Hi Everyone!

[Inadrys]

My interest in this site and the concept of Lucid Dreaming came around quite suddenly; I found a link to some forums such as this one when I started to read about LDs and what they actually are, and how there is actually more to them than I first thought- Upon reading up for a while I now see that I unwittingly used lucidity to combat nightmares in my past, as the techniques described- I was no longer afraid of all of these monsters and terrifying entities which previously kept me in fear of going to bed at night when I realised that they could not hurt me. While this may sound somewhat odd, I feel that I owe a great deal to Lucid Dreaming and how it pretty much removed the constant nightmares that troubled my childhood- reading all these great stories about being able to exist in your own reality which you have control over, no matter how brief, has inspired me to perhaps teach myself how to do so and to see it's truly like outside the context of my childhood nightmares. My dream recall has deteriorated over time considerably- Long gone are the days where I could remember on average 2 or 3 dreams each night- If I'm lucky (or unlucky as the case may be) I can remember perhaps a vague fragment of one; this is a rarity in itself. While this is something I can improve, as shown by the techniques described on this site, I'm not sure if I truly want to. While this may seem odd, even good dreams have made me feel out of control and uncomfortable- when I look at a watch I don't like the idea that it's just going to show a completely different time at a second glance! I've also read a couple of accounts from different forums of people who were in a Lucid state and by a slip of the tongue saw some things that terrified them; every so often I get what is defined here as a False Awakening to see something out of some horror film (in all likelihood something out of the Grudge or something) standing over my bed screaming at me when I look at them- my frequent nightmares are gone but that doesn't necessarily mean that I fear nothing now. On the contrary, I fear an awful lot of things; probably more than most people of my age, and my concern is that if I am going to learn how to gain control over my dreamstate and have my generally peaceful sleeptime disturbed once more by nightmares then I'm not entirely sure it's worth it. If you've read this account all the way through (and if you did then I congratulate you, it wasn't exactly short&#33 then I would pose you this question- is it worth bringing back dreams into my life so that I may gain lucidity over them? Any responses or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[Seeker]

If you've read this account all the way through (and if you did then I congratulate you, it wasn't exactly short&#33 then I would pose you this question- is it worth bringing back dreams into my life so that I may gain lucidity over them? Any responses or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading![/b] Yay, I made it to the bottom! Welcome on board, please let us know how we can help. In response to your question...Absolutely, lucid dreaming is one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. Also, you'd be suprised to learn how many people have used lucid dreaming to combat nightmares, fears, and other problems.

[NeAvO]

Hi there Inadrys, Yes it is worth bringing back dreams into your life. Don't worry about all the scary stories you read in here. While you're dreaming you're perfectly safe besides even if your lucid turns to a nightmare you can just try to change the surroundings or wake your self up. Trust me its worth it in the end You're dreams are like fragments? You need a dream journal to sort that out, it helps with recall and with recognizing dream signs! Very helpful tool. Well I hope this has helped influence you to go on with LDing. Have fun and I hope to see you around

[Inadrys]

Thanks for the replys I'll start a dream journal tonight although I expect it'll be slow progress at first- won't be much at all to right down at the start! This may sound extremely odd, but say, for example, I wanted to combat my fear of the supernatural (basically, the area from which my greatest fears stem from) would I be able to sort of 'choose the battle ground' in a dream? To metaphorically face 'fear' itself in a fight in a big coliseum with everyone around me cheering my name as I get rid of what scares me head on? I know that's a rather specific example (that's how I would probably do it if I had the choice, because wide open spaces make things less alarming for me, generally) but would that theoretically be possible if I really tried, and (most importantly) would it work? I'll find some form of notepad right now and get a page ready for this evening! Thanks again.

[Alex D]

I like you idea of facing a fear head on in a battle ground like that, it would certainly be possible and would probably be a lot of fun too! Now you're givng me ideas. Welcome to Dream Views by the way. Good luck.

[MoD]

@Inadrys, please do not ask us what what you could do and what now. Why? Because your only limit is your imagination. So YES! You can do it! You can fight your fears on mount Everest with Bush being the referee. And welcome to the forums!

[Inadrys]

Another quick question- is there any way to 'improve' the chances of me remembering a dream? I'm aware that if you wake up after a dream it is far fresher in your mind- is there perhaps some technique to wake myself after i've dreamt so that I can write it down and thus speed the process up? I'm aware its a long shot but I might as well ask! Thanks for your continued support.

[Serith]

For me, simply telling myself I'll wake up after I dream several times a day will work fairly well. If that doesn't work for you, you could figure out when your REM periods are, and set an alarm to wake you up during them. As to nightmares and lucid dreams, you should read Overcoming Nightmares, a section from Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, by Stephen LaBerge (Probably the best book on lucid dreaming available). It gives good advice on how to defeat your nightmares, and even your real-life fears, through lucid dreaming.