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[Spehss _]

So I'm making my way through the thread from the OP down, on page 3, good thread so far. Figured I'd share a bit of my experiences with the subjects in this thread, meditation or hallucinations and whatnot.

I have had no real moments of lucid dreaming aside from occasional moments where I realize how absurd or nonsensical my dream is and then I wake up from it.

Spoiler: Stuff I have done (click to show/hide)

I have had some practice with meditating. Great habit for starting a day or just before sleep, really chill. When I practiced it (I got out of habit after a while) I would just sit crosslegged on my bed in my room and just sorta exist for a bit. Just go from thought to thought, or not think at all and just focus on my breathing, or put on some music and focus on it like I would on the breathing. Tool was surprisingly good for that. Would recommend trying sometime to anyone who likes Tool and meditation. YMMV, but I thought it was great.

Sometimes I'd try to vividly imagine some scene or a character or something and practice my mental imagery. This was related to a separate mental-hallucination-practice-experiment-thing I was experimenting with at the time. The goal of imagining a specific scene was to create a "wonderland", basically just a place I felt comfortable and could quickly envision myself in easily and without too much focus. Examples of a wonderland could be a snowy forest, the shore of a beach, your bedroom, or on top of a cloud in a clear sky, whatever. The wonderland could then be used as a mental playground to just sorta do whatever in. Similar to lucid dreaming, but you're awake and conscious. Probably not as vivid as lucid dreaming, but I've heard it can be just as realistic when you really focus on it and meditate. I got far enough to just have a cool place to focus on envisioning myself in while meditating.

Anyway, it might be an interesting exercise for lucid dreaming. Helps practice mental imagery and keeping the hallucination stable and stuff. Also could give someone a subject for when they realize they're dreaming. Realize it's a dream, change dream's reality into your wonderland, stop focusing on your surroundings and instead focus on what your doing, like flying or whatever.

Lastly, when I was a kid I used to just lie on my back in my bed when I was trying to go to sleep, keeping really still with my eyes closed, and focus on just feeling like I was floating. Hard to describe now, but I just sorta lost feeling of the bed under me or any itches or movements in my body and the result was this really still, peaceful moment where I imagined I was floating free of my body and stress and the real world. Usually this occurred shortly before I fell asleep because I got so relaxed. Other times I would lie in bed in silence and focus on some song I knew really well and I swear I could vividly hear the music in my head, like I had a CD player in my head only I could hear. Probably self-induced auditory hallucinations, but I was a kid at the time and all I knew was that it was cool as hell.

[Itnetlolor]

I think the idea is that we should have some sort of thread in which we make fake news, with the articles being related to the dreams we've had?

Okay, so a Dreamscape log/newspaper. However, in case you tend to get recurring ones, be sure to tell the worlds apart if they each have their own canon, and take into account the timelines of them too. I mean, I've had some worlds operate on a 48-hour system and such; or simply, really long days. Others operated on 8-hour cycles or less (4 hours of light, 4 hours of night).

Having already awoken from passing out after fatigue getting the best of me (actual sleep part over, now I want to dream once I sleep again); I'm just posting for the time being. Could LD afterwards from this (since I'm still zoning out a bit). Always a good gateway system is keeping your room as-is, like the starting/ending point. Examples include: Cloudbuilt, and the hospital room the main character is recovering in, and Tron Legacy, and how Flynn's club is the same when transitioning between worlds from his computer in his office to his office in The Grid (no change, except being digitized now, and upon leaving, his arcade/club is still the same, even externally; only truly out of place place on the Grid, based on the local scenery when the movie really begins). Speaking of which, carry devices that can digi-struct (Tron/Borderlands) when you need them, out of convenience. I mean, I always carry a few weapons, a method of air travel, and maybe a light cycle on me to get to places on the fly.

Spoiler: Reason for convenience (click to show/hide)

Just run, jump, and ride.

What gets trippy is when your room remains the same, until you no longer observe it, and it either adopts the surroundings as a new theme, or the room completely disappears around you as you aren't paying attention to it. I've had some non-euclidean stuff go on like that before. Blinking or closing your eyes for a moment makes a better shortcut.

EDIT:
Just remembered one world I visited; apparently I was a Heavy Machine Operator on an off-world mining rig on some ruddy barren old rock; though it wasn't Mars. Mars was already colonized at that time, and is a fully lush blue sphere like Earth. The crew I had reminded me of my pirate crew in another one where my drawings are part of the same universe, and apparently the crew was not all that different. Funny enough, my equipment that had the most usefulness/power and etc. just happened to share the same name as my flagship in the other dream. Shared information across universes, mayhaps? I can maybe share info across an 'out-of-place device'. I'll try to carry a psychic console with me to interface with for my logging and such. Anything with no mass to it is easy to carry. I'll just make sure it uses a shared server linked to my conscious mind.

So, instead of dreaming right now, I'm getting memories of other dreams recovered. Even minute details are being recalled a bit. The coffee over there could use some work. Didn't wake me up there nearly as well as the Blue Tokyo Eiffel Tower made of Crap (as in lost valuables and other artistic nonsense which also happened to turn into a marketplace beneath) provided, and didn't taste nearly as good. Now the French?/Japanese?/Frappinese? over in the other dream, they know how to brew.

EDIT EDIT:
Only other thing I haven't tried yet was like in What Dreams May Come, and having my entire environment be paint-based.

Spoiler: Imagine waking up and noticing everything around you was made of paint. Everything, but yourself. (click to show/hide)

[RekkaAtsuma]

No luck actually controlling the dream, but a "sort-of" reality check occurred
In the dream I was helping a friend with his Home's Wifi Router, thing is, the check came in the for of his house in my dream was my Grandparents' place. After that I knew I was dreaming but was unable to influence it.
I'd say this is at least a type of awareness-based progress, as I remained aware until I woke up, which past times I have been able to become aware, change the 'channel' and then lose any/all awareness/and/or/control until I wake up and remember.

[freeformschooler]

I remembered two of my dreams last night. That never happens. WHOOOOAAAAAAA. Dream journaling really does work!

Itnet, I believe you're way ahead of us but am reluctant to ask for tips since it's hard to learn from a natural lucid dreamer. What could they teach?

[hops]

I had a lucid moment last night, but then I was too focused on not waking up and forgot about it.

[Itnetlolor]

Well, I've been busy working all day again, so I didn't have any time to post. Anyway, I apparently overshot a bit, and my lucid dreaming happened just as I was leaving for work, and this was after having breakfast and coffee. Fortunately, it only lasted until we really got started working at our destination; the trip was a bit of a trip in itself. Yep, I had a waking lucid dream for maybe an hour.

Basically, my mind rendered a bit of a HUD overlay as part of my understanding of what was ahead (and the course in mind; moreso, and more personalized to my style, while wearing my glasses when riding my moped; while the work van had something more consistent to it's design style, and not too stylish), and rendering somewhat Google Maps-ish, without looking at my phone for reference, and it was accurate when I checked. However, along the path, I spotted a cobra helicopter that was near the local airport. Naturally, my mind decided "What the hell, let's play GTA.", and my view switched to a 3rd-person perspective of flying the chopper, and just buzzing over the van we were riding; seeing from both perspectives simultaneously (Think of it like: one eye sees another perspective); from inside the van and the (supposedly armed) chopper (wreaking havoc on traffic and scenery). Fortunately, I know how to remain stoic/casual, despite my mind going off like that; it was a pretty fun waking lucid dream.

[freeformschooler]

Could you explain more simply the difference between waking lucid dream and regular lucid dream? I tried to understand your other words about it, but the only reference point I have is meditative self-hypnosis which doesn't seem like the same thing.

[Itnetlolor]

I guess a good summary would be that my brain is still operating in a dream state, while I'm fully awake. Kinda like how imagining things used to be like as a kid, and you can pretty much see your thoughts in plain view.

I suppose learning how to sleep with my eyes open may also somewhat add to that. Kinda forgot I tend to do that.

[Alev]

I guess a good summary would be that my brain is still operating in a dream state, while I'm fully awake. Kinda like how imagining things used to be like as a kid, and you can pretty much see your thoughts in plain view.

I suppose learning how to sleep with my eyes open may also somewhat add to that. Kinda forgot I tend to do that.

Can you still see outside of the dream?

[Tawa]

Damn, you must have had some imagination as a kid.

Gonna give it another shot tonight. FILD seems like my best shot at the moment, but I still try MILD as I go to sleep every night on the off chance that it works. I'm not going to start with just doing boring stuff to preserve the dream, I'm going to friggin' try screaming down an imaginary interstellar highway at like 10 imaginary miles per second in an imaginary deLorean with an imaginary rocket engine while shooting imaginary lightning outta my imaginary eyes. That oughta rival the awesome of my best regular dreams, even if it only lasts like ten seconds.

[Itnetlolor]

I guess a good summary would be that my brain is still operating in a dream state, while I'm fully awake. Kinda like how imagining things used to be like as a kid, and you can pretty much see your thoughts in plain view.

I suppose learning how to sleep with my eyes open may also somewhat add to that. Kinda forgot I tend to do that.

Can you still see outside of the dream?

Didn't risk it today, since I was at work. But as far back as I can recall, to a degree. What I am aware of sorta serves as a bit of a limiter of sorts; since some mental resources are back online, and have to keep in check. But sometimes, it does make visualizing things a bit easier to comprehend, since you now have more reference material to work with. So I suppose, with the sacrifice of your mind making the environment, you can work on more minute things since you're limited to such scale, due to awareness. Kinda makes working on finer details and patterns and such a bit easier to deal with, and works pretty well with getting a sense of scale on things, since you have said references, like familiar locations. It's part of how I engineered some of my ships and weapons in my sketchbooks. Having a beach on low tide makes working on aircraft much easier when you have that much area to walk around.

Damn, you must have had some imagination as a kid.

Gonna give it another shot tonight. FILD seems like my best shot at the moment, but I still try MILD as I go to sleep every night on the off chance that it works. I'm not going to start with just doing boring stuff to preserve the dream, I'm going to friggin' try screaming down an imaginary interstellar highway at like 10 imaginary miles per second in an imaginary deLorean with an imaginary rocket engine while shooting imaginary lightning outta my imaginary eyes. That oughta rival the awesome of my best regular dreams, even if it only lasts like ten seconds.

You can always apply time dialation. Just a thought. Make those ten seconds count.

Regarding my imagination, I always liked inventing all kinds of things, being a regular MacGuyver at other times and such. I also had a knack for adventure, but didn't always like the common/popular thing; or at least, the standard model. I mean, I've been inspired by space travel and all kinds of futuristic stuff way ahead of my time. Having that in my head at such an early age is a good thing to have; it gave me a good place to start thinking and imagining. Keep that imagination alive, and continue growing up, and things tend to get interesting.

[Alev]

Damn, you must have had some imagination as a kid.

Gonna give it another shot tonight. FILD seems like my best shot at the moment, but I still try MILD as I go to sleep every night on the off chance that it works. I'm not going to start with just doing boring stuff to preserve the dream, I'm going to friggin' try screaming down an imaginary interstellar highway at like 10 imaginary miles per second in an imaginary deLorean with an imaginary rocket engine while shooting imaginary lightning outta my imaginary eyes. That oughta rival the awesome of my best regular dreams, even if it only lasts like ten seconds.

Why don't you just kill people in a conventional manner? That should be less de-stabilisation-y, roight?

[alway]

Got a few seconds of spontaneous lucid dream last night before my brain shunted me back to normal dreaming. After going lucid, the first thing I tried was a reality check different from those posted here (at least, I don't think it was from here); essentially using just your tongue to attempt to block your breathing, similar to the 'pinch test' described here. A hands-free test, using your tongue as if you were swallowing, since that normally blocks the airway. Turns out that is not a good reality check, as, oddly enough, it acts exactly the same as in reality (and thus is useless as a test case). Which I suppose isn't that surprising, given that's fairly hardwired behavior, and so if anything could be done correctly, things like that would be it.

[scrdest]

Got a few seconds of spontaneous lucid dream last night before my brain shunted me back to normal dreaming. After going lucid, the first thing I tried was a reality check different from those posted here (at least, I don't think it was from here); essentially using just your tongue to attempt to block your breathing, similar to the 'pinch test' described here. A hands-free test, using your tongue as if you were swallowing, since that normally blocks the airway. Turns out that is not a good reality check, as, oddly enough, it acts exactly the same as in reality (and thus is useless as a test case). Which I suppose isn't that surprising, given that's fairly hardwired behavior, and so if anything could be done correctly, things like that would be it.

Might be because it, in fact, made you swallow IRL. A common thread in some of my (non-lucid so far) dreams is things like feeling my arms being extraordinarily weak or choking, then waking up, which are likely caused by RL-feedback on the dream (I have a massive horizontal scar slightly below my ribs which makes it uncomfortable to sleep on my back).

[scrdest]

Got a few seconds of spontaneous lucid dream last night before my brain shunted me back to normal dreaming. After going lucid, the first thing I tried was a reality check different from those posted here (at least, I don't think it was from here); essentially using just your tongue to attempt to block your breathing, similar to the 'pinch test' described here. A hands-free test, using your tongue as if you were swallowing, since that normally blocks the airway. Turns out that is not a good reality check, as, oddly enough, it acts exactly the same as in reality (and thus is useless as a test case). Which I suppose isn't that surprising, given that's fairly hardwired behavior, and so if anything could be done correctly, things like that would be it.

Might be because it, in fact, made you swallow IRL. A common thread in some of my (non-lucid so far) dreams is things like feeling my arms being extraordinarily weak or choking, then waking up, which are likely caused by RL-feedback on the dream (I have a massive horizontal scar slightly below my ribs which makes it uncomfortable to sleep on my back).

Scrdest, trying to disembowel yourself from the back is unhealthy!

I wasn't disembowelling myself. I had help. Because I just happened to have Nature try to recreate Alien IRL.