(For future refrence I'm going to be citeing Dream Views, a Lucid Dreaming study forum....ALOT! SO bear with me. All cites will be in quotes, with my comments in blue.)

This topic will provide info on "Lucid Dreaming", controlling dreams, the stages of sleep, dream recall, dream signs, and more. It is written to be easily understood by those just starting out, however the information and techniques provided are also beneficial for those who already have some natural or honed ability.

"Before we begin, consider this: if the average person spends 7 hours a day sleeping, and lives an average life of about 75 years, then he or she has slept nearly 1/3 (22 years) of his or her life away. Those averages are not based on any official gathered data, but serve to impress the point of just how much of our lives we actually spend sleeping. It’s possible, however, to get more life out of those wasted years through lucid dreaming and dream control. Of course, that’s more easily said than done. Before being able to control your dreams you have to be able to recognize that you are dreaming.

Lucid dreaming (also known as dream consciousness or conscious dreaming) is dreaming while being aware that you are dreaming. To actually have a lucid dream you merely have to recognize that you are dreaming. Realizing you are dreaming may not seem all that special, but becoming aware that you are dreaming presents the opportunity of controlling dreams. The idea is that once you are aware you are dreaming you can alter your dreams and dictate what happens: you can do anything you’ve ever wanted and go anywhere you’ve ever desired. Furthermore, everyone can learn how to have lucid dreams. Sound too good to be true, or perhaps a little too “new-ageish?” Lucid dreaming is very real and very possible, and there are many practical and down-to-Earth reasons to experiment with lucid dreams. Are you a little apprehensive over the idea of controlling your dreams, for various reasons? You can also use components of lucid dreaming to simply aid in dream recall, to provide you with more of an opportunity to deeply explore your dreams, and to even help increase the chances of you dreaming about things that you’d like to dream about—without having control."~Dream Views

Basicly you have controll over your dreams. Yeah yeah yeah, some of you like to have natural dreams, beceause you may or may not be keeping a journal of your dreams. HOWEVER, these techniques can be used not only for lucid dreaming but for helping with natural sleep aswell.

"I’d like to make sure that anyone reading this site is pursuing lucid dreaming for the right reasons and also understands the possible consequences involved with excessive force. First off, as will be suggested on the next page, lucid dreaming should not be used to escape from reality. I cannot stress that enough—there is a real world out there, and lucid dreaming is best used both as a recreational activity and to aid in personal development; lucid dreams should not be used as a vehicle to displace reality. Seven or eight hours of sleep per night is enough—don’t sleep your life away."~Dream Views

Yeah, its as bad as playing MMO's constantly...except you wont even gain the hand eye coordnation.(Unlesss you some kinda mind genious, but I'll go into that later.) Don't purposly sleep to try these things.

"So far as excessive force goes, lucid dreaming is best sought after in moderation. We live in an impatient society with an addiction to and a learned-dependence of microwaves and instant-messaging. Allowing that attitude to percolate into your dream life could have a detrimental effect on something that was intended to help keep you healthy and clear-headed. Thus, proceed slowly and don’t use too much force when experimenting with lucid dreams, and it is a good idea to take breaks from trying. You certainly don’t want to awake in the morning feeling exhausted, thus completely rescinding the purpose of sleep. If you find yourself feeling abnormally tired after beginning to attempt lucid dreaming, then lessen the frequency of your attempts—you may perhaps want to limit your attempts to the weekends only. Regardless, so long as you heed these warnings you have nothing to fear with having lucid dreams: lucid dreaming is completely safe if used responsibly."~Dream Views


Yeah what they said! But anyway your not here to learn about this mumbo jumbo, you wana learn about Lucid Dreams! Lets move on.

"There is nothing inherently difficult to understand about the concept of lucid dreaming: as stated in the introduction, lucid dreaming is simply dreaming while being aware you are dreaming. You can think of lucid dreaming as being conscious while dreaming. If, by chance, during a dream it suddenly dawns on you that you are dreaming, then you have experienced a lucid dream, regardless of whether you have been able to attain control of your dream. Lucid dreaming is usually induced by some sort of cue—something that indicates to the person that what he or she is experiencing is a dream, and not reality. Cues, however, are not necessary for becoming lucid: sometimes people spontaneously become lucid without noticing anything strange or typical of dreams. Lucid dreaming is a very simple concept but for most it will take patience and determination to achieve.

Many people seem ignorant of the distinction between having a lucid dream, and controlling a dream. Being able to freely control one’s dream does not directly follow becoming lucid: one can have a lucid dream without any control whatsoever. Controlling your dream is simply proceeding to the next level, by attempting to exert your will upon your surroundings."~Dream Views

For those of you who have told me that you have realized your dreaming, but who couldent change anything, thats you! Also when it says "cues" it refers to something genrally known as "Dream Signs". There different for each person, but the concept remains the same. If you see something that doesen't make sence, and it signals that your dreaming, thats a dream sign. Snowing in summer? Dream sign. Breathing underwater(Happened to me once and I forgot to pick up on it >.<')? Dream sign. You can also create your own dream signs! Thats how I got into my first and only lucid dream! I told myself: "If I wind up in a room with ALL red neon lights, that I'm dreaming." Three days later I had a dream that I was in a odd bar with all red neon lights and BOOM! Although it wasent a very good one...*Shrug* oh well...

Misconceptions
Since lucid dreaming is a relatively unknown phenomenon, there are a number of misconceptions that encompass it:

Lucid dreaming is new-ageish

As stated in the introduction, many people when first introduced to the concept dismiss it as being bizarre and too “new-ageish.” In reality, lucid dreaming is whatever you want it to be—because, after all, they are your dreams—and does not necessarily fall under the stigma of “new-age.” This site offers a very practical examination of lucid dreaming along with practical reasons for why one would want to endeavour to induce lucid dreams.

Lucid dreaming advocates escapism

Another misconception is that lucid dreaming advocates escapism. This site, by no means whatsoever, condones escapism. Lucid dreaming occurs while you are sleeping; it is not meant at all to infringe upon your involvement in the real world. Indeed, reading a book or watching a movie will take you out of the “real world” more than lucid dreaming will. The idea that lucid dreaming advocates escapism is valid only when one attempts to sleep more in order to induce lucid dreams. This site only suggests that one maintain a healthy sleep pattern to promote lucid dreams—an average of 7 or 8 hours a night is recommended.

Lucid dreaming is unnatural, involves "dark arts," or is occult related

Some misguided people immediately assume lucid dreaming must be a corrupt practice; this is just plain silly. Denunciations such as this are the direct result of fear of the unknown—this site hopes to dispel such ignorance. There is nothing inherently wrong or questionable with lucid dreaming; instead, there are many positive reasons to practice it. People who believe otherwise should first read about it before forming an opinion.

Dreams contain messages that are lost with lucid dreaming

Finally, many people take an intransigent stance against lucid dreaming based on their belief that our dreams are trying to tell us something, and we lose those messages by trying to alter our dreams. That’s a reasonable position to take, however, that idea is not entirely valid. First of all, most people that endeavour to have lucid dreams only have them occasionally—perhaps a few times a month. Some obviously will have them more often (perhaps several times a week or even in a night) but again for the most part, on average, those who attempt lucid dreaming still have more non-lucid dreams than lucid ones. Perhaps even more valid a point is that becoming proficient at lucid dreaming demands excellent dream recall. Thus, while practicing to become lucid in dreams you are also increasing your ability to remember your dreams, which as a by-product will provide you with more memorable dreams to sift through in search of hidden insight. Therefore one can practice lucid dreaming and still attain enough “regular” dreams so that he or she need not worry about losing something important.~Dream Views

Yeah, ummm what they said!
...
Again!
*Has no comment for this*

"Levels of Lucidity & Dream Control
Lucid dreaming was defined as becoming aware you are dreaming; the actual level of awareness varies, however. When the level of lucidity is high you are well aware that nothing you experience is real, and you realize that you have nothing to fear—you cannot be harmed by any situations that may seem precarious. With low-level lucidity, although partially aware you are dreaming, you are not aware enough to have a great impact on your dream—you may accept some aspects of your dream that you would not normally accept in the ordinary world (you may not find it at all strange that your dog flies around the living room, etc.) With low-level lucidity your realization may also quickly fade and you may accept the whole dream as reality.

Again, attaining lucidity does not immediately mean you’re in control of your dreams. As we’ll discuss later a lot of practice is necessary in order to exert and maintain control. Obviously you have the best chance of controlling your dreams with a high-level of awareness, but even then it may not be possible to exert much control, at least, at first. Although experience plays a part in how well you can control your dreams, your own belief and confidence is key. If you lack confidence in your dreams, you may fail at controlling them—if you believe in a dream that you cannot do something, it is very likely that you won’t be able to.

Instead of changing the dream, however, you could merely control your own behaviour. This kind of dream control is most beneficial during nightmares. Rather than attempting to change the dream, you can change your own attitude. By realizing it is merely a dream and that you cannot sustain physical damage, you can allay your fear, which is the only real part of the nightmare. Changing your attitude in such a manner usually transforms the nightmare into something more peaceful as well. Defeating nightmares is only one of many reasons to attempt to have lucid dreams—the next section lists more."~Dream Views


So on to the next section!


"We’ve gone over what lucid dreams are and hinted on how to have them, but we haven’t answered a very important question: what is the point in trying to have a lucid dream? To answer that question, you need only realize that becoming aware you are dreaming presents you with the opportunity to take absolute and complete control of your dreams. In your dreams you are not bound by any physical or imposed restraints—anything is possible. The possibilities of your dreams are limited only by the confines of your own imagination. That premise creates the impression that lucid dreams are used only to create our own pseudo-realities; that is only half the picture. There are also some serious practical uses for lucid dreams in which you should consider, and we’ll get into all of that now.

Below are some common reasons for lucid dreaming,"~Dream Views

(As if half of you wouldent allready know what you would do if you were god of your own universe...)

"Adventure and Excitement
To fully experience lucid dreaming, you have to remember that you are not governed by any laws in your dreams: you have complete freedom. Instead of walking to school or work, you can fly. While in mid-flight you may spontaneously decide you’d rather explore the elusive depths of the ocean without a breathing apparatus, or travel at incomprehensible speeds and explore the endless heavens around us without a ship. Or perhaps you’ll remember a book or a movie that captured your soul—perhaps you’ll become the main character of that book or movie and live for a short while in that story. Or maybe you’d just like to live your own life, with the added bonus of not being restricted by any consequences of your actions. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to tell off your boss, or push your car to its maximum speed (and beyond) on an open stretch of highway. Regardless, it will likely take a while for you to fully appreciate the idea that you can do whatever you imagine—you’ll likely think things are not possible during your first few lucid dreams, and be unable to do them.

Social Practice
If you have never experienced lucid dreaming before, you are probably just vaguely skimming through this site while only half paying attention—you are completely unaware of how incredibly and profoundly vivid and realistic lucid dreaming can be. Indeed, it can be so realistic that you can use it to rehearse for situations you may encounter in life. Have you ever wished to have a moment back so that you could change it because at the time you weren’t sure what to do? Lucid dreaming clearly cannot do that for you, and dreaming of that moment isn’t very beneficial since it will simply instill a greater longing to have that moment back. You can, however, try out new behaviours and test yourself under different situations and scenarios, and learn from the results. In this respect you can perhaps prepare yourself for moments that have not yet happened, and perhaps prevent yourself from making otherwise inescapable mistakes. Remember, we all make mistakes because we all have things we need to learn. Some things are perhaps best learnt without having to do so at the expense of others. Some examples of using lucid dreaming for rehearsal are for social events, public speaking, difficult or awkward confrontations (such as firing someone, or even proposing marriage), etc.

Of course, everything is controlled by your own mind, so in whatever situations you find yourself dreaming about you’re essentially guessing how others will react. Clearly this is not that exact because it’s not all that often that we are lucky enough to have the opportunity to know someone well enough that we can fill in all the “blanks”; thus, a lot of guessing will be done on your part to determine how others will react in your dreams. In some situations responses are relatively easy to predict, especially when you factor in your own experiences and insight into who people are. Be careful not to convince yourself that you know someone well enough that you’re sure how he or she will react, however—just because we acted one way in one situation doesn’t mean we’ll at all act similarly in another. Regardless, you of course have the ability to create similar moments indefinitely, which allows you to better prepare yourself for a wide range of outcomes. Remember that you’re just rehearsing though…don’t become lost in your pseudo-realities.

Stopping Nightmares
Most of us look forward to sleep because it is a very peaceful time and allows us to unwind and forget, for a short while, the endless unrest of our waking lives. Some people, however, dread falling asleep because they are plagued by incessant nightmares. Lucid dreaming can play a very important role in alleviating the fear of nightmares. With dream control you can completely alter the setting and context of your dream, effectively defeating your nightmare. Even if full dream control isn’t achieved, being consciously aware you are dreaming will lessen the devastating effects nightmares can have on you: knowing a situation isn’t real drastically attenuates the fear or intimidation that would normally be associated with that situation. Lucid dreaming may also rid one of nightmares permanently, and may actually be psychologically beneficial because it provides one with the opportunity to face up to his or her fears on his or her own terms, which is usually not that possible in the waking world. Lucid dreaming can provide you with the opportunity to realize that your fears are perhaps unfounded and help you find the confidence to overcome them in the real world.

Problem Solving
This is a very interesting aspect of REM sleep. Sleep is seen as a time of rest; it may seem strange that the brain is highly active during REM sleep, comparable to when awake. Some studies even suggest the brain is most creative during the period between waking and REM sleep, although those studies are beyond the scope of this site. A possible explanation to the heightened mental abilities of the brain during sleep is the lack of sensory input—the brain is not focused on our senses, such as sight, hearing, etc. Thus, the brain can focus more readily on creative problem solving. Problem solving while dreaming obviously can be quite difficult since one would really have to focus on one’s intent and prevent extraneous interference from distracting him or her. I’m sure we all appreciate how easy it is to become distracted in our dreams, losing sight of something that happened moments before as something completely new happens.

Miscellaneous/Not so Practical
The four reasons for wanting to induce lucid dreams I’ve given thus far are rather practical and easily understood and accepted. There are those who sleep at night and use their dreams for more fantastic/controversial purposes. I don’t have much experience or knowledge in this area, but I will share what I know. One of these uses for lucid dreams is called dreamscaping. Dreamscaping seems to encompass a number of things, one of which is sharing a dream with someone else—not simply having an identical dream, but rather, actually joining someone in a dream; it is sometimes also known as collective dreaming. I cannot say whether this is possible or not, but there are those who swear it is. The idea itself I think is fascinating—to actually be able to find someone else while dreaming—but again I cannot say whether it is possible or not.

Another use that falls under this category is called astral projection. Astral projection is another term for an "out of body experience"--something I'm sure we've all at least heard about. This involves travelling to distant locations without our bodies, or even simply the sensation that we've left our body but haven't gone far. I again know nothing about this, but the Lucid Crossroads site presents more information on OBEs here.

A final use that I’ll place in this category might hit a little closer to home to most people than the others. Some of us explore our dreams simply looking for answers to questions that we otherwise cannot answer. That previous sentence speaks volumes, so I’ll leave it at that."~Dream Views

Now on how learnable lucid dreaming(abreviated LD'ing) is!


"An obvious question is, “Can I learn to have lucid dreams?” The answer is quite simple: yes. Lucid dreaming is like any other skill—some are born with the ability, while most must practice and work at it. Some time ago I got into a discussion with my sister regarding lucid dreaming. I was surprised to discover that she had the ability to lucid dream at will, and always had, as far as she could remember.Thats odd, my sisters better then me naturally as well... Is this eaiser for women then for men? In fact, she thought it was quite normal—she had no idea that most of us couldn’t automatically have them.

How do I start?
The main prerequisite for having lucid dreams is above average dream recall. Although it may at first not seem like it, developing dream recall is fairly easy. For the most part it takes only practice and motivation. These two necessities to developing dream recall are rather self-explanatory: if you want to get better at a skill you must practice; if you’re not motivated, you won’t practice. Diving right in and attempting to have lucid dreams without having the ability to recall your dreams is senseless because you’ll likely not remember your lucid dreams upon waking. Also, learning dream recall will aid in both your attempts to induce lucidity and to control your dreams because you will have developed the diligence and patience necessary to do so. Once you have improved your dream recall to a couple dreams per night you can move on to attempting to induce lucid dreaming. Again, practice and motivation will become key components to your success at lucid dreaming.

How long does it take?
The length of time required to have steady lucid dreams varies, depending on the person. Keep in mind since we are all individuals it may also simply not be possible for you to become steady with your lucid dreaming: it is very likely you’ll only be able to have a couple a month, if even that many. As stated previously dream recall, practice, and motivation are all critical components to successful lucid dreaming. Obviously one who begins with excellent dream recall will require less time and effort than one who only occasionally remembers his or her dreams. Some will be more ardent than others and will find it easier to stay motivated and to practice. Also, there are always those who seem to have a natural predisposition for various skills, thus will be able to proceed at an accelerated pace regardless of their previous level of experience. I should note that lucid dreams are not necessarily only attained by vigorous practice and diligence—it is quite possible you have already experienced lucid dreaming, although you may not already know it. In fact, after reading this site on lucid dreaming you may very well have a lucid dream tonight—simply reading about and constantly thinking about lucid dreaming is often enough to induce a lucid dream. Attaining the ability to lucid dream at will, however, requires effort on your part."~Dream Views

I added a comment up there, aside from that I don't have anything else to say, for now. Heres a link to Dream Views. (<=Link)

Have fun staying up all night! If you wana know more I guess I can tell you some more... Forced ways to LD, but for now I'ma take a break.

;D

Very nice. ^_^ I've had the ability to recall dreams well since I was a kid, I know that for sure. I didn't have lucid dreams necessarily, but I could recall the dreams. For instance, I'd be out flying above the neighborhood late at night, but flying with spirits or something. I used to have those dreams all the time when I was like 3 and 4...

I developed an ability to dream lucidly when I was in second grade though. Because I used to always want to remember my dreams, and I wanted more realistic feeling ones, like I could feel stuff inside the dreams. You know like when people say, "My dream felt so real." I wanted those, so eventually I got more of them, and because I was starting to actually be able to 'feel' the items and things within my dream, I could take control of a dream.

How much controll?

When I dream, I am aware, but most of the time I forget. Exception to the Graham cracker incident of course.

Maybe I'll try to edit my dreams.

Ahh forgetting your dreams. A comon problem. What many LDing people do is keep a dream journal. Doing so will help you keep your dream memorys, beceause your body will know that you have need to write them down the next day.

(That is how I get my movie ideas! ^^)