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Within lucid dreaming there are many, many approaches to any given technique. Each advanced lucid dreamer will have his or her own personal interpretations to lucidity research and experiences.
Further, a given philosophy relating to lucid dreaming may work for one person and fail for another. It’s highly personal. So, it is important for each person who is getting into, or wanting to refine their skill within, the world of lucid dreaming to experiment with varying and conflicting ideas within the lucid community.
There are several kinds of techniques, attitudes, and ideas within the science of dream awareness- every one of those stemming from the approach belonging to the individuals who presented said suggestions.
Each approach carries with it its own strengths, assumptions, reasons to accept it, and, (seemingly,) holes in its philosophy. Most all dreamers believe each of the three approaches I am about to present to at least some extent. So it is up to the readers to determine not which approach to believe, but which approaches to place the most emphasis on.
Which approach seems the most scientific? Which approach seems the most logical? Which approach seems the most helpful? Read on- and decide.
MAJOR APPROACHES-
1. Our Dreams are Based on Our Mind Set
2. Our Dreams are Based on Our Conscious/Sub-Conscious Thoughts
3. Our Dreams are Based on Our Feelings/Dream Methodology
1.) The differences between a regular and a lucid dream are determined by the dreamer’s frame of thought. What precisely any one of these outlooks carry with them is of course based on the individual, but the nature of said mind sets is universal.
And so we have the standard dreaming mind set and the lucid mind set. The first, the regular dreaming manner of thinking, is dominated by a ‘go with the flow’ attitude. That is, she is drifting through the dream environment without really analyzing her situation.
Her dream has almost been scripted by her subconscious- everything that she thinks, does, and says just happens to be how things are supposed to happen in her dream. She really doesn’t have a choice in the matter. Without having a conscious mind, there aren’t any options. How often do most people have dreams where they are completely out of character?
In a dream where the dreamer believes he or she is living in reality, a perfectly normal person may find themselves butchering their mother or not questioning the fact that they are a green skinned alien. To dream the way that people do, a person needs to be going with the flow of that dream- following its script.
The second mind set is akin to the waking or conscious mind set. This attitude is perceptive, aware, and able to make rational decisions. Lucidity is achieved when this outlook is reached within a dream.
Indeed, the very nature of lucid dream induction lies in achieving this state of mind. Reality checks, MILDs, WILDs, and many other techniques which are explained in this book are attempts to break or bypass the regular dream style of thinking. Further, dream control has its entire backbone in asserting the conscious mind-set.
There are combinations of these two states. People talk about becoming ‘semi-lucid’ or achieving ‘partial lucidity.’ This has nothing to do with control. By the very definition of lucid dreaming, awareness is the only variable involved in attaining the much sought after lucid dream.
A ‘semi lucid’ is then a unique dreaming type in its own right. The dreamer knows that they are dreaming on some level, but does not understand the implications. For example, she may think, before committing some terrible crime, “Well, it’s just a dream anyway.” Or they may say, whilst experiencing a particularly enjoyable fantasy, “Too bad I’m dreaming.”
After recognizing her status, she quickly dismisses the concept of her being in a dream. At the very least, she will not comprehend the weight of this acknowledgment. For many dreamers, this prevents them from taking full advantage of their dream.
So what is this ‘semi lucid’ in the context of a Our Dreams Are Based On Mind-Set belief? A semi lucid is the conscious brain trying to assert itself in a sub-conscious dominated dream.
In this case, the aware mind gives an individual enough introspection to know that she is asleep, but she is still too caught up in the ‘go with the flow’ mentality to do anything with that knowledge. The semi lucid is sometimes the first step to breaking the standard dreaming thought pattern, opening the door to a full lucid.
By training ones mind to be more analytical and perceptive, (especially concerning ones reality,) as well as becoming more assertive in sophisticated matters, both one lucid dream frequency and dream control can be vastly improved.
