Thread: Long Time LD'er

Hi I'm new to the forums, and very excited that I've found a community of LDers. That being said, let me give you a bit of background on my dreamstates...

I'm a 32 year old male, that started having lucid dreams around the age of 13-14 (although I had no idea it was called lucid dreaming, and I just learned about lucid dreaming a few years ago). I can't remember exactly how old I was, but it was somewhere around that age. My parents got divorced when I was 7, and it devastated my world. I was an innocent and purely happy kid before that point, and it brought down my "real" world when my parents got divorced. It eventually started having the same effect on my "dream" worlds. It got to the point to where I was having terrible nightmares every night, waking up because I wet the bed. I wet the bed every night for over 6 years. It was embarassing, confusing, and a harsh reality to live in. I had to start sleeping with trash bags under my sheets every night, and eventually just learned to live with the nightmares and bedwetting. I was afraid to fall asleep at a relatives or friends house in fear that I'd pee myself while I was sleeping. Until one night...


MY FIRST LUCID EXPERIENCE

I was being chased by two guys in suits with black sunglasses (think agent Smith on the Matrix), and we were outside the duplex my mom lived in. I was very frightened, and the dream was very vivid, I can still remember many details as if it were a real happening that I experienced. There was a stairway that went to the upstairs apartment in real life and in my dream. The two guys chased me around to the side of the house with the stairway and I was able to hide behind a bush underneath the stairway (as they ran up the stairs). All of a sudden I had a conscious thought, "Why would two guys in suits and sunglasses be chasing me around?" That's when I pulled a leaf from the bush I was hiding behind and started chewing it. I couldn't taste anything.... I KNEW I WAS DREAMING! I ran up the stairs to meet the two guys that were chasing me. In my dream the stairway didn't lead to an upstairs apartment (like in real life), it lead to the roof of the house. The guys started running toward me on the roof, and I just started teleporting around making them barely miss me every time. It was such a liberating feeling, I felt in control of my life for the first time (even though it was only my dream life, it was a great feeling).

The dream goes on for a bit, and I'm lucid the whole time. It wasn't long after that, I stopped wetting the bed and having nightmares. I learned to consciously become lucid in my dreams, and was a frequent lucid dreamer. I'd love going to bed at night because it was a reality that was so much better than the world I lived in while waking, and I had much more control in the dream world. I don't believe I was lucid every night, but it was hundreds (or more) of nights over the next 6-7 years. That's when I got into the drug scene...

THE END OF MY LUCIDITY

I became a heavy pot smoker. I was stoned every day, almost all day. I graduated high school, started college, and was working full time managing a local restaurant. I moved out of my parents house, and in with some friends. We never really drank alcohol, but we smoked pot all the time, and occasionally took acid. I don't know whether it was the drugs, or the change of lifestyle that made the lucids stop, but they did. I was in that lifestyle for about 6-7 years and eventually stopped smoking pot altogether. I will smoke a few times a year now on rare occasions, but I will never go back to being a regular smoker... however on with the story. I was now 25-26 years old (around the year 2000), living by myself and totally off drugs (sorta depressed due to girl issues). That's when they started again...

MY LUCIDS RETURN

I can't remember what dream I was having, but one night I consciously realized I was dreaming. I woke up and was so excited. It was like I was a kid again. I had forgotten about the ability I learned as a child/adolescent. Like that, tons of memories I had pushed back (about lucid dreams) came rushing back to me. I started doing research online and learned there was a term for this type of dreaming, and even contemplated buying the only Lucid Dream goggles that were available at that time (but decided against it because of the price).

Anyway, I've been occasionally becoming Lucid again ever since 2000. I've never used any RC techniques or any of the other methods that I've read about, so I guess I'm a natural. Although, I would like to lucid every night, so I may start experimenting with other methods to see if it increases the frequency of LDs. I've tried to explain to my friends how awesome this dreamworld can be when you learn to control it, but none seem too excited or anxious to learn. I'm just glad I've found a community of people that seem to be as into lucid dreaming as I am. Thanks for listening, and it's nice to share the experience with people that will appreciate it.