questions about lucid dreams

[Max Power]

Yeah, a couple nights ago, I had a lucid dream. Before I realized I was dreaming, I was just going about a "normal" waking day. In the dream, I opened my laptop, and it's usually a dark screen that switches on a couple seconds after you open it, but the screen never lit up.

BINGO!

I took control after that.

 

[Obyron]

I experimented with lucid dreaming, but didn't have a lot of luck... although I didn't really put in all the patience and practice it requires. I did the WILD (Waking Induced Lucid Dreaming) method, where you train yourself to recognize when you're entering the pre-sleep hypnagogic state. I also did the deal where you get in the habit of stopping your thought process at random points throughout the day and ask, "Am I dreaming right now?" so that when you actually are dreaming you have a better chance of pulling your consciousness into the dream.

I had one success of being able to exert conscious control over a dream, and it felt amazing. It truly was just like being awake, although everything (including my physical form) felt hazy and indistinct, and it was taking a lot of willpower to maintain the state. I found that I could think of something and have it appear before me, or that I could recall and playback memories. I was able to do a few simple demonstrations of these things to convince myself before I just lost control over it and the dream ended, at which point I woke up immediately. Total time in the dream felt like maybe 5 minutes. To say that I was overcome by awe when I woke up would be an understatement. I only really half believed I could even do it, and the sensation of accomplishing it was amazing.

 

[Max Power]

Once you're able to start lucid dreaming, you're right, the hardest part becomes being able to stay asleep.

Two things to do to in your lucid dream to keep you asleep: Rub your hands together or spin your entire body in a circle. IF you attempt to do this in your lucid dream state, its been pretty effective by many in staying asleep.

 

[Edvard Munch]

Edvard Munch, I don't see what gives you that idea. Do you have any references to back that up? I always feel the most refreshed when I wake up after an intense and vividly real dream. You dream during REM sleep, and not really any other time. REM sleep is what repairs your brain. In laboratory studies, rats deprived of only REM sleep (but not other sleep cycles) showed rested bodies but fatigued brains, and died quickly. I'd say any practice which prolongs REM sleep must be good for you!

What gave me that idea was of personal reflection unto every time I have had lucid dreams and has no basis unto relevant scientific data. Since this is a philosophy forum, and not of scientific value (however science may be included in this forum, I am not including it here) I merely chose to extrapolate what I feel may be negative about lucid dreaming as far as my experience.

To put it another way, I appreciate NOT being concious of myself and I recognize the value of being completely void of time and space. The times I have lucid dreamed, often when I have no wanted to, I have found it a burden in that I needed a break from being concious and a break from anything remotely self-aware.

As far as REM sleep, I may be supported with a little evidence as stated by Wikipedia (after stating I'm negating scientific evidence ... hahaha):

"Neuroscientist J. Allan Hobson has hypothesized as to what might be occurring in the brain while lucid. The first step to lucid dreaming is recognizing that one is dreaming. This recognition might occur in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex which is one of the few areas deactivated during REM sleep, and where working memory occurs. Once this area is activated and the recognition of dreaming occurs the dreamer must be cautious to let the dream delusions continue, but be conscious enough to recognize them."


Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is deactivated during REM sleep. During a lucid dream, this same region of the brain becomes active. This activity, however, does not neccessarily state is interferes with REM sleep or make dysfunction of sleep in anyway, but again, as far as my personal experience is considered I'm merely saying I recognize the value and purpose of my brain disconnecting its self from the "dorsolateral prefrontal cortex", so to speak, and letting it rest in an inactive state.

 

[ebola?]

>>You dream during REM sleep, and not really any other time.>>

Dreams occasionally occur during other parts of the sleep cycle, but we do not commonly recall them, as we are far further from waking than during REM.

>>seeing weird shit happening>>

Clocks.
The trick is to glance and glance back. Does the number change in a completely unrealistic way? Does it display garbage characters including letters?

ebola

 

[IcarusRisen]

Hmm very interesting thread.