“Not all lucid dreams are useful but they all have a sense of wonder about them. If you must sleep through a third of your life, why should you sleep through your dreams, too?”
~Stephen LaBerge~
WHAT IS LUCID DREAMING?
“Lucid dreaming means dreaming while knowing that you are dreaming. The term was coined by Frederik van Eeden who used the word “lucid” in the sense of mental clarity. Lucidity usually begins in the midst of a dream when the dreamer realizes that the experience is not occurring in physical reality, but is a dream. Often this realization is triggered by the dreamer noticing some impossible or unlikely occurrence in the dream, such as flying or meeting the deceased. Sometimes people become lucid without noticing any particular clue in the dream; they just suddenly realize they are in a dream.”
Credit: The Lucidity Institute
My Lucid Dreams: Recalling Nighttime Adventures
I’ve only had two small tastes but enough of a taste to whet my appetite and be intrigued with the whole phenomena. The first time involved flying in a bright blue sky full of cottony clouds where I was in complete control of my actions. I was twirling and spinning and having the time of my life. The second one was somewhat dramatic: I was being chased up the stairwell of a giant parking structure. I was running faster and faster up the seemingly endless flights of stairs and then suddenly I reached the top. It was nighttime and a million stars shone in the pitch black sky, like sparkling diamonds. There was no place left to run, I looked over the edge and saw only a vast ocean before me glinting in the moonlight. It was then I realized that I was dreaming. I took the plunge and dove straight into the silvery water. I expected it to be cold but it was warm like bath water and I swam and swam enjoying myself until I woke up. That was a month ago and I cannot wait until I have another adventure.
Have YOU ever had a lucid dream? Tell me about it…
Strawberryindigo.
*R e l a t e d a r t i c l e s*
Seize control of your dreams (psychologytoday.com)
How to Lucid Dream (wikihow.com)
How can you control your dreams? (scientificamerican.com)
Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self (whitecranes.wordpress.com)
I’ll See You In My Dreams: The Shared Dream Phenomenon (thespiritseekers.wordpress.com)
Serendipity 
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I have lucid dreams every once in a while, but I’d love to have more. They are so much fun. The first thing i usually do when I realize I’m dreaming is to start flying around. It’s a really neat feeling.
Hello Dr. Kenneth Martin: I’d love to have more too. I’ve found that by trying though, I’m not succeeding. Good luck to you!
Love it! I’ve had one lucid dream. It’s hilarious! I was at my old job typing at my desk with my sister in law who did work there. As I’m typing, I realize that I am dreaming because I don’t work here any longer. So, I tell my sister in law that this is not real, but a dream who says, “Whatever!” So, I try to prove it to her by telling her that in dreams you can do what you can’t in real life, so I am going to stand in front of the window with my back to it; kick my leg up like I’m doing the splits and break the window open. When I do it, I’m unable to do it. I try again. So, I go back to work, since it’s not a dream. LOL
I’m dying to have others!! Lucky you to have had two!
Hey Spirtual; That would be a trip if your Sister-in-law has the same dream….haha… It is an amazing phenomana. I would love to have another, but I think that by trying to have one, I am thwarting the whole thing. Since money is tight at the moment and I can’t afford a vacation I would appreciate going to some tropical locale in my dreams… 😉
Yes! I’d go to Egypt!!!!
Yes, I’ll go with you!
Let’s meet there tonight!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Oh! I’d love to be able to reliably lucid dreem. I used to do it with irregular frequency before my MS medications increased. There’s such potential for spiritual growth there! Very creative problem solving, exploring the true nature of things, empathy, etc. It’s why I spell dream with 2 ‘ee’s as well. Noticing a misspelt ‘Dreem Cupcake’ in a market triggered lucidity once. I often use the misspell to remind me that this might all be a dream… ;~)
Hey Jas: How clever of you to use the two “e’s”. I like that a lot. Perhaps this all might be a dream but since I am communicating with a gentle kind soul such as yourself, it is a good dreem. 🙂
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Oh, I so love the flying dreams. I’ve not had many but they are so wonderful that I remember them. They are the ones that I am most likely to figure out I am dreaming while in the middle of it. The other one is dreaming I am awake and getting ready for work. Finally I realize that I am only dreaming and that I am still in bed and now very late, and I make myself awaken from the dream. I think it was a great trick of my brain to allow me to keep sleeping. Now that I am not working, I’ve not had that dream again. I don’t miss that one.
Janet: You are such a trip. You would have such vivid dreams–I’m glad to know you!
Very interesting post, really enjoyed reading it, actually I read it twice… 🙂
I have a lot of dreams (while I awake too) and no nightmares so far… 😉
Thanks for reading it twice Drake…You are twice as nice for that. I’m glad you don’t have nightmeres, that would be sad but I’m happy to hear that you are dreamy…I would certainly agree with that. 😉
I’ve had dreams where I wake up and then go back to sleep and continue the same dream… not sure I have ever been able to influence a dream though. A very interesting subject! I kept a dream diary years ago – for a whole year – and it was full of such rubbish, impossible to interpret, that I threw it away! 😀
Hi Cathy: I’ve had those waking up and continuing dreams…usually I wake up exhausted. I used to sleepwalk as a child and once when I was pregnant with my son I woke up and found myself eating cheese…I guess I’m just the type for that sort of nonsense–and speaking of nonsense: I had a dream journal too and I agree; it was all rubbish. 😀
;D
I don’t seem to do much dreaming, or, I suppose more accurately, I don’t remember my dreams. There are times when I have this vague feeling that there had been a dream, but I can’t remember any of it. Your lucid dreams sound like fun.
Hey Gunta, so far so good. They probably mean I’m insane, but at least I’m entertained at night. 😉
Only once, as a child, and it was a nightmare that I was trying to escape – I managed to wake myself up!
That’s my only experience of lucid dreaming!
Sounds scary Heidi…