Lucid dream topic and FAQ

[[hedy]Zidone]

Questions:
Lucid Dreams-
What is a lucid dream?
How do I get a lucid dream?
I don't remember/have dreams. How can I solve this?
What exactly are reality checks?
What can I do in a lucid dream?
Can I die in a lucid dream?
Are lucid dreams vivid?
My lucid dreams are too short, and end before I get to do anything! How can I solve this?
I had a lucid dream, but I didn't have much control and it wasn't vivid. Will this go away?
Is it possible have a dream about having a (lucid) dream?
Lucid dreaming=Astral projection?
Can lucid dreams have an impact on my reality?

Other-
What the fuck! I woke up screaming!
What the double fuck! I couldn't move when I woke up!
Sleepwalking/talking and dreams: Is there a connection?
What's this about REM and NREM?
[Sections will be expanded when people ask me questions/I think of some to answer]

Induction Techniques:
WBTB
Autosuggestion
MILD
WILD:
-Eyelid Patterns
-Hypnagogic Imagery (incomplete)
-Counting (incomplete)
[Section is incomplete,  some non-WILD techniques]


Questions:

1. What is a lucid dream?
A lucid dream is one which you are aware that you are dreaming. When this occurs, it is extremely easy to either wake yourself up, or gain control of the dreams events and environment.

2. How do I get a lucid dream?
Although it is possible to get a lucid dream naturally, you have to induce them most of the time. The easiest method is by keeping a dream journal (one in which you write all details you remember about your dreams) and by doing reality checks, processes that can help distinguish reality from dream. In addition, there are several techniques (explained later) that, if performed correctly, can help you enter a lucid dream.

3. I don't have/remember dreams. How can I solve this?
Unless you have some sort of brain damage, you do have dreams. However, it is not uncommon to forget dreams within seconds of waking up. To remedy this, simply lay still upon waking and try to remember your dreams. Some say that you can remember particular moments of your dreams by laying in different positions, but I've never experienced this for myself.

4. What exactly are reality checks?
As explained above, reality checks are things you can do to help distinguish dream from reality, but only if you expect nonsensical results from them. For example, attempting the breathing RC while expecting to be able to breath would not work in real life, but it would in a dream, thus alerting you. Expecting the waking result will give you that. It is best to do reality checks throughout the day to get into the habit of doing so, even in your dreams.

Some example reality checks (note: pinching yourself doesn't always work):
Breathing: Can you breath through your nose while holding it?
Jumping: When you jump, do you float back down?
Reading: Do sentences change when you read them? Read, turn away and repeat it to yourself, and then turn back and read it again. Do this twice.
Vision: If you have visual impairments in real life, can you see perfectly? If you don't have impairments, is your vision horrible?
Hands: Are your hands a strange color? Do you have too many fingers (which vanish and reappear when you try to count?) or have other abnormalities? Can you push your finger through your other hand?
Time: Does your clock, watch or other timepiece give a reasonable time? Does it change when you turn around and look back? Can you even read the time? Are there a normal number of hands? Are there strange symbols in place of what should be there?
Superpowers: Can you perform impossible feats such as morphing or flying?
Light switches: Do they work?
Mirrors: Do you look normal in a mirror? Is there fog or other things obscuring the image? Do you see something different from what you should see?
Nose: Can you see your nose if you close one eye?
Memory: Can you remember how you got here, why you're here, or what you did before you got here? Can you remember things such as your name or address?

5. What can I do in a lucid dream?
Anything you can imagine. Literally. Whether it's killing millions of innocents or having sex with your girlfriend, you can do anything that you can visualize yourself doing. You can also do things that are normally impossible (fly, teleport to some video game world, turn into a cow, etc.)
You can also summon items, people and even places.
That said, some things (such as having sex) can make you wake up. Thankfully, many things will not make you wake up as easily.
In addition, things may not work right in a lucid dream, as in ordinary dreams. Trying to summon up a piano to play without ever hearing a single note (or remembering any) will not make it play right, it'll just spout noise.

6. Can I die in a lucid dream?
As in ordinary dreams, yes. But only if you want to, since you make yourself immortal or outwit anything that might kill you.
Also, contrary to what many people say, dying in a dream does not cause real death.
When you die, what happens next depends on your beliefs and whether or not you want to revive yourself. If you believe in some sort of afterlife, you will go to what you believe the afterlife to be like. Otherwise, nothing. Dying isn't always fun in a lucid dream, though...

7. Are lucid dreams vivid?
Yes. Much more than ordinary ones. In many cases, vision, hearing and touch are "active." Smell and taste can also become active. This means you can feel pain, as well as an orgasm.

8. My lucid dreams are too short, and end before I get to do anything! How can I solve this?
For your first few lucid dreams, the shock/enjoyment of realizing that you are dreaming can wake you up. However, if this is not the problem, you may want to try stimulating your senses (i.e. touching things around you), or spinning--this prolongs the REM sleep period in which all dreams take place by cutting into NREM sleep. If this doesn't help, try creating a false awakening--visualizing yourself waking up in the dream. If it works, you will "wake up" in the dream. Do a reality check right after this, and repeat if necessary until the dream is stabilized.

9. I had a lucid dream, but I didn't have much control and it wasn't vivid. Will this go away?
Most likely, yes. After a while, you will learn to control your lucid dreams and stabilize them. However, if this doesn't go away, you might be doing something wrong.

10. Can I have a dream about having a (lucid) dream?
Ordinary dreams, yes. Lucid dreams, also yes.

11. Lucid dreaming=Astral projection?
They have a number of similarities, but lucid dreaming isn't New Age crap, and actually has some scientific backing to it (specific eye movements during a lucid dream manifest themselves in the waking world).
Interestingly, some forms of WILD have many characteristics also attributed to AP. See them under Induction Techniques.

12. Can lucid dreams have an impact on my reality?
In limited ways. Obviously, you can't bring things from a dream into reality, but you can practice public speaking, supposedly talk to your subconscious (I want to do this ), or relieve stress/anger/sexual arousal.
It can also have negative effects, such as dissociation from reality (constant lucid dreaming, which is almost impossible anyways) and developing a control freak personality (again, mostly caused by doing it constantly). You can also disrupt your waking life by spending too much time on lucid dreaming, which is why I recommend keeping it to weekends and free days.

Other, less LD-related questions:

13. What the fuck! I woke up screaming!
Either you were screaming in your dream and it carried over into reality, or you had a night terror, a sleep disorder that includes extreme fear, and the temporary inability to fully wake up. If someone tried to wake you up, it would not work, and the night terror would continue for 10-20 minutes before you settled back to sleep.
Unlike nightmares, which are dreams, night terrors take place during slow-wave sleep and are not dreams. Instead, the emotion of fear is felt, without any imagery or sounds. The actual lack of a dream can cause severe disorientation during the near-waking period, which may cause temporary amnesia.
After the episode, the victim can rarely recall anything besides a sense of panic. Night terrors occur most often in young children.

14. What the double fuck! I couldn't move when I woke up!
This is most likely sleep paralysis, which is caused by waking up during REM atonia, the period during REM sleep in which all muscles (except those of the eyes) are paralyzed by the brain to prevent one from acting out actions in dreams (sleepwalking and sleeptalking occur during NREM sleep). In addition to this temporary paralysis, one may experience extremely strange or frightening sensations, such as being unable to breathe, seeing monsters such as "shadow people" and aliens, hearing extremely loud noises (bombs going off, alarms right in your ear), buzzing sensations, and even feeling like you're flying through the air. One common symptom (and the source of some superstitions) is an old hag hanging over you or in your room. However, sleep paralysis usually wears off in 20 seconds to a minute.
Willingly achieving sleep paralysis is one of the steps of WILD techniques. See Induction Techniques.

15. Sleepwalking/talking and dreams: Is there a connection?
Despite the "obvious," there is no connection between somnambulism/somniloquy (jargon) and dreams. This is because "true" dreams take place during REM sleep, when the body is basically paralyzed. Instead, those activities occur during the other stages of sleep.
Sleepwalking occurs when a person is disturbed during slow-wave sleep, or "deep sleep," strange as this might sound. Most cases of sleepwalking are simply when a person sits up and looks around while still asleep, rather than actually walking around.
Sleeptalking occurs during transitory arousals in NREM sleep.
Both sleepwalking and talking can (rarely) occur when REM atonia fails to act, which may be a sign of a disorder.

16. What's this about REM and NREM?
REM: Rapid eye movement
NREM: Non-rapid eye movement
NREM sleep makes up three-quarters of our sleep, with REM sleep making up the remainder.
REM is characterized by rapid eye movement (of course), rapid, low-voltage EEG (Electroencephalography), and muscle paralysis (REM atonia). Nearly all dreams occur during this stage.
The four NREM sleep stages are characterized solely by EEG, each stage being progressively "deeper." Stages 1 and 2 are classified as "light sleep," with 3 and 4 as "deep sleep" or "slow-wave sleep."
Sleep progresses in 90-110 minute cycles of the NREM and REM stages, with the progression usually being around 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM. This cycle repeats throughout the night.

Induction Techniques:

1. WBTB
(Wake Back To Bed)
Wake yourself 4-6 hours after going to sleep, get out of bed and stay awake from a few minutes to an hour before returning to bed. During your time awake, you can do something that'll make you think about lucid dreaming, like a book, but it's not a requirement. Simple and reliable (especially when combined with other techniques), but can disrupt your sleep, so best for weekends.

2. Autosuggestion
Simply expect to have a lucid dream. You can repeat a short sentence (like "I will recognize I'm dreaming"), but don't put it any effort--just expect to have a lucid dream.
Best for people prone to hypnosis. It's simple, but less effective than other techniques.
Can also be used for dream recall.

3. MILD
(Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dream)
Unlike autosuggestion, where you expect to have one, in MILD you fall asleep on the intention to induce one. You can repeat a sentence like "Next time I'm dreaming, I will remember I'm dreaming." Think about what this means, and repeat it to yourself until you fall asleep.

4. WILD:
(Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream)
WILD methods are a group of different techniques that all share the same thing: Simultaneously attempting to keep the mind aware while attempting to have the body fall asleep. If you focus on your body during these techniques, you will likely enter sleep paralysis. See above for explanation. Also, be sure to be completely relaxed first.
Some believe that WILD dreams are actually lucid dreams, but that's bullshit.
4.1 Eyelid Patterns
This is found to be very effective, but can lead to strange things involving dreams (such as up to 15 dreams in a single night), but nothing harmful.
When you go to sleep, make sure the room is completely dark. Close your eyes, and focus on the dots that appear to be moving on your eyelids.  You will find that you can change their color at will. Continue focusing on them, and make them move, form patterns and change colors, and you should eventually enter a lucid dream. It may take practice, but this is one of the most effective WILD techniques (which are the most effective in general) for inducing lucid dreams at will. You can combine it with other techniques, but it is extraordinarily effective alone.


It's not done, but I'll get around to the rest when I don't feel like shit.
This includes clean-up.

Poll explanation:
"Tinnitus" technique requires listening to the perception of a buzzing noise (tinnitus) in the ears and concentrating until it increases in intensity, while "Physical Discomfort" requires falling asleep in a position of slight physical discomfort. Both are WILD techniques, and can be particularly uncomfortable to perform.

[[hedy]Zidone]

what warm reception for this brobdingnagian thread

[YPrrrr]

I never have lucid dreams, what do you want from me

[[hedy]Zidone]

I never have lucid dreams, what do you want from me

To attempt to induce lucid dreams and share your wonderful experiences with all?

Or at least keep a dream journal, it'll help remember your dreams and thus make this board slightly more active, since a disproportionate number of posts consist of the content of a dream or group of dreams.


You could also ask questions.

[The Speaker Of Words]

I remember one time I was reading about lucid dreams.
That night, I dreamed that I went out for a jog and when I came back to my house, my house had caught fire and was completely burned down and my family was dead. I cried.
Then for some reason, I just thought, "Wait, this is a dream! I know it's a dream. OMFG I can control it now!"
Then I just flew away but I woke up like 3 seconds after. 

[[hedy]Zidone]

I will probably finish the techniques when I feel like it.

Also, why the hell aren't you guys sending me questions?

[Kalahari Inkantation]

I've never had a lucid dream, but they sound so awesome.

[unwelc0med]

i've had a couple lucid dreams


it's fun mindfucking yourself.

[[hedy]Zidone]

Tinnitus+Physical Discomfort WILD poll added.

[[hedy]Zidone]

I can now confirm that you can dream about having a lucid dream.

Personal experience. edumacate;

[Kalahari Inkantation]

I can now confirm that you can dream about having a lucid dream.

Personal experience. edumacate;

Details? isuckpenis

[[hedy]Zidone]

Details? isuckpenis

I was dreaming that I was dreaming. I went lucid and proceeded to have sex with some plant lady nearby. I woke up, then woke up in reality.

[[hedy]Zidone]

I've had several lucid dreams, most were painful because I was underwater and couldn't breathe and I woke up panting.

If you were lucid, why didn't you give yourself gills?

[Houdini]

Can you share your own experiences with lucid dreaming?

[[hedy]Zidone]

Can you share your own experiences with lucid dreaming?

Aside from the plant lady one I posted, they're too personal.