are any of you guys into lucid dreaming?

[Yoplait]

hey i was wondering if anyone here is into lucid dreaming?  i just recently got into and i have to say it's one of the coolest things i have ever experienced. i've always been fascinated with psychology and how the brain works, and this just takes it to a whole new level.

basically lucid dreaming is when you are in a dream and realize its a dream and are able to control every aspect of your dream world.

you can induce it by doing "reality checks" throughout the day, been using an app on my phone called awoken which sets off random reminders to do a reality check (i do it by pinching my nose and trying to breathe, if i am unable to breathe that means im still awake) and everynight go to sleep thinking of the dream you want with as much detail as you can possibly think of.

and basically once you get in this habit of doing reality checks, you wait until you subconsciously do your first reality check in your dream, pinch my nose but i can see that i am still able to breathe....god when i experienced that i was so stoked and mindblown, but you got to be careful because if you get too excited you wake yourself  up.

also keep a journal next to your bed and as soon as you wake up, jot down what you remember dreaming in the journal. basically dreams are just the brain interpretating thought and accepting it as reality, but when you awake your brain sees it as just a dream and starts discarding that information, which is why its difficult to remember what you dreamt about.

but once you start writing those thoughts down your brain gets into a habit of storing that information you try to draw parallels between what you dreamt and what you wanted to dream, even if it seems insignificant. and they say eventually you can get to a point where you can control every aspect of your new dream world, and it feels just as real as being awake - so now we can have heaven while being alive I haven't gotten that far yet, I was just mindblown to be in a dream and know that it was all a dream and to walk around knowing im dreaming and being able to see what i want, it was such a magical feeling i can't even explain how awesome it was.

im 26 and only found out about this couple months ago, was wondering why its not that popular? asked all my friends and they never heard about it, are any of you guys into lucid dreaming?

[Cyberman]

I've managed it a number of times over the years, usually by accident. I did it last week, as it happens, for a short time. My trouble is going lucid in the first place, then sustaining it when I do.

[Yoplait]

I've managed it a number of times over the years, usually by accident. I did it last week, as it happens, for a short time. My trouble is going lucid in the first place, then sustaining it when I do.

yeah that's what i hear is the tough part. are there any confirmed negative effects from lucid dreaming? can you make yourself go insane?  i struggle with some mental problems as it is so idk if i should keep doing this, been getting kinda scared.

reading about people have trouble distinguishing whats real and whats not, and some people are awake and think they are still dreaming...also some people can get sleep paralysis which is kinda like being in a coma where your mind is awake but your body is still asleep - sounds scary as hell!

[Cyberman]

I've never heard of any negative effects. It's not like the Next Generation holodeck (or religion!) where characters get addicted to the false reality. On the contrary, it can be cathartic to confront hidden fears and frustrations, or revisit memories or what have you. Plus you're getting sleep while you do it. As long as you don't neglect your waking life, or obsess over it, I don't think there's any harm.

Also, everyone gets sleep paralysis every time they dream. It's how the brain stops the body from acting out the dream. You tend not to be aware of it because usually you're asleep when you do it.

[cocunningham]

I've never heard of this before. So in this state you have complete control over your dream actions as well as the dream environment?

[Cyberman]

Basically, the conscious part of the brain is just gearing itself to wake up while you're still dreaming. In this half-waking half-sleeping state, it's possible to suddenly become aware that you're dreaming. In my experience, the moment you do that everything suddenly snaps into crystal clarity and you can then control what you dream. It's like your own personal holodeck - you can go anywhere, do anything, meet anyone. Freddie meets Star Trek, if you like. But since you're only a whisker from waking up, it can be hard to sustain it.

The trick is to recognise the dream. There can be a lot of woo attached, like with a lot of things, but the basic idea is to build things into your daily routine that you can recognise when they fail or behave oddly; for instance light switches tend not to work in dreams.

It's probably something that sounds far fetched to someone who hasn't experienced one, but I can attest that it does work.

[Napoléon]

I've had times where I've felt like I knew I was dreaming but I'm not sure I ever felt in complete control of it.

Is that the same thing?

[Cyberman]

Sounds like it, or a version of it. You might have been dreaming you were dreaming - dreams can be cunts like that.

[Napoléon]

Sounds like it, or a version of it. You might have been dreaming you were dreaming - dreams can be cunts like that.

It tends to happen a lot when I'm abusing the snooze button on my phone. I'll often 'snooze' for an hour or so before I actually get up, I tend to drift off back to sleep just before the next alarm goes. And I'll do it multiple times. It's in this cycle that I feel like I have these 'lucid dreams'. I'm not sure I'd say I control the dream per se, but I can certainly be thinking about something and then as I drift off again I'll have a very vivid dream about it. It sometimes happens just before sleep too. Or if I have a nap in the daytime and I'm never able to get into 'full sleep mode'. 

Now that I really think about it, I do it all the time. 

[cocunningham]

I'm not skeptical just hadn't heard of it. I have very intense dreams but can't recall any scenario in which I recognized it as a dream. In fact if I awaken in the middle of it several minutes go by before I realize it was a dream. I have a recurring dream (not every night but not uncommon) and I'm curious if I could train my brain to recognize and alter my focus even if not changing the events.