"almost" a lucid dream

[confu]

Hi there


Recently i had 3 really long dreams, in which I early realised that i was only dreaming.
But my problem was to manipulate the dream with imagination. I could only use my body to change the dream (like going away, talking to someone or taking something). It is like i accepted the law of physics of that dream and cannot change them.
Has someone experienced the same and how can i come over it? Should i practice more?

Thx for any answers

[AndyMartin]

I would suggest, rather than trying to manipulate your whole dream environment at once, try smaller steps.

Becoming aware of dreaming is the first step. Becoming aware of the dream environment is an easily-skipped second step. I recommend an exercise of moving your awareness from item to item in your environment, resting on each for a few seconds then moving on. This will help you engage more of your awareness while maintaining the dream. After you've gone around your environment like this, pick something about the environment and direct your attention to it with the intention to change it.

Keep us posted on how it goes!

[The Universal Call]

Hi confu. What I see is the problem (albeit I'm no expert in this area) is not that you had an ""almost" a lucid dream" but "an 'almost' lucid dream", from our perspectives they resemble the same thing but they have a difference. This may confu(se) you (sorry for the bad pun) but I will do you the honor and elucidate:
There are different types of lucid dreams, there are lower conscious lucid dreams and there are higher conscious lucid dreams, to disappointment and grief the former tends to manifest itself sometimes.

Low conscious LD: You realize you are dreaming, but do practically nothing to change it. Example scenario: Yes, I'm dreaming, awesome! Now, what should I do? *character thinks* Umm, well, I could always try and OBE from here, swell. But... No, I rather do this thing.
I've had this scenario happen for myself actually, this is a low conscious dream. You know you are dreaming but you don't do nothing about it! It's almost like the dream was programmed to have you "go lucid", yet you're not, and so you don't do anything about your lucidity. Your case almost sounds a bit like it in that; you know you are lucid yet you can't or (since your lucidity is just part of the nonlucid dream>) don't do anything about.

In low conscious LDs one might interact and do certain things which would imply that they were truly lucid, but in fact their actions also speak against them.

To give you something more:
High conscious lucid dreams: You know you are dreaming, you know that you can manipulate everything in your surroundings and you act accordingly, your interaction with other people suggests that you're well aware that you are dreaming and your action/interaction within the dream works accordingly: You are truly you - in this dream, nothing implies it is preprogrammed.

As I have mentioned, I am no expert in the field (Erin might come any minute now and give me a whack in the head), but I think this is how it is. A good example when one is highly conscious in an LD is when you, the character, reflects upon how the real you are right now: in your bed: sleeping: dreaming this very instant and that you are NOW in that dream. As I have experienced with my low conscious LDs is that I rarely reflect upon this but merely go with the flow of the dream, a sign that I'm not 'really really' lucid, but merely... "lucid".

This is not saying however that you can not think you are lucid but not be truly lucid unless you follow the formula of being in the "highly lucid state", no no no! Even low lucidity is still lucidity, but you are in much greater control the more lucid you are. I have myself been lucid many various times but haven't been able to control the dream in the direction I wanted it too.

Now, if your only problem was that you couldn't master your dream (even though you were TRULY LUCID) then I would follow with Andy's advice. Although it is well known that you can literally do anything in a dream if you just strongly think about it, it can be tricky sometimes. Agreed.

[RandomJohn]

There are a couple of things here. The more you consciously try to become lucid in dreams, the more it will happen. And, just like shooting a basketball, the more you work with your dream-world, the more you will be able to skillfully exert control. (Part of the issue for me is becoming excited that I am lucid in a dream, and so it ends, but in my last LD I actively tried to calm myself, for example.)

When I was a kid, if I had an LD, I either enjoyed it or got irritated, but pretty much had to ride out the dream. Now I can control some aspects of the environment, but not all. It's a skill.

[The Universal Call]

There is no end to my "lucid dreaming"-loving, I had to tip in with some more on this thread.

If my point was unclear before about low-conscious lucidity and high-conscious lucidity, allow me to quote from AstralSociety(Articles On Astral Projection, Spiritual Discussion and Information "The basic definition of lucid dreaming requires nothing more than becoming aware that you are dreaming. However, the quality of lucidity can vary greatly. When lucidity is at a high level, you are aware that everything experienced in the dream is occurring in your mind, that there is no real danger, and that you are asleep in bed and will awaken shortly. With low-level lucidity you may be aware to a certain extent that you are dreaming, perhaps enough to fly or alter what you are doing, but not enough to realize that the people are dream representations, or that you can suffer no physical damage, or that you are actually in bed."
That should explain it in more detail.

To help becoming more lucid within a dream I highly recommend the "Spin around" technique (also described at AstralSociety). Basically the technique is what it says. When lucid - spin around in your dream and you might find yourself lucid and/or have a longer dream duration. Good thing about this is that this might be done even in a low-conscious lucidity too if you have focused on this technique enough before going to bed that you will remember it when you go "lucid".

For just general information about lucid dreaming you can see most of their articles (but they have a forum as well) here: Articles On Astral Projection, Spiritual Discussion and Information

Good luck,
TUC

[elainevdw]

It's surprisingly difficult to manipulate your dreams. Whenever I have a lucid dream (rarely, in my case), I think, "Sweet! I can do whatever I want." But then, I really can't. I've always wondered what's blocking me -- is it personal disempowerment on some deeper level? Or is it just lack of experience?

[Erin Pavlina]

It's much harder to control the dream characters in a lucid dream. What I did in the beginning was just work on myself. I would start flying and leave the dream characters behind. That sort of cleared the dream and allowed me to create fresh content.

When you first begin lucid dreaming you go from being the actor in the play to the director. And directing all those actors is tough.

[Radical]

How can you recognise a lucid dream?

Once I tried to have lucid dreams, then one night I thought I had one. I suddenly became conscious in the dream although everything was nearly completely black and there was a strange piercing buzzing sound in my ears, then I freaked out and woke up within a few seconds.

However, I have doubts about whether it was a lucid experience or not - anyone else with a similar experience?

[ChrisC]

Interesting about the "spinning around" causing the dream to last longer. When I find myself in a lucid dream, I have to keep moving - especially with my eyes - otherwise the scenery starts to fade and I wake up. It's as if I need to keep repainting the scene with my eyes.

I'm not sure where my lucid dreams fall in the high-low consciousness scale. I will say, though (the first time I've ever made this known) that with lucid dreams during my adolescent years when hormones were raging, I knew that the attractive female neighbor wasn't real, and so it was "ok" to fly to her place and have my way with her.

On a different note, I've noticed that when I've had a period of consistent and intense meditation sessions, I tend to have lucid dreams. Not sure why, but maybe it has to do with the focus on my own consciousness.

[elainevdw]

Originally Posted by Radical

How can you recognise a lucid dream?

Once I tried to have lucid dreams, then one night I thought I had one. I suddenly became conscious in the dream although everything was nearly completely black and there was a strange piercing buzzing sound in my ears, then I freaked out and woke up within a few seconds.

However, I have doubts about whether it was a lucid experience or not - anyone else with a similar experience?

When I wake up in a dream, I know it's a dream in the same way I know I'm outside if I'm standing on my front porch -- if you're highly lucid, you just kind of know. And if you're still wondering, or if you're only sort of lucid, there are little tests for dream incongruencies you can try, seeing if a sign or a book makes any sense, realizing that your buddy doesn't normally wear a chicken suit, etc.

I never experienced the buzzing -- but I have a lot of dreams where my vision (and motor skills) keep degrading over the course of the dream until I'm crawling around in half blackness. Ditto with trying to move quickly but my legs and arms being super heavy and unresponsive. None of these dreams are lucid, though; if they were, I have a feeling I'd be able to turn on the lights and move around better!

[Rudy]

I find that strange that you have to keep moving your eyes and stuff to keep the dream active, The last lucid dream i had i didnt really have to do much to keep it active...then again i was excited that i had finally had SOME success in lucid dream so i was testing all kinds of things out, walking through walls jumping from my floor to the attic, ect...i did notice that i couldnt fly though..like for some reason the rules of gravity still applied in my dream lol which kinda ticked me off..i noticed that when i laid down though i felt a sinking feeling and everything was turning black until i forced myself back up to keep the dream going though...thats when i noticed i had stubs for thumbs! it was pretty weird

[rvgrinsven]

I really have to work hard on staying lucid. Even if I consciously focus on staying lucid sometimes the dream just fades away despite me shouting out "lucidity 100%" and spinning around like a madman .

I can do almost everytinhg I want though when I'm lucid. I just intend what I want and then look another way and waddyaknow, there it is. Also sometimes I ask a dreamcharacter to give me object x and then usually I get it or they give some snappy response. Flying is also doable superman-style .

What I would like is a better method to get lucid dreams. I have only on foulproof method and that is the WILD (waking induced luicid dream) where I put my alarm clock at 4am, get up and walk around some, and then go back to bed. That is the only method where I get a lucid dream with 99% of the time, but that method is inconvenient and I'd like a better method. open to suggestions, ty in advance.

[elainevdw]

Originally Posted by Rudy

i did notice that i couldnt fly though..like for some reason the rules of gravity still applied in my dream lol which kinda ticked me off..

Ooh, me too! It's like being a glider pilot in unpredictable winds. Every now and again I get really good momentum, then I lose control. The most control I've had in a flying dream was right after I got scuba certified -- I swam through the air as if I was wearing fins, lol.

Funny story: When my mom was a kid, she'd have these flying dreams, but she could only fly if she went outside, climbed a street sign, and jumped off!

I think we all need more practice!

[Rudy]

LOL well atleast you had SOME sort of flight....the most i had was a high leap from my living room through my roof and into my attic. When i tried to fly from my attic and out..which in my head i was saying i want to fly then i would jump and i would feel lift...then just like i had jumped as if i was to stand up right now from my chair and jump i came straight back down. Others were telling me that its because i didnt think i could...i wanted to, i wasnt scared to or anything but it all felt so real i think i felt the rules of gravity still applied...Then again there was one other lucid dream i could remember. I caught myself dreaming about flying...so when i stopped, i realized that i was dreaming and i was already flying so i had no problem keeping flight...then i chased my friend who's been gone from this life for about a yr and half because she started flying away...and when i chased her i remember looking at the ground and it was moving really fast, then then ground turned into clouds and after that it turned black and i dont remember the rest...i think it was different then because i was already flying, as in my most recent one i wasnt, so i couldnt take lift for some reason..oh well ill keep trying!

[ChrisC]

My flight experiences vary - not sure why. Sometimes I have to paddle like crazy to get going, other times it's just a mental intention to fly and off I go. Neither of these are lucid dreams,though, as I'm actually convinced that this is really possible and is occuring in real life.

One thing that I have be careful about, is not to fly to high. For some reason, if I get too high, it affects my balance and then I lose control and start to fall. Once that happens I have no control and I plummet like crazy back to the ground - usually hitting with a violent slam. No pain involved, and I can stand back up, but it's still an unpleasant jolt.

[elainevdw]

Great stories! Rudy, it's true, when I'm just standing there in a dream and become lucid, it does feel so real that it's hard for me to change the momentum of the dream to do much of anything fun, like fly or walk through walls. It's easier to believe you can do it if you become lucid while you're doing it.

Chris, I find falling in dreams to be very, very unpleasant. Ever since I was little, I'd go partially lucid midfall and do everything I could to wake up so I didn't have to experience falling (or hitting the ground!) in the dream.

[stellabeam]

A fun thing that helps lucid dreaming is to practise jumping in your daily life. Get in the habit. Randomly jump. At work. Queuing for the movies. At a party.
This habit will cross over to your dreamworld. Then, when you jump in your dream, you come down much more slowly, so you know you are dreaming. (If you are not dreaming, you come down quickly.)
I have used this method to successfully launch many wonderful lucid dreams. A bonus is that once you realise you are coming down so slowly, it is very easy not to come down at all.. ie to fly!