream you'll know that it comes as naturally as walking, and doesn't take some strange "let's try this and see if it works" action. If you do not fly, you are still awake and just continue your day as normal. If you do start flying, you know you are dreaming and are actually lucid dreaming to top it off.
The second is trying to sing a song you have heard often but don't quite know the lyrics. Start at any point in the song you know (most likely a chorus) and keep singing. If you get to that one part you don't know and, well, don't know it, then you're still awake. However, when you're dreaming, your subconscious will take over and you'll continue singing the song either how it actually is or you'll rewrite the song, but you won't stop dead. This method can be just a bit embarrassing because in order to work effectively you need to sing that song spontaneously throughout the day. The continuation of the song at the point you consciously stop is your queue that you're dreaming. (I have ended up at a Gwen Stefani concert to the song "Holler Back Girl" before using this method.)
Then, there are two inactive methods you can try. Both of these involve introducing uncontrollable but easily recognizable things into your dreams that is something you never encounter in your waking moments. The purpose of these is that, if you ever encounter the situation anywhere other than laying down in bed you know you are dreaming and can then begin lucid dreaming to your heart's content. These are much easier methods to master, but can introduce a limited environment to your dreams.
The first is having a loud-ticking analog clock, metronome, newton's cradle, or similar device near where you sleep. When you hear that rhythmic "tick-tick-tick-tick" and if you aren't laying down trying to sleep, you know that you're dreaming and can then begin lucid dreaming. (Be careful with this method. It's possible to turn an alarm clock into a car alarm or something similar, and thus wake up late.)
The second requires an iPod, Zune, or other MP3 player (or similar device) with a repeat function. You need a short, repetitive tone that you can easily recognize but won't annoy you. My personal preference is the condensed version of the Super Mario theme. Set it to repeat every night when you go to bed. (It needs to be the same thing every day for a week or more so you can get used to it for your sub conscience to adjust.) If you hear that all-too-familiar music anywhere except lying down in bed you are all ready to begin lucid dreaming.
Anyway, if you've ever lucid dreampt, or would like to, post anything you'd like. Can you do it at will, or was it a one time occurrence? Any tips for someone trying to lucid dream themselves?
Lucid dreams have been in and out of popular culture in the last decade. I remember an old episode of Star Trek in which Spock(?) used the Earth's moon as his queue, since they never were near Earth it could be used as a reliable tell so he could know he's dreaming and wake himself up. This captured the essence of Lucid Dreaming fairly realistically. More recently, there was an episode of American Dad in which Steve sees a red ball and knows it's a dream, and can manipulate the world to his suiting. This was more used as pure entertainment and is not based on actual lucid dreaming. Lately, I have seen and heard a lot about it, so I decided to post a thread here giving my input.
I discovered lucid dreaming through recurring dreams. One of my earliest recurring dreams took place in the check out of a grocery store, where I would see myself buying groceries, and then it would zoom out, and the end of the checkout would lead to an open cargo hatch of a super-huge jumbo jet, which would be rolling down the runway getting ready to take off, while a cat burgler tried to climb a ladder into the open cargo hatch. This was when I was very young, and I knew it was a dream but couldn't do much about it.
Later in life I started having a recurring dream where I was trying (and failing) to run up a steep hill, while others on either side of me did it with little effort. I eventually managed to control myself to fly, thus eliminating the need to climb. And at the top of the hill was a soccer field where we would play and I would be the sky-soccer star....
Yeah, my dreams make no sense.
Anyway, ever since then I have been able to lucid dream more and more effectively. Though, I would like to point out that in my experience, no matter how lucid your dream is, you can only control yourself and your own actions, but your environment is still semi-random. When you reach the point that you are running the entire thing with your imagination you aren't dreaming any longer.
I wanted to just share a few examples of how you can teach yourself to lucid dream. Although I discovered these all myself, I make no claim to them as they may have been discovered prior to myself discovering them; I'm just sharing what I have learned to help you to achieve lucid dreaming if you so wish.
A few tips for starters:
1: Turn off the TV, radio, computer, etc. Any un-predictable influences on your dream can prevent or even counter a lucid dream.
2: Do not drink water/soda before bed. A need to use the bathroom during a lucid dream can lead to some bad consequences....
3: Go to bed early. It's possible to wake yourself up while lucid dreaming, and without the extended time appointed for sleeping, you can be too tired for school/work.
There are two active methods you can use. Both of these are things you would do at inconsistent, random points all day as you are awake. Through constant, conscience practice you will incorporate them into your dreams, where they will have different results. These methods require active participation throughout your day, and as such are harder than the inactive methods below, but allow much more diverse dreams.
One thing you can try is just attempting to fly. I don't mean jump in the air and flap like a bird, I mean just think "fly" and see if it works. If you've ever flown in a dream you'll know that it comes as naturally as walking, and doesn't take some strange "let's try this and see if it works" action. If you do not fly, you are still awake and just continue your day as normal. If you do start flying, you know you are dreaming and are actually lucid dreaming to top it off.
The second is trying to sing a song you have heard often but don't quite know the lyrics. Start at any point in the song you know (most likely a chorus) and keep singing. If you get to that one part you don't know and, well, don't know it, then you're still awake. However, when you're dreaming, your subconscious will take over and you'll continue singing the song either how it actually is or you'll rewrite the song, but you won't stop dead. This method can be just a bit embarrassing because in order to work effectively you need to sing that song spontaneously throughout the day. The continuation of the song at the point you consciously stop is your queue that you're dreaming. (I have ended up at a Gwen Stefani concert to the song "Holler Back Girl" before using this method.)
Then, there are two inactive methods you can try. Both of these involve introducing uncontrollable but easily recognizable things into your dreams that is something you never encounter in your waking moments. The purpose of these is that, if you ever encounter the situation anywhere other than laying down in bed you know you are dreaming and can then begin lucid dreaming to your heart's content. These are much easier methods to master, but can introduce a limited environment to your dreams.
The first is having a loud-ticking analog clock, metronome, newton's cradle, or similar device near where you sleep. When you hear that rhythmic "tick-tick-tick-tick" and if you aren't laying down trying to sleep, you know that you're dreaming and can then begin lucid dreaming. (Be careful with this method. It's possible to turn an alarm clock into a car alarm or something similar, and thus wake up late.)
The second requires an iPod, Zune, or other MP3 player (or similar device) with a repeat function. You need a short, repetitive tone that you can easily recognize but won't annoy you. My personal preference is the condensed version of the Super Mario theme. Set it to repeat every night when you go to bed. (It needs to be the same thing every day for a week or more so you can get used to it for your sub conscience to adjust.) If you hear that all-too-familiar music anywhere except lying down in bed you are all ready to begin lucid dreaming.
Anyway, if you've ever lucid dreampt, or would like to, post anything you'd like. Can you do it at will, or was it a one time occurrence? Any tips for someone trying to lucid dream themselves?
