I first read about lucid dreaming 20 years ago when I was twelve. It was treated more as a new age fringe thing back then, but I had a blast experimenting with it. My favorite dreamscape involved a purely abstract state of mind where I could symbolically visualize components of algorithms -- nearly all of my work writing motion detection algorithms that worked in complex outdoor scenarios was refined in my sleep.
That being said, I eventually "gave up" lucid dreaming after 10 years or so. At a gut level it felt like sleep and dreams are best left to the subconscious -- a neural defrag, if you will. Personally I feel much more rested now that I make no effort to remember, much less control, my dreams.
I also practice LD (started at age 10-ish, now 38) but can't agree with your 'gut level' feeling. I feel it's what we are meant to be doing, rather than regular dreaming.
I am more rested, and more awake the next day. It continues to enrich my life in many ways. But yes, it's just another arbitrary choice, we're both going by 'gut' instinct.
in my first LD at 10, i built a go-kart from tools I created on the wall (where the school black-board was), and then flew out of the window on it - Pretty much a win for a 10 yr old.
Is there something specific you do to help you LD? Can you share more about your experience?
I also practice LD
This comment struck me as odd, since I thought LD wasn't something you can induce on your own, but when I Googled how to lucid dream I came across instructions for how to lucid dream: http://www.wikihow.com/Lucid-Dream
Another question: has anyone had the feeling when they are in a dream that they can't move? I want to force myself to roll over to the other side and something invisible holds me there. I noticed this happens mostly when it's cold.
I started when I was young, somebody told me it was possible so the following night I tried it - and it worked. Such is the wonder of youth :)
It comes and goes, so it does require continual 'retraining' - basically find a technique that works for you and give it your best effort. At the end of the day I suspect these 'techniques' are merely 'permission slips' allowing our brain to accept that it's possible. Either way, they can work.
The thing you have described is 'sleep paralysis' when in waking life (at least in the LD circles) - it's a very good sign, apparently you're meant to chill and just let it be. If you really needed to move (emergency), your brain would override the 'state' and allow you to (that has happened to people, the body 'unlocks' immediately).
I don't know what it means in dream life, other than it would be a good cue to remember that you have FULL control in your dream. When it happens next, remember this chat, and make yourself superman.. use your superhuman powers to break free :D Whatevvvver you like, just know that you can actually do that, because many of us do every night.
I'm no expert, since I didn't need to go through any hardships to achieve it. So perhaps there are better people for more 'concrete' advice. Good luck, it's lots of fun.
> Another question: has anyone had the feeling when they are in a dream that they can't move? I want to force myself to roll over to the other side and something invisible holds me there. I noticed this happens mostly when it's cold.
Roll over on the other side IRL on in the dream? In the former case this seems to be a very good description of sleep paralysis[1], including the sensation of something invisible holding you immobile. (tl;dr for the wiki article: When you are asleep, you are paralyzed. Sleep paralysis happens when you are already paralyzed and not yet asleep, or still paralyzed and already awake.)
Most tips I've read about how to trigger LD involve conscious effort throughout the day to check that you are not dreaming. It's weird, but I used to ask myself everytime I flipped a light switch "is this a dream?". It gets your brain in the habit of questioning when you're in a dream state and that can carry over to actual dreams.
I'm not aware of any foolproof method to experience LD, but it was definetly something that I worked hard at and didn't come naturally.
The old instruction to pinch yourself to check you are not dreaming is essentially all you need to do. The pinching itself is not really necessary, just the habit of checking the current status of reality.
>I feel it's what we are meant to be doing, rather than regular dreaming.
If we were meant to do that, evolution-wise, they we'd be doing it at some point in our evolutionary history. Instead we sleep and dream normally, and during that stage we have a quite good grasp of the mechanisms involved and how beneficial it is.
One thing humans do seem to be evolutionarily adapted to is pushing ourselves into altered mental states using a combination of hunger, dehydration, lack of sleep, rhythmic music, meditation, gradual hyperventilation, and the consumption of hallucinogenic plants. The associated practices (tribal rituals, spirit quests, ecstatic prayer, etc.) are fundamental to many early human cultures, and it was expected that everyone would participate in them. I would hazard to guess that sleeping while in such altered states would make lucid dreaming "easier"; a lucid dream—one that you've slipped into without realizing you had fallen asleep—fits the description of the ideal outcomes of many rituals more closely than, say, hallucinations or absent seizures do.
I've found I can access lucid dream-like states of mind when meditating on LSD, including visualizing algorithms. I also feel more focused and awake in a sense, on LSD, compared to a lucid dream, but maybe that's just me.
I haven't really used it for anything very useful though, the laws and conditions of today makes it a bit difficult. But it can give a glimpse of how things could be in the future, when computers are directly connected to the brain and lucid dreams or psychedelics are not really relevant any more.
That's fascinating. Kind of makes me want to practice lucid dreaming now. Makes a lot of sense though, with regards to how rested you felt after giving up lucid dreaming. Writing complex algorithms in your dreams does not sound restful.
We know very very little about what the mind is capable of, or which parts of it require the sleep process, or even how the sleep process is affected by a lucid dream state. We just don't know, my experience is completely different (than the OPs).
That person's experience could be a result of pre-conceived notions about 'effort vs reward', or any other number of intersecting belief systems. Who knows?
It is unique to everyone, and can be learnt in weeks or years depending on who you are (unless you are comfortable inducing it with gamma waves)
Do not rely on anecdotal evidence from others, only trust your own experience in matters that relate to the inner workings of your life. Find out for yourself if it's useful or not.
... it's, at the very least, an interesting adventure.
That being said, I eventually "gave up" lucid dreaming after 10 years or so. At a gut level it felt like sleep and dreams are best left to the subconscious -- a neural defrag, if you will. Personally I feel much more rested now that I make no effort to remember, much less control, my dreams.