As someone who has been keeping a dream journal for about five years now, and as a person who can remember dreams that are 12 years old, the concept of lucid dreaming is very fascinating to me. Lucid dreaming is the ability to recognize that you are dreaming in order to take control of your dreams. There are many methods that a person can explore to have a lucid dream, and I have tested plenty of them (as I have explained in a previous article). While some of my experiences have not always gone as planned, they have been quite interesting…
- I Became Stuck in a Lucid Dream
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In a few situations, I’ve found myself having the desire to wake up while in a lucid dream. Sometimes I fear that I am oversleeping, as I am not sure what time it is in the real world while I am in the dream world. During another lucid dream, I found myself a bit bored and unsure of what to do. In order to escape a lucid dream, many recommend looking down at the ground and spinning in a circle. However, this tactic has never worked for me, and I’m still not sure how to escape a dream. Usually, I must wait until my body wakes up to the sound of my alarm or until I begin to lose control of the dream and drift into more unconscious sleep.
- I Made the Impossible Possible
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One of my favorite things to do in a lucid dream is fly! This is also known as one of the easiest tasks to accomplish in a dream as many of us have a vision of what flying is like. In my lucid dreams, I will simply jump into the air and find myself floating downward until I begin swimming through the air. Other times, I fly more swiftly and don’t really need to do anything besides turning my body in the direction that I would like to go. In another lucid dream, I decided to try entering a mirror as if I was in the story, Alice in the Looking Glass. I went to the bathroom in my house because my lucid dream was taking place in my home, and I climbed up onto the sink in front of my mirror. Carefully, I pressed my hands against the glass, doubting anything would happen. However, my fingers went through the glass, and soon my whole body was on the other side of the mirror. I was inside of a white space that went on forever. When I turned around, I saw the mirror leading back into my bathroom. I assume the white space was due to my lack of creativity as to what was behind the mirror. However, it was still an interesting experience.
- I Prompted Objects to Appear on Command
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In a lucid dream, if you can think it, you can usually do it (or, in this case, have it). To test my lucid dreaming abilities, I will often think of people or objects that I want to see in my dreams. For example, I asked for ice cream in one of my dreams, and it appeared! I even wished for the Harry Potter characters to make an appearance in one of my dreams. I closed my eyes and pictured them one by one. When I opened my eyes, they stood before me, looking exactly as they did in my imagination. I was so surprised to see them that I fell backwards, shocked to see Draco Malfoy pull me to my feet.
- I Put Myself in Dangerous Situations
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In order to confirm that I am dreaming, I tend to put myself in impossible situations. For example, I was about 90% sure that I was dreaming when I went to Target with my sister, who forgot to wear pants. I knew that this would never happen in real life, but I also didn’t want to do something completely foolish in the event that I wasn’t dreaming. On the drive home from Target, I began to drive recklessly and skidded off the road, kind of crashing my car a bit. When I was unscathed, I knew that I was dreaming for sure. I have also climbed up onto the roof of my house and jumped off, coming out unharmed and more excited from the thrill than anything else.
- I Took Advice From People in My Dreams
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During times of stress in my dreams, I have found that my father always seems to make an appearance and guides me. When I was unsure of what to do in my lucid dream, he came to me and told me to make anything that I wanted appear by imagining it. In another dream, I couldn’t think of anything to do and became bored. This was one of my lucid dreams that I found myself stuck in. My sister was watching television in our family room, and I decided to join her as I was at a loss. My father came into the room and looked at me. He asked, “Is this really how you plan to spend your lucid dream?” That’s when I decided to jump off the roof of my house for fun.
- I Admitted the Truth to Strangers
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In one of my lucid dreams, a boy in a wheelchair kept following me around. In this particular dream, I did not have the best level of control. My legs wouldn’t cooperate with me even though I knew I was dreaming. It can be difficult to find the confidence to take complete control of a dream especially if you are unsure of whether you are dreaming. The boy kept following me as I struggled to walk, and he kept asking if I was okay. Eventually, I turned to him and admitted that everything was a dream, curious as to what his reaction would be. He just looked at me with a bit of confusion, but then seemed to shrug off my response with a smile as he continued to follow me.
- I Lost Control of My Dreams
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As I mentioned, it can be hard to control you dreams. In a particular lucid dream of mine, I had just recognized that I was dreaming. I was in a dark, medieval tower with a stranger. It was pretty obvious that I was dreaming, and I was excited to take control in order to do whatever I wanted. However, the stranger turned to me and told me that I wasn’t dreaming. He was intimidating, with a dark scowl on his face, and he left me doubting myself. I lost control of the dream and drifted into an unconscious sleep without control.
Lucid dreaming can be challenging, and the concept can take a lot of practice before it can be done with confidence and accuracy. Even though I’ve been practicing for years, I have only had about five lucid dreams, and I can’t always control when they occur. Nonetheless, I am excited to have more dreams, and I can’t wait to have more interesting experiences.