Do you keep your interest in lucid dreaming a secret from others?

Hi All,

I recently had my first lucid dream. I'm so happy my work has paid off. It only lasted about a minute as I got excited and woke up but it was amazing, the dream world is so real. I hope to have more in the future.

Anyway, after waking up and starting my day I was so happy. I wanted to tell the whole world but was reluctant in case people thought I was crazy. I told my wife in the end and she seemed interested, especially as she happened to be in the dream. It was the first time I had talked to her about my lucid dreaming 'hobby'. She had never heard of lucid dreaming. In the past when she asked me why I was writing my dreams down in a journal I told her it was just for fun. I don't have any plans to tell anyone else. I'm not embarrassed, I'm proud. It's just I live in a small village and I might get burned at the stake hehe.

I'm interested... Do you tell others about your lucid dreaming life? Weather you're trying to have your first one or are having them regularly. How do people react when you talk about it? Do you wish you had kept it to yourself?

Thanks for your feedback

Jess

No. Infact, most of the people I know are lucid dreamers, prospective lucid dreamers, and I don't think any of them believe lucid dreaming is witchcraft. I talk about it often and it's quite cool.

My family thinks its interesting, but to be honest they don't care. :P

First, congrats on the first lucid dream. It's always empowering and helps you to have more in the future. Now that you know you can officially do it, the rest will be easier.

As for your question, you just have to be confident if you chose your friends well. Are they the kind of friends you would be to someone? I know if someone told me about lucid dreaming, I wouldn't immediately condemn them, especially if I didn't know anything about it. That said, I share the topic of lucid dreaming sometimes with people I know. But I don't go out of my way to mention it often. It's not a 'hobby' you'd mention in casual conversations like being a musician or artist.

I don't think it's necessary to keep it a secret from people you trust. But as for your average Joe? I don't think they'd really care, which is why I'd never use it to break the ice, if you catch my drift.

It's not a secret to my mum and my brother. Well, mostly my brother. Mum usually blanks out when I talk about it, but my brother has had a few spontaneous lucids so he's a little interested. I'm hoping to tell more people about it when I get the courage to. For now, I'll sit on the sidelines and wait for lucid dreaming to get more into the media, haha.

As soon as I got into lucid dreaming, I told the people I normally talk about my dream life with because it just made sense to tell them. My really close friend and my mom both have very interesting dream lives (like me, my mom also has sleep paralysis and false awakenings...so does my brother. Hereditary?) My close friend has had lucid dreams before, but she doesn't actively try to induce them. She finds it cool that I'm doing this and asks me questions. But it'd be nice to have someone in real life who is into improving their lucid dreaming skills.

My husband thinks it's a weird niche! I mean, he's fine with it and all. He listens to me sharing my dreams and will tell me his dreams, but I don't think I could ever convince him to get more into dreaming.

I post about it on facebook, twitter and my blog, but I wouldn't just share it with a friend randomly unless we were already talking about dreaming. I shared about it in my online anthropology class about dreams, but no one seems to know what I'm talking about.

My tip is: share it with anyone.
There will be some people who will be skeptical (like my father), people who will think you are crazy (like my mother), people who will mock you when you stress them to much about it (like some friends of mine :D ) but there will also be people who will sincerely listen to you and some of them will even join you in your journey. I have both friends who listen to me with interest but don't try it and friends that try it for themselves.

It's a win-win situation: either they shrug it off, but that's cool because at least you tried and you expressed yourself about a passion of yours or they get interested and try for themselves and you've just made some new lucid dreaming friends ;)

I talk about it to some people and never mention it to others. It depends on the person. My wife knows about it (and has actually had 1 lucid dream triggered by us discussing it one day) but isn't interested in pursuing it so we rarely talk about it. Not to mention, many of my dreams have “sexual elements” that I prefer not mentioning to her because she would be offended.

I never mention it to my parents or siblings because I know they wouldn’t be interested. I don’t mention it at work because I don’t want to be viewed as being “weird” and gossip travels quickly at work. I have a few friends who know about it, but aren’t interested in pursuing it. I was once on a flight to Ireland for business and sat next to a guy who was into “out of body experiences”. We spent much of the 7 hour flight discussing OBE and LD.

I talk about it to people. I can't help it. Most of them probably think I am crazy or they don't care or both. And I don't care that they do think I am crazy. My husband cannot help hearing about it, and I know he would rather I talked about it less. The problem is that when I am excited about something I have to talk about it with others, that's what I am like.

One time I met in real life a person who actually is a natural lucid dreamer, and if I did not have this habit of talking to others about it, I would never have found out that she is a lucid dreamer too. Unfortunately she is more of a friend of my mom's and just an aquaintance of mine, and I seldom have the occasion to talk with her. I am still hoping to someday meet another lucid dreamer in person. Aside from my son that is - my eight year old son is a lucid dreamer and it is nice to share with him.

Of course, my situation is different from yours: I do live in a major metropolitan area which is very diverse and fairly open minded, so having crazy hobbies is not socially unacceptable, even if it is a hobby that most people think weird, one is just weird in a different way, but enough people are weird in some way or another, so weirdness is socially acceptable.

People know that dreams are a "thing" of mine, but it is usually considered one of my very many bizarre quirks. I don't mention lucid dreaming by name, but those who've heard of lucid dream often bring it up with me.

Well, um, I don't have an interest to hide it as a secret, but I am certainly sure people around me unfortunately will have no interest in them (I know them very well), so I won't mention it to others :)

I tell people, but nobody really cares.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for replying, I enjoyed reading through the comments. I don't know much about the subject of lucid dreaming so I think I will do some more research before going out of my way to talk to people about it. Then it will be much easier to have a conversation about the subject. I'm reading Stephen LaBerge at the minute. I suppose you could always just start talking about the film 'Inception' and then see where the conversation goes from there. You don't NEED to tell people about it I guess, but it would be good if you did as it increases you chances of meeting another LD'er and maybe you might get other people interested in the subject.

Well at least you've tried :)

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Originally Posted by splodeymissile

I tell people, but nobody really cares.

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Yeah dreams are a more 'normal' thing to talk about. It will be easier to talk lucid dreaming if you're already having a conversation about dreams.

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Originally Posted by Soulless

People know that dreams are a "thing" of mine, but it is usually considered one of my very many bizarre quirks. I don't mention lucid dreaming by name, but those who've heard of lucid dream often bring it up with me.

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:) You see lucid dreaming popping up now and then on TV. I recently watched an episode of 'American Dad' where the character 'Steve Smith' was practicing lucid dreaming and got himself into a bit of trouble haha.

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Originally Posted by AstralMango

It's not a secret to my mum and my brother. Well, mostly my brother. Mum usually blanks out when I talk about it, but my brother has had a few spontaneous lucids so he's a little interested. I'm hoping to tell more people about it when I get the courage to. For now, I'll sit on the sidelines and wait for lucid dreaming to get more into the media, haha.

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That must be nice for you and your son. He may not understand what its all about so at least he can talk to you about it, especially if he ever has a scary experience.

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Originally Posted by JoannaB

I talk about it to people. I can't help it. Most of them probably think I am crazy or they don't care or both. And I don't care that they do think I am crazy. My husband cannot help hearing about it, and I know he would rather I talked about it less. The problem is that when I am excited about something I have to talk about it with others, that's what I am like.

One time I met in real life a person who actually is a natural lucid dreamer, and if I did not have this habit of talking to others about it, I would never have found out that she is a lucid dreamer too. Unfortunately she is more of a friend of my mom's and just an aquaintance of mine, and I seldom have the occasion to talk with her. I am still hoping to someday meet another lucid dreamer in person. Aside from my son that is - my eight year old son is a lucid dreamer and it is nice to share with him.

Of course, my situation is different from yours: I do live in a major metropolitan area which is very diverse and fairly open minded, so having crazy hobbies is not socially unacceptable, even if it is a hobby that most people think weird, one is just weird in a different way, but enough people are weird in some way or another, so weirdness is socially acceptable.

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Thank you :) Yeah I have some good friends and I know two family members who may like to take it up (One of these family members is a dream sign of mine). Yeah I agree, it's not a good ice breaker though.

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Originally Posted by Screen

First, congrats on the first lucid dream. It's always empowering and helps you to have more in the future. Now that you know you can officially do it, the rest will be easier.

As for your question, you just have to be confident if you chose your friends well. Are they the kind of friends you would be to someone? I know if someone told me about lucid dreaming, I wouldn't immediately condemn them, especially if I didn't know anything about it. That said, I share the topic of lucid dreaming sometimes with people I know. But I don't go out of my way to mention it often. It's not a 'hobby' you'd mention in casual conversations like being a musician or artist.

I don't think it's necessary to keep it a secret from people you trust. But as for your average Joe? I don't think they'd really care, which is why I'd never use it to break the ice, if you catch my drift.

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Originally Posted by JessBurn

:) You see lucid dreaming popping up now and then on TV. I recently watched an episode of 'American Dad' where the character 'Steve Smith' was practicing lucid dreaming and got himself into a bit of trouble haha.

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Oh yeah, I've heard of that episode! Never seen it yet. What's the ep called?

I was careful about the people whom I speak about lucid dreaming with, but now I tell to almost everyone. I've opened myself to everybody and lucid dreamer is simply who I am and who I want to become. What others think about myself is their business. Sometimes people think about you that you are crazy... Your job is to persuade them to change their opinion and start to think about them self that their are crazy becuase they don't practice this amazing skill, whitch is completely natural and so amazing!!!

Well, not exactly. It's funny because this is very relevant for me! I was attempting to lucid dream last night (I've had two lucid dreams so far, the first years ago on accident) and I was trying to talk about it to one of my friends as we were leaving school. However, she's not one for extensive conversations really, especially with a subject matter such as this, and I don't think she really understood what I was even talking about, much less cared. I've only really talked to two others friends about it, but they're not that interested in it I don't think. I keep it to myself for the most part, since it's not something that seems to appeal to just anyone. I would love to share, however, when I get the chance if someone wants to listen!

Hi, I think the episode is called ''Merlot Down Dirty Shame''

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Originally Posted by AstralMango

Oh yeah, I've heard of that episode! Never seen it yet. What's the ep called?

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I tell certain people, like if they ask what my hobbies are or if we're talking about sleep/dreaming in general. Most people think it's weird and I don't think they understand the concept (I do live in a state with a lot of stupid people, though).

i understand how you feel like it's something to be kept secret. typically i'll talk about dreams or my near obe experiences when the convo steers in that direction, but only with someone i know well and won't think i'm weird when i tell them i once popped out my 'second arm' when i meant to move my flesh arm lol. my brother as well whose had 2 ld's, his first describing it as so real that he thought he died and was in heaven. i'm just trying til the day i have my first ld and share it with him.

Family I tell (not my mom as she is 90). But now that they know, they don't care. My wife thinks it is unhealthy. Only 3 or 4 at my Church know as this would be hard for many. So now, it's mostly you all I share with and I keep my fantastic voyages to myself. Unfortunately you can't share your experiences, really, and words don't do it justice anyway. So most find you boring or bragging. Seems to me you can't win in sharing with others except for rare individuals. I am over 60 so my peer group is different from most of you all I suspect.

Family I tell (not my mom as she is 90). But now that they know, they don't care. My wife thinks it is unhealthy. Only 3 or 4 at my Church know as this would be hard for many. So now, it's mostly you all I share with and I keep my fantastic voyages to myself. Unfortunately you can't share your experiences, really, and words don't do it justice anyway. So most find you boring or bragging. Seems to me you can't win in sharing with others except for rare individuals. I am over 60 so my peer group is different from most of you all I suspect.

I love to talk about lucid dreaming and I usually get one of two replies:

You're crazy
OR
Oh I do that all the time

and more often then not, it's the latter. I know a few naturals, and I was the one who made them realize that full control of all of your dreams doesn't happen to everyone. They were quite shocked.

I find it strange how people can not be interested in lucid dreaming, or dreaming in general. But i have told many people about my experiences and too many are totally uninterested or just think im.. weird. Its a little sad, but at least my family is slightly more interested :cool:

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Originally Posted by notHuman

I find it strange how people can not be interested in lucid dreaming, or dreaming in general. But i have told many people about my experiences and too many are totally uninterested or just think im.. weird. Its a little sad, but at least my family is slightly more interested :cool:

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Gah. I know, right? I don't understand how someone can learn about the practice of regular lucid dream induction and not be fascinated by it. It's such an absolutely wonderful, amazing and otherworldly idea! Well... I suppose the otherworldly part is what turns some people off to it. :roll: I'm generally a nonconformist who's attracted to otherworldly things (always loved the fantasy genre of fiction), so that adds to the appeal for me; but it's also just a really, obviously awesome and fun and even productive thing to do and how can you be disinterested in it?? Some people are so drawn to the ordinary and have such a boring, closed-off view of the world. They would even call you crazy just for having an unusual interest.

Okay, enough with the pretentious tirade. :D I generally don't keep it a secret from anyone but also don't make it a point to mention it to most people without instigation. Just explaining it to a new person is kind of a hassle; and I kind of enjoy the feeling of having this secret side that's into this relatively underground thing that most people don't know about. But I also like talking about it sometimes, for social release. So I talk about it with my best friend a lot (he thinks it's really cool but that he's too busy to try it himself) and sometimes, another buddy/good acquaintance in my school. But other than that, I don't mention it to many people. Eh.

I do keep it to myself, at least for now, that I still don't have lucids frequently. I first knew about this almost a year ago and I have never talked about it with anyone. The people around me don't take the slightest interest in dreams, so I guess it's normal I don't expect them to know about lucid dreaming.

I plan on sharing all this once I'm more experienced, I guess I would sound like a fool to some people right now. It's been my little secret so far and I like it this way. In any case, I think most people are too close-minded to understand, so I'm not in a rush to share it with anyone yet.

Happy dreams! :)

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Originally Posted by notHuman

I find it strange how people can not be interested in lucid dreaming, or dreaming in general. But i have told many people about my experiences and too many are totally uninterested or just think im.. weird. Its a little sad, but at least my family is slightly more interested :cool:

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Everybody I tell does the same things. .-.

I really think they either think its fake, or that its not all that. Infact this one kid was like "whats the point of doing the things, you know its a dream and won't feel like real life"

Yes, it will you dumbo.

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Originally Posted by TwitchLucidity

I really think they either think its fake, or that its not all that. Infact this one kid was like "whats the point of doing the things, you know its a dream and won't feel like real life"

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I guess your right, it doesn't feel like real life. Not at all. :( IT IS WAY BETTER! I CAN FLY SUCKERS!! :banana:

My family knows and they think it's cool. My mom tries but my sister barely cares.

I've found I tend to get one of two reactions - which are either that I'm a bit weird, or that it's in some way wrong or dangerous. I don't tend to admit to it too people any more. Even at home, I'd like to tell the latest stories of either vivids or Lucids, but I get a cold reaction generally, so I just keep it to myself now - except on here of course!

Depends on the person.

I told my group about it, very briefly, and it didn't go well.

One of them said, "You talk to people about your dreams online? That's creepy."

I only tell certain people now.

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Originally Posted by Tygar

I guess your right, it doesn't feel like real life. Not at all. :( IT IS WAY BETTER! I CAN FLY SUCKERS!! :banana:

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Aww yeah, we can fly like Superman! :D Still a shame that a lot of people don't want to know about lucid dreaming though. I actually feel a little sad when reading the negatives on this thread.

I have only told a friend of me, but hide it from even my family. Why I am on DV and someone comes I quickly switch to something else. I feel stupid but I will feel even more stupid after explaining LDing and they say "Hey, you are into lucid dreaming and stuff. But why don't you just focus on your homework first" Or some bullshit like that. So yeah, I hide it because no one will probably care.

I tell whenever I can. It doesn't really matter who. It's not a forbidden thing! If it's possible to start a conversation about it, I give it a try at least once, because of I think I can find another person who experience the same, then we can share experiences and so. If they are not into it, they will forget about it in less than an hour. If they show some interest, we can have a very nice conversation at least once. My lucid pupils so far, were two. Now they do it by their own and we have really fun talk when we meet from time to unfortunately very long time now.

It depends. I usually keep it to myself, until I get excited again and start asking everyone I know, "Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming?"

The interesting thing is that a lot of people at my school have heard of it one way or another, though their idea of LDs vary (awareness vs. vividness vs. control, etc).
They either:
1) find it interesting but not *that* interesting,
2) don't see the point to it

And just now I posted on FB about it and found out that one of my friends is a natural lucid dreamer. Going to bombard them with questions ...

I've told my family and they're fine with it, they even think it's interesting. I also told an online friend and she thought it was interesting, I mentioned it to another internet friend and he'd actually tried it before and wanted to try it again.

One time though, I told this group of people I sometimes talk to online and their reactions were basically:

Person one: "I've heard of it, sounds tiring"
Person two: "Yeah but it's for people with boring lives"
Person three: "Why not just do drugs?"

http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyM.../c6b/Snape.gif

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Originally Posted by Mismagius

I've told my family and they're fine with it, they even think it's interesting. I also told an online friend and she thought it was interesting, I mentioned it to another internet friend and he'd actually tried it before and wanted to try it again.

One time though, I told this group of people I sometimes talk to online and their reactions were basically:

Person one: "I've heard of it, sounds tiring"
Person two: "Yeah but it's for people with boring lives"
Person three: "Why not just do drugs?"

http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyM.../c6b/Snape.gif

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http://i.imgur.com/XqQOs.gif

Well, the first response at least sounds reasonable, even if we disagree with it and find it's worth the effort. But the other two? Dang.

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Originally Posted by AstralVagabond

Well, the first response at least sounds reasonable, even if we disagree with it and find it's worth the effort. But the other two? Dang.

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Haha, I was thinking about using that gif! :chuckle:

Yeah, the first one is understandable but I thought it was odd because like me that person is also learning Japanese, which I think requires just as much patience and determination. That's also why I was thrown by their responses, they are usually open minded about things like that because they get made fun of for learning Japanese.

I've told quite a few of co-workers about it. They find it very interesting and are always asking me complex questions that I don't know :P I've also got a few friends that are into it. I just started getting into it about a month ago. Haven't been able to dream for the past few years, but ever since I started getting into LDing, although I haven't had one yet, I'm dreaming more frequently and I love it! :D

Depends on who it is of course. Like say a lady I work with who likes to attend theme'd parties, I talk to her about dream stuff now and then. But like my brother who thinks life is all about working, I dare not tell him I even have ANY type of dreams.

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Originally Posted by notHuman

I find it strange how people can not be interested in lucid dreaming, or dreaming in general. But i have told many people about my experiences and too many are totally uninterested or just think im.. weird. Its a little sad, but at least my family is slightly more interested :cool:

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Some people are just WAY too grounded in reality and the daily grind. Reality sucks. It is no shock that those same people are pretty boring.
No discussing dreams is not weird. If not for dreams and fantasy - Hollywood, music, novels, and games would not exist. ENTERTAINMENT would not exist.

To Mismagius and AstralVagabond, I feel compelled to add:

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ps15b34b07.gif

I'll tell people once in a while, and I usually get 0 interest from them. The hippies like it, though, so I talk to them. My dad thinks it's really odd, but has recently been forced to come around a bit since my daughter also started LDing. Now he accepts it as possible, but he doesn't really get it.

In general, I find that people get really uncomfortable if you tell them about any sort of dream you have had. It's not polite conversation or something. :uhm:

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Originally Posted by Plashanko

I'm dreaming more frequently and I love it! :D

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You know, everybody dreams at least 5 times a normal sleep period. You just don't remember it.

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Originally Posted by AstralVagabond

Some people are so drawn to the ordinary and have such a boring, closed-off view of the world. They would even call you crazy just for having an unusual interest.

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I can't agree more. People are like a flock of sheep and they're all interested in the same things. If you come up with an unusual interest, they either don't even listen or just think you are weird. And then everyone claims to be "different" than the rest of the world. :doh: Well, it's up to them, I choose to take profit of the third of my life that I'll spend sleeping :D

Keep it a secret? What difference does it make? Most people won't care one way or another, and if they get judgmental then the jokes on them because they've revealed to you just how little they know. Besides with all the research and studies done on lucid dreaming, it's become almost mainstream with movies like Inception getting attention.

Yes and no.

At first I told family. Not well recieved. So I slowed down. Then I couldn't resist any more, told some friends, and even worse reception. So I told myself "I'm not telling no more". Just last week, a coworker asked me if I believe in ghosts. And that opened the floodgates. I said "yes, because I have been a ghost in my OBEs". Turns out he had a LD before as well.

So, I'm still not telling, but if someone seems like he is "worthy", I'll give it a try.

I typically allow people to bring up the topic as well. But that's how I am about most things, I wait for the topic to present itself, wait for an opportunity to weigh in, and blow everybody away with my extensive knowledge of said topic. And then they're all like, "Damn sometimes I forget you're actually smart and not just a total fuck."

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Originally Posted by gab

Yes and no.

At first I told family. Not well recieved. So I slowed down. Then I couldn't resist any more, told some friends, and even worse reception. So I told myself "I'm not telling no more". Just last week, a coworker asked me if I believe in ghosts. And that opened the floodgates. I said "yes, because I have been a ghost in my OBEs". Turns out he had a LD before as well.

So, I'm still not telling, but if someone seems like he is "worthy", I'll give it a try.

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I understand the whole "worthy" part. Some people are cut out for this, and others are not.

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Originally Posted by Sibyline

To Mismagius and AstralVagabond, I feel compelled to add:

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ps15b34b07.gif

I'll tell people once in a while, and I usually get 0 interest from them. The hippies like it, though, so I talk to them. My dad thinks it's really odd, but has recently been forced to come around a bit since my daughter also started LDing. Now he accepts it as possible, but he doesn't really get it.

In general, I find that people get really uncomfortable if you tell them about any sort of dream you have had. It's not polite conversation or something. :uhm:

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("Muggles?"
"Non-lucid folk.")

Jeez, this thread is so depressing. Who knew you could meet so much negative backlash for this kind of thing? So, really, the people being discussed here are like the Dursley-type muggles in some ways - so uncomfortable with the extraordinary and quick to look down on people trying anything fantastic or unusual. (And oh, lucid dreaming is such a fantastic ability to have! Surely like creating a world where you can do magic of your own...) :wizard:

Yeah, I don't get why people don't like it when you talk about your dreams either. If it's not obviously related to something personal that isn't appropriate for the given conversation, what? What am I doing? Opening myself for a villain to psychoanalyse me and calculate all my weak spots with the crucial knowledge that I dreamed about a giant turkey flying in a spaceship and consuming the entire town's bagel supply? :P

The reactions I get from people are usually something like "aha...", followed by attempts to change the subject.

Yeah I know that it's not "important" to make people practice lucid dreaming, but it's fun to share awesome things with other people, and it becomes kind of frustrating when people are so put off by lucid dreaming when lucid dreams are obviously one of the coolest things anyone can experience.

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Originally Posted by AstralVagabond

("Muggles?"
"Non-lucid folk.")

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Please, can we make this official? Perfect moniker. It should go in the Wiki and everything!

http://ih2.redbubble.net/image.10607...w,ffffff.2.jpg

That's actually really cool, calling non-lucid folk 'Muggles'! I should start calling people that if they show signs of being Dursley-ish.

Haha! I didn't know that joke would get so big. :fame: Well, Oxford Dictionary already defines 'muggle' as 'a person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill,' so... (No, really. Look it up. :biggrin:)

"Muggles", haha great term, but I would suggest that it should be reserved for those who actually are against lucid dreaming and discourage you from practicing it.
It would be slightly unfair to call people muggles just because they haven't quite discovered lucid dreaming yet, because chances are that they would love the idea if someone mentioned it to them.

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

"Muggles", haha great term, but I would suggest that it should be reserved for those who actually are against lucid dreaming and discourage you from practicing it.
It would be slightly unfair to call people muggles just because they haven't quite discovered lucid dreaming yet, because chances are that they would love the idea if someone mentioned it to them.

As a comparison, Morpheus is a lucid dreamer, and Neo starts out as a muggle.

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Ah, good point. Although in Harry Potter terminology muggles are non magic folk, so even if someone isn't against lucid dreaming they could still be considered a muggle since they are not lucid dreamers themselves.

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Originally Posted by Mismagius

Ah, good point. Although in Harry Potter terminology muggles are non magic folk, so even if someone isn't against lucid dreaming they could still be considered a muggle since they are not lucid dreamers themselves.

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Ah, I see your point.
Well, when I think about it almost everyone who doesn't seem that familiar with lucid dreaming tend to dismiss the subject as quickly as possible, so... yeah. xD

I don't keep it a secret, but I also don't mention it to people I suspect would have a problem with it. I'm pretty good at telling who that is.

My dad seemed vaguely interested, a couple of coworkers of mine thought it sounded cool. My sister pretty much doesn't care. My mom probably wouldn't approve so I haven't told her about it.

In school, my English teacher gave everyone in the class the opportunity to talk about anything you wanted to for a minute to practice public speaking. So, what did I talk about? Lucid dreaming of course. I went and stood in front of the class of 30+ people, explaining the very basics of LDing, such as being able to do anything you want, yada yada yada etc. The reaction I got from the class was.. nonexistent. I was surprised. No one said ANYTHING. No "wtf"s, no "cool"s, not anything. They just sat there in total silence.

That was a couple months ago and to this day no one has ever brought the subject back up to me. I'm just appalled how some people can literally show no interest in such an amazing thing like lucid dreaming.. Oh well... I guess one of the cool things about lucid dreaming is that its so esoteric, but I hope for a day that humans will be more open minded to more things.

</rant>

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mahoogie

In school, my English teacher gave everyone in the class the opportunity to talk about anything you wanted to for a minute to practice public speaking. So, what did I talk about? Lucid dreaming of course. I went and stood in front of the class of 30+ people, explaining the very basics of LDing, such as being able to do anything you want, yada yada yada etc. The reaction I got from the class was.. nonexistent. I was surprised. No one said ANYTHING. No "wtf"s, no "cool"s, not anything. They just sat there in total silence.

That was a couple months ago and to this day no one has ever brought the subject back up to me. I'm just appalled how some people can literally show no interest in such an amazing thing like lucid dreaming.. Oh well... I guess one of the cool things about lucid dreaming is that its so esoteric, but I hope for a day that humans will be more open minded to more things.

</rant>

---

I am actually quite ambivalent about this.
I do want to tell other people about it and make it more appreciated and well-known, but at the same time I kind of like how it is such an underground activity that only we seem to know about.
I have always been a sucker for underground and unusual stuff, and I feel like part of the charm about lucid dreaming might be lost if it becomes too mainstream.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I am actually quite ambivalent about this.
I do want to tell other people about it and make it more appreciated and well-known, but at the same time I kind of like how it is such an underground activity that only we seem to know about.
I have always been a sucker for underground and unusual stuff, and I feel like part of the charm about lucid dreaming might be lost if it becomes too mainstream.

---

Yeah, same here. Of course, lucid dreaming will still be awesome even if a lot of people know about it; but I love being the only one in, like, probably my whole school who knows about this secret, underground gold mine except for the people whom I've told about it. :D

Still, I wish most people didn't have such irksome reactions about it when they do hear about it and I wanna get some of my friends in on it. The more the merrier in the circle of friendship!

I've talked to a few friends about it; some seem interested, a lot don't believe it's possible. Nobody has tried to burn me at a stake yet though :P

I really don't understand why so many people have such problems realizing the potentials of lucid dreaming.
Doesn't everyone occasionally feel extra invigorated after a pleasant dream, and doesn't everyone feel gloomy after a nightmare?
Obviously their dreams affect how they feel in the mornings, and since I am sure most people have experienced occasional lucid dreams, why is it so hard for them to simply combine these two scenarios - realizing you are dreaming and intentionally creating those pleasant experiences?
I mean, purple tigers with 800 legs don't exist, but I can easily imagine one because I understand the concepts "purple", "tiger", "800" and "legs".
Lucid dreams can be broken down into equally intuitive components - "dream" and "self-aware".

Oh yeah AND my father thinks it's cool, and a couple of my friends.

Ya know I think it requires you to be a total nerd to call somebody a muggle.

I keep it a secret. My family is Dursley-ish. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginsan

Ya know I think it requires you to be a total nerd to call somebody a muggle.

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You say that as if it's a bad thing. :bslap:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginsan

Ya know I think it requires you to be a total nerd to call somebody a muggle.

---

Personally, I think nerds are extremely cool.

Yeah, I think it's kind of cool how lucid dreaming is an underground activity, like we're all wizards or something. But it would also be nice if it wasn't, or at least people had better reactions to it like AstralVagabond said.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginsan

Ya know I think it requires you to be a total nerd to call somebody a muggle.

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Well I'm a big Harry Potter fan, so I'm fine with that ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anju

I keep it a secret. My family is Dursley-ish. :(

---

Ahh, that's too bad Anju :C

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I really don't understand why so many people have such problems realizing the potentials of lucid dreaming.
Doesn't everyone occasionally feel extra invigorated after a pleasant dream, and doesn't everyone feel gloomy after a nightmare?

---

Actually, I normally feel relieved most of all after I have a nightmare because, upon waking up, I know that what happened in the nightmare is over and not real. But everything else you say is true! I just don't get what people's problem with this stuff is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mismagius

Well I'm a big Harry Potter fan, so I'm fine with that ;)

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Harry Potter fans unite! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AstralVagabond

Actually, I normally feel relieved most of all after I have a nightmare because, upon waking up, I know that what happened in the nightmare is over and not real. But everything else you say is true! I just don't get what people's problem with this stuff is.

---

I just asked my brother why he wasn't interested in lucid dreaming.

His response: "Just because. It isn't interesting."

Me: "Not at all?"

Him: "Nope."

I never knew he was that boring... Makes me wonder how much he really knows about lucid dreaming. Maybe I'll make a "5 Reasons Why You Should Try Lucid Dreaming" and put it on his desk or something... (Controlling dreams and doing whatever you want, of course, being #1.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sibyline

:bslap:

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:sniper::evil:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wanderingoak

I never knew he was that boring... Makes me wonder how much he really knows about lucid dreaming. Maybe I'll make a "5 Reasons Why You Should Try Lucid Dreaming" and put it on his desk or something... (Controlling dreams and doing whatever you want, of course, being #1.)

---

Lucid dreaming has the best recreational and practical purposes behind it! I'll bet your brother just doesn't understand it well enough. He could come around...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginsan

:sniper::evil:

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:gator: :wizard:

There is a good reason for which the Ministry makes all animagi put down their names on a list, Mr. Potter.

My best friend has more controled lucid dreams than I had and we talk about it alot.

I didnt speak to my family about it yet, I think because the reason I havent had a full aware and controled one yet.

I thibk its great that you know and talk to someone about it.

Whenever I avoid talking about lucid dreaming with other people I almost feel like a gay male trying to come out of the closet.

One thing I learned about when talking about lucid dreaming is to not talk about it with religious fanatics!! They will make you feel like you are worshipping the devil or something. lol They will also make it seem as though you are inviting demons into your life. It is really silly and close-minded but so trueee! I shared my love for lucid dreaming for my friend and she told me to be careful. lol I told her that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Another friend I told about lucid dreaming too was quite condescending. She made it sound as if she has more experience than me about anything spiritual and that I am a level beneath her and one day I'll come around and attend her church. lol This one was the worst! Anyway, share your experiences with people that are not stuck in religious dogma, take it from me. ;-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

Whenever I avoid talking about lucid dreaming with other people I almost feel like a gay male trying to come out of the closet.

---

This is the funniest thing I've ever heard! Thank you for sharing. I can so relate. lol lol but on the female side. This made my day! LMAO!

starletdreamer this is not the place to discuss this but I think you are pretty close minded yourself. Just because some people who have faith think a certain way all people think that way, right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginsan

starletdreamer this is not the place to discuss this but I think you are pretty close minded yourself. Just because some people who have faith think a certain way all people think that way, right?

---

She did say "religious fanatics", not all people of faith.

Alright, alright

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starletdreamer

One thing I learned about when talking about lucid dreaming is to not talk about it with religious fanatics!! They will make you feel like you are worshipping the devil or something. lol They will also make it seem as though you are inviting demons into your life. It is really silly and close-minded but so trueee! I shared my love for lucid dreaming for my friend and she told me to be careful. lol I told her that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Another friend I told about lucid dreaming too was quite condescending. She made it sound as if she has more experience than me about anything spiritual and that I am a level beneath her and one day I'll come around and attend her church. lol This one was the worst! Anyway, share your experiences with people that are not stuck in religious dogma, take it from me. ;-)

---

Might as well say that lucid dreaming invites some of the best experiences, because lucid dreaming gives you the potential to experience fantastic things and stop nightmares.

I mean, if you are the lucid dreamer and the one in control then you will obviously strive for as rewarding experiences as possible.
Nobody in their right mind intentionally creates unpleasant dream experiences that make them feel bad - not even masochists, because when they pursue unpleasant things they do it because those experiences feel good to them.

Nah, lucid dreams are awesome, and should be welcomed by absolutely everyone.
I cannot see how they would make anyone's life worse in any way, as long as people also take the time to relax and have a great time in them.
Nighmares can happen in regular dreams anyway, and if they happen in lucid dreams then you will even have much more power to change them - if you want to change them in the first place, because lucid nightmares can also teach important lessons.

Sorry I offended you. I said religious "fanatics". Not religious in general. A person can be religious and not come off by condemning everything just because of their beliefs while another condemns everything they hear and are ready to call everything demonic.

I do agree with lots of sentiment here. But I would rather think of it as we are the lucky ones, because we have received this gift of "interest". I count my lucky stars and say a little "thank you prayer" everytime I think about how lucky I was to find out about lucid dreaming and Dreamviews. Sheer coincidence (or was it). And a truck load of interest.

I feel sorry for people that don't have this interest. But i also don't feel sorry for them. I mean, do I want someone who is interested in some sport or art to feel sorry for me, because I have not discovered the thing, that he had discovered and enjoys thouroughly? No, I don't. If I had any interest in it, I would pick it up. But I don't. And it's ok that way. We are all different with diff interests. I'm sure people in lets say yoga forum [insert any other interest] are calling everybody else a muggle, because yoga is so good for you, yet we don't care.

Agreed again, that LDing is special. And I count my lucky stars for discovering. It's also on top of my list of things to 'discover' early on in my next incarnation.

When I tried it for the first time, a few years ago, I told my family and my close friends... they weren't really interested, they didn't care... except one friend told me he has such dreams every night and he thought that's normal (grr, I'm jealous)
but this time I don't really have the urge to tell everyone. If someone's coincidentally talking about dreams I might mention it though

The most annoying thing about others' skepticism is those people on YouTube and the like who go "do not lucid dream!", what is their problem?
Oh, and of course those who are like "is this shit real?".
Why yes, "this shit", a.k.a. "lucid dreaming", is real, and why shouldn't we practice it when it is just a more aware version of ordinary dreams, which everyone experiences several times every night?
That's like saying you should never create your own daydreams.

I talked with my mom and my brother about it but they looked at me as i were some crazy guy and my brother said "thats impossible". I wonder when lucid dreams will get accepted in society

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iriba

I talked with my mom and my brother about it but they looked at me as i were some crazy guy and my brother said "thats impossible". I wonder when lucid dreams will get accepted in society

---

Every time I read this post I see Neo from The Matrix go "No...! I don't believe it...! It's impossible!".

It the topic comes up it's hard not to talk about, IMO. How elaborate I make it.. Well, that depends on who's asking. If I know that the person has an interest in the more "surreal" experiences of life then I often engage in discussions about Lucid Dreaming full on. I find that most people have experienced something similar or close-to Lucid Dreaming. I tend to avoid poking at the more provocative topics such as OBE's and WILD's. It is understandable that it would be difficult wrapping your head around if you are a "novice" to the Astral/Dream world.

The subject Lucid Dreaming is often met with positive reactions in general. At least, that's been the case so far for me. The most fun part is when you bring it up to a close friend and you find out that they also like to LD. Ah, good times.

:reading:

Yes, I keep it to myself. I suspect most people I know would think it was weird, though they would be too polite to tell me so. I've told a few people about it in the past and most of them responded with bizarrely stubborn disbelief. I mean, I'm all for healthy skepticism, but becoming conscious within a dream strikes me as such a relatively mundane and plausible idea that I don't quite understand this skeptical reaction. Honestly it seems weirder to me that we go unconscious for 8 hours every night.

I feel like this should be more widely known, but for some reason is just hasn't caught on and most people still have no idea what it is. From my own experiences of bringing it up with friends and co workers, it's been a mixed bag of "I do that too!" to "Whatever, lets go get drunk". I feel like most people just don't care enough or understand how awesome it is and are too lazy to put forth the effort it takes to actually learn how to have them. It's very easy not to, of course, as I forgot about it myself for over a year...:embarrassed:

My parents think I'm crazy, they probably don't really believe in Lucid Dreaming. They especially think I'm crazy when I do all my "crazy" antics to boost the chances of lucid dreaming. My brothers on the other hand think it's pretty cool. Also a few of my friends are Lucid Dreamers, so they understand.

I wonder if it is possible to notice on other people's behaviour if they are somehow into lucid dreaming.
I personally often find myself observing my surroundings almost like a child whenever I am "Lucid Living", because I actually get a genuine curious feeling when I pretend that everything in waking life is a dream, since the association to being lucid tricks me into feeling excited.
Sometimes I almost get the feeling that some people are like "wtf, are you high or something?" when I walk around with large excited eyes and do my lucid role-playing.

Not that it matters a whole lot though, my university is pretty huge so almost nobody except my classmates knows who I am anyway. xD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I wonder if it is possible to notice on other people's behaviour if they are somehow into lucid dreaming.
I personally often find myself observing my surroundings almost like a child whenever I am "Lucid Living", because I actually get a genuine curious feeling when I pretend that everything in waking life is a dream, since the association to being lucid tricks me into feeling excited.
Sometimes I almost get the feeling that some people are like "wtf, are you high or something?" when I walk around with large excited eyes and do my lucid role-playing.

Not that it matters a whole lot though, my university is pretty huge so almost nobody except my classmates knows who I am anyway. xD

---

You know. I think I like you. :gab:

Today, I decided I would tell someone about a very vivid lucid dream I had. I have never talked to anyone in my surroundings about LD, and I thought my boyfriend may be the most appropiate person to be the first one I told. He's a graduate in nursery and so has an interest in medicine, so I believed he'd understand. Plus, these last few months I had been telling him about my dreams, the non-lucid ones, to work my way into the subject. So, I started by asking him if he knew what lucid dreaming was. As I expected, he said no, and I tried to describe it to him as simply as I could. He just said "sounds like Inception". He knows I love the movie. Then, I tried to make him ask me about the dream I had tonight (it was so overwhelmingly vivid I needed to tell someone, but I didn't want to just throw it to him if he wasn't interested) by telling him it had been amazing. He showed no interest whatsoever, so I just stopped trying. Meh, how disappointing, I thought I would finally have someone to share this with in real life. :whyme: People really aren't interested in these things at all, generally speaking.

So I guess yes, my interest in lucid dreaming still remains a secret to those around me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by martakartus

Today, I decided I would tell someone about a very vivid lucid dream I had. I have never talked to anyone in my surroundings about LD, and I thought my boyfriend may be the most appropiate person to be the first one I told. He's a graduate in nursery and so has an interest in medicine, so I believed he'd understand. Plus, these last few months I had been telling him about my dreams, the non-lucid ones, to work my way into the subject. So, I started by asking him if he knew what lucid dreaming was. As I expected, he said no, and I tried to describe it to him as simply as I could. He just said "sounds like Inception". He knows I love the movie. Then, I tried to make him ask me about the dream I had tonight (it was so overwhelmingly vivid I needed to tell someone, but I didn't want to just throw it to him if he wasn't interested) by telling him it had been amazing. He showed no interest whatsoever, so I just stopped trying. Meh, how disappointing, I thought I would finally have someone to share this with in real life. :whyme: People really aren't interested in these things at all, generally speaking.

So I guess yes, my interest in lucid dreaming still remains a secret to those around me.

---

Yeah, I know what you mean. I talk about lucid dreaming in the house all the time. My hubby is sick of it. lol I just cannot fathom how anyone would NOT be interested in this subject. I was talking to my brother about it just yesterday and he seemed pretty interested. I was very surprised since he is a skeptic about everything but apparently he was interested and was even willing to trying WILDing. As far as every day talk. I found a friend online that I talk about lucid dreaming everyday and they are also a lucid dreamer. You should find a friend you can talk to about this stuff everyday so you don't lose your interest. It will keep you motivated. There are lucid dream groups on facebook. You should look them up. Mine is The Lucid Traveler (For Oneironauts). You can request and join. Another one is just Lucid Dreaming. I found so many friends here and people that talk about lucid dreaming. It's a great place to go because you get notifications all the time and can chat with them on demand. Dreamviews is great too. Enjoy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starletdreamer

Yeah, I know what you mean. I talk about lucid dreaming in the house all the time. My hubby is sick of it. lol I just cannot fathom how anyone would NOT be interested in this subject. I was talking to my brother about it just yesterday and he seemed pretty interested. I was very surprised since he is a skeptic about everything but apparently he was interested and was even willing to trying WILDing. As far as every day talk. I found a friend online that I talk about lucid dreaming everyday and they are also a lucid dreamer. You should find a friend you can talk to about this stuff everyday so you don't lose your interest. It will keep you motivated. There are lucid dream groups on facebook. You should look them up. Mine is The Lucid Traveler (For Oneironauts). You can request and join. Another one is just Lucid Dreaming. I found so many friends here and people that talk about lucid dreaming. It's a great place to go because you get notifications all the time and can chat with them on demand. Dreamviews is great too. Enjoy!

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I'll definitely join some Facebook group. I think I'm in one already but it's not active. I'll send a request to your group :D it sounds great. And yeah, right now Dreamviews is my number one motivation :)

Btw, looks like finally my boyfriend has become interested. He must've done some research these last hours and now he's asking me questions. I like that, now we can have some interesting conversations. Maybe he'll end up so into the subject as me ^^

I actually told my mother about lucid dreaming today, and I showed her this image and explained it.
It felt like a good time to do that, because she has been talking about her dreams three days in a row now, and she has also studied sleep and dreaming, so she seemed open to the subject.

Her reaction when I said that the counting test had been carried out during a dream was something like "Im not sure I understand" followed by a puzzled look, but then I think she understood what I meant and she was like "ah, alright", but she wasn't particularly interested in talking about it.
I also reminded her that she had actually said herself that she once had a dream where she told herself that she was dreaming, and that it was like that.

I guess this whole thing means that she knows that lucid dreaming exists, but doesn't fully realize the potentials they offer.
Maybe she believes that lucid dreams cannot be controlled in a practical way.

Hi everyone,
I read that you have a lot of different opinions here, but I don't talk about lucid dreams with anyone except with my girlfriend, but she hadn't any LD already.
I think that the people can think that I'm a crazy guy. When a dream topic appear, people detect that I know a lot of things about dreams, but they never know how deep is my knowledge.
Do you think that I need to open my secret to the people? I sure that nobody care about this stuff...
See you dreamers! :)

I keep it a secret from my family, but I try to subtlety bring it up to others. Like "I had the craziest dream last night"

I act like I've never heard of Lucid Dreaming

This has been my experience with being a an open book about it.

I have three solid friends who are actively practicing it right now. It's nice to be able to converse face to face and having that support, most definitely.
There are other friends and random people i've encountered who don't have an interest in practicing, but find stories about Dreaming interesting and entertaining.
Then some people are who just being polite in listening for the moment. I try to pick up fast on it so I can decide whether to keep going to wrap it up and chance the subject.
Even someone who find it a little bit dangerous, but still supports my cause.

I won't start right off the bat. If a chance is presented to talk about it, then i'll take it. You never know who might secretly be into it.

lol I actually started a youtube channel of my journey. It's going to mainly consist my dream journal entries. I told most friends/people on my facebook that at one
point i have most likely dreamt of them. I asked if they would like to be tagged,notified, have a code name etc.. 90% Said they would like to be linked to the video(s) once done.

It has become important to me and so I would like to spread the awareness of it. My experience is not diminished if someone has an off opinion about it. Though I will admit it's nice
to have an environment with alike passion. So i'm always up for talking about it for anyone who wants to expand their friendship. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oakoi

I have three solid friends who are actively practicing it right now. It's nice to be able to converse face to face and having that support, most definitely.

---

Oh, definitely nice to have real life friends who also practise lucid dreaming. I found out yesterday that a friend of mine lucid dreams, so we had a really long conversation about it yesterday!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oakoi

This has been my experience with being a an open book about it.

lol I actually started a youtube channel of my journey. It's going to mainly consist my dream journal entries. I told most friends/people on my facebook that at one
point i have most likely dreamt of them. I asked if they would like to be tagged,notified, have a code name etc.. 90% Said they would like to be linked to the video(s) once done.

---

That's a really cool way to keep track of your dreams! :D Good that you would notify your friends on Facebook too.

AHA! I just got someone to try to TELL ME about Lucid dreaming after i subtly brought up sleep paraysis

Very interesting topic. I don't tell anyone except for my best friends and my girlfriend. I also make videos about lucid dreaming, and don't want anyone from my school to see those videos.

I talk about lucid dreaming pretty openly, but people's responses vary.

My mum thought I was hallucinating and was worried about it at first, but she's grown more comfortable with it over the years, especially since she's seen me teach other 'normal' people to lucid dream in that time.

My brother didn't care at all, until he had a lucid dream himself. Then HE came to ME to talk about it, and said, "Now I understand why you're so interested in it!"

Some friends have told me straight out that they think it's bullshit and they don't believe in lucid dreaming. I don't really care whether people 'believe' in it or not, but I feel a little bit uncomfortable in those situations, because it means that they think I've been lying about my experiences all this time. :P

Most people find it interesting though, and some are keen to learn themselves.

Topics I don't talk about with most people are the more supernatural ideas, like shared dreaming, astral projection, etc.
I think it's important not to lump them in with regular lucid dreaming, because people are sceptical enough as it is.

I'm willing to share the knowledge with those who are interested or want help, but I try not to impose it onto others and I try to avoid sounding like a pretentious prick while talking about it. I know how to hide my powerlevel. I'll usually keep it simple if I discuss it with others, because few of my friends are aware of the mechanics of LDs or even dreams in general.

Lol I'm waiting for the day when I catch someone doing a RC in public.
I'll calling them out xD

I guess one reason why lots of people are uncomfortable about lucid dreaming is because they sound a lot like an LSD trip.
In fact, I have heard some lucid dreamers getting those reactions from people, like "dude, are you on acid?".

I don't want to keep my lucid dreaming a secret. My hope is to find other perspective lucid dreamers or experienced lucid dreamers that I can converse with daily. As for people thinking I'm weird, I told my girlfriend about it and she is pretty spiritual so she was very interested.
Congrats on your first lucid dream!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I guess one reason why lots of people are uncomfortable about lucid dreaming is because they sound a lot like an LSD trip.
In fact, I have heard some lucid dreamers getting those reactions from people, like "dude, are you on acid?".

---

Why.

Why do people act like this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I guess one reason why lots of people are uncomfortable about lucid dreaming is because they sound a lot like an LSD trip.
In fact, I have heard some lucid dreamers getting those reactions from people, like "dude, are you on acid?".

---

It's a shame just how close-minded some people can be. We all dream, for God's sake! It's just that some of us take greater profit of it. I think people have a problem of either ignorance or jealousy. They either know nothing about sleep and dreams and just sleep through it all without a care, or they secretly believe it sounds cool and "hate" you because they are too lazy to try themselves and so will never be able to experience it.

When I first came across the whole lucid dreaming thing, I was so curious I started gathering information about it right away and couldn't wait to get started myself. It's hard for me to understand how some people can react in certain ways.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by martakartus

It's a shame just how close-minded some people can be. We all dream, for God's sake! It's just that some of us take greater profit of it. I think people have a problem of either ignorance or jealousy. They either know nothing about sleep and dreams and just sleep through it all without a care, or they secretly believe it sounds cool and "hate" you because they are too lazy to try themselves and so will never be able to experience it.

When I first came across the whole lucid dreaming thing, I was so curious I started gathering information about it right away and couldn't wait to get started myself. It's hard for me to understand how some people can react in certain ways.

---

I agree completely.
I think one reason for these kinds of reactions is also that people are so used to thinking of the physical world as "all that exists" - and when someone mentions lucid dreams, which practically sound like other worlds - then people find this absurd and react like "what? no!".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I agree completely.
I think one reason for these kinds of reactions is also that people are so used to thinking of the physical world as "all that exists" - and when someone mentions lucid dreams, which practically sound like other worlds - then people find this absurd and react like "what? no!".

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... But that's so irrational! :panic:

Ah, well. Too bad for them! More for us, I guess! :content: (However that works...)

I tried telling my friends 2 years ago in 8th grade, but they just laughed at me. A little while ago while I was waiting for the bus, a friend of mine brought up lucid dreaming or something like that and they said that they were trying to have lucid dreams and we talked about it for a bit, but he doesn't really talk about it.

I think one of the reasons why lucid dreaming is not more widely spread is because it's something that requires daily practice during months and years, and the vast majority of people are just not willing to do it. Those of us who are determined to work for it, though, see the endless possibilities this offers us in the long run. I am not very experienced yet and I look forward to having more lucids more often, but thinking of what I'll be able to do in the future is motivation enough for me to keep at it. But I have to admit I'd love to know someone personally I could share it with, it would make it much more fun. It's a shame the people around me don't care much about it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by martakartus

I think one of the reasons why lucid dreaming is not more widely spread is because it's something that requires daily practice during months and years, and the vast majority of people are just not willing to do it. Those of us who are determined to work for it, though, see the endless possibilities this offers us in the long run. I am not very experienced yet and I look forward to having more lucids more often, but thinking of what I'll be able to do in the future is motivation enough for me to keep at it. But I have to admit I'd love to know someone personally I could share it with, it would make it much more fun. It's a shame the people around me don't care much about it.

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http://24.media.tumblr.com/158d794f0...iwwco1_250.gif

Actually, I've only been practicing (at least an active interest in) lucid dreaming since earlier this year - but I first found out about and did some research on it back in 2012. The reason for this is that, though I thought it was really neat and saw the potential value of it when I first heard about cultivating the practice, I didn't have enough motivation to actually get to practicing all the techniques required/recommended for it.

I still have problems with motivation so I haven't made as much progress as I could have now - but it was all in the decision. On the other hand, some people don't seem to show any interest in even considering it. Though you're right - maybe some people are just jealous of those who can put in the effort...

I've also been really working for it only for the last few months, but seems like you've had more success than me :wink: though I don't have trouble with my motivation now. I guess motivation comes and goes every now and then, but it's easier for me to keep motivated since these last weeks I've shown clear signs of improvement.

Now I'd like to find someone in my surroundings I could teach things to (they say teaching is a good way to get better yourself), but of course I'm scared of what some people's reactions towards the whole thing can be. Is there a way to present the subject to someone so they feel curious and don't think you're crazy right away? :huh:

i dont tell anyone but my friend knows cuz hes into it too. i dont tell anyone because people like to associate it with "hurrr have lucid dream to bang hot gurlzzz!!!" and i dont even feel like trying to explain to them f that business

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Originally Posted by Laurelindo

I actually told my mother about lucid dreaming today, and I showed her this image and explained it.
It felt like a good time to do that, because she has been talking about her dreams three days in a row now, and she has also studied sleep and dreaming, so she seemed open to the subject.

Her reaction when I said that the counting test had been carried out during a dream was something like "Im not sure I understand" followed by a puzzled look, but then I think she understood what I meant and she was like "ah, alright", but she wasn't particularly interested in talking about it.
I also reminded her that she had actually said herself that she once had a dream where she told herself that she was dreaming, and that it was like that.

I guess this whole thing means that she knows that lucid dreaming exists, but doesn't fully realize the potentials they offer.
Maybe she believes that lucid dreams cannot be controlled in a practical way.

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:)
So how is the progress coming along with your mom? My mom is also interested but she is not very motivated to write down her dreams every morning. I told her to try recording them and she is going to try.

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Originally Posted by TwitchLucidity

My family thinks its interesting, but to be honest they don't care. :P

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Im the same way, actually when I told my parents about me trying to induce lucid dreams (before I ever had 1) my dad tried to tell me it was a waist of time and not possible. I told him!

It seems like many people report getting strange reactions where they share lucid dreaming stories; I on the other hand was surprised with many "been there-done that" type of answers! I asked my family if they've heard of lucid dreaming, and the reply was "yeah, every night." Asked co-workers, and they had countless lucid stories of their own! I was pleasantly surprised with how simple it was and how knowledgeable they were. Even if you get a few head shakes, the chance of finding out a person you've known for years is keeping it secret also is well worth it. Now I can keep lucidity on my mind all day at work with discussions strengthening my future dreams! It's more common knowledge than I thought. Here I thought I stumbled upon a valuable secret but in reality I was chasing the bandwagon!
-Rudy