Is this really possible?

[SadLittlePony]

Like i just heard of this now and I am curious if it is really possible to be aware in your dreams. Can you make choices and decisions? Do your dreams become your second life?

[Cpt1Eye]

It's very possible, but it's a artful skill. Artful in that it's not an exact science, what works for some won't work for all. It's a skill in that it takes some focused effort to make it happen.

However, when mastered, lucid dreaming can be a great thing. You're awake and aware in your dreamscape, able to decide what you do, and even control your environment. Think Inception, except you get more freedom, like flying, or creating a mountain. Your dreams are your world.

The first step, though, is just to be able to remember your dreams. Start a dream journal. Immediately when you wake up after a dream, write down as much about it as you can. Doing this regularly will increase the vividness of your dreams, and get you better acquainted with the dream world.

There's a book called "Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self", by Robert Waggoner. I'd highly recommend getting a copy, if you wanna jump into this.

[BarCon]

Yes, it's possible to make your own decisions in your own dreams. I've had several experiences wherein I personally decide to wake up if I'm having a bad dream.

[SadLittlePony]

I have been having such lucid dreams lately where I was describing lucid dreaming to my friend in my dream.

[badpup]

well you can make it happen.. However unlike in inception, that other life can never become your reality.. As in you can't get lost inside of it... And it will be extremely difficult to do... That bit of dreaminess can never leave no matter what..

[SadLittlePony]

Actually this is only partly true. It is possible to be locked within a super dream where you eat breath and live a normal life. You can even gain skill in your dreams and wake up having them. It happens because of a chemical mishap in the brain. An average dream only lasts about 15 seconds and if it goes longer than that the dream seems much longer. Thus this chemical misfire causes your brain to think its awake within its dream state creating a longer dream sequence. If this dream sequence were to last the entire duration of your rem cycle you would feel as though you were living in your dream for weeks and even months. Now it is also possible to fall asleep inside of your dream. If you fell like you are really living in your dream you will drift to sleep and dream with in your dream. Each layer of dreams leads to further subconscious and revelations about yourself. However because of the way the subconscious works you may not be able to interpret the dreams. Now what if your brain in your dream decided to misfires and you became entrapped in your sub dream. Time not only slows down from your top layer dream but even more in the sub layer. Hence inception, you can become trapped in your dream for years. In the movie they went into a third layer where he spent a whole lifetime in the dream growing old. If people were to learn to manipulate their dreams I believe it would be entirely possible to do that.

[badpup]

Thing is you are eventually bound to wake up.. If it was possible there would have been atleast one documented case.. Or atleast rumours and internet stories right?

Besides inceptions just a movie.. Can't really take it as a dream document...

[SadLittlePony]

Have you even bothered to look it up. Do a search for something to the effect of "getting stuck in REM" its definitely out there and documented. How do you think the concept for the movie came around.

[badpup]

I did actually.... Couldn't find anything satisfactory... As for the movie Nohlan is a GENIUS

[archangel88]

I once had that kind of dream, then years later i became interested in that subject, i started "practising" dreams, memorizing them and to achieve lucid dreams, about year later i finally had one:) It is pretty amazing

[ngphil22]

I have a tip that helps when attempting to Lucid dream. If you have an alarm clock where you can set two alarms, set one of your alarms to 4 hours before you get up, and the other alarm to when you get up. When the earliest alarm goes off, get up and shut it off, and set the next alarm for when you get up, then go straight back to bed and fall asleep. What happens here is you force yourself into a deep theta state, the band where you are half awake, half asleep. You do not give yourself enough time to fully awaken, and so when you fall back asleep, you enter a dream immediately. whether it is lucid or not depends on how much preparation you have taken. When practicing for lucid dreaming, ask yourself if you are awake all the time, even when you know you are awake. If you are at work, ask yourself, "am I awake right now?" Keep doing this throughout your day-to-day schedule. Eventually, you will ask yourself if you are awake without having to push yourself to remember to do a reality check. if you do it enough, you are very likely to ask yourself if you are awake subconsciously in your dreams. it becomes a habit that you carry into your dreams. Once you ask yourself in your dream, you may start to notice things are a little odd. Like "Why is the sun oddly colored?" or "Why am I walking on cobblestone paths in the middle of the forest?" "Why is ther an elevator in the middle of the blasted library?" Another common oddity in dreams is how clear everything is, and the contrast between dark and light. Like a candle may be as bright as the sun, but a shadow might be so dark you cannot see anything in it, even if it is the slightest shadow. You may notice the world is changing constantly, without any logic. You will start to notice patterns in your dreams, and you may notice how some of your wildest fantasies might be all around you, but you did not ever notice them-until now. BUT THERE IS ALSO A COMMON PROBLEM. one of the biggest problems I faced (and many others, too) when lucid dreaming is that I get way too excited in a lucid dream once I become lucid. My mind goes nuts while I try a million different things at once, like trying to fly while changing the landscape at the same time. I am doing so many different things, running at the speed of sound, jumping to other planets, reading text on walls and willing them to change, adjusting the world, and I get so excited that I panic and freak out, and wake up in a jumping fit. I try to calm down, but it is too late. I have sped up my mind to the point of being awake and alert. I have to start over. REMEMBER, once you become lucid, your first objective is staying asleep. Stay calm, do not do anything hasty or impulsive, but keep assuring yourself that you are lucid. Relax, and imagine yourself breathing in your dream. Concentrate on staying in the dream. The next big problem is staying lucid. It has happened SOOOOOO many blasted times to me that I take it too easy and I wind up falling out of lucidity. Well that sucks, now doesn't it? You just worked so hard, practiced so long, just to go back into mindless sleep. Remember, keep yourself lucid. Do not relax too much. just go with the flow, but keep asking yourself if you are asleep. The answer will keep being yes. If you start feeling like you are going to fall out of lucidity, imaginatively close your eyes in the dream and think "spin". Keep spinning until you re-boot your dream. Create a completely new setting, then stop spinning once you know you are lucid again. Open your eyes, and wander through your new world. try something new, like a universal favorite in dreams, flying. If you find it hard at first, try running and jumping repeatedly. Keep trying until you keep yourself airborne for long periods of time. Have fun with your lucid dream, anything is possible. The only limitation is what your mind deems impossible.

Keep Practicing! -----WAIT! Are you dreaming right now?

Happy dosing--and dreaming!

Phil

ALSO, if in your dream, you see a mirror, just remember not to look into it. you may turn your dream into a nightmare. your reflection in dreams can be very frightening. Don't ask me why, I don't know why. But I just know it is a terrible experience, because I did happen to look into a mirror one time while dreaming.