Keep a notepad beside your bed and write down as much as you remember of your dreams when you wake up. If possible wake yourself up during your dreams and write down what has happened so far. I know your goal is to eventually stay asleep and direct your dreams but this is the first step.
I searched Amazon for the book I read on this topic with no luck. I suppose it would help if I fully remembered the title but that was ten years ago. A title that tugged on a loose memory strand was out of print so again no help there.
I’m not sure how much else I can tell you that a book can’t but being patient is the key. As you get better at recongnizing you are in fact dreaming stay with the dream longer. You will begin to recognize common cues to the dream state. Basically things that just can’t happen in real life. Then you will kind of say to yourself “I’m dreaming! Cool!” at this point you may wake up and have to start over.
I think I’m rambling now so I’ll end this. Just start by keeping a notepad by your bed and writing down what you remember and what caused you to realize it was a dream.
Lucid Dreaming and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, both by Stephen LaBerge, are probably the two most definitive books on the subject. Was it one of these?
I’ve tried to have lucid dreams for quite some time, with only partial success. My main problem is this: almost as soon as I realize I am dreaming, I wake up with a shooting, almost electrical sensation going up and down my spine. Anyone else get this?
I’m not sure. The cover was different than the one on Amazon,Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming,that is. If it discusses the influence and importance of dreams in various cultures then that is the one.
I’ve never had that shooting electrical spine sensation thing you describe. That would make me want to avoid dreaming or at least realizing that I was dreaming.
Well, despite my description it’s not really painful. It’s just kind of a weird feeling, and it usually happens before I have a chance to try the spinning technique.
Gut, kudos to you for being the first to break the chain of studpidity. Goddamn, you nincompoops, what the hell? manhattan is a nazi!!!? what the fuck?
(manhattan, please notice I wasn’t actually calling you a NAZI!!! don’t wanna go and get banned accidentally)
okay, this board has been deluged as of late. way too much congestion and waaaaayyy too many posts. lay off the fucking dudes who have to actually work to make this board work, peoples. if a post is not germane to a board, the moderator can close it or move it. a lot of posters chime in and complain either way.
SHUT UP. really. it’s less than becoming, you motherfucking idiots.
open a new post in another forum, or email the question to those who seemed interested, or go back in time and kill your birth mother so you are never born and can’t grace this board with your complain-y manure.
anyway, a lot of posters have contributed good-GQ-esque responses. More should follow, if I know this board. Anyway, I hope I didn’t thorw the thread into IMHO territory with this post, manhattan you NAZI!!!
jb
I haven’t read much of this thread, but I have had lucid dreams.
During a very confused period in my life I had a very life-like dream in which I suddenly got this strange sensation that I was in fact dreaming, after all. I saw a window and decided to smash it in order to test the reality of the universe I was seeing.
I looked at my bloody hands and realized that I wasn’t actually feeling pain in my hands, so it had to be a dream and not reality. That’s when I started to have this elaborate romp around strange, yet familiar locales. I ran through scenes from movies and computer games as I progressed through my dream and some of it was actually original material as far as I can remember.
The whole time I knew I was in control of my dream and the experience has been repeated, but not often enough. It is VERY entertaining, to say the least. In some ways it’s the ultimate drug.
Does your post have anything to do with Lucid dreaming? Are you helping with the quest for knowledge? Or are you just bitching about something that annoys you. you say that the post aren’t relative to the forum, then what the hell are you doing?
To make sure I practice what I preach, I don’t completely understand how I can take down an entire dream on a piece of paper within the few dwindling moments that I can actually remember my dream. Like I said before, I can only remmeber my dreams for a split second. How would one go about delaying the fleeting dream type thing?
Omega. Just write down what you can. As time progresses you should remember more as you are ‘training’ your brain to remember. When you go to sleep start thinking that you want to remember and record what you dream. Create the expectation in your mind. Even if you remember only vague points of your dreams write them down. You will tend to remember more if you wake up immediately after a dream or during.
REM occurs several times during the night each cycle being deeper and longer than the last. You will probably have better luck with recall of the last cycle,generally just before you wake up. Weekends are great for this,sleep in and write down what you can remember at your normal waking time. Go back to sleep,hopefully you will get some more REM time and can again record anything you recall.
I’m not sure what other tips I can give you for recall. Basically creating the expection of recall and writing down what little you can remember.
[Moderator watch ON] jb_farley, while your support is, of course, appreciated, the manner in which you gave that support is not. Profanity is usually discouraged in this forum, and personal insults are always forbidden. Watch your step there, OK?
I have not heard the term lucid dreaming before reading this thread. I can tell you that I experience it almost everynight since taking Melatonin as a natural sleep aid a few years ago.All dreams are pleasant…no nightmares. If I get up in the middle of the night to take a leak and the dream is interrupted ,I can usually reset the scene in my mind if I want it to and continue.
I’m certain I could recall a good potion of my dreams for a period of time,but what’s the point?
Instead of writing down on a notepad, take 20 bucks and buy one of those mini tape recorders, or a digital one. Doesn’t matter. All you want to do is say into the damn thing everything you can remember about your dream. Then, after you are fully awake (After your shower and off to work), listen to what you said and try to remmeber it. The images should still be there in your mind somewhere.
Good idea. I think I may have to try that. that’s pretty damn immediate. Also I’ve been told that I talk in my sleep maybe I should get one of those tape recorders that is activated by sound. Ya think that would work?
Wow, after reading this and the FAQ on Lucid dreaming, I’m deffinitley going to give it a shot (well at least try the techniques) it sounds like it could be really cool. I can’t wait for bed tonight…
