Thread: Dangers Of Lucid Dreaming?

See it how you want but you can TELL when your not actually dreaming, an RC just gets you in the habit so you check in your dreams and become lucid.

Being unable to distinguish between wake and sleep states is actually very dangerous. And reality checks CAN fail!! The brain is not perfect! If someone is awake and believes they may be dreaming a reality check is not always going to work as discearnable proof that the person is awake. The brain can play tricks on us and it is especially likely that someone who is having difficulties distinguishing between reality and dream states may be having hallucinations- visual, or auditory, mild or severe. Hallucinations are not reserved for schizophrenics and are quite common. Infact hallucinations at one time were necessary for human survival and we hallucinated before having conscious thought. (am I losing anyone?)

I have often thought about the dangers of lucid dreaming and this is the one that always disturbs me.

Being unable to distinguish between wake and sleep states is actually very dangerous.

If you cannot tell when you are awake, then you aren't normal and need serious help - it's as simple as that.

Sure, you don't know when you are dreaming, but it doesn't work the other around.

Originally Posted by tiddlywink101

See it how you want but you can TELL when your not actually dreaming, an RC just gets you in the habit so you check in your dreams and become lucid.

That is exactly what i was saying

Originally Posted by themindsi

Being unable to distinguish between wake and sleep states is actually very dangerous. And reality checks CAN fail!! The brain is not perfect! If someone is awake and believes they may be dreaming a reality check is not always going to work as discearnable proof that the person is awake. The brain can play tricks on us and it is especially likely that someone who is having difficulties distinguishing between reality and dream states may be having hallucinations- visual, or auditory, mild or severe. Hallucinations are not reserved for schizophrenics and are quite common. Infact hallucinations at one time were necessary for human survival and we hallucinated before having conscious thought. (am I losing anyone?)

I have often thought about the dangers of lucid dreaming and this is the one that always disturbs me.

No, RCs NEVER fail, if you pinch your nose, and can't breath through it, yet still have doubt of reality, then push your finger through your palm, and LO, it doesn't work! Still having doubts, you watch to see if numbers or letters on things change, no? Well you aren't dreaming. Besides, when you are asleep, you CAN'T tell that ur dreaming!! That is the point of doing reality checks in reality! to set up a routine!

Originally Posted by blade5x

If you cannot tell when you are awake, then you aren't normal and need serious help - it's as simple as that.

Exactly. Meidi definitely did the right thing in stopping.

Originally Posted by blade5x

Sure, you don't know when you are dreaming, but it doesn't work the other around.

Exactly what I said. RCs let you know if you're dreaming when you are dreaming but when you are awake you should always know. If you need to do an RC to confirm that you are awake (when in fact you are), you are having serious problems differentiating between fantasy and reality and should seek medical help.

Originally Posted by tiddlywink101

See it how you want but you can TELL when your not actually dreaming, an RC just gets you in the habit so you check in your dreams and become lucid.

You are wrong once again. I know several people, including myself, that just had to do a reality-check, because we simply weren't sure if we were awake or not.

Once I was looking at a watch. It was 16:00, and suddenly, it just changed to 17:53. My sight just tricked me, but I had to do a reality-check, since I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or not.

A reality-check is a check, that is designed to check your reality.

I beg to differ (first time I've probably ever used this phrase).

I never use reality checks while awake. Looking a circular clocks for a brief second, I always see a different time because there are 3 hands and I can get them mixed up. I'll glance back and think "wtf?" but never have to pinch my nose to make sure I am not dreaming.

And in dreams... you already have to be slightly lucid to even have a shot at having the lucid. You don't just blindly reality check and have a lucid. You at some moment go "I think I am dreaming..." (here's the initial small amount of lucidity) - you'll think and feel that something is not right - though because you are not fully at waking consciousness, you will not realize immediately that you are dreaming. You'll either then pick up on this lost sense of reality or do a RC and realize you are dreaming. The excitement brings your lucidity up, but the amount of lucidity varies from here. You may only remain semi-lucid or you may have full blown lucidity, or you may lose it completely.

In my opinion, I would practice "brining your awareness up" at random moments (not sure how to do this yet exactly) that way when you do go lucid, you'll have full blown lucidity. I believe this can be very beneficial where as practicing RCing has never really been of interest to me (but then again I rely on WILDs and not DILDs)

Reality checks are not a fullproof method of finding whether you are in reality. We use them to make them into a habit so we can become lucid in our dreams. People should be able to tell when they are actually awake and dreaming. Reality checks are not used to proof this in real life. You should be able to distinguish the difference.

Exactly, you do not use a RC to make sure you are awake - you use it to see if you are dreaming... and there is a big difference between the two like I explained above (the process of becoming lucid )

I mean there are a few instances where something may happen which could really confuse a person, but if say on a regular basis you zone out, and something awkward happens, or something unexpected, you may actually question for a second reality, but if you actually have to do a RC to make sure, then something is wrong.

I find it pretty scary that the concept of a reality check as Truffles, blade5x, and I understand it is not universally accepted in this thread. I'll repeat for the last time, you should only use RCs while awake if you are trying to create a habit that will carry over to your dreams. RCs can be used to check your reality in a dream, but when you are awake, you should never have any doubt about it (excluding cases when one is under the influence of harmful substances). If you are unsure while you happen to be awake, you could be developing a serious psychological condition such as schizophrenia.

If you cannot always distinguish between fantasy and reality in real life, there is a chance that, at some point in time, you could behave like you would in an LD. There are virtually no consequences for harmful or illegal actions in an LD, but in real life there most certainly are. Unfortunately, some posters in this thread are sadly mistaken on this matter of reality, and I hope that there won't be any adverse consequences.

i didnt read any of the following replys but my answer is.

Get more sleep, i wake up naturally at 4:45 and go to bed at 9 (for school) and i feel great. When i used to get up at 6 and go to sleep at 11, i slept through like every class. One hour makes a huge difference.

Second, about the danger part.
Who cares? Do it anyway.

Seriousily, dont live in fear. If it looks fun, if it will enchance your life, do it.

That doesnt mean herion...that doesnt "enchance your life" It just makes you feel good for a moment.

I'm fifteen too, (white male if that matters)
First Point: Either your not getting enough sleep, doing a technique wrong, have ADD. I don't know there could be many reasons for why you can't pay attention. Try to be open minded ( No offense intened, just couldn't word it any other way) and figure out what it really is. I now that school's almost out for me and i could care less about school right now.

Second Point: This is the one that got me lost for words..... Lucid dreaming is natural for some people. I've had them my entire life. I can concentrate (i have a 4.0 GPA in school), I get sleep. And if anything it will probualy help your brain figure out stuff because it's not just giving you random information.

Originally Posted by Seismosaur

No, RCs NEVER fail, if you pinch your nose, and can't breath through it, yet still have doubt of reality, then push your finger through your palm, and LO, it doesn't work! Still having doubts, you watch to see if numbers or letters on things change, no? Well you aren't dreaming. Besides, when you are asleep, you CAN'T tell that ur dreaming!! That is the point of doing reality checks in reality! to set up a routine!

The Dream Views site itself describes the accurate way Reality Checks should be used, on it's main page under "Lucid Dream Induction Techniques", as dilligently performing reality checks throughout the day in the idea that the practice will manifest into your dreams in the hopes of realizing one is dreaming and inducing lucidity. Of course I am paraphrasing but you can read it here, http://http://dreamviews.com/induction.php, third paragraph from the bottom. Although setting up a routine IS the main purpose of Reality Checks, Reality checks should not be used to determine whether or not one is AWAKE but rather to determine whether one is sleeping, i.e. dreaming. Although the two statements are recipritive, one must not confuse them for being synonymous.

Furthermore, even if one was to use RC's to try and determine whether they were awake or not, it is highly likely results would be muddled since if one even had the NEED to try and determine if they were awake or not the person would be experiencing some type of mental distress. When the brain is under extreme states of mental durress normal functions which we take for granted can be hindered, such as the ability to accurately percieve what is there (numbers, letters, things). Being unable to distinguish between what is not there and what IS there, which we rely upon to even perform a reality check, means one must be undergoing some form of mild or severe hallucination, be it auditory or visual.

Feelings of disconnection from reality are infact symptoms of many very serious mental illnesses such as: postpartum disease, alzheimers disease, borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorder, cyclothymia (more commonly known as bi-polar disorder), and schizophrenia to name just a few.

If one is suffering from feelings of disconnection to reality and is unable to tell whether or not one is dreaming or awake the answer is clearly not to perform a reality check with a human mind --which is certainly fallible, even to someone who is not afflicted with any mental illness. The human brain, although a truely remarkable edifice, should not be given as much credit as you are alloting it. Infact the brain is usually undisciplined and unreliable, considerably less than perfect.

In conclusion, taking into account the previously given information, we must deduce that:

1.) NO, reality checks are not meant to determine whether or not one is AWAKE, but consequently to determine whether one is, or is not DREAMING.

2.) Someone who is having difficulty accurately distinguishing from an awake state and a dream state must seek the attention of a psychologist and if they cannot readily access a psychologist visit their regular doctor. Also, many local hospitals will readily assess the psychological well-fare of anyone experiencing mental durress.

Hopefully this will end the debate. Kudos to blade5x, dsr, and Truffles.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by themindsi

Kudos to Marvo, dsr, and Truffles.

blade5x, dsr, and Truffles

Originally Posted by dsr

Thank you.


blade5x, dsr, and Truffles

Ooops! Thanks dsr! My careless mistake, I wholly agree in credit where credit is due, thanks for allerting me!

No problem. I'm just glad we're in agreement.

Thanks for writing that up themindsi. That should hopefully explain to everybody what we mean. Anyway, I think the main thing here is, if you can't distinguish reality from dream life, don't do a reality check. Don't surf around the dreamviews forum looking for an answer. Don't shake it off and say that it happens to everybody. See a doctor.

Not a problem! Hopefully this settles it. Disconnection from reality is very serious! I'm a psychology major who's done alot of research in abnormal psych and disconnection from reality is red flag territory! I thought it unethical to not add my two cents!

Haha, I completely understand.

Thanks for clearing all that out, themindsi. I see your point.

So final word on the subject then?

Lucid dreaming isn't dangerous. I'd say only a small percentage of people who try this get these effects.

But still, there is no "proper" scientific research into lucid dreaming so we can't realy make these statements

True but we can probably safely assume from the research and dreaming of members here that it is safe.