Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Lucid Dreaming
- Thread starter ideal.dreams
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
In my entire life I've only managed to have two of them many years ago. I've tried to do it again and again but as always, once I realize I'm in a dream I wake up. I don't know how I was able to do it those two time though.
How do you try it?
Despite my skeptical nature, I do believe in lucid dreams. For some time actually. When I was young, I had a few New-Age-ish beliefs about them, but as I've aged I've settled into a more logic-based belief system regarding the subject.
By most definitions, lucid dreaming does not require being "in control". The main aspect is "being aware" (of dreaming). In other words, your conscious mind has to "awake up", at least enough to realize you're dreaming. The control aspect is optional. You can take full control, or sit back and let your subconscious mind take over and handle things in auto-pilot mode. While taking full control can be fun and entertaining (and probably also therapeutic), leaving your subconscious in control allows for self-exploration and "getting to know thyself".
Of course, exploring "thyself" comes with the usual caveat. By doing so, we usually discover that "two players, one is light and one is dark" dwell in our subconscious realm. We encounter our ones hopes, dreams, and aspirations as well as our fears, worries, and inhibitions. But the journey can open a gateway to greater understanding of "thyself".
Unfortunately, many (most?) of the books on the subject of lucid dreaming seem to contain a good bit of pseudoscience malarkey. The only book I've found that comes close to adhering to the confines of science is Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Dr. Stephen LaBerge, a psychophysiologist. However, it too seems to get into some fuzzy-science areas.
Hmm. I can't say I objectively knew I was asleep, although every "bad" dream I've had, I know and do wake myself up. What seemed different about this dream was its stability, my control within it, and it seemed as large as conscious reality, and first person perspective. At least that is how I remember it. I remember thinking during the dream, "This is cool" if that signifies awareness of dreaming and after I thought that, I was still free to move about the landscape although eventually I remember waking up from it. I'm annoyed that all of the details slipped away from me so rapidly. And so far, this type of dream was a one of a kind dream. Dreams since then have felt regular, however that does not rule out having this dream type of dream again and not remembering it.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I also often have lucid dreams. I think it is more likely to happen again once you really experienced it for the very first time.
There are even tutorials on how to do it lol. Well they're actually not really tutorials but some idea's can really make a difference when you want to try it.
For example http://www.wikihow.com/Lucid-Dream
How do you try it?
There are even tutorials on how to do it lol. Well they're actually not really tutorials but some idea's can really make a difference when you want to try it.
For example http://www.wikihow.com/Lucid-Dream
Interesting link! I've noticed that I am better able to remember a dream if I wake up naturally, versus an alarm clock which makes the dream whoosh away. The key for me to remembering most of a dream is to focus on the dream after waking and think of nothing else for a couple of minutes. Even so, if I don't write it down, the memory (of most of it) usually fades rapidly.
Lucid dreaming only works if you are starting to wake up. You need to have some sort of consciousness to be able to control the dream. Deep sleep won't do it.
Being "aware" in a lucid dream typically means being aware of the conditions in the wide-awake world. For example, last night I dreamed of seeing, having a conversation with, and being able to touch a friend who's been dead for several years. In my dream, my reaction was "But you're dead.", which was my verbal acknowledgement of my being aware of the conditions of the real world. She didn't answer my question. She never does. But I've started asking her this question, during each lucid dream encounter, simply to make myself aware that I must surely be dreaming.
In lieu of talking to dead people, you can also do something that won't happen in the waking world, such as putting your hand through a wall, putting your index finger of your right hand completely through the palm of your left hand, or attempting to float around the room or float up 100 miles above the earth in 1.2 seconds, etc.
Sounds like you're on your way, but just need a little practice.
I started having lucid dreams after starting a self-study of creative visualization, which is more or less a form of meditation. iMacBooked posted the link to a how-to page about lucid dreaming, which looks pretty good, but they really, really butchered the section explaining Dr. LeBarge's Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD) technique. (LeBarge is the author of the book I mentioned in my previous post.)
A more complete explanation of the basic details and steps of the MILD technique can be found here. You can follow the steps without needing to set an alarm clock to wake up -- the important thing is that you'll probably need to plan on sleeping 8-9 hours for this technique to work. You need to be in REM stage, which normally won't happen (with sufficient duration) until your body has had a "good night's rest". However, keeping a record of your dreams is something you'll probably want to do, after you've had a few lucid dreams.
I'll mention this, since you expressed an interest in the subject in another thread: Some claim you can explore "past lives" via lucid dreaming. My thoughts on this are that if you did so, you'd probably being exploring a "story" your subconscious mind simply "makes up", largely for entertainment purposes. Although, as I mentioned in my previous post, I think the stuff revealed by one's subconscious mind can provide useful information, in regards to "getting to know thyself", etc.
This used to be my hobby so I know a little about it.
Firstly, you always dream during REM sleep. You usually have two dreams per night assuming you have a healthy sleep schedule.
If you want to remember your dreams, begin keeping a dream journal. When you wake up you write everything you can remember in the dream journal before it slips away. As you keep doing this and continue to concentrate on your dreams when you wake, you will improve your dream recall.
There are a lot of different techniques for initiating lucid dreams as I'm sure you know. What I found most effective was waking myself up in the middle of the night (so you are still in a REM cycle) then laying there in bed and being completely still while staying awake. This tricks your body into thinking you are asleep and you will begin to feel sleep paralysis.
I use to be pretty good at doing this at will when my sleep schedule was patchy and minimal.
Note: when that sleep paralysis kicks in try not to panic because you can both hear it and feel the sensation and it tend set off other triggers ie terror alerts. Once your able to control those emotions and know that the overwhelming and alarming feeling of being watched is only your brain playing tricks on you you can quickly move past it and get on with your business.
At one time I so good at this thing that once I was able pick up a dream right where I left off the next night by using the catalog technique.
This used to be my hobby so I know a little about it.
Firstly, you always dream during REM sleep. You usually have two dreams per night assuming you have a healthy sleep schedule.
If you want to remember your dreams, begin keeping a dream journal. When you wake up you write everything you can remember in the dream journal before it slips away. As you keep doing this and continue to concentrate on your dreams when you wake, you will improve your dream recall.
There are a lot of different techniques for initiating lucid dreams as I'm sure you know. What I found most effective was waking myself up in the middle of the night (so you are still in a REM cycle) then laying there in bed and being completely still while staying awake. This tricks your body into thinking you are asleep and you will begin to feel sleep paralysis. Now you close your eyes and let yourself drift to sleep while imagining in your mind your "dreamscape", i.e. what you want your dream to look like, where you will be, who will be there... the whole scene. It might take a practice but eventually that method should drop you right into a lucid dream.
Another more subtle everyday thing you can do to improve your chances of lucid dreaming is looking at details in your day to day life while you are awake. This is called "reality checking" and it trains your mind into performing these checks during dreams too so you are more likely to realise you are in a dream. You need to look at the patterns on your hands and try and read things around you like signs, paying close attention to them and if they change. In a dream, things like the palm of your hand will not stay consistant and any text (even if it's just the time on a digital watch) will change upon reading it again, and might not even make sense in the first place. Finally, light switches. Light switches do not work in dreams. So try turning those on and off and seeing what happens.
While you are in your dream, to ensure you stay awake, avoid anything that shocks you or makes your heart beat fast. That will wake you up for sure. This means if you want to fly in a dream, or just have sex with a supermodel (hey, I'm not here to judge), you need to practice being calm within the dream first.
And that's 0dev's intro to lucid dreams!
That's really interesting about the light switches. I'll have to try that. I often have really strange dreams, I'll have to polish my efforts of studying them. I would love to have that sort of control, to be able to do that. Anyone have any ideas of what they would do if you did have such control?
I had that on one occasion. Only once in my life. And I wasted it.
I was dreaming about being at work, and I realized it was a dream, so I was trying to think of something crazy to do in the dream, and then I woke up. I didn't even get to have any fun
I was dreaming about being at work, and I realized it was a dream, so I was trying to think of something crazy to do in the dream, and then I woke up. I didn't even get to have any fun
I wish I had dreams. I just don't had them. So no I don't get to take control. But when I do have dreams they are awesome. My last dream I think was last January. I dreamed I got a fully upgraded Mac Pro with a Thunderbolt Display. Don't know why I didn't dream up a couple of 4k displays but it was still awesome.
You probably dream, you just don't remember them. Some research seems to indicate if you don't wake up soon after dreaming you're less likely to remember them. Most people average 4 to 7 dreams per night according to this page -- Facts About Dreams.
I've experienced the battle of Stalingrad by putting on a history podcast before going to bed. The podcast was the voice of god in my dream, narrating what I was experiencing. I learned a lot from this, how to control the dream. Now I can have sex with any famous actress I want in my sleep by waking myself up in REM3 mode and thinking about said actress while going back to sleep. Christina Hendricks is a personal favorite. I'm married, and my wife knows, and thinks it's hilarious.
That is.... very interesting. The logical sequence of this paragraph is wonderful.
Could be a concern if the wife were to change podcasts surreptitiously. "What's that dear, you weren't having sex with Christina Hendricks, instead you were being burned alive like Freddy Kruger."
As a woman, be wary of that...Women can hide some pretty nasty loathing behind a smile. On that note, I did this once with my college roommate's boyfriend in mind. Boy was that awkward for me for a few days after....
Thanks for the warning, but I married a good one. She can separate fantasy from reality. She has the same body type/measurements as Christina Hendricks, but refuses to die her hair, so it's not that different than sex with her as far as she cares.
I'm glad that she is able to recognize that. Most women wouldn't. I don't think I would be happy if my fiance told me that. :/ and I consider myself to be a little bit liberal rather than conservative in that light.
For you it might not be. I'd imagine it would be quite different for her
I know my wife. Do you know yours?
----------
She knows that she's the only woman for me, and we both have our fun little celebrity fantasies. The difference between us and most couples is that we communicate and are open and honest about it, and don't try to hide it.
Aside from dreaming about sex with famous people..........what else does everyone else want to use lucid dreaming for?