Your thoughts on lucid dreaming and OBEs

[vamp rocks]

I have always had a fascination with lucid dreaming, and recently i have had quite a lot of time on my hands and I have been reading heavily into Lucid dreaming and have started trying to train myself to do it. In my research I also came across people who have claimed to have out of body experiences (OBEs)

For those of you who are unaware, a lucid dream is where you become conscious of the fact you are dreaming while you are asleep and are able to take full control of your dream and do whatever you please. OBEs are a dissociative experience of observing yourself from an external perspective as though your mind or soul had left your body.

I had a lucid dream once about 4-5 years back but have not tried to replicate it until now. I have been "in training" for 3 days now and i haven't had a lucid dream yet, that being said I never expected it to work right away and have only been able to remember and record my dreams 2 out of those 3 nights.

I have never experienced an OBE but it is something I have doubts It is something I will be able to do. I have read that in order to achieve it you must fully believe that you can do it. and i do fully believe that it is possible but from a scientific sense and not a spiritual one. It's obvious that humans can hallucinate, this has been proven from drugs, and illness, etc. but, I believe that an OBE is a hallucination that is experienced not through your physical eyes as most are, but through your mind. however, on the flip side of this there are many things about the brain that will definitely not be known in my lifetime and if there is a "spirit" to the body then detachment from the physical body could be entirely possible and you could use your mind to communicate with and embody your "spirit". The short answer, I am entirely uncertain about it and I think that from this uncertainty there will be a bar preventing me from doing it, i have a tried a few times to induce it using binatural beats and some other techniques. I have felt a tingling sensation but have never really gotten the "vibrations" that have been described of the first stage of an OBE.

all in all these are just my opinions on the subject and I would be fascinated to read other peoples thoughts.

I realize I spent more time explaining my thoughts on how it works more than i meant to, please use this thread to discuss experiences with either lucid dreaming or OBEs, also feel free to express your opinion on how it works, or really anything related to the subject would be interesting to read.

 

[Woodsey]

"on the flip side of this we only use 10% of our brains and there are many things about the brain that will definitely not be known in my lifetime"

No we don't. We might not use all of our brain all of the time, but we don't ever only use 10% of it.

Anyway, I'd like to be able to lucid dream too. I had one when I was little in which I became aware that I was dreaming, but I couldn't control anything. I think it was a nightmare actually so I just used the opportunity to wake myself up.

 

[ScoopMeister]

I was thinking, 'Wait, lucid dreaming and Order of the British Empires? What?
Now it's all clear to me.

This would be cool and I kinda wish I could do it. Are you supposed to be able to control your dreams once you realise what they are?

 

[Rockchimp69]

I once read into it quite a lot, I didn't have the drive to really work at getting them but in the end I did get one while on holiday.

So I was running away from some people on a path with a slight slope down to the right entering a wooded area. I started panicking and ended up coming of the path and stumbling and falling down the slope when I realised it was a dream, floated into the air, flew back to the path, froze the guys in place, landed, looked around smugly before conjuring up a fit girl.

I think I overworked myself though because before I could "do" anything with her, I woke up..

As you've probably heard the more excited and active you get the more concious you become and the more likely you are to wake up :/

Seriously though lucid dreaming is like living your fantasies! Amazing.

Edit: I can also wake myself up voluntarily from any dream, whether I know it is one or not. So I guess you could say I'm always in a lucid dream kinda.

 

[Cheezeypoofs]

I'm also training myself to lucid dream. Started about a 5 days ago and have only had one, but wasn't able to control it well, yet. I found recording my dreams and doing reality checks whenever I notice the "A" on the palm of my hand has carried over into my dreams.

 

[Rockchimp69]

I'm also training myself to lucid dream. Started about a 5 days ago and have only had one, but wasn't able to control it well, yet. I found recording my dreams and doing reality checks whenever I notice the "A" on the palm of my hand has carried over into my dreams.

Does that check work? I thought things like that didn't work because your dream body always looks like your real one.

 

[Snork Maiden]

I don't think I really have the imagination to do anything truly exciting if I could actually dream lucidly. I'd probably just abuse it to have super fantasy sex. And fly, flying would be awesome.

I am pr. doubtful that any experiences you had in a lucid dream would ever accurately map to real life, however. For instance I doubt my want to experience "flying" would ever be properly fulfilled.

 

[dyre]

however, on the flip side of this we only use 10% of our brains and there are many things about the brain that will definitely not be known in my lifetime

Actually, we use almost all of our brains, or else taking a few chunks of brain here and there wouldn't hurt us. Besides, almost every part of our brain has an important function (speech, learning, senses, basic functions like breathing, etc), so it really doesn't make sense that we only use a fraction of our brain. The 10% thing is just a myth.

You can actually learn a good deal about the brain in a basic psychology course, which I recommend to everyone who has access to college courses.

Now, back on topic...
I've never trained lucid dreaming, but I do realize I'm in a dream once in awhile and can control a few things. Unfortunately, I never seem to gain full realization for some reason. As in, I somehow "know" that I can make my car start and make a nearby tree fall down using just my mind, but it never occurs to me that I could summon a legion of doom and take over my dreamworld...

 

[Cheezeypoofs]

I'm also training myself to lucid dream. Started about a 5 days ago and have only had one, but wasn't able to control it well, yet. I found recording my dreams and doing reality checks whenever I notice the "A" on the palm of my hand has carried over into my dreams.

Does that check work? I thought things like that didn't work because your dream body always looks like your real one.

Your dream body looks like how you think of yourself. You may very well be surprised when looking in a mirror. But it is more the habit of checking your surroundings for any unnatural things, as well as asking yourself how you got into that situation. If you find any inconsistencies, you're dreaming. If you don't make this into a habit, you'll never realize since the critical thinking part of your brain is normally shut off when you dream. That's why when a 70 ft chocolate bunny is chasing you through the mall in Hell, you just go with it.

 

[TheAceTheOne]

That's why when a 70 ft chocolate bunny is chasing you through the mall in Hell, you just go with it.

Is it sad that I actually had this dream before?

OT: I've been thinking of lucid dreams, but my dreams are usually pretty cool, so I don't want to screw 'em up by taking over my crazy, dream thoughts and adding or taking stuff away XD

 

[Jonluw]

I've never experienced a lucid dream myself, but it doesn't sound like an all too far-fetched a concept.
As for OBEs... I believe some people must have experienced them for them to be so well known. However, I do not believe any of that bullshit that it's your soul or whatever floating away from your body. It's a hallucination. People imagine things all the time. We do have quite an incredible brain, after all.

I don't think I really have the imagination to do anything truly exciting if I could actually dream lucidly. I'd probably just abuse it to have super fantasy sex.

How is that abuse?
Hell, it's what I'd be doing, but there's no reason to feel bad about that. It sounds like it'd be so much better than porn.

 

[Tallim]

I was thinking, 'Wait, lucid dreaming and Order of the British Empires? What?
Now it's all clear to me.

This would be cool and I kinda wish I could do it. Are you supposed to be able to control your dreams once you realise what they are?

That's exactly what I thought. OBEs? What?

Lucid dreaming isn't quite as much fun as you would think. Disciplining yourself to even do it takes ages and even then to maintain a lucid dream requires even more work on your part.

It *is* however a very weird experience. The way I would describe the first time you actually start lucid dreaming is very much like the big Wizard Of Oz thing where the moment you realise you are dreaming the dream explodes into a super "real" world where everything is much more colourful and strange. If that makes sense.

I only managed to do it a few times and I used "Reality Checks" to achieve it and the shock of the first time woke me up almost immediately.

 

[vamp rocks]

No we don't. We might not use all of our brain all of the time, but we don't ever only use 10% of it.

Actually, we use almost all of our brains, or else taking a few chunks of brain here and there wouldn't hurt us. Besides, almost every part of our brain has an important function (speech, learning, senses, basic functions like breathing, etc), so it really doesn't make sense that we only use a fraction of our brain. The 10% thing is just a myth.

when i said it before i meant 10% at one time not in total but that's irrelevant as your both right, I was always told the 10% thing so i guess i just accepted it. iv been looking into it since it was first mentioned and now i feel like an idiot for posting something like that without fully researching it first. thanks for the correction guys.

also dyre i am thinking of doing psychology or something similar when i go to university

 

[vamp rocks]

I'm also training myself to lucid dream. Started about a 5 days ago and have only had one, but wasn't able to control it well, yet. I found recording my dreams and doing reality checks whenever I notice the "A" on the palm of my hand has carried over into my dreams.

glad to see the A trick works, I've being doing that plus recording my dreams when i wake and performing regular reality checks. My problem is it can sometimes be extremely difficult for me to get to sleep. Also i find that when i try to think of a trigger as i am trying to get to sleep the thoughts will often keep me awake.

 

[dyre]

No we don't. We might not use all of our brain all of the time, but we don't ever only use 10% of it.

Actually, we use almost all of our brains, or else taking a few chunks of brain here and there wouldn't hurt us. Besides, almost every part of our brain has an important function (speech, learning, senses, basic functions like breathing, etc), so it really doesn't make sense that we only use a fraction of our brain. The 10% thing is just a myth.

when i said it before i meant 10% at one time not in total but that's irrelevant as your both right, I was always told the 10% thing so i guess i just accepted it. iv been looking into it since it was first mentioned and now i feel like an idiot for posting something like that without fully researching it first. thanks for the correction guys.

also dyre i am thinking of doing psychology or something similar when i go to university

Yeah, it's a very, very common belief. Even a few psych students believed it

Psychology is a totally awesome thing to study in college. Good luck!

 

[000Ronald]

I've had lucid dreams before, but it's really rare. Usually it's during a nightmare. Nightmare ends very quickly after that point[footnote]Although one time I had a dream I was watching a movie, and the movie was so boring that realized I was dreaming and purposely woke myself up. I am not joking[/footnote].

...that says something about me, and I"m not sure what.

 

[Crazy_Dude]

I used to have them I can still remember a dream where I could fly and control my movements in the air.

I do believe you can learn and control lucid dreaming and am eager to find how the OP will turn out. I might try it myself one day.

 

[Bags159]

I'm also training myself to lucid dream. Started about a 5 days ago and have only had one, but wasn't able to control it well, yet. I found recording my dreams and doing reality checks whenever I notice the "A" on the palm of my hand has carried over into my dreams.

Bull frikken' horse shit. I've been following all these guides(checks, writing down dreams, etc) for months and have gotten jack squat.

I've given up now because this is a complete waste of time as far as I can tell. Well trolled internet, well trolled.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

I have lucid dreamed before, but it's pretty inconsistent and I haven't for a while. I remember thinking in a dream "I don't like spider webs" and so I walked out of this room that contained them, then went and sat on a hill and watched the view, which was pretty spectacular. ... I like lucid dreaming needless to say.