Lucid Dreams, Anyone Else Experience This?

[mkm5]

I've usually slept pretty good, but for the past few years I've had recurring dreams that often continue on like it's almost a nightmare; normal day to day things, or past memories, but some are pretty crazy.

Home Invasions (unfortunately been through two), Alien/WW3 attacks, falling/near death, etc are a common theme.

I often know I'm dreaming when it happens, even though I'm convinced it's real at the time, and can remember dreaming about it beforehand; still seems pretty real!

I'm curious if there are any good resources to learn more about this if anyone has a recommendation?

I've always found this an interesting subject as I started having recurring nightmares at a very young age; used to journal the dreams when I woke because I'd quickly forget them, but now it seems like the dreams are manifesting like actual memories!

Lucid Dreams - What do they mean?

[Matt Jackson]

You can induce lucid dreams with a bit of training.

If you have a wrist-watch, try to remember to ask yourself if you're awake or asleep & dreaming each time you check the time. You'll remember about 10% of the time.

Do something physical, like tap your foot on the ground or feel a surface as you determine the answer.

After a short while, you'll automatically do this in your sleep state and you'll be conscious and self-aware. Mine always has the same flavour at the start.

I would caution against it, though, as it really fucks with your quality of sleep and I always feel unrested when it happens. I've also had some strange experiences.

[David Roberts]

I've usually slept pretty good, but for the past few years I've had recurring dreams that often continue on like it's almost a nightmare; normal day to day things, or past memories, but some are pretty crazy.

Home Invasions (unfortunately been through two), Alien/WW3 attacks, falling/near death, etc are a common theme.

I often know I'm dreaming when it happens, even though I'm convinced it's real at the time, and can remember dreaming about it beforehand; still seems pretty real!

I'm curious if there are any good resources to learn more about this if anyone has a recommendation?

I've always found this an interesting subject as I started having recurring nightmares at a very young age; used to journal the dreams when I woke because I'd quickly forget them, but now it seems like the dreams are manifesting like actual memories!

Lucid Dreams - What do they mean?

Yes they are real. Sometimes they are premonitions. I have experience with dreams of possible bad things happening to me. I am prone to worrying about them but 99% of them never come true.

That may be a reflection of the power of worry. It might be preventing the bad things from happening.

[Subby]

I spent some time learning to lucid dream when I was younger. If you're having nightmares that you can't control then you might be able to have more active control through training your ability to lucid dream.

It's been a while so I might be a bit fuzzy on the details but dreaming is your unconscious mind experiencing things when your physical body is anaesthetized with sleep, this is why you can't get away in dreams.
Lucid dreaming is the defined state where you wake up mentally not physically and have full control of your conscious thoughts during the dream.

Getting to that state requires training, as David said above "reality checks" are things that you do habitually when awake to check whether you are dreaming or awake. Do them untill they become a habit untill you do one when dreaming. They can be anything but there's a list of common ones. They work because certain things just don't work in dreams, and these are obvious enough to you that they trigger your subconscious as "off" and tell you that your dreaming. From memory, some common ones are:

Trying to breath with your lips pressed together, in dreams you will not get the sensation of choking like you would normally.

Turning light switches on/off. Electricity just doesn't work in dreams, I've never used this but apparently it's pretty common that the lights wont go on/off normally.

Looking at a wrist watch or clock as the clock hands never move correctly when dreaming.

Press your hands together hard, this was my reality check along with breath holding, I found that when I was dreaming my hands would pass through each other or I wouldn't be able to generate the physical pushing sensation in dreams which cued me that I was dreaming.

The point of a reality check is it's a habit that you do when your awake untill it becomes a tic, so do something that's discreet. You will then habitually perform it in dreams which is step 1.

Step 2 is then being aware that you are in a dream as your conscious mind wakes up. This is often sold as "lucid dreaming" but I found it took more practice to take active actions past this stage, I had quite a long period of knowing I was dreaming, but just sitting back and enjoying the show. At best I could influence what was happening but not control it. It took me more practice to get to the active control stage. I don't know if this is common though.

Step 3 is having conscious control when your thoughts occour as you have them, this is the "entire buildings made of naked lingerie models stage"

The other tip that isn't often mentioned is that you actually have to keep a dream diary, so as soon as you wake write down your dreams before you forget them, this is surprisingly effective at focusing your mind on paying attention to your dreams as they are happening and personally I think is the most crucial way to get from stage 2 to stage 3.

I have no idea if being able to lucid dream will help or hinder the reason you are having nightmares so good luck and be careful I guess.

[Phill]

I've been able to do it my entire life.

Most of them involve bad shit happening but the instant I realise I'm dreaming things get very interesting.

The best ones switch from absolute terror to the most fun I've ever had. The more mundane varieties normally answer a question or solve a problem.

I've never researched it or cared enough to want to know but I've always considered it as my brain being unable to reconcile/resolve something in my personal life then figuring out a way to process it during sleep. I often wake up with a feeling of calm I don't often experience in day to day life so something is happening in the ol' noggin.

The worst variety, I'm dreaming, tell myself I'm dreaming and nothing changes the outcome. Those are the ones that bother me.

I've had instances in life where the worst feeling of deja vu comes over me, like I've seen this before but can't quite remember it.

Lucid dreaming happens mostly when I am very tired.

I always thought it was normal but no one I know does it or admits to it. I mostly enjoy it, mostly.

[mkm5]

You can induce lucid dreams with a bit of training.

If you have a wrist-watch, try to remember to ask yourself if you're awake or asleep & dreaming each time you check the time. You'll remember about 10% of the time.

Do something physical, like tap your foot on the ground or feel a surface as you determine the answer.

After a short while, you'll automatically do this in your sleep state and you'll be conscious and self-aware. Mine always has the same flavour at the start.

I would caution against it, though, as it really fucks with your quality of sleep and I always feel unrested when it happens. I've also had some strange experiences.

Yes, sometimes I wake up and then when I fall asleep again, the script keeps going. I especially wonder about the people in my dreams that I've never known, and how the mind constructs these people and places in pretty clear detail.

Yes they are real. Sometimes they are premonitions. I have experience with dreams of possible bad things happening to me. I am prone to worrying about them but 99% of them never come true.

That may be a reflection of the power of worry. It might be preventing the bad things from happening.

Interesting, I've read recently that it's a bad sign if you see dead relatives or friends in your dreams.

I've been able to do it my entire life.

Most of them involve bad shit happening but the instant I realise I'm dreaming things get very interesting.

The best ones switch from absolute terror to the most fun I've ever had. The more mundane varieties normally answer a question or solve a problem.

I've never researched it or cared enough to want to know but I've always considered it as my brain being unable to reconcile/resolve something in my personal life then figuring out a way to process it during sleep. I often wake up with a feeling of calm I don't often experience in day to day life so something is happening in the ol' noggin.

The worst variety, I'm dreaming, tell myself I'm dreaming and nothing changes the outcome. Those are the ones that bother me.

I've had instances in life where the worst feeling of deja vu comes over me, like I've seen this before but can't quite remember it.

Lucid dreaming happens mostly when I am very tired.

I always thought it was normal but no one I know does it or admits to it. I mostly enjoy it, mostly.

It does seem to me like the brain is trying to sort things out when this happens. The recurrence, I'm not sure.

It's not unsettling anymore, but when I had dreams of falling I used to jump out of bed in a hurry! That wasn't fun.

I spent some time learning to lucid dream when I was younger. If you're having nightmares that you can't control then you might be able to have more active control through training your ability to lucid dream.

It's been a while so I might be a bit fuzzy on the details but dreaming is your unconscious mind experiencing things when your physical body is anaesthetized with sleep, this is why you can't get away in dreams.
Lucid dreaming is the defined state where you wake up mentally not physically and have full control of your conscious thoughts during the dream.

Getting to that state requires training, as David said above "reality checks" are things that you do habitually when awake to check whether you are dreaming or awake. Do them untill they become a habit untill you do one when dreaming. They can be anything but there's a list of common ones. They work because certain things just don't work in dreams, and these are obvious enough to you that they trigger your subconscious as "off" and tell you that your dreaming. From memory, some common ones are:

Trying to breath with your lips pressed together, in dreams you will not get the sensation of choking like you would normally.

Turning light switches on/off. Electricity just doesn't work in dreams, I've never used this but apparently it's pretty common that the lights wont go on/off normally.

Looking at a wrist watch or clock as the clock hands never move correctly when dreaming.

Press your hands together hard, this was my reality check along with breath holding, I found that when I was dreaming my hands would pass through each other or I wouldn't be able to generate the physical pushing sensation in dreams which cued me that I was dreaming.

The point of a reality check is it's a habit that you do when your awake untill it becomes a tic, so do something that's discreet. You will then habitually perform it in dreams which is step 1.

Step 2 is then being aware that you are in a dream as your conscious mind wakes up. This is often sold as "lucid dreaming" but I found it took more practice to take active actions past this stage, I had quite a long period of knowing I was dreaming, but just sitting back and enjoying the show. At best I could influence what was happening but not control it. It took me more practice to get to the active control stage. I don't know if this is common though.

Step 3 is having conscious control when your thoughts occour as you have them, this is the "entire buildings made of naked lingerie models stage"

The other tip that isn't often mentioned is that you actually have to keep a dream diary, so as soon as you wake write down your dreams before you forget them, this is surprisingly effective at focusing your mind on paying attention to your dreams as they are happening and personally I think is the most crucial way to get from stage 2 to stage 3.

I have no idea if being able to lucid dream will help or hinder the reason you are having nightmares so good luck and be careful I guess.

Thank you for that information! It seems like the nightmares are unresolved experiences that just keep playing over and over.

It's like my unconscious mind is trying to tell my conscience mind something.

I've been able to do it my entire life.

Most of them involve bad shit happening but the instant I realise I'm dreaming things get very interesting.

The best ones switch from absolute terror to the most fun I've ever had. The more mundane varieties normally answer a question or solve a problem.

I've never researched it or cared enough to want to know but I've always considered it as my brain being unable to reconcile/resolve something in my personal life then figuring out a way to process it during sleep. I often wake up with a feeling of calm I don't often experience in day to day life so something is happening in the ol' noggin.

The worst variety, I'm dreaming, tell myself I'm dreaming and nothing changes the outcome. Those are the ones that bother me.

I've had instances in life where the worst feeling of deja vu comes over me, like I've seen this before but can't quite remember it.

Lucid dreaming happens mostly when I am very tired.

I always thought it was normal but no one I know does it or admits to it. I mostly enjoy it, mostly.

Yes, this explains the experience pretty well.

I'm curious how the mind creates main characters in the dreams, of people I've never known, in detail I can remember the next day?

[Sturw]

You engage the fuckers. It’s your dream, kill the enemies/problem/threat and shit turns out pretty well.