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Lucid Dreaming

Huntn said:
I'm not actively pursuing it as I don't really see a point. That larger than life dream I had a couple weeks ago though was a real treat. :)
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Well, you can use it for more utilitarian purposes beyond using it as a sexual/flying simulator. The benefits largely fall in the gaining a better sense of self category, but I've also used it to gain a fresh perspective on how to solve challenges encountered the real world. For example, at times it's given me a fresh perspective on how to best approach writing (computer) code or music. Figuratively speaking however, it can be used as an opportunity to slay the demons that may haunt your waking world.
 
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localoid said:
Well, you can use it for more utilitarian purposes beyond using it as a sexual/flying simulator. The benefits largely fall in the gaining a better sense of self category, but I've also used it to gain a fresh perspective on how to solve challenges encountered the real world. For example, at times it's given me a fresh perspective on how to best approach writing (computer) code or music. Figuratively speaking however, it can be used as an opportunity to slay the demons that may haunt your waking world.
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Howso, do you think? With the slaying the demons-- after reading this entire thread, it seems like most people are interested in indulging with the demons with no consequences- sex with a famous person without rape charges, etc.
 
larrygornick said:
Howso, do you think? With the slaying the demons-- after reading this entire thread, it seems like most people are interested in indulging with the demons with no consequences- sex with a famous person without rape charges, etc.
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How did you arrive at your conclusion that "most" are interested in raping famous people?
 
larrygornick said:
Howso, do you think? With the slaying the demons-- after reading this entire thread, it seems like most people are interested in indulging with the demons with no consequences- sex with a famous person without rape charges, etc.
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Not sure who you're talking about, but in my dreams, the objects of my affection come after me, not the other way around.
 
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larrygornick said:
Howso, do you think? With the slaying the demons-- after reading this entire thread, it seems like most people are interested in indulging with the demons with no consequences- sex with a famous person without rape charges, etc.
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Seems as though you only read post from what, two three people and based your conclusion on those and applied it to the rest of us. This is not true at all, in my case I never use my REM sleep for those purposes as I have no desire to do such. Me, because I realise that our brains are most creative during sleep, I like to challange myself. I believe that we all have great moments of true Genius but often only manifest during our dream state, for this reason I like to see what I can create design, think the architect (Ariadne) in the movie Inception.
 
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RenoG said:
Seems as though you only read post from what, two three people and based your conclusion on those and applied it to the rest of us. This is not true at all, in my case I never use my REM sleep for those purposes as I have no desire to do such. Me, because I realise that our brains are most creative during sleep, I like to challange myself. I believe that we all have great moments of true Genius but often only manifest during our dream state, for this reason I like to see what I can create design, think the architect (Ariadne) in the movie Inception.
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I don't think I want dreams like that. Haha, Inception was good enough for me, I dont want to experience that stuff. haha.
 
larrygornick said:
Howso, do you think? With the slaying the demons-- after reading this entire thread, it seems like most people are interested in indulging with the demons with no consequences- sex with a famous person without rape charges, etc.
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How Christian of you. :p

briannaharbor said:
I don't think I want dreams like that. Haha, Inception was good enough for me, I dont want to experience that stuff. haha.
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Well, Inception, they never really explained any of the physics involved with sharing dreams so I discount that, although enjoyed the escapism. :)
 
Huntn said:
Well, Inception, they never really explained any of the physics involved with sharing dreams so I discount that, although enjoyed the escapism. :)
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I suppose it was the main function of the machine as it was what linked everyone together. I'm actually glad they left that explanation alone.
 
Someone commented much earlier in this thread about how lightswitches do not work in dreams- I tried to do this this weekend; my wife and I were taking a nap, on the couch, and I was fading in and out of consciousness. Thinking of this thread, I tried to be alert to the fact that I was dreaming. So, I would fade into a dream, and remind myself that I was sleeping, and every time, I would get a huge knee jerk, or feel like I was falling, and I would wake immediately.

Is this a natural occurrence when you try to be aware that you are dreaming? This is the closest I have ever gotten to being successful, and I would like to know if I am getting closer.

Thanks, everyone.
 
vulcanvillalta said:
Someone commented much earlier in this thread about how lightswitches do not work in dreams- I tried to do this this weekend; my wife and I were taking a nap, on the couch, and I was fading in and out of consciousness. Thinking of this thread, I tried to be alert to the fact that I was dreaming. So, I would fade into a dream, and remind myself that I was sleeping, and every time, I would get a huge knee jerk, or feel like I was falling, and I would wake immediately.

Is this a natural occurrence when you try to be aware that you are dreaming? This is the closest I have ever gotten to being successful, and I would like to know if I am getting closer.

Thanks, everyone.
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I'm fairly sure that in his book LaBerge talked about how his research had indicated that upon entering a lucid dream state subjectd had an increased tendency to awaken. If I have time, I'll try to dig up a quote...
 
I didn't mean to generalize to everyone in the thread... I was just asking what else people might use this for...I can't imagine what I might do in a lucid dream..
 
I didn't know what that meant until recently. I think I've lucid dreamt a few times before but I never get to complete my dream, I always wake up. I see people asking the same thing all over the Internet (do you lucid dream? how?, etc.). Why's everyone so interested in this all of a sudden? Was there a movie that got released recently where a character in it lucid dreams or something? Just curious :confused:
 
LadyX said:
I didn't know what that meant until recently. I think I've lucid dreamt a few times before but I never get to complete my dream, I always wake up. I see people asking the same thing all over the Internet (do you lucid dream? how?, etc.). Why's everyone so interested in this all of a sudden? Was there a movie that got released recently where a character in it lucid dreams or something? Just curious :confused:
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Inception.
 
localoid said:
Despite my skeptical nature, I do believe in lucid dreams.
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There's nothing to be skeptical about: lucid dreams exist. :)

My lucid dreams usually involve my day job, in that I think I'm doing my job and things are going wrong in my work. Then I realise I'm in bed, and I can hear birds outside and I can see my bedside clock, but the dream continues. In the dream, I'm arguing with a co-worker or on the phone, and I'm telling myself "it's okay, you're just dreaming, this argument isn't real, you're in bed and it's Saturday" and so on. Then I can relax more in the dream, which lets me make the conscious decision to then either continue "humoring" the co-worker with our argument, or snap out of it and wake up and make the worker disappear.

Sounds weird, eh? :)
 
PSB136 said:
There's nothing to be skeptical about: lucid dreams exist. :)

My lucid dreams usually involve my day job, in that I think I'm doing my job and things are going wrong in my work. Then I realise I'm in bed, and I can hear birds outside and I can see my bedside clock, but the dream continues. In the dream, I'm arguing with a co-worker or on the phone, and I'm telling myself "it's okay, you're just dreaming, this argument isn't real, you're in bed and it's Saturday" and so on. Then I can relax more in the dream, which lets me make the conscious decision to then either continue "humoring" the co-worker with our argument, or snap out of it and wake up and make the worker disappear.

Sounds weird, eh? :)
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The other early morning I was dreaming I was going to take a flight as a pilot, realized I was rusty, had forgotten most of my procedures, and started reviewing. Somewhere in that process, I told myself, "this is a dream, stop worrying about it" and immediately the dream switched to a new endeavor. I knew I was laying in bed enjoying the dream. :)
 
What if you are dreaming you are in a dark room and then realise you are dreaming? The bloody light switch won't work. What a waste that would be.
 
fitshaced said:
What if you are dreaming you are in a dark room and then realise you are dreaming? The bloody light switch won't work. What a waste that would be.
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Actually, I should keep my jokes to myself next time. Last night I had a dream about a photoshoot in what i think was a car park but with my family. I noticed the photographers lamps that were mounted on stands but i looked at them to see if they'd flash when a picture was taken but they didn't. I wasn't aware I was dreaming but I remember this when I woke up. Obviously this dream occurred because I read this thread but it is really interesting.
 
I first joined macrumors back in May of this year, I believe, and must admit that this thread is one of those threads that has REALLY stuck with me the whole time. I know there are people on here who have been on here longer than I, but this thread is so entertaining, and informative!
 
vulcanvillalta said:
I first joined macrumors back in May of this year, I believe, and must admit that this thread is one of those threads that has REALLY stuck with me the whole time. I know there are people on here who have been on here longer than I, but this thread is so entertaining, and informative!
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Agreed, it is interesting. It also blows the movie Inception out of the water.

'Look Maude, the light switch is working'.
 
Do you ever experience false familiarity in a dream? In other words, you see something, some place in a dream that strikes you as familiar in the dream, as if you've been there, seen it before, but when you wake up you believe, you've never seen it in real life? This happens to me quite often. Last night I dreamed I was walking through a neighborhood, leading a small group of acquintenances towards some vague destination. When I turned down a street, I recognized a row of houses and told the others I had turned at the wrong street. I know I've had repeat dreams, so it's possible that the familiarity comes from previous dreams, but often when traveling about in dreams it's not as if I'm lost, it seems to be familiar.

This article addresses it Dreams, Reality, and Memory. I find it interesting because the idea of false familiarity is being studied in dreams as a window into the brain for treating mental illness such as schizophrenia.

In our study, we focused on two groups of healthy people, those who were more aware of their dreams, and those who were less aware who experience their dreams less vividly. We studied memory in these two groups, examining how they sensed familiarity for pictures and used that familiarity to judge whether they remembered seeing the pictures before. Our memory test is hard for people who have had damage to the connections between two parts of the brain: the striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex. The striatum is deep in the brain. It is involved in coordinating our thoughts, emotions and motor actions. It is involved in Parkinson’s disease. The drugs we use to treat schizophrenia act in the striatum. The orbitofrontal cortex is at the front of your brain, behind your eyes. It is involved in processing important events that you experience, using your memories for those experiences to guide your behavior. When the striatum and orbitofrontal cortex are disconnected e.g. by a stroke or a bang on the head, people get confused about where they are in space and time, they think that they are in a place in their past. Their brains and minds create a reality, a story that is influenced by random, unrelated things that they see in the world. This is called spontaneous confabulation. People who spontaneously confabulate feel false familiarity for the new pictures in our task.

We thought dreams might be a bit like confabulation. Our idea was that people with high dream awareness might experience false familiarity. We thought they would incorrectly remember having seen a picture before – like Déjà vu. This is what we found. People who were very aware of their dreams seemed to feel false familiarity. They remembered seeing things they had not seen before. We think this is exciting because it suggests that dreams might be a window on to studying the brain and behavioral mechanisms relevant to the symptoms of serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, illnesses that are hard to study because people that suffer them are often very ill, they suffer from stigma and stress and the medications they take can also change their memory and concentration. Dreams might yet be useful to psychiatrists, not their content but what they tell us about how our brains construct our reality, a process that is affected in serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia.
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