Alora Fane

Since the start of the year, I've been trying to deliberately have lucid dreams, without success... until this morning, when I had my first intentional one! Gasp!

I've been unusually focused and busy working on Taming Dreams this past week, to the point where I've had little time to do - or even think about - anything else. So I've not played any new games this week either! This burst of motivation and focus isn't likely to last, though, so I'm making use of it while it's here.

The most remarkable non-development thing this week is actually successfully having a lucid dream after much trying, so that's what I'll be talking about here.

If you're not already aware, lucid dreams are different to ordinary dreams in that you become consciously aware during them, and can take control to a degree. It's not just about clarity; 'normal' dreams can be more or less vivid without becoming lucid. With these kinds of dreams, it's like 'waking up', without actually waking up.

I've had a handful of them in the past, but never deliberately. They're something I've always been interested in though, which is why the general concept was incorporated into MARDEK and why it'll be in Divine Dreams. The thing from MARDEK about a 'dreamrealm' that's layered over the top of reality, but which represents how reality has been 'thought about' - so the landscape can be changed by reminding someone of something - was based on things I read about real lucid dreamers' experiences and speculation.

Honestly, I don't get why people aren't more interested in this kind of thing in general. Why it tends to be met with politeness more than deep curiosity, why it isn't taught in schools! It's like finding out that humans have the potential to use psychic powers, and they're not even difficult to unlock, but most people you mention that to just feign interest before talking about some video they recently watched, or something. If you get good at having lucid dreams, from what I've read, you can literally make your wildest fantasies come true in a state of consciousness indistinguishable from - or even more vivid than - waking experience. Surely that's something worth striving for??

But I suppose it's the 'striving' bit that's the issue. While some people have lucid dreams randomly, having them consistently and deliberately is a skill that has to be trained. I suppose it's like hearing that some monks are so skilled at meditation that they experience a state of profound ecstasy which surpasses anything else imaginable, but it took them so many years of focused practice to get to that point that it's just inaccessible to most people. Who has the time?

Plus I assume there's a doubt barrier too. Lucid dreams don't sound like a real thing, and not too long ago science assumed they weren't, so I imagine most people would reject them out of scepticism along with Bigfoot and telekinesis. They're acknowledged to be a real phenomenon now, though, and the changes in the brain when a sleeper becomes lucid are apparently measurable.

They're not even that difficult to evoke, at least not compared to the years of meditation required to reach a kind of transcendence with that. We all go to sleep every day anyway, so all you really need to do is a little bit of preparation before you do if you want to have one yourself.

Well, sort of. I think a big part of it is just immersing yourself in the idea, and having a strong expectation that you'll succeed. It needs to be strong enough to cut through the usual dream fog, otherwise the thought that you're in a dream won't occur to you and you won't 'wake up'.

There are a bunch of different techniques that people have developed, with acronym names like FILD and WBTB which I haven't exactly got a firm grasp on myself just yet. Here's what worked for me this time, though!

There are four factors I feel were relevant to my success this time: dream recall practice, reality checks, "WBTB", and a strong desire and expectation.

Dream Recall
We usually forget our dreams, because we don't try to remember them. We typically have around five dreams a night though, during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage ending each of several successive 'sleep cycles' that we go through. That's why if you wake up naturally immediately after an REM period, you're much more likely to remember a dream than if you're woken by alarm during one of the non-dreaming phases.

Recording dreams in the form of a dream journal is a crucial part of the lucid dreaming process. By recording them, you cultivate an attitude of awareness that lets you recognise recurring signs that you can later use to recognise other dreams, plus if you can't remember 'normal' dreams, you wouldn't have much hope of remembering a lucid one even if you had one!

I've been keeping a dream journal since the start of the year, and it certainly feels like I'm dreaming more than I used to, even though it's more accurate to say I'm just paying more attention. Apparently I usually dream about people who've left my life, since it's not as if I talk to any new ones these days. Last night I dreamed about Mardek and Deugan though, so that was interesting! From focusing so much on that thing, I suppose.

WBTB
Following from that, 'WBTB (Wake Back To Bed)' is a technique where you wake up an hour or two before you normally would, so then you can take advantage of the final bit of your night of sleep, when REM is more frequent and intense. If you wake up and then try to hold onto that consciousness as you drift into the last bit of sleep, you're more likely to enter a lucid dream and remember it; most lucid dreams happen during this period. This one did, as did all the others I've ever had.

Reality Checks
This is something I was initially sceptical of, but I have it to thank for success in this case. A reality check is a simple check you can do throughout the day to see whether you're dreaming or not. One easy example is looking at your hands, as they're apparently likely to be distorted in the dream world. Originally I set an alarm to remind me every half an hour, at which point I counted the numbers of fingers on one hand, as I'd read the number would be unusual in a dream. I was enthusiastic for the first few days, but eventually my checks just became half-hearted and my mind wasn't on them. It wasn't working anyway, I thought.

But then I read an alternative approach: looking at my hand, then flipping it over. The dreaming mind seems unable to keep the form consistent, so if you do this, the hand will change form in some way when flipped if you're dreaming. A clear sign you're not in the waking world.

Immersion
I feel that one of the most important parts has been just having lucid dreams on the mind frequently. I've been watching videos, listening to audiobooks, and reading online posts and articles about lucid dreaming, especially before bed, to keep the idea present. I didn't even feel I was that passionate though, compared to some people I saw, but just having it at the back of my mind seems to have been enough.

So here's what happened:

I woke up naturally a couple of hours before my 6am alarm (WBTB), and recorded what little fragments I could recall of a hazy, boring dream (dream recall). Then, I tried lying on my back for a few minutes, eyes closed, trying to sleep while remaining conscious, actively thinking to myself that I'd have a lucid dream this time (immersion). I actually told myself I need to so then I have something to write about in my blog!

As I faded away and turned on my side to fall asleep, I remembered the reality check, and looked at my hand in my mind's eye. I noticed that when I flipped it, my two middle fingers were gone.

A shock of realisation struck me; it was amazing how sudden the shift was! Like falling into a pool or something. "Wow, I'm dreaming!" and "wow, that actually worked!!", I thought, as suddenly the world around me took on a vivid quality and I was able to deliberately move my head around to observe the scenery around me.

Annoyingly, I don't remember much of the actual experience. It actually faded into a normal dream towards the end; I don't know if that's normal or not. The only bit I do remember is jumping into the air and flying out over a boundless ocean, as 'procedurally generated' islands appeared and disappeared beneath me, like some kind of game. I could hear myself heavily breathing, and I dove down from the sky into a pool of water on one of the islands to see if I could breathe underwater. I could, though the sound of the breaths took on a different 'submerged' quality. "I couldn't do that in real life!", I thought.

Overall not very exciting in content, but the feeling of being lucid in a dream in so amazing that I'd highly encourage anyone who's read this to give it a go! I've written out so much in the hope that maybe something I've said here could spark an interest in attempting it, since it's definitely an experience worth having.

If you try it, or if you've already successfully done it before, I'd love to hear about your experiences! I'm also hoping it's something I can do regularly rather than a one-off!

And thanks for reading this if you're one of the ones who did!

12 COMMENTS

Astreon152~5Y

Some flip hands, some spin tops :)

I don't know if i've ever had lucid dreams, though i often self conciously talk to myself in my dreams, deliberately fly and tell myself i don't quite control it yet, breathe under water and think "hey, i'm breathing underwater", etc.
Then again i talk to myself outloud IRL too, so that might not hint towards anything :)

I used to have those dreams a lot more when i was younger (kid/teenager).

Also, if it's only about being conscious that you're in a dream, does waking up because you need to pee in your dream (sort of as an "alarm" IRL: "oh, i'm dreaming i'm peeing, better wake up and go the toilet") count as a lucid dream ?

Tobias 1115~5Y

Apparently lucid dreams are much more common in children! Probably because their imagination and sense of wonder hasn't yet been CRUSHED BY THE MISERY OF EXISTENCE or whatever.

It's hard to gauge what makes a dream 'lucid' rather than just vivid! I mean I've had dreams before where I sort of felt I was dreaming, but there's something really distinct about lucid dreams that makes them feel like a whole different kind of experience in a way that's hard to put into words. The level of lucidity seems to be on a spectrum too, so sometimes you 'kind of know' you're dreaming, but at deeper levels it's no different from waking consciousness.

Comment deleted

Tobias 1115~5Y

You're lucky if you have dreams like that naturally!

And that vision thing's interesting! I wonder what would cause something like that! Or what its DEEPER MEANING!!! would be?? Especially if it happens consistently.

purplerabbits147~5Y

I've had a reality check in my dream once where I was trying to do calculations on my phone( or was it trying to send a message?, I had both of those at one point ) But no matter how hard I tried, the inputs did not match/did not show up on the screen. Even though, I knew that technology does not hold its form in dreams very well, I still didnt quite get to the elusive lucid dream.

I know I have been able to influence my dreams in a minor degree, but not all the way into lucid dreaming. Like once I influenced a log race with crocodiles to change into a log race with cartoony mechanical crocodiles.

I have tried the dream journal, though I got tk the point where I was just recounting the crazy and practically action movie style of dreams I was getting and it took almost an hour to recount all the details. I didn't keep that up consistently a lot of early wake ups and long writings was unmanageable for the long run. Though I loved being able to remember those dreams for longer periods of time after waking up.

I heard that one way to help induce a lucid dream was to recount your day by going backwards throughout your day. Though someone I knew did try that and ended up giving themselves nightmares, so yeah.

As cool as the experience of lucid dreams are, I'm alright with not 100% getting there. The dreams I have on that daily are pretty awesome and they are like action movies every night. I don't think anyone goes and gries to lucid dream a heist in the Gold dinosaur graveyard while getting chased by ninjas with light sabers.

I know I have been able to influence my dreams in a minor degree, but not all the way into lucid dreaming. Like once I influenced a log race with crocodiles to change into a log race with cartoony mechanical crocodiles.

I have tried the dream journal, though I got tk the point where I was just recounting the crazy and practically action movie style of dreams I was getting and it took almost an hour to recount all the details. I didn't keep that up consistently a lot of early wake ups and long writings was unmanageable for the long run. Though I loved being able to remember those dreams for longer periods of time after waking up.

I heard that one way to help induce a lucid dream was to recount your day by going backwards throughout your day. Though someone I knew did try that and ended up giving themselves nightmares, so yeah.

As cool as the experience of lucid dreams are, I'm alright with not 100% getting there. The dreams I have on that daily are pretty awesome and they are like action movies every night. I don't think anyone goes and gries to lucid dream a heist in the Gold dinosaur graveyard while getting chased by ninjas with light sabers.

kalkra19~5Y

Hey, first time poster, been meaning to make an account for a while, but this time I actually had some stuff to say, so that was the push I needed.

Anyway, my preferred reality check is to hold my nose and try to inhale through it. If you can, you're dreaming. Turns out brains are kinda stupid.

That being said, I rarely use it. As you touched on in your post, lucid dreaming in my experience is pretty high maintenance. You need to always be thinking about while you're awake, and doing reality checks and whatnot, otherwise those moments where you realize you're dreaming are few and far between.

That being said, I think that all the lucid dreaming I've done has made a qualitative change to my dreaming in general. My guess (and it is a total guess) is that subconsciously I always know that I'm dreaming, because in most of my dreams I can accomplish some pretty basic reality warping without going lucid. While I'm dreaming, I just assume that I can do that stuff, even without making the step of realizing why and going lucid.

Also, I've often found lucid dreaming to be frustrating. I've never been able to get a dream as lucid as reality, and a large part of that seems to be my inability to remember things in dreams. If I'm doing something in a dream, but then I get distracted and look away, I usually forget about what I was doing. That's probably worse for me though, because I had trouble focusing all the time. I mean, in real life, reality reminds you of things, whereas in the dream, your brain has to deal with thinking, and also with generating the world around you, and it only has so much processing power.

Another frustration is waking up. I'm not sure what's the cause and what's the effect but often when I go lucid, I feel myself waking up.

Also, just a cool little thing is that I started doing it young, and once I realized that I was doing it, I came up with the term lucid dreaming before I realized that it was a thing. Synchronicity.

Something that I've more or less always been able to do, as far back as I can remember, is to wake myself up. In the dream I close my eyes, then open them with my fingers, and my eyes open in real life. It seems kinda simplistic, and I suppose it is, but I started when I was really young, and so I suppose it's been ingrained in my consciousness.

Hey, first time poster, been meaning to make an account for a while, but this time I actually had some stuff to say, so that was the push I needed.

Anyway, my preferred reality check is to hold my nose and try to inhale through it. If you can, you're dreaming. Turns out brains are kinda stupid.

That being said, I rarely use it. As you touched on in your post, lucid dreaming in my experience is pretty high maintenance. You need to always be thinking about while you're awake, and doing reality checks and whatnot, otherwise those moments where you realize you're dreaming are few and far between.

That being said, I think that all the lucid dreaming I've done has made a qualitative change to my dreaming in general. My guess (and it is a total guess) is that subconsciously I always know that I'm dreaming, because in most of my dreams I can accomplish some pretty basic reality warping without going lucid. While I'm dreaming, I just assume that I can do that stuff, even without making the step of realizing why and going lucid.

Also, I've often found lucid dreaming to be frustrating. I've never been able to get a dream as lucid as reality, and a large part of that seems to be my inability to remember things in dreams. If I'm doing something in a dream, but then I get distracted and look away, I usually forget about what I was doing. That's probably worse for me though, because I had trouble focusing all the time. I mean, in real life, reality reminds you of things, whereas in the dream, your brain has to deal with thinking, and also with generating the world around you, and it only has so much processing power.

Another frustration is waking up. I'm not sure what's the cause and what's the effect but often when I go lucid, I feel myself waking up.

Also, just a cool little thing is that I started doing it young, and once I realized that I was doing it, I came up with the term lucid dreaming before I realized that it was a thing. Synchronicity.

Something that I've more or less always been able to do, as far back as I can remember, is to wake myself up. In the dream I close my eyes, then open them with my fingers, and my eyes open in real life. It seems kinda simplistic, and I suppose it is, but I started when I was really young, and so I suppose it's been ingrained in my consciousness.

Tama_Yoshi82~5Y

Your blog made me have a lucid dream last night. I've not been thinking about it or preparing myself for one, but the hands-flipping thing really worked (like you, merely hands-checking never really worked for me, hand flipping did!)

It started with a fairly mundane dream in the middle of the night (I don't know if you would classify that as the "boring" kind of dreams you have before the very weird half-awake ones?)

I was waking up at 7h40... and everything was normal (I was in my bed, in my small apartment) but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I should definitely have woken up at 7h15 to my alarm clock. That sinking feeling got me to do the hands-flipping check, and after a surprisingly foggy session of trying it, I realized my pinkie and annular were weirdly crooked. My fingers felt bit cramped, and there was this uncomfortable physical sensation that seemed to justify the crookedness, but I figured even a finger cramp couldn't crook my fingers like that.

As I proceeded, it became more and more obvious I was, in fact, dreaming. I spent a little while wandering in my apartment, trying to conjure interesting dream phenomenon, but they didn't really work very well; mostly it felt quite transparent that I was trying to hack my dream and the little things I did conjure were just me "thinking stuff up," so not very immersive.

Then, the dream shifted into a more typical "half-awake" weird one, where I was at some sort of Star Wars cosplay event disguised as Master Yoda, for... reasons (I did watch all 10 major star wars movie in early January, after being annoyed at having no idea why people were loving/hating the series). I quickly woke up from that one (in my real bed this time, in the dark of the night).

So, not the mind-blowing revelation, but still, a very unusual happening for me O_o

It started with a fairly mundane dream in the middle of the night (I don't know if you would classify that as the "boring" kind of dreams you have before the very weird half-awake ones?)

I was waking up at 7h40... and everything was normal (I was in my bed, in my small apartment) but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I should definitely have woken up at 7h15 to my alarm clock. That sinking feeling got me to do the hands-flipping check, and after a surprisingly foggy session of trying it, I realized my pinkie and annular were weirdly crooked. My fingers felt bit cramped, and there was this uncomfortable physical sensation that seemed to justify the crookedness, but I figured even a finger cramp couldn't crook my fingers like that.

As I proceeded, it became more and more obvious I was, in fact, dreaming. I spent a little while wandering in my apartment, trying to conjure interesting dream phenomenon, but they didn't really work very well; mostly it felt quite transparent that I was trying to hack my dream and the little things I did conjure were just me "thinking stuff up," so not very immersive.

Then, the dream shifted into a more typical "half-awake" weird one, where I was at some sort of Star Wars cosplay event disguised as Master Yoda, for... reasons (I did watch all 10 major star wars movie in early January, after being annoyed at having no idea why people were loving/hating the series). I quickly woke up from that one (in my real bed this time, in the dark of the night).

So, not the mind-blowing revelation, but still, a very unusual happening for me O_o

Tobias 1115~5Y

That's quite amazing! Though a bit envy-inducing if you had one without even putting much deliberate effort in! (Especially since I've not had another this week.)

It's interesting that your dream was set in a familiar waking environment. There's a thing called 'false awakenings' where it feels as if you've woken up, because everything seems normal, but you're actually still dreaming, and have to wake up again. I wonder if this was something similar? I've experienced that a few times randomly, and it's very surreal. Some people have chains of them where they have to awaken multiple times before they reach what we consider reality. Maybe we're all still sleeping, though!

Hopefully the hand reality check will trigger more lucid dreams in future for both of us! Thanks for sharing!

Tama_Yoshi82~5Y

I don't expect it to happen again anytime soon; maybe I have interesting dreams every couple months, and most of them are so "not about me" that I'm not even in them (it's like I'm watching a movie), so I doubt I can break out of those in a lucid way.

Waking up in a dream has happened to me occasionally, although there are two instances that I particularly remember and they were a long time ago.

One was having a dream where my brother had bought new video games (!!!), but I woke up, disappointed that he hadn't, asked my brother if he had bought any games, and he looked at me perplex... then I woke up again, wondering whether I'd actually checked that the video games had been bought (they hadn't). The meta-realism of that dream really messed with my perception of what really happened, that day (I wasn't sure for a while whether I'd asked my brother about the games; I hadn't!).

Another time, I remember having some dream I don't remember, and then waking up in the dark of the night, sitting on the piano bench, realizing I'd likely sleepwalked up to the bench (I was nervous at the thought of having played piano in the night and waking my parents up), although THEN I really woke up, and I'd never sleepwalked at all.

There's a happening I also very clearly remember, but it's not quite a dream thing. When I was a kid, I really REALLY loved the fruity rolls (obscenely sweet, really tasty), and my parents had bought some that day, and I was excited to eat some for desert... but then I had a sinking feeling: if I shut my eyes or as much as blinked, I would "blip" out of consciousness. The memories are likely altered by time, now, but I don't remember feeling sleepy at all (it wasn't late), and I remember fighting off the idea of blinking so I could have a fruity roll before going to bed. Of course, I blinked... and then I woke up 7 hours later in the dark of the night, in my bed, with a passing frustration and a relative confusion. I asked my parents what had happened, and they told me to go back to sleep. Weird stuff.

Waking up in a dream has happened to me occasionally, although there are two instances that I particularly remember and they were a long time ago.

One was having a dream where my brother had bought new video games (!!!), but I woke up, disappointed that he hadn't, asked my brother if he had bought any games, and he looked at me perplex... then I woke up again, wondering whether I'd actually checked that the video games had been bought (they hadn't). The meta-realism of that dream really messed with my perception of what really happened, that day (I wasn't sure for a while whether I'd asked my brother about the games; I hadn't!).

Another time, I remember having some dream I don't remember, and then waking up in the dark of the night, sitting on the piano bench, realizing I'd likely sleepwalked up to the bench (I was nervous at the thought of having played piano in the night and waking my parents up), although THEN I really woke up, and I'd never sleepwalked at all.

There's a happening I also very clearly remember, but it's not quite a dream thing. When I was a kid, I really REALLY loved the fruity rolls (obscenely sweet, really tasty), and my parents had bought some that day, and I was excited to eat some for desert... but then I had a sinking feeling: if I shut my eyes or as much as blinked, I would "blip" out of consciousness. The memories are likely altered by time, now, but I don't remember feeling sleepy at all (it wasn't late), and I remember fighting off the idea of blinking so I could have a fruity roll before going to bed. Of course, I blinked... and then I woke up 7 hours later in the dark of the night, in my bed, with a passing frustration and a relative confusion. I asked my parents what had happened, and they told me to go back to sleep. Weird stuff.

boothnat3~5Y

Not gonna lie, been interested in lucid dreaming for a while, though I gave up and got interested again in time.

The last time I managed to go lucid-though I'm not sure if I was lucid that time or just dreaming of lucidity, I picked up a car with telekinesis. Then, I picked myself up, and legitimately felt scared of falling.

And then I did other stuff I won't get into.

I haven't had much success in lucid dreaming, probably since I gave up halfway through. Still, this post and doing it recently have rekindled my interest.

Im glad to hear you managed it. :)