As far as LD’ing goes, I’m batting a decent percentage (getting around 2-4 a month), however I had a dream last night that made me think a little bit about how much I want to take control of my dreams.
Last night I dreamt that I was in a village market place (that soon turned into a library like arrangement) in Russia. Everyone around me was speaking Russian, and it was as if I had a voice in my head translating what they were saying for me. I’d hear it in Russian, then I’d hear the English translation. It was pretty cool. Then I turned around and started talking to a man named Ken Kesey. I was going to ask him if he could tell me about Creely, Burrough, Cassidy or any of those other gentlemen, but I was interupted by a slew of autograph seekers.
Long introduction short, I was thinking, how much do I want to influence the content of my dreams? Very often I find myself in scenarios I had never considered, but ended up being very cool (at rock concert, surfing, or driving an ultra fast boat, etc.). These are things I probably never would have thought of.
What are your thoughts?
I just put this smiley in, 'cause i find it so funny:
Ken Kesey? … is that the same as Kenny Chesney the country singer?
My lucid dreams seem to always keep an element of surprise. I never have “God control” where I must dictate each element of the dream. I usually only control myself, or my dream body. I probably could move mountains and form valleys, but usually the landscape is already so unique and interesting I just explore what is there. … and often times too much change can throw off the stability of the dream and I avoid such drastic changes.
for me, I only want just enough awareness to know I’m dreaming. I enjoy not disturbing the natural creativity that seems to come from no where in my dreams. I just want to be a conscious observer.
PS: your avatar is as funny as that smilie. I love Beaker. When I was younger I thought it name was “Beeper” from the noise he makes.
I laugh only because I’m under the impression you’re kidding.
I hope I’m not wrong
Did you ever see the Muppet Babbies version of Beaker? With the exception of maybe Meatwad and Ralph Wiggum, I think he is the funniest cartoon character ever created.
I was thinking of making a post like this, but I was too lazy.
Anyway, I feel the same way. Lucidity would be really fun, I think…but my normal dreams are just so much more…impacting on me, I would think. I get so caught up in the dream that it leaves a lasting effect on me, and I dunno if I could get that in a normal dream if I was lucid, because I would KNOW it was a dream.
=/ Now I feel like starting a topic on the impacts dreams have on people. I bet there already is one, though. -searches-
OK, I’m still working on getting my first LD, so I may have no idea what I’m talking about, but I know how cool dreams can get without our intervention, but from what I can gather so far, most LD’ers dreams are still nonlucid, but every once in a while a LD comes around. I think it’s a pretty cool system, since you get the best of both worlds (Unless your me, who still can’t get a LD… ) Well, this is my uneducated, random opinion… have a good day, y’all.
Well… normal dreams are a lot of fun… but the thing is that i always wake up disappointed.
I always think I really found that stack of money or that I really did this and that. LD’s are better in that way… you know it’s a dream and you won’t get fooled when you wake up.
DreamAddict:
I feel just the same way. I don’t want to have control over everything, only myself. I haven’t even tried to control my enviroment when I have lucid dreams. Exploring a dreamscape where you already know what it looks like isn’t exploring, right!
Why not? In LD’s, there’s still the element of random suprise as there is in ND’s. But you can apreciate it alot more… and it all feels alot more real and is easier to remember.
The arguement that you’d rather experience your regular dreams than create your own scenarios in lucid dreams sounds to me like it comes from someone who’s never had a LD before. I’ve had this discussion with a friend of mine who’s never experienced a LD who argues she’s enjoys her regular dreams and therefor has no interest in pursuing LDing, and that frustrates me for some reason. Of course people have the right to their own opinion but it’s almost like they cannot grasp the concept or fully understand the magnitude of the experience. Sure, it’s fun to find yourself a racecar driver or climbing the tallest mountain but wouldn’t it be so much better if you were really there enjoying it as it happened, rather than only having memories of it upon waking up? Sure, technically you are there when it’s happening, but the memory of a lucid dream is more like a real life memory than a dream memory because you were consious of all your actions. I wish I could LD every night. I average 2 a month, and I’m going to keep studying this until I can have them at will.
I agree with everything DreamAddict and robotFrank mentioned. Sure, normal dreams are often amazingly unique, imaginative and inspirational, but they simply don’t compare to the extraordinary involvement of lucid dreaming. In the case of somebody who’s never experienced a “proper” LD, I can easily understand how they might consider it to be a more plain experience overall – particularly given some of the wacky adventures that could only come from the subconscious imagination. But it’s not accurate to say that lucidity removes this effect. As DA said above, even a high-level LD can still include all the randomness of a regular dream. I don’t know anyone who has total conscious control over every element of the dream (I highly doubt it’s possible, in fact). I’ll take lucidity any time over regular dreaming.
Trying to control LD is introducing the wake ego in the dream. And effectively, the ego has less imagination that the dream itself.
But this does not mean that the trouble comes from lucidity. It comes from control.
LD without control are much more surprising.
no matter how lucid you are you’ll still (unless you’re a yogi) have NDs, so it’s all good, some of them will still be really cool.
even LDs can be really odd, I got stuck in a “gap” between these two play places and when I emerged, the store I was in was dark, empty and deserted, a very ominous feeling in the air… I was constantly thinking “this is so sweet!” and I expected zombies to come after me when I opened the door
they did, a little bit
but I mean, even when you’re lucid weird stuff is thrown your way that you couldn’t possibly imagine on your own.
so it’s all good, generally I like 1-3 LDs in the morning and enjoyable NDs in the early morning, I don’t like instant dreams when I fall right asleep because I forget those.
I didnt have much right to make an opinion, since ive only had a handfull of low level LDs. I just felt like the surprise might be taken away, since I would be so aware! Im glad that its not the case for you guys, though. Im even more excited about LDing, now.
I don’t think the question is to ld or not. I would don’t give up my ld’s for anything. I think the question is mor “how much should you control things?” You can just give your dreams a nudge in the direction you want it to go or you could exercise god like powers. Fore me I do a little bit of everything. In some lucid dreams I control everything and in others I just push the dream in the general direction I want it to go and allow my subconscious fill in the gaps. As has been mentioned above this can often have amusing effects. However, for me the answer is not to choose one over the other but, to balance the two.
I love Beaker. 
When I was younger I thought it name was “Beeper” from the noise he makes. 
Of course people have the right to their own opinion but it’s almost like they cannot grasp the concept or fully understand the magnitude of the experience. Sure, it’s fun to find yourself a racecar driver or climbing the tallest mountain but wouldn’t it be so much better if you were really there enjoying it as it happened, rather than only having memories of it upon waking up? Sure, technically you are there when it’s happening, but the memory of a lucid dream is more like a real life memory than a dream memory because you were consious of all your actions. I wish I could LD every night. I average 2 a month, and I’m going to keep studying this until I can have them at will.
Im even more excited about LDing, now.