Is anyone here a Lucid Dreamer?

I have always had incredibly vivid and intense dreams. I often awake from dreams in a state of confusion, unable to distinguish clearly what was reality and what was dream, because I experience all physical sensations in dreams as fully as if I were awake (actually, more fully, I'm much more aware of detail in dreams).

I've recently experienced a couple of dreams that I would possibly categorize as Lucid Dreams.

The first, a week ago, was rather simple... I awoke from a dream about an hour after going to bed, propped myself up on one elbow to check the time, and in my field of vision there was what looked like a transparent floating overlay of a computer screen going berserk - flashing random images like it had a short circuit. I recall saying to myself aloud, "How odd, I guess I'm still dreaming". It continued for several seconds. I tried to keep it going, but it just kind of stopped. As far as I know, I was fully awake, but I don't have any memory of lying back down to sleep.

The second, two nights ago, was a much stranger experience.

I was lying in bed fully awake (so I thought) and began to purposely breath in a strange pattern, imitating something that does happen to me every now and then when I sleep. I don't know if I was trying to get my wife's attention or sympathy, but I reached out and took a hold of her forearm, and said her name, knowing I wanted to wake her up.

Try to stay with me... I was fully conscious of my breathing, holding her arm, my temperature, the position of my pillow, the feel of the bed under me, everything. My eyes were open, I could see the whole room, I even knew the sun was about to rise by the ambient light.

What happened next was the real trip!

AS I'm seeing/doing/feeling all this... My wife comes running in the room so fast she startled me and my mind couldn't reconcile that I was seeing her and holding her arm next to me, and at the very same time she was coming in the room, so I did what any normal person might do... I shrieked like a little girl seeing a mouse!

So now it gets more confusing to me... My shriek woke up me and my wife instantly. Thankfully there wasn't really another her in the room, but I was in a very high state of confusion for several minutes as my wife tried to calm me down. (yeah, shes used to this kind of stuff from me).

My transition from what MUST have been a dream initially, even though I was sure I was awake, to my actual fully awake state was almost nil. Everything I was seeing and feeling before waking was the same after I awoke. I was indeed holding my wifes arm, the sun was about to rise, my position in bed was the same, etc. The only detail I recall being different was the position of my pillow under me. That, the phantom wife, and the sudden startling awakening, are the ONLY clues I have that lead me to believe the whole thing was a dream at all.

Why did I post this? Mostly because I'm a curious person, and wonder if any of you have ever had experiences like this. I barely understand the concept of Lucid Dreaming and would love to hear from others that might comprehend it better.

I prefer my flying dreams though, I've gotten quite good at those, I just wish I could really do it!

almost sounds like anxiety dreams ... are you very young (under 18 ... more like 12-16) ... I used to get something like this when I was that young ... I'd wake up in a cold sweat, irregular breathing and just outta my mind. Kinda just grew out of it by 14-16 if I recall.

Check out the movie "Waking Life," it deals with the philosophy of dreaming and lucid dreams. Also one the first full-length movie to use rotoscoping animation style; it's pretty cool and very thought-provoking.
-Jackson, RW.

Bullwinkle

. . . My wife comes running in the room so fast she startled me and my mind couldn't reconcile that I was seeing her and holding her arm next to me, and at the very same time she was coming in the room, so I did what any normal person might do... I shrieked like a little girl seeing a mouse!

So now it gets more confusing to me... My shriek woke up me and my wife instantly. Thankfully there wasn't really another her in the room, but I was in a very high state of confusion for several minutes as my wife tried to calm me down. (yeah, shes used to this kind of stuff from me).

My transition from what MUST have been a dream initially, even though I was sure I was awake, to my actual fully awake state was almost nil. Everything I was seeing and feeling before waking was the same after I awoke. I was indeed holding my wifes arm, the sun was about to rise, my position in bed was the same, etc. The only detail I recall being different was the position of my pillow under me. That, the phantom wife, and the sudden startling awakening, are the ONLY clues I have that lead me to believe the whole thing was a dream at all.

Why did I post this?. . . .

Giving your story cred with her by posting in a public forum was a stroke of genius.

PM me with the part about the dwarf mimes and the anal probe by Gandhi.

No need to be crude CF.

Wife is well aware that I'm intrigued by the workings of the mind, and I don't think she's too worried about you showing up on our doorstep to wag a finger at me.

She knows all about the dream and also knows that I have been exploring how such an experience happens.

Thank you for looking out for her anyway.

Spidey

almost sounds like anxiety dreams ... are you very young (under 18 ... more like 12-16) ... I used to get something like this when I was that young ... I'd wake up in a cold sweat, irregular breathing and just outta my mind. Kinda just grew out of it by 14-16 if I recall.

Nope, I'm semi-old. I have a life long history of crazy, vivid, technicolor dreams. I've only recently begun to realize that I, at times, have a measure of control over my dreams and I find it fascinating. This is an entirely new experience for me, that my waking and dream states have a period of overlap that is discernable.

I'm not at all concerned about it. I get a little shook up at the time, but I can calm down and think about it with a clear mind quite easily afterward.

Not sure why CF is so bothered by my posting, but maybe I'll just go find a dream forum to discuss it in, if there is such a thing. I thought with the number of intelligent members here, someone might have something useful to say.

Bullwinkle

Not sure why CF is so bothered by my posting, but maybe I'll just go find a dream forum to discuss it in, if there is such a thing. I thought with the number of intelligent members here, someone might have something useful to say.

Bullwinkle my brother, it was a joke.

You can question my taste, but I meant you no malice and your dream events definitely do not offend me. Please feel free to post away here or anywhere you like!

FWIW, I have a lower Mensa IQ, several university degrees, and am a graduate of the Air War College. I wish that was intelligent enough for you.

Warmest regards,

CF

Well, I have a medium Mensa IQ, several + 1 university degrees and am a graduate of the Suborbital War College, so you should listen to me rather than CF since I obviously out rank him.

That being said, I have had a few such experiences, but it seems as though you are having these on a regular basis. Lucid dreaming has been the subject of a few studies that indicated that consciousness is possible, and I believe it was the late 70's research that stated that more than 1/2 of the population have experienced this state at some time.

Seems harmless enough anyway...could be fun even.

Q

Qjakal

you should listen to me rather than CF

it's true, you could listen to Q for the rest of your life and never hear mention of an anal probe

As a man in his early twenties, I had occasion to sleep overnight at the home of a young woman who I was dating at the time. This was at her parents' house, everything was above board, we slept separately, and there was no fooling around. The father was a gruff FBI agent, the mother was a sad alcoholic.

While I was asleep on the living room couch, the girl's father angrily burst into the room and woke me up. He pointed a loaded semi-automatic handgun at me while I was splayed flat on my back, cornered with no place to go.

From six feet away, he pulled the trigger. Everything seemed to slow down. Debris from the muzzle blast filled the air, and a bit of grit from it got into one of my eyes. I felt the impact of the slug as it punctured my abdomen, but there was no pain.

I looked down at my stomach as viscous crimson percolated out like a slow-flowing spring. Its warmth was seductively comforting until I realized what had happened, and I began to feel my life slipping away. . . .

I woke up on the couch, and it took me a couple of hours to get back to sleep as I kept shaking while trying to convince myself I was alright.

It was so real. I now realized it didn't happen, but now I knew what it would feel like and how it would be if it did.

Was this something that was going to happen, a vision of things to come? It was so so real. . . .

I never dated her again.

But many decades later, every couple of months or so for some reason the memory of that dream pops back into my head, and it makes me shudder.

I have these from time to time, but they're a lot of fun for me.

Essentially, I realize that I'm dreaming after having an uncontrolled vivid dream like you describe. Then I notice that I'm dreaming (while still sleeping). The tricky part here is to not get excited just relax and then, it's like the matrix lol.

Like whatever you want to do you do and it's extremely real. Like I decided last time to fly around and raise columns to myself when I got tired. It wasn't like flying in the clouds, it was more of that I was floating about not having to use my legs. I was having a lot of fun just going up and down and being able to control it. When I started to fly though I almost woke myself again because I'm like well this couldn't happen, but then I remembered to relax and just chill.

When I'm in this state when I do wake up, my body is "stuck" meaning that I am still asleep no dream, just my eyes closed. I think what has happened is that I am in a super relaxed state that I have learned to slowly reintroduce my body back into the non-sleeping world. When I first had these I got scared and tried to scream or thrash my body about, thinking why tf am I stuck, when essentially maybe my fingers twitched a bit before just waking up. Since I've noticed what's going on, when that happens I just relax and let it flow, or even try to go back into a lucid state, only able to do that once though.

The older I get the better I'm getting at it. I've only done it < 10 times, but my last one was very much me controlling everything within the dream albeit for only a few minutes of dream time. Most of the time its just me suggesting where the dream goes. I'm very good at turning bad dreams into good ones :)

Course I've also died a few times in my dreams too. Thought that wasn't supposed to happen either...

Control Freak

Bullwinkle

Not sure why CF is so bothered by my posting, but maybe I'll just go find a dream forum to discuss it in, if there is such a thing. I thought with the number of intelligent members here, someone might have something useful to say.

Bullwinkle my brother, it was a joke.

You can question my taste, but I meant you no malice and your dream events definitely do not offend me. Please feel free to post away here or anywhere you like!

FWIW, I have a lower Mensa IQ, several university degrees, and am a graduate of the Air War College. I wish that was intelligent enough for you.

Warmest regards,

CF

Sorry, I missed the joke, it seemed like you were slamming me. /me extends olive branch

I do question your taste, but not your intelligence... I graciously include you in the ranks of the intelligent members here, therefore your wish is granted.

That said, my opinion could be worthless, as I have the intelligence of a... cartoon moose.

rballonline

I have these from time to time, but they're a lot of fun for me.

I totally have the flying dream thing wired. I arch my back, spread my arms (like a skydiver) and I can jump like a flying squirrel (ironic, huh?) and go about wherever I want to with full control. It's very, very hard to gain altitude but occasionally I can do it. I probably have a flying dream once a week or so.

rballonline

Course I've also died a few times in my dreams too. Thought that wasn't supposed to happen either...

yeah, the whole thing about you have to wake up before you die or you really die is bogus, unless I'm dead. I've cried over my own death in a dream, now how weird is that? :)

Bullwinkle

I totally have the flying dream thing wired. I arch my back, spread my arms (like a skydiver) and I can jump like a flying squirrel (ironic, huh?) and go about wherever I want to with full control. It's very, very hard to gain altitude but occasionally I can do it. I probably have a flying dream once a week or so.

Flying or floating dreams are generally recognized to signify the desire to escape stress or pressures in your life. This is a bit different from those where you are chased and running for your life or to get out of harm's way from a more dire threat.

It's been a long time since I had one of those.

The recurring dream I have is where I have a loose tooth that I wobble and play with. Sometimes it gets so bad that I pull it out or it falls out on its own onto my tongue.

Not surprisingly, loosening tooth dreams are understood to represent fears of losing potency or ability. That is something that you would expect to find swirling in the back of the head of an aging geezer like me.

Mine wasn't really flying really. Just like, well check this crap out! I was just laughing my butt off. Somehow at the time I just thought it was really humorous to float myself around.

I've had the teeth one, but then I just wake up and I think I've been grinding my teeth. I think those are when I'm stressed or pissed off or something.

This last weekend I kept playing a lot of chess games. I would reverse the game after I lost and then play again and again till I won. I don't remember the specifics but I was really determined to beat myself.