I had one lucid dream experience. I was like “holy shit, this is a lucid dream! I can control everything happening.” And so I did. It felt so damn cool.
Then I woke up, at first impressed that I did that. Then I just couldn’t help but wonder if I was just dreaming that I lucid dreamed and that the choices I made were actually just a part of the dream. Now I feel like most lucid dreamers aren’t actually. Like this guy that can “control everything” and yet is somehow dreaming about Peter Griffin anyway due to made up limitations
Then I question free will or whatever and my brain hurts
Then I woke up, at first impressed that I did that. Then I just couldn’t help but wonder if I was just dreaming that I lucid dreamed and that the choices I made were actually just a part of the dream.
Your choices in a dream are colored by the reduced mental output you have when you’re dreaming. In a dream, you might make a lot of dumb decisions than make perfect sense in the dream, but are immediately illogical when you think about them awake.
With lucid dreaming, you have an increased self-awareness, but you’re still in a low-activity brainwave state.
I was napping on the couch one time and I started having this lucid dream about meeting up with someone… idk it’s kinda fuzzy now, it’s been a long time. Anyway it was one of those super emotionally charged dreams, even tho I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually know the person.
So I started trying to wake myself up. What was happening is that I was waking up… only to find I was still asleep and get returned to that same scene. Dozens upon dozens of times. I could feel my actual body uncomfortably on the couch, unable to move, but my mind was stuck in this reoccurring dreamscape… I’d do things like intense exercise to check my pulse, breathe in water to see if I drowned, check clocks and text for consistency… anything to confirm I was still sleeping so I could try to wake up once more.
It gave me weird feelings for a while after, not just about sleep, but it made me feel weirdly about being awake. Being stuck like that, knowing I was asleep and not able to do anything about it… I still lucid dream sometimes, but I haven’t practiced in a while, and never naps.
My most lucid ever dream turned into a terrifying figure of a witch/crone slamming me in the chest while screaming “you’re not supposed to be here!” And waking me up. Scared the shit out of me. Didn’t try again for a few years. Everything was fine, but as soon as the woman in the field saw that I was lucid she changed. On several occasions dream characters had become irritated with me when they realized I was lucid, but that one… She made me afraid to sleep again. I know that’s not rational, and I know there’s nothing actually supernatural going on… But damn did it freak me out
It’s happened to me randomly a few times but I’ve never been able to trigger it on purpose. It’s also not as magical as people describe (at least my experience). It’s sort of weird. It’s like you’re slightly awake, and if you really will something to happen it does, but there’s also a feeling that if you think too much you’ll wake up and it will be over.
As a kid, I kept peeing the bed with the same recurring dream: I would dream that I was getting up to go pee, but then wet myself. Then one day I decided that anytime I’d go to the bathroom in the morning, I’d try to open my eyes twice, and that’s what finally stopped me from wetting the bed.
So I guess the point here is that if you have recurring dreams, see if you can imagine yourself doing something different in the dream and thus become semi-aware while in the dream state. It worked for me wetting the bed, maybe it’ll work for you.
That’s called a reality check, and it’s a pretty common for lucid dreaming. The one I went with was placing my fingertips over my nostrils and breathing in through my nose. If you can breathe, you’re dreaming. Picked that one because it’s inconspicuous, just looks like you’re scratching your nose. But the idea is to get into a habit of it so frequently that it’s unconscious, and something your dream self will do. If you do it in a dream, you become aware because you’re so conditioned to it, and you’re able to start lucid dreaming. Works pretty well.
Also, good on you for being so aware of what you needed to do! I don’t know if most kids would have come up with that, and that’s super clever and mature.
Thanks. Unfortunately, I was embarrassingly old by the time I figured it out (at least 8 yo, I forget the exact age). But the thought process was pretty simple, I remembered my dreams afterward, so deciding to try waking up twice seemed natural.
Good idea with the nose thing, maybe I’ll give it a shot. :)
Nah, plenty of kids bedwet at that age. I had a few incidents around that time. I’ve also, as an adult, twice had a dream where I thought I was peeing and it seemed too real. Once I barely made it to the bathroom, once… Well, pee happens, I guess. Lol. D:
Yup, I’ve had the same as an adult, and my SO teased me about it. I had another close call once, but I was able to recognize that it was a dream and wake up.
But yeah, pee happens, and I’m guessing as I get older, it’ll happen more.
I would like to try lucid dreaming.
I had one lucid dream experience. I was like “holy shit, this is a lucid dream! I can control everything happening.” And so I did. It felt so damn cool.
Then I woke up, at first impressed that I did that. Then I just couldn’t help but wonder if I was just dreaming that I lucid dreamed and that the choices I made were actually just a part of the dream. Now I feel like most lucid dreamers aren’t actually. Like this guy that can “control everything” and yet is somehow dreaming about Peter Griffin anyway due to made up limitations
Then I question free will or whatever and my brain hurts
Your choices in a dream are colored by the reduced mental output you have when you’re dreaming. In a dream, you might make a lot of dumb decisions than make perfect sense in the dream, but are immediately illogical when you think about them awake.
With lucid dreaming, you have an increased self-awareness, but you’re still in a low-activity brainwave state.
We have no free will, but not enough knowledge and power to break the illusion thereof.
Lucid dreaming is fun. Until it turns into night terrors you can’t wake up from.
This is a big part of why I don’t nap anymore.
I was napping on the couch one time and I started having this lucid dream about meeting up with someone… idk it’s kinda fuzzy now, it’s been a long time. Anyway it was one of those super emotionally charged dreams, even tho I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually know the person.
So I started trying to wake myself up. What was happening is that I was waking up… only to find I was still asleep and get returned to that same scene. Dozens upon dozens of times. I could feel my actual body uncomfortably on the couch, unable to move, but my mind was stuck in this reoccurring dreamscape… I’d do things like intense exercise to check my pulse, breathe in water to see if I drowned, check clocks and text for consistency… anything to confirm I was still sleeping so I could try to wake up once more.
It gave me weird feelings for a while after, not just about sleep, but it made me feel weirdly about being awake. Being stuck like that, knowing I was asleep and not able to do anything about it… I still lucid dream sometimes, but I haven’t practiced in a while, and never naps.
My most lucid ever dream turned into a terrifying figure of a witch/crone slamming me in the chest while screaming “you’re not supposed to be here!” And waking me up. Scared the shit out of me. Didn’t try again for a few years. Everything was fine, but as soon as the woman in the field saw that I was lucid she changed. On several occasions dream characters had become irritated with me when they realized I was lucid, but that one… She made me afraid to sleep again. I know that’s not rational, and I know there’s nothing actually supernatural going on… But damn did it freak me out
Me and sleep paralysis are old frenemies. I’m willing to risk it.
It’s happened to me randomly a few times but I’ve never been able to trigger it on purpose. It’s also not as magical as people describe (at least my experience). It’s sort of weird. It’s like you’re slightly awake, and if you really will something to happen it does, but there’s also a feeling that if you think too much you’ll wake up and it will be over.
As a kid, I kept peeing the bed with the same recurring dream: I would dream that I was getting up to go pee, but then wet myself. Then one day I decided that anytime I’d go to the bathroom in the morning, I’d try to open my eyes twice, and that’s what finally stopped me from wetting the bed.
So I guess the point here is that if you have recurring dreams, see if you can imagine yourself doing something different in the dream and thus become semi-aware while in the dream state. It worked for me wetting the bed, maybe it’ll work for you.
That’s called a reality check, and it’s a pretty common for lucid dreaming. The one I went with was placing my fingertips over my nostrils and breathing in through my nose. If you can breathe, you’re dreaming. Picked that one because it’s inconspicuous, just looks like you’re scratching your nose. But the idea is to get into a habit of it so frequently that it’s unconscious, and something your dream self will do. If you do it in a dream, you become aware because you’re so conditioned to it, and you’re able to start lucid dreaming. Works pretty well.
Also, good on you for being so aware of what you needed to do! I don’t know if most kids would have come up with that, and that’s super clever and mature.
Thanks. Unfortunately, I was embarrassingly old by the time I figured it out (at least 8 yo, I forget the exact age). But the thought process was pretty simple, I remembered my dreams afterward, so deciding to try waking up twice seemed natural.
Good idea with the nose thing, maybe I’ll give it a shot. :)
Nah, plenty of kids bedwet at that age. I had a few incidents around that time. I’ve also, as an adult, twice had a dream where I thought I was peeing and it seemed too real. Once I barely made it to the bathroom, once… Well, pee happens, I guess. Lol. D:
Yup, I’ve had the same as an adult, and my SO teased me about it. I had another close call once, but I was able to recognize that it was a dream and wake up.
But yeah, pee happens, and I’m guessing as I get older, it’ll happen more.
Pee dreams can feel crazy real unfortunately lol
Just be prepared for the darkness. It will come.