Change?

I’m a former Roman Catholic, but I still like the parables:

I’m not going to write out the story of the Prodigal Son, so I hope you all know it. The questions I’ve always had usually relate to this story.

Can a person truly change their motives, or did he (the prodigal son) just get sick of feeding pigs for a living?

The father’s forgiveness…does that mean that a person can truly regain the contentment they once enjoyed when they have spent so many years of their existence questioning everything and having a moderate level of contempt for everything in life?

Being a nicotine fiend, alcoholic, pothead who recently got into opiates, who recognizes that 99.99% of his problems are from fear and self-doubt…can things be fixed? I almost think that my experiences with Lucid Dreaming and Dream Recall could prove to be indicative of my battle with these things…

Lastly, I had a really crazy dream when I was two that I still and forever will remember. I was in bed (It was an FA) and my mother appeared at the bedside with a warm smile on her face. She was holding an apple to me, and when I reached to get it, she slowly disappeared leaving me crying “Mom…please…I’m hungry.” :sad: For some reason, whenever I feel REALLY shitty, I remember this dream. Any ideas?

Hello Loose Id and wellcome to the forum.

Loose Id wrote
[size=75]I’m a former Roman Catholic, but I still like the parables:

I’m not going to write out the story of the Prodigal Son, so I hope you all know it. The questions I’ve always had usually relate to this story.

Can a person truly change their motives, or did he (the prodigal son) just get sick of feeding pigs for a living?

The father’s forgiveness…does that mean that a person can truly regain the contentment they once enjoyed when they have spent so many years of their existence questioning everything and having a moderate level of contempt for everything in life? [/size]

Yes you can change your motives but the fact that you are “sick of feeding pigs for a living” would probably make you wonder if you had made a mistake. I suppose when life is going great a lot of people don’t take time to think about life etc. it’s only when life takes a downturn that they start to reconsider their actions.

The answer to the second one is yes again but it will take time.

These are my first thoughts on this I may come back and add more later. :wiske: [/b]

If you truly desire change for a better life, you can find all that you need in yourself. Your personality, emotions, and problems are all sustained in your mind and can be adapted to bring you more positivity in life. If your desire is right, there is nothing to deny you change. Try to understand why you think/feel/act the way you do. Your dreams are a reflection of what is going on deep down in your mind, and you can use them to understand your problems. Psychedelics can also be used as tools for self-understanding, but only when they are not abused. Mostly it takes time and an open mind, and complete honesty with yourself. Many people have things about themselves that they are afraid to acknowledge.

What do you fear? Why do you doubt yourself?

You are not in complete control of your mind or life if you rely on anything other than yourself, i.e.- another’s word or forgiveness. If you understand that it’s all within yourself, and then establish a spiritual identity without pre-determination, you can find what works best for you and then have the most confidence behind the changes that you make.

Your dream sounds like you have some psychological problems with your mom, any reasons why there would be?

Psychological problems with my mother? Our relationship is a little ambivalent, but no more than any one else.

Plus, I’m not looking for anyone’s forgiveness but my own. And that’s much easier said than done. Have you ever been in the circumstance where you watch yourself doing things that you know are contrary to your best wishes? You lose trust in yourself, and I’m finding that harder and harder to rediscover.

To relate this a better to lucid dreaming I would like point out that I was born a natural lucid dreamer (did it practically every night when I was younger), and when I first heard about lucid dreaming I had little difficulty becoming lucid the first night. But like everything else in my life, I found it hard to maintain consistancy…

If you have felt like you have had these problems most of your life, they were probably caused by something. Like what about the way you were raised? When I was a child my father had hit and ridiculed me, some things that created (more) problems for me. If you can find the source of your problems they will be easier to conquer.

Changing is a slow process, so don’t get discouraged when you don’t seem to succeed right away, because this doesn’t help getting things better. To help me not do things I know aren’t best, I write myself notes explaining why I shouldn’t do them, and put them in places that remind me of my intentions at times when I tend to forget about them. Once you see and feel the change you desire, it is very empowering and you will be encouraged to do more. Have you ever thought about giving spirituality a try?

Consistency is difficult without direction. Perhaps you know you want to change but you don’t know what you would like to become. Do you have a destiny?

Something I have yet to attempt in lucid dreams is self- evaluation/reflection/understanding, ever do anything like this?