Why bother learning lucid dreaming?
Author: Tim Post
Date: May 19th, 2011
Published in
Inspiration, Opinion | 3 Comments
Copyrighted material ©
Is it stigmatizing to think that most people that are able to lucid dream reliably, decide to merely dream about flying and having dream sex? Some studies have shown that these applications are actually indeed the number 1 and 2 most popular lucid dreaming experiences that lucid dreamers pursue.
What is it actually about lucid dreaming that makes it such an intriguing and valuable practice? Is it all just about mere pleasure seeking?
A lucid dream
For subscribers that are new to lucid dreaming, a lucid dream is a dream in which you know – while you are dreaming – that you are dreaming. Lucid dreaming is thus also referred to as conscious dreaming or dreaming while having attained dream awareness. You don’t wake up but continue dreaming while knowing that it is all a dream.
This dream awareness enables the “lucid” dreamer to direct and manipulate the dream experience – real time – to his or her every heart’s desire. Since dreams (the REM-sleep ones) are highly immersive and multi-sensory, a “lucid dream” is very much comparable to how it feels like when you are awake. The big difference to waking life is, obviously, that the lucid dream is complete fiction. It is your own anonymous virtual reality that you can use (free of charge) to induce any kind of immersive extra-ordinary experience that you would like to experience.
Bend the laws of nature. Experiment with new kinds of behavior. Overcome fears. Rehearse waking life events. Become more mentally flexible, self-knowledgeable and aware of your potential in life.
Going beyond happiness
It is interesting to notice how the word “happiness” has become increasingly more popular to describe people’s urge towards self-improvement. In ever more magazines, “happiness” is used as a powerful marketing tactic. Which is not a bad thing, necessarily. Being happy is very important. Especially in some corners of the world where not that many people can honestly say that they feel happy. Being happy is not a luxury.
Could lucid dreaming add to people’s happiness? Definitely. But it requires imagination and creativity on the part of the lucid dreamer to come up with the right kind of dream experiences that really induce and nurture happiness. I mean, you could not just command ‘happiness’ to be there in your lucid dream and expect to instantly become more happy (though this approach surely has some potential for other reasons). The lucid dream itself does not also necessarily induce happiness by itself. It all depends on the kind of dream experiences you would like to induce in the lucid dream. It is not the lucid dream that has potential, but the lucid dream experience; the things that you actually experience IN the lucid dream.
Creative imagination
To be interested in lucid dreaming in the first place, seems to require some level of self-insight and creativity: why do you want to lucid dream? Most could give you their answer in no time. This greatly characterizes lucid dreamers. We seem to share a distinct urge towards improving ourselves and knowing how to get there. Not everyone has this trait.
Perhaps that explains why still many (most of my friends at least) do not seem to “get” the awesomeness of the lucid dream. It is not that they do not clearly understand what a lucid dream means or do not know of the vast range of its applications … but most simply cannot imagine what concrete experiences would actually add to their personal circumstance. When I ask them “So, just let this sink in, if you could experience anything that you could ever imagine experiencing {after having given some personal examples}, what would you like to lucid dream about?” most have nothing to tell. Simply because they are already perfectly happy, self-realized and wise? I guess not. Fascinating.
A few studies have shown that lucid dreamers are significantly more reflective, intellectual, and creative than others and share a need for cognition (a need for mental activity). To be clear, this is not an effect of lucid dreaming but a prior trait that makes us interested in lucid dreaming.
Anyway, my point: to lucid dream seems to require a reflective mental skill set that allows for the right kind of creative imagination; imagining various concrete (dream) experiences that would add to your current state of being. If you have trouble doing this, chances are you would not see the direct benefit of lucid dreaming.
Motivations for lucid dreaming
A lucid dream provides for limitless opportunity to gain extraordinary experiences that are impossible or difficult to gain in everyday life: free from physical and social restrictions. Imagine using your lucid dreams to:
- Resolve nightmares or fears
- Rehearse waking life events
- Understand what reality means
- Explore states of consciousness
- Experiment with new behavior
- Study and solve (business) problems
- Perfect newly acquired sport skills
- Brainstorm on new ideas
Most of these avenues of lucid dream applications go far beyond mere pleasure seeking. While most novice lucid dreamers kick off their dream adventures with flying and dream sex, there is much more to lucid dreaming that just doing that.
Review your own lucid dream goals and think about new ways to use your dreams. In a lucid dream anything is possible. Do you truly know what that means?
May 19th, 2011at 20:19(#)
Great post!
May 21st, 2011at 23:28(#)
Hey Tim,
The more I read your posts, the more I realize that you are also a spiritual person. Since the first day I entered this webpage and started to learn about LD, I saw the video where you said that meditation boosts LD, since there I knew that you are on the spiritual path too, and when I say spiritual I mean the path of self development and improvement, conscious evolution and change and living the NOW and being the creator of your own reality.
I must admit that at the first ones, I also fell into flying and dream sex of course, but now I know that there is so much potential in LD, so many possibilities of change. From meditating and putting wishes and intentions in the pure field of all possibilities (this is an idea of mine which is based upon the creation of our reality of the book of Deepak Choprah “The 7 laws of success”, I thought that putting the intention or the wish you wanna attract in the pure subconscious may boost the creation in a much higher level), to train new approaches of dealing with problematic situations (to improve myself as a person), to talk with DC and discover the deepest truths about yourself (as your subconscious is actually you in a very deep level)..and you name it.
I always remember your phrase which explains that in the end the things learned in dreams will turn over to waking reality: “Just wait and see how life changes accordingly when you drop your Self and be life, just as the ultimate lucid dreamer IS the lucid dream”
Live a lucid life, all is one, responsibility for the life we create ( “un” or consciously) and conscious living. Great. LD is a way of life, it’s not just another tool for the human race and its entertainments, it’s a biological advantage that we may have for some important reason. Let’s make the best out of it.
Cheers and all may live their own created LIFE.
June 15th, 2011at 12:14(#)
Hi Tim,
To be honest I have a whole list of things I’d like to do in a LD. Sometimes it works against me. Having a LD I wonder: “what’s on the list again?” instead of looking around and seeing opportunities. Sometimes it can be useful though. Once a woman on a bike appeared because cycling was one of the things on my list! I’m not sure wether the list is to my advantage or not.
I was also surprised by your post on the “dream-lag”, since I experience it differently. For instance: one day I had English class and because of presentations all chairs and tables had been moved (it was the first time I had seen this emplacement). The dream I had that night continued from the discussion on our presentation skills in exactly the same classroom. A classmate even reacted to a comment of mine! (it was not a LD though) Or comes the “dream-lag” only in view for brand new experiences? Like the example you used, when I’ve never fished before?
I feel in any case far more confident in LDing because of the many tips given on the Lucidipedia website. Thanks for the inspiration!