Lucid Dreaming

[MrRubix]

Originally Posted by Superfreak04

Gotcha, and in doing so, once I realize I'm dreaming, I can make things come and go as I please? For example, if I realize I'm dreaming, I automatically can make an apple appear on the table sitting next to me? Or will trying to do something of that varient trigger me to wake up?

EDIT: Damnit you edited your post just before I quoted your post, now I look stupid. xD

You can do this, sure -- but when you say "automatically make an apple appear," the mechanism is a little different from what you might use when you're awake. You can imagine an apple on your desk right now as we speak, but trying to focus in that way while you're asleep will usually kickstart your conscious mind back up and you'll soon find that you're just staring at the backs of your eyelids and the automation of your dream has ended. By "automation" I refer to the sort of phenomenon in dreams where things just "happen" without your consent/will/choice/etc.

The problem is that most newbies will try to focus really hard, in their dreams, at some spot on their desk and wait until an apple shows up. They manage to think "I want an apple. I want it to appear here," and then they basically try to envision an apple appearing in the same way you'd envision an apple appearing on your desk in real life -- only you expect it to stay there in your dream after you get it to appear.... but in such a way that you can interact with it as a function of your automation. That is to say, you made the apple appear and now your dream automation involves an apple. Such a common mistake will make you wake up almost every time.

I'd describe it as a sort of "confidence," instead. Instead of just "imagining" an apple into existence, it's really a kind of "I know there's an apple here already." Ever have dreams where you "know" something is true in your dream when, realistically, there's no way it could be true? Or perhaps you've had dreams where you have "false memories" of something but blindly accepted as true? I guess it's a similar sort of function. For me, control is a function of already-fulfilled expectation. If I want to completely change my dream, I might think, "I want to go to Disneyland, and I know it's behind that door over there." Then opening that door will usually lead you to Disneyland if you "know" it's back there.

Of course, with more practice, you can actually use that expectation to make things appear out of nothing. I can actually look at the desk and make an apple appear as part of my dream automation because I know it'll happen -- I don't have to "wait and hope" that my mind will do it for me.