i noticed that i couldn't make myself wake up, and knew that i could move in normal dreams, so i thought to try to fall more asleep so i'd be able to move. it worked, and i became able to turn my sleep paralysis into regular nightmares which i eventually worked up the courage to face i don't fall asleep this way anymore however. now i usually just fall asleep normally, or fall asleep in such a way that i'll immediately begin a lucid dream if i so choose to my subconscious hates me just as much as conscious me hates me!
Whoops. >.<; It's actually a dreaming conference. There are LDing workshops (the most famous one I know of is in Hawaii), but the most famous dreaming conference I'm aware of only focuses on LDing as a small part of a large field. The dream conference is an international thing, but I think it goes back and forth--Europe one year and America the next. I think the next one is in the Netherlands. I feel the same way! I'd love to go to a super scientific dream or LDing conference! I want to know all the things! Two of my LDing friends led a multi-day workshop on LDing at the conference last time and I heard that ended up going over very well. I'm not surprised--they've both been mentors to other LDers for a reeeally long time. A big part of why I would go back would be to see them teaching in person. I don't get to see them in action when we hang out IRL just to hang out and seeing them teach online is probably different. :d Your first dream death was a lot more heroic than mine. I was stabbed to death by an adult-sized humanoid rat wearing a dark, ragged cloak. Super silly first death. -__- Let me know how it goes! :D What made you think it was a past life-y thing? I'm not sure if I believe in reincarnation or not, but I do think it's interesting. I'd be curious to hear how it goes if you do try it! You sound like a very heroic kind of dreamer. :D I, on the other hand, am a very cowardly dreamer who doesn't like direct confrontation. |D; Tbh, I use scan IRL too sometimes. Mostly related to ghost things and protecting myself from them. I came up with a barrier visualization in high school to deal with the creepiness in the master bedroom of my house one night when it felt much worse than usual. I fueled it with the prana thing just in the hopes that that would fix the problem if the creepy thing was real. It worked and barriers became one of my mainstays ever since. ^__^; Also, I feel like I should mention that ghosts speak on a whole other frequency. It's really weird. The first time it happened I could feel something very close to my shoulder and ear and then felt like I could hear something but not hear it. Making it out was like adjusting the knob on a radio to pick up what exactly it was saying and then, suddenly, words in my head but not in my head. More like words in the brain of my spirit and not the brain of my body, if that makes sense? It was kind of like telepathy. It was super creepy. I wonder if the experience of hearing her was the same for my coworker or if it just sounded like talking to him. I'm not a big fan of biblical lore either. I usually just ask him for cliff notes. I'll try to convince him to join the forum. :D Okay, that was fast. I mentioned it to him and he's so excited to talk about this. He's joining ASAP. XD Nope, they're not usually dreamers. I don't dream share much at all, even by accident. That does sound creepy. XD; o____o ...Eep. Part of me doesn't want to know any more than that, but another part wants to hear the full story so I'll never make the same mistake. I can't tell if this is serious or sarcastic. XD Thank you! :D Super impressed that you thought to start so young and that you've kept at it for such long spans of time. :o Yeah, I can usually last a few days before I become overwhelmed by it being a "Thing I Have To Do," especially since it usually takes me 1-3 hours to journal it all. D| So impressed. This is one area where I really need to improve. I'm not either, but some rubbed off on me after enough years of being around people who use the terms a lot. |D Sounds like you're a natural too, Alex. "Natural" just refers to someone who learned it on their own without really trying to, though there's debate about the specifics of what qualifies and what doesn't. Also, learning at eight is impressive! I know people who are still trying to learn in their 40s. Wait, I'm confused. Sleep paralysis refers to how your waking boy immobilizes itself as you fall asleep. Being cognitive during sleep paralysis can cause hallucinations until said person makes it to a dream state or fully wakes up, depending on whether they're falling asleep or waking up. Is this still what we're talking about? @.@ If so, are you saying you were able to turn it into a normal nightmare? That's freaking impressive. Awww <:c Tbh, I can relate. This might be why my SC and I fight a lot.
....to the Netherlands I go! yesssssss I must know all the things. we can learn all the things together :D that's awesome! I'd like to see them teaching, maybe I'd learn some cool stuff! heh, well, at least it's not as mundane as 'yeah I got hit by a car' :P so like, basically, the reason I'm inclined to suspect it was some form of past life-y thing is because I: a. woke up in the middle of it, I always start from the beginning in a dream b. it did not follow dream logic at all like most of my dreams do c. but it was not a lucid dream because I know what those are like d. I had a vision about a girl drowning prior to this happening e. in this dream I was the girl and I drowned I've literally never had a vision about a lucid dream or anything. and I don't know what else it could be, although if you have ideas, I am open to them!! I'd really like to solidify what it was, because I was always of the opinion that while reincarnation is probbbbbbbably a thing, you can't recall memories from past lives. nooooooooooooooo you are a good dreamer who likes to resolve things peacefully my whole 'heroic dreamer' thing probably comes from the fact that my instinct to protect people leads me towards more direct and violent stuff. like, to protect my friends I will punch people as opposed to attempting to just steer the person threatening them away. so I consider it less heroic and more just more of my 'let me charge ahead and resolve this as quickly as possible via fists' :P ahhhh that makes sense. I don't think I can do the prana thing, so I don't know if something like that would work for me. I actually know what you mean, because I've heard a ghost speak before! it was...a very weird experience. YAY :D hmmm. then I wonder if they are the same things! and yeah, it is p creepy, although now it's less creepy and more funny and slightly startling. honestly, I'm not sure what exactly my friend did to open the portal, so I can't tell you that, but it involved very deliberate attempts to open a doorway to another plane and very deliberate attempts to invite beings into their home. if you'd like me to tell you the full story I can PM you with it, but honestly, my advice is just 'don't go attempting to open doorways to other planes in your own damn home and don't use upside down pentagrams to open said doorways 'cause that's just bad news'. ....both huh, is that what it is? cool. maybe I am, I don't really know, but no one taught me to lucid dream and I also didn't will myself into it; it just kind of....started.
Yeah, I actually had acquired (bought? gifted?) a little journal meant to be specifically for dreams; I think that was part of why I thought to write them down and all. I guess I'd say that if writing it all down is overwhelming, try just writing down some notes on the dream, rather than needing to get it all down? Like, write down some of the major events without feeling the need to go super into detail. Then if you have the time/energy to do so later, you can write down more details - but if you don't, you still have a record of something, and it still helps with dream recollection. The most time I spend writing down notes like these is 5-10 minutes or so; a more detailed version would take perhaps 20-30 minutes. (To be fair, I can only think of one or two dreams of mine that took an hour to journal in detail, and they were really long dreams.) I'd also advise doing so right after you wake up, before you get on your phone or anything (or if you prefer typing, before you hop on the internet.) Even if you only have time to write down a few notes, they may help you remember more later. Now, don't get me wrong: this kind of short dream notes can end up being incomprehensible, especially if hand-written in the dark, and without much detail they may be confusing. Sometimes my dream notes have been single sentences, like this one from about two years ago: "I dreamt I, along with Mari and others, was in a (non-school) class on how to build aquariums so they would have the right density." (This particular dream note was hand-written in the dark and was insanely hard to decipher when I was typing it up over a year later.) But dang it, if the alternative is remembering nothing, I'll take confusing dream logs like this: "Jade & Karkat are roommates, friends, and I think also lovers. One or both of them is a little depressed, so Jade starts experimenting to cheer them up. It works for a bit, but Jade takes it too far and dismantles Karkat nearly entirely." Hope this didn't sound too preachy or anything, and you can feel free to dismiss this; just, if it's taking you too long to journal dreams, writing some short notes to assist with memory later can help.
Only one of my LDing friends would be there, and the two of them only do the workshop when the conference is in California. XD Yes! They're amazing mentors and teachers. I'm thinking of going just for that, but the entrance fee is so high. D| You mean "hit by a car while saving someone Yusuke-style"? :P That...was a Yu Yu Hakusho reference. IDK if people still know about that anime. ^__^; What did you mean in "a."? I have a book about past lives, but I've never read it. |D;; This isn't a subject I know much of anything about. It might be worth reposting in the wixes thread. Mostly because I suck at facing things head-on. Punching people isn't good. XD; It might not be smart to try it. Energy work seems really complicated and like it requires a crazy amount of training to do safely. My friend's actually trying to help me figure out what in the world I've done to myself over my years of unguided messing with things. She doesn't think I've damaged anything, but she's told me to be more careful and actually try to learn about the subject and to leave my heart chakra alone aside from the barrier thing that hasn't given me problems. My upper chakras seem to all be crazy open while some of my lower ones are blocked and everything is weird. Also, I think she said prana is actually supposed to be going from a lower chakra to an upper one and not from my head down like I do it. Don't emulate me with energy stuff. |D; What was hearing it like for you? Was it the girl ghost who spoke? He's just waiting for his registration to be accepted. His username will be "The Other Alex" since I mentioned to him that your username is "Alex." His actual name is Alex, so his first reaction was to be The Other Alex. XD; Dunno. I'm not sure how we'd find out. Wow. That. Doesn't sound smart. ._. Maybe I should just ask how you closed it instead of hearing scary details. Okay, I deserve that. XD Yeah, sounds like you're a natural. I wonder if a lot of people are and they just don't know it. Most people who go to LDing forums go to learn how to LD. It would make sense that most naturals wouldn't feel the need to go to a LDing forum since they already know how to do the thing. Maybe that makes sense? Dunno. Yeah, this is all stuff that my LDing friends tell me a lot. I get too caught up in writing every little detail and I don't like leaving anything out. >__<; I'll try to work on getting over that so I can at least write short entries. No, you're completely right. I need to start getting better about writing something.
Apart from what I've posted on the forum, the only time i write anything about dreams is if I want to incorporate them into a story, or that one dream that was extra meaningful to me that I haven't talked about yet. I want to get a journal though. I had a dream the other night but it felt short and I could barely remember anything even right after waking up :( but even writing down that I had a dream at all would be something. Really I just want another reason to get a new journal XD I love having as many as possible for different things. And writing makes me happy, especially scribbling it down in pencil and then going back with an eraser and pen to write a cleaner copy :3 i do that with everything and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment.
yeah, that's right. i was vividly aware of my room and house in great detail as i experienced both auditory and visual hallucinations of a catlike abomination walking upstairs to my room and tormenting me at the foot of my bed. eventually my room would become more surreal as it transitioned into a regular nightmare and i was sent into a void, whereupon i woke up. even then, i was aware there was a pretty distinctive difference between my room feeling real and surreal, although the change itself was too gradual for me to notice. it was pretty bizarre, since i was aware as my sleep went from a state of sleep paralysis, to a nightmare, and after a period of time, then to a lucid dream
One of my LDing friends got onto Skype, so I asked her for references since I always forget them. She said that Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by LaBerge and Lucid Dreaming by Robert Waggoner are pretty standard for LDing info. I'd recommend the one by LaBerge for a more science-y perspective since he was one of the first scientists to prove lucid dreaming is real and the one by Waggoner if you prefer a take that might have some spiritualism with the science. I haven't actually read either, but I've met Waggoner and he likes the spiritual side of LDing as much as the science. Going by the Amazon blurbs about their books, I'm probably correct in my assumptions. XD I asked her about this too and she said I could quote her: "The belief in Tibetan dream yoga is that if you're lucid in other 'in-between' states at all times, when you are in the in-between state between death and rebirth, you can be lucid and thus escape the cycle." - LDing and Energy Work Friend and "I have a few books on it, can't remember which but pretty much any Tibetan dream yoga book should have it, because it's a core concept." - LDing and Energy Work Friend And then we remembered that she and I both got the same book on it together the last time we were at the dreaming conference together, but I still haven't read my copy because I keep forgetting I own it. |D; She has more on the subject, but the book we both have is: The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. I'm flipping through the index now and holy crap. I'm a dumb. This has stuff on prana and energy work in it. I need to get around to reading this. IDK if it'd be the best resource for energy work stuff, but at least it is one. :d LDing Energy Work Friend is also a scientist, so I asked her this too: [2:48:15 AM] Parsley: Can SCs/dreams effect the pain centers of your brain? [2:48:31 AM] Friend: like howso? [2:48:32 AM] Parsley: We talked about that before [2:48:56 AM] Parsley: Like, make you feel pain in dreams. I know they can, but is there an explanation as to how? [2:49:08 AM] Friend: well yeah ofc, I mean people have phantom pain all the time, plenty of people I know had pain in dreams that had some residual pain after waking [2:49:31 AM] Friend: probably mirror neurons, but there's no solid explanation that I've read, like scientifically speaking [2:49:50 AM] Friend: basically, let's say I sent you a picture of a knife stabbing someone's eye [2:49:55 AM] Friend: you'd probably wince, yeah? [2:50:00 AM] Friend: even though you know it's not real. [2:50:34 AM] Friend: even for a lucid dreamer, it's very hard to overcome that "real" part of it, and on some level our brain identifies with, and creates/simulates the pain it thinks would be there [2:51:21 AM] Friend: it's like a very deep ingrained part of being human, essentially it's an important part of human empathy, like if I see you in pain, I will also feel some pain too, and because of this I'm more likely to want to help. [2:51:42 AM] Parsley: Is it kind of like the phantom limb experiment? [2:51:46 AM] Friend: yes! :) [2:51:50 AM] Friend: very much similar. [2:52:16 AM] Friend: the brain is pretty amazing xP
I just had a thought. Could these be related? I mean, could you have experience her death in your vision and dream? Was that maybe what the trying to drown you thing was about?
GUYS I FIGURED IT OUT! Spoiler: *bounces around excitedly* So I had a couple of dreams last night, but in one of them I was flying down a hallway of connecting rooms with other rooms to the side, and they were bigger on the inside and there were extra rooms to the side that I didn't explore because I was on a mission. Later in the dream I saw that the line of rooms looked like a train on the outside and it was moving through a city. SO!! So I was flying like normal but since there were so many rooms it was a little cramped so I said aloud "Wind." And a strong wind whipped up that pushed me through! Lots easier than trying to navigate each room, not I could just lean a little if I wanted to adjust my flight. It was a long room-train so I was able to experiment turning the wind off and on and changing the speeds, just by saying it out loud! So I was getting the idea that it was a dream. And I get to the last room, which looks like a teeny little tailor's or dress shop, and I looked at one of the few dresses that was up on a stand and then turned around and OH HELLO THERE was an older lady coming out from behind her little desk. "hello dear, would you like to try anything on" "Sure! Did you know I'm lucid dreaming?!!" I got a knowing smile. Me goes on, "What's your name?" She tells me and I can't remember it now but I did then. I tell her mine. Which is a bad idea in hindsight but I WAS SO EXCITED, GUYS, WHAT IS THINKING? So I disrobed (I was wearing the same stuff I went to bed in except I also had my white scrunchie around my right wrist. She commented on it and I remembered that I had my blue scrunchie in my left pocket and took it out to show her. I still have it in my pocket. Also, I am 18 years old and act like a child when I'm excited, I know. Can you blame me?) and she helped my into a dress. It was blue and cream in a floral pattern. And way too big for me. So I look in the mirror and then we both come to that conclusion and start taking it off, but as we do so it turns white for some reason. Like, I blinked or something and then, oops, white dress. (I take my eyes off you for one second, dress..) I think she said something like "oops" or "oh dear". So I thought 'lemme try something' and I looked at the dress and concentrated on the blue pattern from my memory for a moment and then OOPS BLUE GAIN. I was on a fuckin' roll. Didn't even need to say it out loud. Then she puts the dress to the side and pulls out a few other outfits. And I was like 'um. I own those exact shirts. In real life.' but I didn't say anything and then shortly after I woke up. For the next dream you need a short summary of the dream I had beforehand that was not actually lucid. (Dreamt at least three dreams last night) Spoiler: first dream I am in an area next to a river. My 'home' is right on and partially over the river. I am living with my son and a roommate. Later in the dream I learn that I had kidnapped my son from his father because we were going through a divorce or breaking up and I wasn't going to get full custody. So here we are in buttfuck nowhere with my roommate who is also my friend and I guess counts as an accomplice because she knew about the situation and let us move in with her. She had long dark hair and dark eyes. This dream was confusing so I'm not going to go into detail but now you know the players when I refer to them. I wake up for a few seconds and go back to sleep. Next dream starts the same except I know the trick now and zip to the tailor's a lot faster. When I get there I say hello to the lady and ask her name again. She tells me. I asked again because I could barely remember already. And now I still can't remember. Sophie? Anastasia? Stacy? Someone give me 'S' names so it can jog my memory. When I said I was bad with names I MEANT IT. So then after we make small talk or something, motherfricken' baby daddy comes bursting the fuck in (okay he used the door, but he still MADE AN ENTRANCE and I need to up my entrance-ing skills). So apparently not only did we break up because it just wasn't working out, apparently, but He wAS ALSO A SORCERER? Damn right I don't need you in my or my son's life, ONLY ROOM FOR ONE MAGYK USER IN THIS HOUSEHOLD, MOTHERFUCKER. Unless my son shows promise or interest, of course. Ahem. So he comes in and I'm like, "You!" and he's like, "You!" and here is the part where my badassery comes in and I start acting a little less like a five year old in a candy store. I make a demarcation in the store (little old lady had fucked off to parts unknown, which is good, I hate fighting around civilians (hope she was a civilian. and not out to get me. I tried to scan her and it didn't work and she knows my first name now, good job borny.)) that separated it into two halves and shove him to one side before making it really hard for him to send stuff OUT but I could send stuff in cuz I'm mean :3 So we duel. Well, it's a lopsided duel, but he was pretty strong so at least it kept my interest. The city's police or SWAT team or something came at one point to see what was causing so much noise/ magical leakage (from his side, I assure you, I am a professional.) but I wasn't sure whose side they were on so I locked all the doors to our room, AND the windows, AND the skylight I had created at some point in the 'battle' for more light. But then I didn't have enough light again so I was like 'dang it' and made a plain old light. By dream logic I knew that they couldn't get through to us if all the openings were closed off, the locks were for good measure. So we fight more and then I was able to tell that he was running out of spark so I dragged him out of his half of the room physically (with my arms, don't think I have levitation down yet) making sure I wasn't all the way in his half, because while I was safe on the outside, he could have created a whole bunch of yicky booby traps. (also he may have summoned some demons or had demon allies, that part was a little fuzzy to me, I'm not real sure.) SO i drag him to my side and wrestle him to the ground and made metallic, magical bonds, the best I had though that isn't saying much since I I am still learning, around his wrists. And then I sat on him to think out my next course of action. And then freaking bolts of magic come and break his bonds and I'm like 'WHAT' and I look toward the door, and THERE'S MY ROOMMATE. She was on his side the whole time, the butt. I was kinda bummed. Also where is my child does he not exist in this dream *shrugs* So I get off him and pounce on her (good job Gerald, you managed not to bore me to tears with your sad-compared-to-mine skills. Gerald was not his name I think, I didn't get anyone else's name, he just looked like one a little.) because I was not worried about him anymore but she could have had a fully charged magical reserve for all I knew and it just dissolved into a catfight from there. Some spells were involved but it was mostly scratching and pulling hair, I'm pretty sure. So I learned a lot and I also learned that you can SAY it's a dream and it won't wake you up automatically (that used to be a fear of mine) it will only give you more awareness. It actually did remind me a lot like being awake, more than normal dreams, and I noticed and retained more. Except for the name. Of course. So thank you to Parsley and this thread! It probably would have taken me longer to fully realize what I could do if you all hadn't told me :) I have a lot to learn but GOSH was that cool.
That's awesome, @bornofthesea670! Sounds like saying a dream is a dream works as a grounding technique for you. I've heard that turning in a circle can do that too. :D Don't worry about the name thing. I accidentally share mine sometimes too. Just try not to tell it to people who feel like bad news. It looks like you used some pretty complicated dream control, especially during your fight! Nice job! c:
I'll share some tips for developping specific indream powers. There are things you can do when awake, and things you can do in your dreams. Flying While awake: Play video games that allow you to fly (RIP City of Heroes). Look at aerial photos or movies (avoid satellite images and astronomy stuff, though - you might end up flying too far up and finding yourself floating in space with the Earth in view but no idea how to get back to it). When you have a spare moment to daydream (especially in a location you know well), look up and consider how the area would look like if you could hover above it. Visualize yourself having wings, stretching them and moving them up and down. Bask in the certainty you could totally fly off rght now if you wanted. When dreaming: Decide now is the time to stretch out those wings and fly! Phasing through walls When awake: Put a hand against a wall or a window. Press down lightly on your fingertips. Feel the material give way. Visualize plunging your entire arm through the wall or glass. Imagine it giving way like smoke or an illusion. Remain convinced you would totaly be capable of doing it if you decided to. When dreaming: Put your hand against a wall, decide to push through it now, and follow your arm. If you're having trouble, closing your eyes or turning around and stepping backward can help you get the hang of phasing. Materializing clothing When dreaming: Ever had those pesky dreams where you're walking around naked and embarassed? Next time it happens, do not look down at yourself. Instead, focus on the feeling of cloth against your skin, and remember vividly how it feels to be clothed. Tell yourself that of course you are wearing clothes. You can feel them right there. The seams of the pants on your legs, the T-shirt sleeves around your upper arms. Once you become convicned that you are wearing clothes, *then* look down at yourself.
I just realized that, unless I verbally say what I want to happen in the dream, I use the exact same visualization work as in my real life magic practice, with more visible consequences, of course. "Visible", as in "I blow up nightmare monsters." I throw nightmare scenarios off the rails so much I think my subconscious is starting to hate me. Flying is the only exception, as it happens pretty much naturally (unless the dream scenario doesn't want it to, in which case I force it by jumping off a high place or something). It usually wakes me up after a few seconds, though.
