I recently bought a book about Lucid Dreaming as it’s something that always has interested me. I’ve always been able to see images and ‘scenes’ as I lie in bed with my eyes closed, like watching a faded and dull dream at a distance… and it gradually gets closer. Usually I wake up from a strange feeling I get through my body before It gets close enough to actually be in it (if you know what I mean) and other times I just don’t remember what happens. But after reading this book it mentioned it’s easier to have lucid dreams when taking naps in the afternoon etc, so I did…
The same thing happened with the images and scenes, only this time they got so close until it was like I was actually there, seeing it through my eyes. As soon as this happened the sound totally changed, it went from hearing my bedroom and the traffic outside (as I lay in my bed) to hearing the dream! In the dream I was laying in a bed and in a room, exactly how I was really in a bed and in my room in real life as I slept. I got up and kept thinking to myself “I can’t believe this worked… I’m actually dreaming!” The first thing I noticed was the sound, I could hear traffic outside the window in my dream. But for some reason I was aware that it was the traffic from real life outside my real window… I could even hear police cars as they went past, I dont know how I knew. But anyway, I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do with my lucid dream and wondering how long it would last. So I decided to make a friend appear… a girl that I like very much. I kept saying her name and looking at the door, but she didn’t come. I got up and walked through the door to the next room and said to myself that she would be there. When I got there I noticed a girl a bed, but it wasn’t quite her… the girl was similar but I was VERY aware that it wasn’t her. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t make her appear… it was disappointing. Then the next part is blurry, I don’t remember wanting to go outside but I do remember walking down the stairs and heading outside. But there were people in this house trying to stop me from leaving, one even followed me out. I thought of ways to escape him (I think I still knew I was dreaming at this point) So I decided to fly. I jumped up and went straight into the sky… which was full of strange letters and words that I don’t remember. Then I looked down, and this person was chasing me… flying after me. He grabbed me and then I woke up.
This dream was only a few days ago but already it’s getting hard to remember, things aren’t really clear… at the time I KNEW it felt real while having the dream. But now it doesn’t feel so real… is it possible to dream that you’re having a lucid dream? And not actually be having one? Also, are lucid dreams as easy forgotten as normal dreams? I thought you could completely control your dream, but I couldn’t make the girl appear or even escape this person. I’ve only ever had about two LDs im my life so maybe I just need practise. thanks and sorry for the long post.
To dream that you’re having a lucid dream is possible. I think they’re called pre-lucid dreams. I’ve had one but it then turned into a real lucid dream.
If you were aware that you were dreaming while you were dreaming, it was a LD. The blurriness can be willed away with practice. And don’t be down that you weren’t able to will you friend into the room. You were able to fly. A lot of people can’t do that on the first try. Good job.
It sounds like you have a natural talent for WILD-ing.
That could be Sleep Paralysis which happens to the body as you begin to fall asleep. Did your muscles feel numb and like you couldn’t move them?
Unfortunately yes. I still have trouble sometimes deciding whether I’ve actually had an LD or not. I’m sure it’s like this for most lucid dreamers. To me, your post above sounded very like a ‘lucid dream’.
I find these definitions really helpful: Tacit Lucidity - Not Knowing That You Know.
You act lucid and have some control over dream events but you’re not actually aware it’s a dream. Prelucidity - You suspect you might be dreaming, do an RC… Postlucidity - You become aware that you were recently dreaming but you don’t realise you still are. Eg. You start describing your last dream to some dream characters. Semilucidity - You know it’s a dream but your comprehension of what’s happening is poor. Eg. You think of yourself as sleepwalking, visiting the real world in a dream body.
I coppied these from ‘The conscious exploration of dreaming’ It’s much more detailed in the book though. You can probably find information about them on the forum somewhere and online too.
I think lucid dreams are usually easier to remember as you’re more aware of what’s happening at the time. But i guess it depends on the dream content and how it affects you personally.
Don’t worry That’s normal. There are all different levels of control. The moment you try to control something, if there’s any doubt in your mind, then it won’t work.
This is a good way of controlling the dreamscene - tricking the mind into expecting something to happen rather than actively trying to perform magic. I always have to look away when i walk through glass in my LD’s.
It was like an overwhelming tingly feeling through my whole body that builds and builds, sometimes ringing in my ear too. I can feel it building up in my head too… it’s strange. I’ve had sleep paralysis before, a lot actually. First time I almost had a heart attack! I thought I was being abducted. But after that I read up about it and realised what it was and just let it pass. But this kind of feels different. It makes me feel light headed and I’ve never actually tried to move because didn’t want to ruin my chances of falling asleep… maybe I should try.
Also, I get a strange feeling that my eyes are open? When I feel this tingling in my body my vision goes strange and I try to close my eyes, but I can almost see through my eye lids
And I just remembered something about my dream the other day! When I had the dream in the last post, when it finished I woke up and heard my mum and dad arguing outside my room about the pets. I didn’t think anything about it, I just fell back asleep and woke up in this room again. (it was like having two lucid dreams and starting it again from the beginning) But I found out my mum was sleeping a this time and she wasn’t outside my room! I only dreamt that I woke up. Which has never happened to me before
I forgot about the Hypnagogic state which also happens as you fall asleep. Apart from HI and sounds, it can cause physical sensations as well like you described . I’ve only epererienced it once or twice when I tried to WILD and both times I woke myself up before it had hardly begun. (I was worried because I could feel the paralysis starting.)
Me too It felt like someones hands were round my neck. I haven’t really had sleep paralysis much at all though.
I’m not sure what that would be. Perhaps the eye muscles are relaxing or it’s linked to SP How much could you see through your eyelids?
Welcome to the forum, syu001! You mentioned in your first post that you remember dreams seeming real at the time, but that now they doesn’t seem very real at all. That happens for me every time I LD (only thrice so far ), and I have a theory.
Right now, try to remember something you did in real life about a week ago. Doesn’t matter what. The memory is probably pretty blurry, right? There are big gaps, and you only remember the more important, unusual, or funny events. The whole memory probably seems a little…well, dreamlike. But it didn’t while it was happening a week ago.
So here’s my theory. I think most dreams are intensely vivid–at least as convincing as our real-world experiences. But our memories (which are programmed to wipe out dream memories even more quickly than real-world ones) tend to give them that same “dreamy” feel and we accept that because, after all, they were dreams.
I know I’ve had waking experiences that felt a lot more dreamlike than dreams feel, as oxymoronic as that sounds.
I’ve had the eye thing happen to me when I experienced some vibrations a few months back. You’re right, it does feel weird. At the time I was almost certain I was looking at my room through closed eyes but I could see just as well as if they were open.
Hmm. It was like my eye lids were slowly melting and fizzing away and I was beginning to see my room. I tried to close them (but I think they were already closed) So I ended up with my whole body tingling from the numbness… my heart racing fast and me trying to close my already closed eyes >.< Which wakes me up completely. It’s like closing your eyes and blinking without opening them.
I haven’t managed to have another lucid dream yet, but my dream recall is getting better. I usually remember two dreams each night now in pretty good detail . Just after it I think “Damnit… why didn’t I know I was dreaming!!” lol.
I think you’re right Datameister. It’s so hard for me to imagine doing what I did in the dream… but I can remember looking around and feeling excited at how real everything felt and sounded. I really can’t wait to start talking to DCs
I’ve never spoken to a DC in a lucid dream, with the exception of people I know in real life. They all seemed to be aware that this was my dream, and they were very supportive of that fact. In fact, I once called my mother on my cell phone and told her that she was a figment of my imagination–she simply laughed as if I had finally figured it out. When I lost lucidity in the same dream and told my brother about the incredible LD I thought I’d just awoken from, he seemed enthusiastic and happy for me. He didn’t tell me it was still a dream, but when I realized I was still asleep by performing a reality check again, he smiled knowingly.
Yup, DCs are smarter than we like to think they are…
I kept saying her name and looking at the door, but she didn’t come. I got up and walked through the door to the next room and said to myself that she would be there. When I got there I noticed a girl a bed, but it wasn’t quite her… the girl was similar but I was VERY aware that it wasn’t her. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t make her appear… it was disappointing. Then the next part is blurry, I don’t remember wanting to go outside but I do remember walking down the stairs and heading outside. But there were people in this house trying to stop me from leaving, one even followed me out. I thought of ways to escape him (I think I still knew I was dreaming at this point) So I decided to fly. I jumped up and went straight into the sky… which was full of strange letters and words that I don’t remember. Then I looked down, and this person was chasing me… flying after me. He grabbed me and then I woke up.
thanks and sorry for the long post.
Welcome to the forum.
That’s normal. There are all different levels of control. The moment you try to control something, if there’s any doubt in your mind, then it won’t work.
(I was worried because I could feel the paralysis starting.)
It felt like someones hands were round my neck. I haven’t really had sleep paralysis much at all though.
How much could you see through your eyelids?
