almost lucid

[wolfgang]

I was dreaming and couldn't get my cell phone to work but I was in the rain in this dream so it wasn't too strange. I was outside and didn't like the rain or a couple of shady looking characters out there, so I ducked into a building. But then I was in a building and it was dark there too. I saw a light switch and tried to make the lights turn on. It didn't work.

So I thought and remember thinking this while dreaming, this is that reality test I used to think about. That light switches don't work int dreams. I was lucid in my dream! But all I could manage to do is flip the switch on and off. And I wasn't feeling comfortable with the darkness of the dream and possibly the shady characters outside were in this room too.

Then I must have had my eyes open because I saw the bed side clock at the same time as the dream's dark room of the building I was in - like an overlay. I was kind of stuck like that and went through a brief sleep paralysis and shook really hard right before waking up.

oh well, maybe next time I'll be in the dream world instead of both worlds like this. not enough time to play in that dream.

[Rockchick26]

Dont you hate that?! You finally become lucid and you end up waking yourself up,or you cant control the dream right. I've had countless dreams where my cellphone wasnt working or i couldnt turn a light on or a radio off,but so far none of those have triggered me to become lucid,i dont get it.

[wolfgang]

Mostly I was happy about the bit of lucidity, however to maintain the lucid period a little longer would be cool. It does seem that I exit the dream pretty quickly after knowing I'm dreaming.

Maybe we have to recall how our cell phone or light switches don't work and remind ourselves that we'd like to remain lucid longer. I haven't actually been doing the reality tests in real life - like testing my cell phone and then telling myself, since it works normal that I'm not dreaming. Maybe this is what to do: When I check my cell phone and it works - say "I'm not in a dream now, but if I was I'd stay lucid in the dream".

[Angela]

Obviously this dream means you like me.

Have you tried generating an actual feeling or solution in your lucid dreams? The counting backwards from 300 as you go to sleep, meanwhile committing to what you want to generate? I'm wondering how it would be if you generated a big flashing neon sign in your dream that says, "Be Lucid!"

Also, I wonder if the shady characters might be the dark side of yourself that you are reluctant to encounter in lucid dreams. Is that possible?

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by Angela

Obviously this dream means you like me.

Have you tried generating an actual feeling or solution in your lucid dreams? The counting backwards from 300 as you go to sleep, meanwhile committing to what you want to generate? I'm wondering how it would be if you generated a big flashing neon sign in your dream that says, "Be Lucid!"

Also, I wonder if the shady characters might be the dark side of yourself that you are reluctant to encounter in lucid dreams. Is that possible?

Is it that obvious?

Actually what I do, when I remember, is recall my day in reverse when falling asleep. Most times I don't make it to the morning. Each part or activity of the day in reverse with feeling out what that time of the day was like helps clear the mind of what it does normally during dreaming - this way the dreams hopefully are not about little things about the day as much. Got that idea from Stuart Wilde.

I haven't tried projecting that I want something specific from my dreams - like a solution or a feeling. I'm sort of slowly getting into recall of dreams and have these little lucid times showing up. I know that if you impress on your brain an interest in dream recall, the brain will try to help. So, naturally, writing down my dreams would help. But I don't write them down - I just recall the last few dreams in my imagination when I have a quite moment. Perhaps I'll play with the neon sign idea - like imagine dreaming that during my meditations/quite time and/or part of falling asleep thoughts.

Thanks for the extra thoughts too. The shady characters would be some part of me, that I'm sure. Part of me I'm not claiming. I usually look a dreams and cast everything as part of me when I interpret them.