How much does LDing control your life? Do you think you can live without it? Does it absorb every minute of your life or is it more like something you occasionally think about?
In my case: I’m totally addicted to it. I lost interest in other hobbies and my social life has declined, because practically the only thing which occupies me during the holidays is LDing and it’s meaning in Eastern philosophies. I don’t know if it’s bad or not, so I’d like to know the influence of LDing on the lives of other LDers on this forum. Post your thoughts 
I wouldn’t say that it controls my life. I question reality throughout the day and try to see the world as a dream, but I think that this practice actually empowers me IRL. Then before going to bed, I’m pretty focused on LDing.
There’s a time to wake and a time to dream. 
couldn’t have said it better myself
but yeah, i’d say lucid dreaming was pretty important to me but i won’t say that my social life or other activities have declined because of it.
i will say that i’m inclined to get an extra 2 two hours of sleep if i don’t have to get up in the morning even if i’m not really tired.
but i dunno, maybe i’m not good enough at lucid dreaming to be addicted to it, but it doesn’t sound healthy to me. strength at one thing at the expense of others. that’s why my avatar’s the yin yang, i strive for balance. don’t see how you can be all about eastern philosophy and missed that often stated point shrug 
i have had two LDs and i am addicted 
BUT…I haven’t let it affect my social life, after all we need something to dream about. I believe waking life influences dreaming life and vice versa.
I’d say it occupies a fairly influential portion of my time. Frequently during the day I find myself planning something to do in a dream, reminiscing on a previous LD, or just making sure that I’m not currently dreaming. 
My life isn’t exactly comparable to a Hollywood Socialite anyway, so I have plenty of time to think about it. If it wasn’t for IRC, and my addiction to gaming, I also wouldn’t have any problems getting more than my fair share of sleep every night.
It definatly has changed my sleeping habits, b/c i practice dream yoga to hlep with lding. I thikn my life is abou the same besides the reality checks every ten minets and the constant daydreams about being lucid.
I couldn’t imagine life without it. I’ve been doing it my whole life. It’s a part of me. I live to dream, dream to live.
Although I can’t possibly imagine life without LDs and trying to have them now that I found out about it a couple of years ago I still try to live my life normally.I’ve actually found that my social life has improved somewhat.
I spend about an hour focusing on LDs everyday although I do perform random reality checks sometime during the day,and I think that’s enough for me.
i want it to controll me i want my dreams to be my life, hence that is why i am going to spend the rest of my life researching it
remember my name and i will put you in a book
Richard
Yeah that’s why I’m so addicted to it now. I’ve actually been sleeping for 20 years before I heard about LDing. And when I knew it, it became so overwhelming. I realised that my unknowing for 20 years was in fact an inbalance, so I think my addiction to it now is a way to find balance. When I find a state of equilibrium between the waking and the dreaming, then my social life will come back (don’t misunderstand me, I still have a fairly good social life imo, I go out with friends, go to parties, etc… but it’s much lesser since I know LDing). It’s just a way to compensate the “missed years” if you know what I mean 
but maybe you are doing better dont catch me wrong the real world as i will put it is important but the dream world is ur self. so maybe you are catching up with ur self
Richard
I think the “real” world is as much as part of yourself as the dreamworld. It’s only a different perspective. So now matter how I look it, I’m always catching up with myself for a bit But since I don’t the dream world as well as the “real” world, I’ll have to work on that, until I’ve reached a satisfying balance between them. I don’t think this addiction is wrong after all.
Hi
I´d call dreaming my hobby, a hobby that I like a lot, but nothing that really dominates my life thaaaat much.
I spent some time on the forum, but I think if I wasn´t into dreaming I´d spent that time on some other site on the net.
I find it hard to keep up RCs, so I´d rather say that LDing doesn´t influence my life enough.I am just too lazy to get really addicted…
Anyway, I could imagine that when I feel really bed in life, I´d use my dreams as an “resort” from the waking world.But probably then I´d do drugs intstead
Traumgänger
mystic… i think i simply misunderstood what you meant. define what you mean when you say that you’re “addicted”
[i]He who stands on tiptoe
doesn’t stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn’t go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can’t know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can’t empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao,
just do your job, then let go.
-Lao-tzu (Tao Te Ching - Chapter 24)[/i]
rushing ahead is warned about in many of the books i read. when you used the word “addicted” that rushing ahead is what i pictured in my mind. shrug just make sure you consider your actions sincerely. can’t correct 20 years of error overnight
One thing I learned with LDing is that you may never try to overdo your practice or try to hard, so I always have that in mind.
I find myself addicted in a sense that I always try to feed my need to know more about it. Do you know this feeling? It works véry addictive. I’m constantly thinking about it in some way or another, even when I’m studying for exams. I can’t help it I think.
I know this ain’t the correct way according to taoism, but I’m aware that this “addiction” won’t last forever. As I said, I need to find my equilibrium first; afterwards we’ll talk about living in harmony with Tao
It’s a bit hard to explain, but I hope you understand my weird line of thoughts 
i know the feeling all too well… it brought me to this website
Every 5 minutes in my waking life I do reality checks on habit.
I sleep in any chance I get.
I question both realities all the time and have long philosophical thoughts about what else there could be.
The effect of lucid dreams on my mind seems to take a load off of everything. It’s like my brain gets to push beyond it’s limits and do the thing it’s always wanted to do without bounds.
When I have really great lucid dreams I wake up feeling awesome and the feeling stays with me for many days.
It has both filled a void in my life that I have always felt as well as opened another void.
I was quite obsessed by lucid dreaming in the beginning but then I found out that applying lucidity in “real life” (being more conscious, attentive) can also be awesome so it’s much more balanced now. Lucid dreaming and lucid living in balance seems to be much more healthy than being obsessed about just one part of life and neglect the rest.
Yeah, what BrainHacker said. 
I practiced lucid living a while ago, but due to school and stuff I forgot about it after some time. I’m glad you mentioned it, it reminds be that I need to practice it again during the holidays