Hello,

I have been working with lucid dreams for quite some time now, and I really think that each one is a wonderful and incredible experience which can't really be put into words.

However.. in 80% of the lucid dreams I have, I make the mistake of thinking that a dream character is "inside my dream" and dreaming with me! Full of excitement I try to explain to him that this is not real, of course - when I wake up I realize that the idea was bogus.

For example, in the dream I had last night, I tried to convince my dad that this was all a dream, I made him do reality checks etc and we really had a good conversation. Then I told him to make up a code word, I think the word was "FLOATING" and I told him when we woke up that he would tell me it.

Lol, ironically later I had a false awakening, where he actually told me the code. I was in "shock" and I sat down and thought and thought, it just looked strange. Finally I did a reality check and found out I was dreaming before I really woke up.

What I am really interested in is why I keep making this same mistake many times. I am really lucid, I remember what I did the previous day, when I went to bed, what I ate, etc, I can sometimes even recall the date and many many things, but I keep making that mistake.

Some times I have not made that mistake but it happens about 80% of the time.

Does anybody else experience this or have any information about it?

Thank You, Demijan

Hello, Demijan- sorry to be rushing around, but I wanted to let you know-- before I can sit down and reply with some time and care to your post, you may wish to read a post I just wrote to someone else-- it's currently the third post from the end in the 'Dreaming and Waking May 03 Kalani' thread. While this does not have the answer, it does have a few thoughts on the challenge you speak of here.

Later, when I can-- Reverie

Yes I understand but this was different. I really recalled everything and knew I was in bed, asleep - I knew the date, what I ate, what I did, etc good details too, and I also have dreams when I do know that the Characters are not real but most of the times as I said I think they are real people dreaming too.

That happens to me on ocassion as well.. just recently I was flying around in a lucid dream with my son clinging on to my back. I was lucid but I thought he was dreaming too, and coming along for the ride. Also, as I flew by some lady I tried to convince her she was dreaming. Then I saw my sisters who had just left the state and I did not get to say goodbye to them, so I said goodbye to them in the dream, treating them as if they were real. I knew they werent really there however, and they vanished after I said my goodbyes. That was a bonus for me because I am somewhat of a recluse, and had felt guilty for not visiting them more often. When they left and I did not get a chance to say goodbye I felt bad and this dream lessened my burden. Anyway that is somewhat off topic Dream free.

I can't help but wonder if there's always that minute chance someone is sharing a particular dream or sharing the same dreamworld. Is shared dreaming really impossible enough to firmly categorize it in all dreams as a trick of the mind?

Alison:

You may find this interesting (the concept, if not the content): http://mysite.freeserve.com/LucidDojo/Luciddojo.htm. A fellow karate student knowing my interest in lucid dreaming sent me that URL last week. Its parent site--Lucid Crossroads--has been mentioned elsewhere in our forum, before. I'm not aware of any scientific evidence supporting the reality of shared dreams--and I'm certain that other members are more qualified to discuss that than I--but I do like minute chances.

Joshua

Alison:

If shared dreaming exists, its foundations continue to lie far deeper than human understanding has dug to date. If it exists, then sure, a few people, perhaps even everyone, could be experiencing it, and those people's first instinct was correct.

But, if it exists, we are either not collectively bright or mature enough yet to practically navigate an ethereal highway open only to thought, or the energy of passing souls. Maybe the potential access to the unconscious that lucid dreaming promises will help us grow in knowledge and mental poise to understand shared dreaming; if it exists. And, according to science, humanity's current measure of arguable reality (and yes, I know there are other measures, but science is still the only one that relies on proof rather than faith), the chances of it existing are less than minute. That could change of course, but there is no sign of that happening anytime soon.

In the meantime, there are numerous more mundane and yes, far less intriguing explanations for surprises in dreams that smack of shared moments with outside personalities. Those "tricks of the mind" are currently far more plausible explanations for phenomena that often feel downright spiritual, if only because they have the backing of knowledge rather than hope or imagination. It may be best to consider them until proof exists (or you can prove yourself ) that shared dreaming exists.

That's a dull row to hoe, I know, but when much time is spent dwelling on the dreaming ' and exploring lucid dreams, it becomes easy to allow small separations from reality to wriggle into your consciousness. Too many of those splits can lead to more confusion, and long moments of loneliness at cocktail parties.

Best of dreams,

Peter

P.S. This thread is on the verge of being unrelated to lucid dreaming. It has also completely abandoned the topic of repeated mistakes/errors. Maybe we can keep on track by discussing, on the "Synchronicity" thread of the "Research, Theory, and LI Experiments" forum how lucidity might be used to prove the existence of shared dreams?

Peter:

P.P.S. Yeah; I saw that coming [smile]. I didn't intend to extend the tangent. I'd been wanting to drop that URL since I received it, and Alison's post seemed opportune.

"We now return to Bullitt, already in progress."

Well, I usually tell everyone I meet in a dream that we are in a dream. I think I cannot get rid off the idea that they can be real dreamers. But I also keep in mind that they are most likely just dream characters. In any case, it is funnier to have an adventure together with somebody familiar, even if it is only an illusion'

Ilana, remember, you're also only a dream character in your dreams. You're not the real you, either. Isn't that wierd!