Author - research request

[DMAndrews]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I hope this is the best place to post. It did not seem to quite fit in the newbie or off-topic forums.

I'm an author and am working on a fiction series that focuses on lucid dreaming. The books are in the fantasy genre, aimed at young adults. This gives me wiggle room to depart from "reality", but I do want to include elements that are faithful to real-world lucid dreaming experiences.

However, I'm not a lucid dreamer. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember my dreams (or very rarely). This puts me at a bit of a disadvantage I've had an interest in lucid dreaming since I was a boy (I remembered my dreams a little better back then).

I'm interested in experiences people have had in relation to entering and leaving a lucid dream, and also dream powers (flying, etc.). Common experiences are of more interest to me.

I'm not sure if I can mention the book on here, but if you look me up on Amazon you can find all my books. I've already published the first in the dream-related series, and am currently revising the second and third.

Moderators - please feel free to move this post or to otherwise direct me as to how I might proceed. Thank you.

[rothgar]

Sounds very interesting. I've been lucid dreaming about about a year and a half now, and have had over 100 lucid dreams (had one last night). Not sure exactly what you are looking for. Mine have almost all been DILD (Dream initiated Lucid Dreaming) as opposed to WILD (Wake Initiated), although I've had maybe 3 that were WILDs. Consequently for "dream entry" mostly it is something that you see or experience in the dream that triggers you to question your reality, and then you have what feels like an "epiphany", when you realize you are dreaming. It is an awesome experience. As far as dream exit, it is like you are there one minute, then you are in a "limbo" for a second or two, and then you are back in reality. It is like switching between two realities.

Of course flying is one of the first things people try to do. I thought to try that in my third lucid dream, and it was incredible. I looked down below as I was flying and saw tops of houses in 3D and the perspective changed just like I would have expected in real life.

One funny story... in my 2nd lucid dream there was a tiger on the loose, and the fear triggered my lucidity. I then walked over to the tiger, and decided I was going to throw it into the sky so high it would disappear into a tiny dot in the sky, and that is exactly what happened... I grabbed it and threw it, and watched it vanish. Interestingly, 3 months later in our local paper, some writer had a little article in the paper about a dream he had.... he was in India, and all of a sudden, a tiger came flying out of the sky from the horizon, and landed right at his feet! While I'm not a believer in shared dreaming, I did clip out the article and put it in my dream journal where I had written my story 3 months earlier! I think most lucid dreamers probably have some weird things they have experienced.

[taniaaust1]

lol @ rothgar's experience with the tiger. I once had a very interesting dream experience which may interest the author.. of a mutually shared dream.

I had this dream where my daughter (Celeste) was calling for my help and I went to help her. I found she was being attacked, she was being bashed across the head. I went and fought her attackers off then woke up. A few seconds later Celeste starts yelling out mummy, mummy from the bedroom (something like that) and I went to see what was wrong. She told me she just woke up from a nightmare where she was attacked by some people and they were hitting her over the head and that I'd come and saved her. Turned out we'd both had the same dream at the same time.

To the query on entry into Lucid dreams... that is done quite a few different ways, different people find different ways easiest. The way Im currently finding the easiest is I guess what one would call a WILD (wake introduced lucid dream..just looked up the name to check Im not familiar with all the terminologies thou Ive had many lucid dreams) http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/wake-induced-lucid-dreams.html describes WILD so I suggest to give that a read for more of an idea of a popular LDing technique.

Im personally thou not initiating my WILD quite like that thou similar. I lay on my back and shut my eyes (This I'd think would be the most common way for people to lay for LDs) .. but in my case then I start a mantra up. Im using a well known yogic mantra HAM-SAH with saying in my head the word HAM in inhalation and then on exhalation softly saying the word SAH out like a sigh http://www.ishtayoga.com/articles/62.. others may use a different mantra). I do that over and over till I feel either dizzy or like an energy raise happen. If Im tired I may be getting some hypnagogia images come in while Im doing the mantra.. just quick flashes of them... like seeing a photo. Then I'll stop and just then try to go to sleep, just letting my mind drift and usually I'll go then straight into a Lucid Dream and be in control of the dream right from the start (sometimes within 5 mins).

With the dream at first if one is entering awake straight into one, often ones full senses arent there at first thou they can be. It may be all shadowly at first eg one in the past week I had I couldnt see what I was actually seeing at first due to the shadows. So I started to walk towards the shadows.. and this made the dream clarify so suddenly it was clear. It was a building with a door, so I then just opened the door and went straight in.

Sometimes before one fully gets into a dream can be like in two places at once.. still aware of one being in ones body on the bed, but also finding oneself seeing images and in the dream. It can be hard to stay in a dream if you are still aware of feeling the physical body and that will often make a person end up loosing the dream and finding themselves back in their physical body fully, laying on the bed. It helps to focus on things in the dream to stay there till the dream is stabilised and one has all senses fully there and strong. It can take a lot of practice to get good dream control. With practice people accidently drop out of the dreams (loose the dreams) less and are able to stay within them longer too.

Also with practice one can get more lucidity thou some are lucky to experience like the waking conciousness does from the start.. there are various degrees of lucidly eg some can find themselves in a LD and know they are dreaming but havent got much control over the dreams at first. Thinking too can be very slow for those not used to lucid dreaming and not always thinking in the same way as they do in real life. Some need practice to develop a normal waking consciousness happening and having a like a normal waking life control in their dreams.

Another LD I had this week.. it started with knowing were I was.. eg in the dream I was sitting at the front of a carriage with my sister.. but my sight hadnt come into the dream yet. I could hear there thou. Someone asked me in the dream if I'd take their baby so I said yes and reached out my arms and they put the baby in them. So I then used this baby and how it felt to try to pull myself more into the dream. I started jigging up and down on my knees to do that. After a short time my sight came in and I could see the baby (but then lost the dream and found myself back in my body due to my shock, as that baby didnt look anything I was expecting it too.. it was the ugliest baby ever lol.

As far as leaving a lucid dream... its just a matter of thinking "I want to wake up" as in fact you already are completely awake mentally..so its just a matter of thinking back to your physical body (which gets rid of the dream) and then getting out of bed.

[taniaaust1]

dream powers.. if you want to know what flying in a dream feels like.. have you ever ridden a galloping horse and had the wind blowing your hair with that feeling of freedom as you speed along. It feels much like that. Its awesome when one does it.

I dont thou manage to fly often as my conscious mind has a habit of getting in the way eg I go to fly and throw myself in the air to do so..but went crashing into the concrete ground which was in my dream. It actualy really hurt thou some find their dream crashes dont. I dont know if cause Im so very lucid (like my normal waking mind in my dream) if that is why I seem to get so much trouble, thou some others do have flying issues too. There are many issues people can have when it comes to dream control.

Other things which may interest you is that things in lucid dreams are much the same in real life. eg if you eat a ice cream in a dream...or step into a puddle in a LD .. its cold! I remember in one of my early LDs doing just that and my surprise to experience that things could actually be really cold in a dream.

One dream power I like is the ability to change what is going on in a dream. eg I had a LD in which i was at at sea in a rowboat with others and the one sitting across from me was a demon with scary glowing red eyes. I ended up converting him into a harmless innocent young cute boy.

I love LDing as its so interesting and those dreams can surprise you so much too. eg in a dream not long ago I'd found myself in a shop and there was an icecream fridge. So I decided I was going to do one of my dream challenges (which was get something to eat and try to make it the most incredibly tasting thing you can) and go and get myself my favourite icecream out of there. So I walked over and yeah sure enough.. there was a peppermint cornetto icecream in there so I grabbed it out and started to eat it. Silly icecream turned out to be the wrong flavour when I bit into it hahaha. (of cause I could of tried to change it at that point but I just decided then I'd hand it to another dream character in the shop and go and do something else).

Another time I went to get a banana out of a fridge in a lucid dream I was in full control with.. and a dream character Id been ignoring as after all its only a dream character, turned around and goes loudly "What do you think you are doing!!!" she really startled me so much that I jumped in fright .. haha the fridge in my dream hadnt been mine and I hadnt asked cause after all why ask when one is dreaming and knows it. She thou throu me off my guard so much and made me feel uncomfortable about just taking that I ended up trying to think up an excuse to give her of why I was taking the banana. (which then lead the the horrible consequence of my nose growing like pinoccino cause I'd told a lie.. and then to add to my diplema, my nose got stuck in a dream door as it was so long as I was trying to get out of the kitchen and away from that dream character.. once again I could of just changed her but should of been easier to just walk out). I was trying not to laugh over what was happening and what I was experiencing in the dream.. stuck with my nose in a door. Then the dream character started laughing at me cause of being stuck with nose in the door..

Lucid dreams are a mix of ones waking consciousness and subconsciousness .. interacting and coming into play.
I havent read any of your books.. they sound interesting. I'll try to check one out in my library. Best luck with writing this latest.

[rothgar]

DMAndrews...I would suggest you read a little of Stephen LaBerges book 'Exploring the world of lucid dreaming' and try it yourself. I read maybe 3 chapters and had my first LD in 3 days. Anyone can do it although the time it takes varies. One cannot explain it really...you have to experience it to truly get it. I suspect a writer might be the right type of person for learning it.

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[DMAndrews]

Thank you for the feedback. It's very interesting.

I did some research before I started writing the book, so I've heard some of the terms before (even if I've forgotten their exact meanings!). I will try some dreaming techniques, but my schedule allows for little sleep time until June - and I need to have finished these books by then.

My main character enters the Dreamframe (his word for the dream constructs) from within a normal dream, and he can leave that Dreamframe at will (but it takes a few moments for him to fade out from the dream). Sudden surprises or being struck etc. can cause him to lose control (and thus leave the construct), but he's got pretty good at steeling himself against such circumstances.

The dream world in the story is a sort of huge shared dream, but as such the substance of it is not as easily exploited as one's sole-imagined world would be. Powers are more subtle, though can be strong, and are focused on what the character can do, rather than upon the dream world being manipulated in any way.

I can make the first episode available (free) to anyone who wishes to review it for anything that may be "wrong". I have it in Kindle format, but Amazon does Kindle apps for most devices. Or PDF - as it's quite short it shouldn't be too hard to read from a PC screen. PM me if interested.

[taniaaust1]

DMAndrews...I would suggest you read a little of Stephen LaBerges book 'Exploring the world of lucid dreaming' and try it yourself. I read maybe 3 chapters and had my first LD in 3 days. Anyone can do it although the time it takes varies. One cannot explain it really...you have to experience it to truly get it. I suspect a writer might be the right type of person for learning it.

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She said thou she never remembers her dreams... so that will give her very little chance of having a LD in the near future, much less than most, till she achieves ability to at least have dream recall (unless she manages WILD in which she dont go to sleep at all in the first place).

My boyfriend has told me he's never had a dream in his life.. and Ive been trying to figure out how to get him to experience one.

[rothgar]

I rarely recalled mine either....until I started journalling and practicing active recall techniques...all taught by LaBerge

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[rothgar]

PS I am happy to review the first episode...sent a PM with details

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[DMAndrews]

It would appear I cannot use the PM system for some reason. I have used the associated email system instead. Rothgar, you should have received an email. Thanks for your interest.