Geoff:

I agree with Rich -- nothing to be frustrated about in that dream. Way to go!

You might avoid dwelling on that "fear of flying" incident. This is because next time you get the opportunity, your hazy dream brain might refer to that easy-to-spot anxiety, and you'll get stuck in the same loop of staying unreasonably grounded. Be positive - at least you lucidly pursued the notion of flying with a little success. Next time you might get a little further ' maybe without a rope...

Also, that was a nice attempt at improving the imagery. Next time it shatters (and it will), you might consider repeating the exercise. Your dreaming mind isn't fending you off, it's just trying to maintain cosistency. Lucidity challenges that natural process, and sometimes it takes a few tries to get all the aspects of your mind to play along.

Thanks for sharing!

Peter

Thanks for the comments guys, it's always nice to get feedback. I'll let you know how I get on next time.

Cheers Geoff.

Hi Geoff, Peter, Rich, et al,

Indeed, this post appears to be mis-filed! Seems to me it would fit more appropriately under a "Recent Encouraging Lucid Accomplishments" topic -- which we don't actually have, but that can be remedied! ;) Be that as it may, posted here, it does serve to inspire others who may search this topic and in fact be experiencing frustrations to a greater or lesser degree.

What I found most impressive in your account, Geoff, is the degree of creativity that you exhibited (the rope, the scene in your hand, for example). Also, your clarity of thinking (catching the false awakenings, hand-rubbing) was evidently at a high level.

All in all, a dream about which you deserve to feel pleased. And to gain the most benefit from this dream for future dream occasions, you may enjoy thinking about what you might do differently next time, if you find yourself in similar situations. For example, what might happen if you asked one of those dream characters to dance with you? The reason I ask is that I've noticed that balancing the verbal with tactile interactions helps the scene remain more stable than if I'm simply chatting away.

Thanks for sharing your accomplishment with us! Keelin

Thanks for your comments Keelin, it's very encouraging to hear them.

I am intrigued with the tactile interactions you mentioned, as I have a lot of difficulty holding conversations in dreams. I have to be careful not to be too tactile though! (ooh er missus, more tea vicar?) else I will awake with all the excitement.

Cheers Geoff.

I probably could have posted this one on the False Awakenings thread, but I felt it more appropriate to this forum:

I was having a vaguely remembered dream involving a real estate entrepreneur who was attempting to give me his house. Something about the moment (maybe my need to decline his offer?) brought lucidity. Aware that I was dreaming, and aware that I had plans, I decided to leave the dream in my usual fashion ' I rose straight up. Normally I would pass through the ceiling and into another dream, but this time I bumped into this dream's arched ceiling, ornately decorated in a blue and black mosaic of tiny tiles. I pushed hard against it, but succeeded only in stretching it a bit before it elastically resumed its original shape. I sternly announced that this was a dream, there was no ceiling, I am in control of my dream environment, and perhaps a half dozen other lines, each phrased in progressively dismal desperation and accompanied by another bounce off the ceiling. By the time I was saying, "What the Hell?' I had given up and decided to just wake up.

I found myself standing in a large room paneled in dark wood and furnished with one very long table at which sat six middle-aged strangers. Behind the strangers was a picture window as wide as the table that allowed white sunlight to fully bath each person at the table. I assumed the group was a council of some sort, maybe elders, and that they would know why I had just blown my lucid adventure. I described the entire dream to them, as if I had just awoken from it (and I thought I had). They listened attentively, and then a man near the center, dressed in typically monastic brown robes but sporting a Madison Avenue haircut, addressed me. He uttered many doubtlessly important sentiments that I couldn't quite comprehend, and finished his speech by holding a palm in the air and announcing that I had to stop trying to do things in my dreams, that I had to go with the flow. I said okay, that next time I was asleep I would do just that.

So I dreamed for the rest of the morning, passing through several plots and dozens of dream signs, all the while announcing to anyone around me that I was dreaming, and I was going with the flow of my dream. And, all the while, I was never lucid once!

I never cease to be amazed at the lengths to which my dreaming mind will go to hamper lucidity"

Peter

Hi Peter,

Wow that elasticated ceiling sure sounds familiar. I love the way you spot a subtle dreamsign and go on to miss really obvious ones, that also rings a bell or two. I keep telling myself I'll go with the flow too, but I tend to be fighting against something.

Cheers Geoff.

Hi Peter and Geoff, and all who venture to break on through to the other side,

Your bouncing off the ceiling, Peter, reminds me of a dream in which I'd become lucid, and with the Sea just outside this little shop I was in, I figured the quickest way to it was to simply walk through the nearest wall. Much to my surprise, the dream wall felt as solid as a waking wall and I felt the shock of impact, as well as a bit of embarrassment despite knowing my audience was made of up dream characters. I was truly astonished, but rather than spend much time thinking about it, I simply moved about two feet to the right and tried again, this time passing through with no resistance at all. Go figure!

As for going with the flow, I've never done Aikido, but there may be something in its approach (from what I've heard of it) that could be usefully applied here. Any Aikido practitioners out there who care to comment on this?

In the meantime, I suppose we can all be grateful for the fact that we can't really hurt ourselves in Dreamland.

Sweet dreams to all, Keelin

Keelin:

As far as 'going with the flow' that's the whole point of Aikido. I liked your imagery with respect to 'moving two feet to the right and passing through with no resistance,' because this describes so much of Aikido practice. It's weird how from the very first class the student is taught that the first rule is 'Get out of the way of the attack,' then the student spends the next seven years learning that. . .move two steps to the right and get out of the way. Our instinct is to fight and resist instead of just moving to where the attack isn't. . .in so many ways it's counterintuitive [which is why it's an effective martial art].

It's also synchronistic to find this msg in the Frustration Support Group, because my dreaming has been very sparse of late -- nevermind lucid.

But when I get to substitute teach an Aikido class, I like to pass on the word that 'Frustration happens when you're trying to learn something; it hurts when your brain has to burn new circuits. If it's easy, then you're not learning anything new, you're just polishing technique.'

Gambatte! [Japanese for 'Good luck, try hard, & don't give up'] Paul

Keelin and all.

You mention the shop with the sea just outside. This is a regularly occurring dream theme for me. I don't know how significant it is for you. For me the sea is far to close for comfort, it encroaches becomes rougher and rougher until it threatens to come crashing over/through the building.

I like all of us I guess, am interested in identifiying all my common dreamsigns. Is there a place on this forum, where we can all put our dreamsigns? I would be interested to see just how many of them we share.

I am particularly interested in the more sureal/abstract ones. I feel that there are probably many dreamsigns I fail to remember when waking because the 5 senses etc can all behave weirdly in a dream and don't cross over into the waking world. Reading other individulas posts would help spark off these feelings and help me to remember even more dream themes/signs.

Anybody got any re-occuring dreamsigns to post?

Hi, are you looking for those (few) dream-signs that succesfully spark lucidity, or are you interested in a frustatingly long list of recurring dream signs not acted upon in our dreams? Edwin.

Hello,

Animals often appear as my dream-signs. My most commond one is a lab, usually black, with blue human eyes. As soon as I see it I know I'm dreaming because the eyes are human and it can speak Another I've had recently is a hawk that reminded me I was able to fly because I was dreaming.

Other than animals I always notice anything unusual or out of place, although sometimes it can take awhile for me to realize it as an oddity. I always laugh at myself in the dream when I finally do!

Blue Topaz

Edwin,

I guess the short answer is both. My own goal is to to add to my list of successful dreamsigns (pretty small right now). But in the meantime I would like to become familiar with all of them successful or not. I hope reading others peoples dreamsigns will help me.

Of course what is successful for one individual may not be successful for others. So I would be interested to hear everyones dreamsigns.

Perhaps we can have a place to catalogue them. I would like to hear examples in the form of dream excerpts, plus how you felt during the experience.

Blue Topaz.

Thanks for your dreamsigns. Have you posted any dreams with the animals in, I would love to read them especially the black lab one, I'll start searching now.

Cheers Geoff.

Geoff:

There has been much discussion in the forum about dream signs ' try a keyword search under "dream sign,' and select "Subject lines" in the Look In field. You'll get a substantial number of interesting, and hopefully helpful, hits.

But you might be approaching the topic of dream signs from a potentially unworkable angle. Though dream signs are certainly worth learning about in general, and noting your own dream signs in your dream journal is very important, keep in mind that (though Jungians might disagree) there is not a universal bank of dream signs that we all share. Dream signs are recurring images, events, feelings, or even sounds that you can use to help recognize that you are dreaming. Your dream signs will have nothing to do with anyone else's; they are keyed to your own personal dream experience. So, though it is fun to know other people's dream signs, and to some degree you probably could use them, they really don't pertain to tracking, catching, or missing your own dream signs.

Now, should you dream of a black lab with human eyes tonight, remember that you're not sharing Topaz's dream sign, but actually are experiencing a powerful effect that communicating in this forum can generate (and, hopefully you'll remember that during the dream, and that'll help you to become lucid!).

Peter

Hi Peter,

Perhaps all I can hope for are common themes that we seem to share, though the actual details may vary i.e.

Getting hopelessly Lost, loosing things, Being confused and not being able to recall how we got here etc. Flying fish (thats just bizarre how other have that one too), Mechanical things just not working right. Feeling guilty about not being prepared enough for exams. I am sure there are others.

I do take your point though, and I think I need to revise my opriginal goal. I think I will take your advice and search through the forums. I hope I will in fact discover more themes that we have in common though. I do find it amazing when someone else describes a feeling that I have had in a dream but had forgotten about.

Cheers Geoff.

Geoff:

I think you might be confusing dream signs with dream symbols, or archetypes. Since human brains are all wired in basically the same manner, there definitely can be a similarity in the symbols, and even subject matter, that appear in dreams. This even works across cultures, which is kind of cool. So yeah, you should be able to find lots of similarity in symbols and themes when comparing your dreams to others'. But symbols that are noted dream signs guaranteed to bring about lucidity for one dreamer might be totally disregarded by another. This is due to the importance that an individual places on individual recurring signs, as well as his ability to recall them. In a sense, it's not the symbols" meaning that matters, but the dreamers reaction, during the dream, to them.

Good luck with your search!

Peter

Now that Peter has correctly set straight the record concerning the not unimportant distinction between dream signs and dream symbols ' the latter apparently shared subconsciously and collectively by larger groups of human mankind as noted by Jung - it seems to me that the term dream signs in itself might be somewhat confusing. Shouldn't we distinguish between dream signs (or more correctly perhaps: dream scenes) that frequently re-occur in our own, individual dreams (whether lucid or non-lucid) ' and the character or topic of these thematic dreams can "and do - change over time- (for me that includes amongst other things re-occuring dream scenes like missing the bus, not finding the correct room in a hotel (all themes clearly connected with some kind of "fear" , fear of, indeed, missing out, of "missing the bus') and between (hit) dream signs that causes us to attain lucidity in our dreams (for me that includes "amongst a very short list of other things - the realisation ' in my dream - that certain parts of architectural design (the interior of a house, the pavement outside, on the street) have drametically changed in my dream (that is, the imagery instability of certain "static" dream scenes), thus setting off lucidity. Finding it very unlikely that our mind (in this case: our dreams) generate such signs purposefully in order to make us aware in the dream, such dream signs are defined,recognized and tested as such by the individual dreamer, and, therefore, it would be more correct, perhaps, to talk in the latter case about dreamers" signs instead of dream signs? I wish I were as carefully critical in my dreams as I am now while writing down these words. Lucidity for all! Edwin.

Edwin,

Perhaps I shouldn't pick up on just one detail in your post, but I think it is very interesting for me, that you have identified "missing out" as a theme. This is a definate one for me. For me it is the feeling that is significant rather than the actual circumstances. I recognise the yearning and feeling of disapointment, along with the hopelessness of the situation. Being more switched on to these feelings has helped me to trigger lucidity.

Cheers Geoff.

Geoff:

I just posted some of my recent animal-induced lucid dreams in the 'Post your lucid dreams' area, entitled 'Animal Dream Signs'.

Blue Topaz

Blue Topaz,

Hey those are really nice dreams. Maybe I will start dreaming about animals having read this.

Animals do appear in my dreams a lot, but they do not often spark lucidity which is a pitty. Two nights ago I dream't that I had built a huge glass fish tank, the size of a room. A strange aquatic snake took up residence in it and started to make a nest. The snake turned out to be extremely venomous and no-one would go near it. This proved difficult when the tank had to be drained and dis-assembled. Needless to say this did not spark off lucidity.

Cheers Geoff.

Geoff,

Thanks Interesting dream that you had about the snake.

I wish you pleasant dreams and I hope any animals that appear will assist you with achieving lucidity.

Blue Topaz

I have been practicing lucid dreaming since the middle of January of this year. All has been going well and I've managed to attain a steady level of about one LD per week. That is, until the month of November. I am experiencing my first lengthy dry spell and looking for reasons why and ways to get back into it. I realize that this happens to us occasionally and we just have to be expectantly patient, knowing that the next lucid dream will occur with time. However, this has led me to a couple of questions that perhaps somebody out there can help me with.

1. Is it possible to become so accustomed to your dream state and the concept of lucid dreaming that you begin to take lucid dreaming for granted?

2. How do you maintain a "fresh" attitude towards dreaming once you've become a seasoned lucid dreamer? Reality checks cannot possibly stay sincere for the rest of your life, or can they?

3. For those 'seasoned' lucid dreamers with several years of lucid dreaming experience: How do you keep your focus on become aware in your dreams? Do you still perform reality checks? Do you read and re-read dream books?

I appreciate any help during this dry spell and I'm curious about how to maintain my lucid dreaming talents as the years go on. I'm especially curious to hear from those veteran oneironauts out there.

Rich M.

Rich:

Some thoughts from my humbly seasoned perspective:

1. Sure. But keep in mind that taking lucid dreaming for granted might not be a bad thing. If they become a routine part of your sleep, mightn't that make them even easier to achieve?

2. I try to maintain a fresh attitude by varying my intent. By coming up with a new place or theme to explore regularly, the experience of lucid dreaming remains fresh. And yes, if done enough I have a suspicion that reality checks can actually become part of your normal dream (i.e., you do "check the clock" reality checks so often that you start dreaming of checking clocks in your normal dreams), so it might not hurt to routinely try new reality checks.

3. Oddly, even after 25+ years of LD'ing, the novelty of each LD tends to be what keeps me in focus. If you're always looking for a new, fresh experience in your dreams, you won't have to worry much about losing focus, or interest. And yes, I do still perform reality checks, and I recommend rereading your most influential dream books every year or two.

I hope other experienced LD'ers take advantage of your excellent questions to both share their thoughts and maybe examine themselves how they've "adapted" to lucid dreaming over the years.

Best of Dreams,

Peter

Hi Rich,

I've been a lucid dreamer for many years now. I also find that I go through dry periods when lucidity seems to escape me. Although it's very frustrating I remind myself that it always returns.

For me I think talking, writing, and reading about dreams helps me increase my dream recall and lucidity. I find the more I think about the dream state during the day the more I'm likely to have interesting dreams or a lucid dream that night. Reality checks seem to be really important. As does reminding myself just before I go to sleep that I want to lucid dream and thinking about what I want to do.

I like Peter's idea of coming up with new experiences and ideas to do in lucid dreams. I find as long as I'm looking forward to lucid dreams and want to have them they seem to manifest. I try to lucid dream for both pleasure and purpose such as trying to improve a skill or ability.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Blue Topaz

What I'd really meant to say was "Is it possible that one could take their DREAMS for granted thereby reducing the chances of lucidity?' One of the great benefits of lucid dreaming is to promote lucid living. If it is possible that "waking up to your dreams" can allow you to "wake up to your waking life', is it not also possible that the inverse can also happen, i.e., one winds up reducing the magical, eye-popping reality of dreams to the mundane level of everyday life. It's the old "familiarity breeds contempt" principle. Lucidity is defined as the ability to realize that one is dreaming while they are dreaming. I don't see how this can be achieved if you don't care passionately about finding the anomalies in the dream state. Just prior to my dry spell, I had a few low-level lucid dreams where I had an attitude of "Ho-hum. I must be dreaming, blah, blah, blah.' The magic was gone followed by the lucidity. After a few of these, the lucid dreams stopped altogether.

Peter, I like your idea about keeping a fresh attitude. This forum is inspirational and I hope to gain some new insights from it. Thanks for your input.

B. Topaz, thanks for your feedback too. I am confident that my lucid dreams will return and I'm not currently having any problem with my dream recall. I'll continue to journal my nightly non-lucids and wait patiently. I've spent a good deal of time thinking about this the past few days and perhaps my time spent on the forum coupled with the long holiday weekend of napping ahead will break the spell.

Thanks to all,

Rich M.

Hi Dreamers,

Just time for a few quick responses here...

First, Paul: Thanks for a helpful explanation on how Aikido relates to "going with the flow" and oddly enough, an occasion to use the word "Gambatte" appeared within a day. How dreamlike, I thought, and felt inspired to do a reality check. Thanks for the timely vocabulary treat.

And Geoff: Yes, the Sea! In any realm, I find it has a most seductive quality. In earlier years, tsunami dreams were not uncommon -- even before a chance encounter with a riptide, but it's rare for me now not to realize I'm dreaming when the Sea behaves oddly in its ways or waves. And then there's that pleasure -- deeper than any ocean -- of knowing, of bright, watery bliss that I can not resist diving into with sweet abandon.

You mention an interest in "the more surreal/abstract" dream signs. Okay, you asked for it! One of the strangest on my personal list was seeing my mother and sister walking arm and arm, my sister cradling my mother's detached head in her free arm. My reaction: "Oh dear, Mom's lost her head again! Better get the glue." (I suppose I can be grateful that panic was never considered a wise first reaction during my upbringing.)

As for recurring dream signs, I do have a few that have been around for years -- riding a skateboard (always morphing from the 60's style I actually rode in my youth to the most bizarre contraptions) and gliding up or down stairways, for example -- that when encountered, often lead to a tacit acknowledgement of my dream state rather than to full lucidity. I suspect this is the price I pay for not putting more effort into making a firm commitment to nailing these signs when they first began to appear on a regular basis. A lesson!

Topaz: While I don't recall any particular animals appearing regularly in my dreams, it does seem that often when one catches my attention, it's behavior is distinctly, if subtly, odd. Perhaps this because I'm not often around many animals in my daily life -- well, other than the usual assortment of "beach monkeys". ;)

Edwin and all: Thanks for prompting more consideration of terms. And with this in mind, for anyone just dropping in to the Forum since the topic recently came up, and to reiterate what Peter clarified earlier, here's the quoted definition from TLI's FAQ on what constitutes a dream sign:

"This term, coined by LaBerge, refers to elements of dreams that indicate that you are dreaming. (Examples: miraculous flight, purple cats, malfunctioning devices, and meeting deceased people.)"

Simple as that! ;)

Wishing you all great odds in Even'land, Keelin

PS: And Rich: Great question! Will give it due thought and respond soon.

Rich:

Sure, it is possible, and probably fairly common, that "one could take their DREAMS for granted thereby reducing the chances of lucidity.' People can certainly become as jaded in their dreaming as they can be in waking life occupations. But, if the dreamer remembers that his dreams are purely a product of his imagination, and that the dreams' content, novelty, and excitement are all potentially unlimited, there's no reason to ever settle for the same old dreaming experience.

In other words, you can choose to step beyond the "routine" of your current dreams and use lucidity to explore just how limitless your imagination might be. It's just a question of intent.

I hope we hear about your return to regualr lucid dreaming soon!

Peter

Rich - I think it's definitely possible to take our dreams for granted, just as it is our daytime lives. I've had that happen, which is why I loved Peter's idea about keeping dreams fresh and exciting. Maybe reading about, or doing something new and different would help inspire new dream material for us? Or perhaps thinking about things we've wanted to do but can't do at the moment - like a trip, new job, or special accomplishment, may give us something worthwhile and challenging to dream about

Keelin - Good point you have about dream signs. I think we tend to take things that are familiar to us in our waking lives and prompt our minds to create an oddity in them when we sleep in hopes of waking us up. Ha, ha, beach monkeys! Great ain't they?

Last night I dreamed about driving in my car by using blue energy bolts to move controls around. I realized I was not driving in the normal way and it was a lot of fun but it did not result in lucidity. This makes me wonder if cars are becoming too much of a regular appearance as dream signs for me. So I think I will start looking for some new ideas for dream signs today. Things in daily life that I often see but don't usually use as signs. Then I'll see if they show up my dreams and bring about lucidity.

Blue Topaz

Blue topaz,

Whilst on the subject of cars but changing the subject a little I know:

I have quite a regular dream occurance, where I am controling my car but not from the drivers seat. I am outside of the car, quite some distance behind it. The distance increases to the point where the car begins to disapear from view. I am in effect driving the car by remote control, as one would with a model car. I get a feeling of guilt because I realise that this is not responsible, and I wonder how I will feel explaining the inevitable crashes etc.

I guess this is little off topic (anyone who wants to move this post, go ahead). I don't suppose anyone else has had this experience have they?

Cheers Geoff.

Oh another,

I had this just the other night. Once again it is a very common occurance for me: I am walking across land of some kind. In order to make my journey, I have to get off the beaten track. I soon find that I am unable to complete my journey because there is a very steep fall. I would have to climb down a dangerously steep hill or cliff face. I always end up aborting becaue the risk of falling and injuring myself. Others seem able to complete the journey and often overtake me, it would appear to be an established route.

I hope that by posting this here, it will become reinforced in my mind, and hopefully I might recognise this as a dreamsign the next time it happens, maybe even tonight.

Cheers again

Geoff.

Geoff,

I can't recall having any dreams about driving a car via remote control. Do you usually hit many things? Sounds interesting though, maybe I'll give it a try

Your dream about the steep hill or cliff face appearing before you can complete your journey somehow reminds me of the difficulty I have passing through windows and doors in dreams sometimes. I wondered if I was putting subconscious barriers up to avoid dealing with what I may find on the other side. I hope you are able to recognize it as a dreamsign tonight - good luck!

Speaking of dreamsigns, I found something else to use yesterday. Vibrant colors. I find I often see blue and red in my dreams and odd or bright colors really grab my attention. I tried it last night and found myself in a dream wearing a bright red sweater that I have. I saw myself and focused on the red sweater, instantly becaming lucid! Not for long but it worked. So maybe it does pay to search for new dreamsigns and remind yourself to use them as your going to sleep.

Blue Topaz

Blue Topaz,

Thanks for the tip, I think it could work really well.

Sometimes I find myself admiring something for it's beautiful colours (maybe a work of art, or a lovely marine fish in a pet store). I think to myself: this is a beautiful object, in fact it is fantastic, but it is of no real use to me, other than to be marvelled at (appreciated for its asthetic value). Sounds a little materialistic I know, but perhaps such a thing could have more than one value i.e. it could inducing lucidity as well as being eye candy.

Well I hope you don't think me too weird!

Bright colours tonight.

Cheers Geoff.

P.S.

Here is an example of the beautiful colours/eye candy thing. I will be dwelling on this before I go to bed tonight - wish me luck.

http://www.paraquatics.co.uk/daniellaurence.htm

For me this is like art and nature combined.

Hi Geoff,

I don't think you too weird at all I find that colors do make fantastic eye candy. I wish you the best of luck and lovely bright colors tonight!

My thanks to whoever it was that posted about testing walls for solidarity in both waking and dreaming life. I found myself doing this last night in a dream. I knocked on different surfaces in my dream such as walls, rocks, trees, and then I was slowly able to put my arm right into and through them. I could feel all the different textures; some were more dense and harder to push into than others. Some were cold, some warm, or hot. It was a very exhilarating new experience for me, so thank you!

Blue Topaz

Hi Rich, Peter, Blue Topaz, Geoff and all,

Personally, I can't imagine ever getting to the point where I would take the ability to lucid dream for granted -- maybe because, even after all the years of ld experiences, being in a lucid state -- whether I'm dreaming or awake -- still holds a special and unique feeling that only comes with that type of awareness.

As for maintaining a fresh attitude, each and every goal provides a certain level of incentive (some easily more inspiring than others), and research experiments never fail to excite me, spark my curiosity, and add an extra edge of challenge. And, of course, there's this Forum. Well, you all know how special a place this can be with the new ideas and dream accounts shared, the journey we are all taking together.

Like Peter, I still perform state tests on a regular basis, but haven't set a routine task for quite some time. (Next time DreamCamp comes 'round, I'll need to be extra alert to avoid getting "butterflied!"). This year in particular, I've had plenty of occasions to use (and appreciate!) the increased awareness that state testing brings to my waking life, so it's a habit I intend to keep.

Long lucid lives to us all, Keelin

Here's a fun example of frustration:

I was dreaming of driving through the suburban neighborhood in which I grew up. I was in a car with four strangers, and we were looking through the open windows at the sunny neighborhood. I noticed immediately that everything was different; there were way too many houses, and they were too close together. I went on to explain to my companions that the houses were like that because the dream got it all wrong, and in reality my childhood neighborhood did not include this much clutter.

One of the riders, a thin woman in her forties with short red hair and nervously darting green eyes, became agitated because my explanation might mean that her house, a small red (red again?) ranch we were passing at that moment, might not be real, and by extension neither would she (she didn't say any of this, but I knew it was what she feared). I assured her that she could relax, because hers was one of the original houses, so she was certainly real.

At no point in this dream was I lucid, in spite of my attitude or the obvious dreamsign of a screwed up childhood neighborhood. Go figure.

Just thought I'd share,

Peter

Keelin, Peter and Blue Topaz, thank you for some inspiring tips this month to help me break out of my lucid dream dry spell. With some rededication and rekindling of dreaming interests, I have managed to have my first successful, fully lucid dream after nearly a two-month dry spell. A fresh approach and excitement towards my regular dreams, as well as some determined patience has paid off. Over the past few weeks, I have been getting the 'sense' that a lucid dream was coming. Dream signs have been pointing towards it with increasing occurrence, although I've been missing the cues up until today.

Thank you Peter for pointing out the importance of the novelty of LDs and dreams in general. Thank you Blue Topaz for highlighting the need for inspirational daytime activities. I have taken a more sincere approach to my reality checks. I have also been reading Patricia Garfield's "Creative Dreaming" book, which has proven to be quite inspiring. Active participation and daily reading of this forum has helped too.

Glad to be back in the swing of things,

Rich M.

Rich:

That's good news!

Thanks for sharing,

Peter

Congratulations Rich - that's great news! Enjoy

Blue Topaz

Hi all!

I'm fairly new to this forum. Only posted a few times. Right now I'm waiting for my novadreamer which I ordered 2-3 weeks ago. It's on backorder and I'm hoping to get it in another week or two. Meanwhile, I decided that a good way to not get frustrated with waiting for it would be to post and get some feedback about dreamsigns and becoming lucid when the lights come on, so to speak.

Would you all mind chipping in and posting a list of dreamsigns that you have? I have some, but the interesting thing is that my dreams compensate... that is to say that once I note a dreamsign, my mind seems to 'fix' whatever I noticed. Pretty funky but also a little sneaky LOL. One of my most obvious dreamsigns was the 'what's behind me?' trick. As far back as I can remember (30+ years) there is never anything behind me and I have no peripheral vision in my dreams. Then, after noting this dreamsign, I noticed that areas began to fill up. So now it wasn't like being on a stage (I call it the 'dream stage') but in a room. Anyway, I thought reading other people's dreamsigns might help me look at my dreams with new eyes.

Also, it would be great if I could read lists of how the lights appear. Right now, I pay attention to lights and then check my watch or car clock by doing a double take to check for accuracy, but I think reading how lights have appeared for others might help me be more aware of cues when I finally get my novadreamer.

Thanks, Adrienne

Adrienne: Two come to mind;

I'm on a dark street and a police car passes by with red lights flashing (missed it).

I'm being attacked by some funny creatures that were very fast and I am shooting them with laser pistols. (missed it again).

Hope this helps. Scott

Hi, Adrienne,

funny thing about those disappearing dreamsigns. The same thing happens to me. Situations that were quite common in my dreams never occur when I try making them dreamsigns. I'm not unhappy about one of them vanishing: Being naked or with my trousers round my ankles when in company is not funny even in dreams. Another dreamsign was not finding my car where I parked it. Being in a vast space of water, gone too! Gliding down a long staircase at exhilarating high speed only touching the edge of the steps with the soles of my shoes - not in a long time!

I have had the Nova Dreamer since 1998 and used it continuously for some years. Not once did it lead me to lucidity. I can remember only four instances where I noticed its cues in my dreams: 1. A little red light pulsating in the corner of a dark room. 2. The whole scene, a landscape, wobbled rhythmically in a brownish colour. 3. When greeting my sister I got the cues and told her: Gee, I forgot to turn that darn thing off and ripped it off my face - in my dream. 4. I was holding a bottle of medicine for one of my daughters and there was this little fountain of coloured fluid squirting out of the top of it rhythmically. I tried to contain in but couldn't.

I´m still trying through all frustration though. I hope you succeed. But please tell a dumb foreigner what is LOL. Greetings Jan

LOL = laugh out loud

so, Jan, you aren't even noticing the cues? I think there is a setting (I know in the one I ordered there is) where you can set it if you are a deep sleeper and set it to go longer. Check your novadreamer and see if it has those settings. You might just be a deep sleep person who needs a more powerful light setting. In fact, I bet that is it completely because you should be noticing the lights. Yet, deep sleepers aren't as easily susceptable to outside stimuli. Perfect example is me... Sometimes I am a very deep sleeper, other times not. When I nap or in early morning after a good night's sleep is when I am very susceptable to outside stimuli. During those times I have had instances where I incorporated my wake up alarm (which is set on the radio and not the alarm) into my dreams. I've also incorporated things people say in other rooms (when I am napping) into my dreams. One morning there was a news bulletin about a fire that killed a bunch of people and I encorporated it into my dream then at work heard someone talking about a fire and asked them if it actually happened because I dreamt about hearing a report but thought it was the dream. Then I realized that I did hear it but my mind reorganized it into my dream.

Changing the settings on you novadreamer should help. Contact someone at the institute about it if you don't have the papers on the novadreamer to change the settings. They can send you one.

Another possiblitiy is autosuggestion. You can tell yourself that you are going to sleep less deeply or that you are going to notice the cues easily before you go to sleep. In fact, this is the method a lot of people use to start remembering their dreams. They simply autosuggest that they will remember their dreams and soon enough they do.

happy dreaming, Adrienne

Adrienne, I try to make define my dreamsigns in the most general way possible. With this method I can capture ~90% of all my dreams. When I do my RC's during the day I always check for my dreamsigns as well.

My dreamsigns are as follows:

1. Check location: The vast majority of my dreams occur in unfamiliar locations. I may see familiar people (family, friends or co-workers) but the setting is never as it would be in the physical world.
2. Check people: A significant number of my dreams include people from my past (some have already past away). I ask if it makes sense that these people are here.
3. As a final check, I take a look around to see if anything looks strange or out of place.

Although some or all of these signs are present in almost all of my dreams, I am still having trouble remembering to check them during an actual dream. For this reason, I believe that it is important to check them many, many times during waking hours in order to deeply form the habit of doing so.

Hope this helps. Thomas

Hi Adrienne and Jan; You can download and print the entire NovaDreamer (or computer interface) instructions by following the "Product" link on the lucidity.com site. I find it very helpful when I lose the manuals (I do that a lot), but it's also great if you'd like to get it all down in your head before the NovaDreamer arrives. I mention it particularly because you asked about ways the lights & sounds get incorporated into dreams: there's quite a long list in the manual. Still, your brain will come up with new ways, so it's probably best to get in the habit NOW of doing your favorite RT whenever you notice ANY lights, flashes, sparkles, grids (my brain's favorite interpretation), glows, pulsations, bulbs burning out...

Thanks, Adrienne, for enlightening me. Trying to decipher abbreviations in a foreign language is a hopeless hobby. I always try guessing their meaning when I come across them in reading. My guess was "lots of love" but that didn't fit your use of it.

As for me not seeing the cues of the NovaDreamer, the reason must be something different. You see, I know about the settings of the ND. And thank you too, Laura, I still have my manuals. I also have and use the SuperNova computer program. My setting are highest for sensitivity, highest for intensity, light and sound alternating, 12 cues. I'm not a deep sleeper either, even if it might seem so. The trouble is that with the same setting I had as few as three and as many as 38 cues a night. The result? Either I don't recognise the cues or they wake me up ' and, with 38 cues, my eyes smart!

I just can't make the changeover from real live to the dream world. And I do autosuggestion when going to sleep. In all these (six) years I've only had two or three dreams, where I noticed a dream sign and became lucid. And I had about two or three dreams where I suddenly noticed "My, I'm flying (or whatever), I must be dreaming!'. And I had just one WILD, not counting those LDs where I jump from one to the next by lying perfectly still after waking up. All my other lucid dreams (usually about one or two a month) just happen, I suddenly just know that I'm dreaming.

The funny thing is that in my dreams I have discussed lucid dreaming quite often with other dream characters. I have pointed out discrepancies/weird things to other dream characters. I have told other dream characters that something was wrong. So I know about lucid dreaming and still do not become lucid.

There was one effect of your posting, Lauras posting, my posting and my thinking about them: Last night I noticed a ND cue again ' the fifth! The ND went off and I lifted my arm to press the button to stop it blinking. The blinking stopped without me touching the button and I thought: "What, only four flashes?'. Did I become lucid? No!

Dreamy greetings to you. Jan

Hi All!

I got my novadreamer four days ago. I've used it every night since then. I know that I have received the cues according to the dreamer, but I have yet to notice them in my dreams. I tried going up a level with the cues (to level 4) but it kept waking me up. I've even tried it with naps. I'm using level 3 now. I'm just not sure why I'm not even noticing any lights.

Does anyone have any tips to offer? What helped you become lucid in your dreams?

Adrienne,

It seems to me that you are using the preset modes, 1-4 on the dial. It sounds like preset mode 3 is too weak for you and 4 is too high. (It is way to high for me, as well.)

You'll want to start exploring the rest of the settings (page 6 of the manual).

You can adjust the number, intensity, rate and type of cues. I think you'll find that you can adjust it so that it is just right for you.

Have you been doing the preparation? That is very important.

I just figured out how to use settings 5-8. So I've made the cue longer.

As for preparation, I have some dreamsigns, but primarily, I've noticed that whatever goes on in a dream is 'normal' to me in the dream. It's like whatever happens within the dream is my reality and I take it for granted that it's supposed to be that way, which is actually a little funny because in my waking reality I actually believe that my reality is created by my thoughts. Hmmm? Perhaps there is a dreamsign in there somewhere.

I've tried autosuggestion and MILD and WILD. None of them have worked yet. I'll try recording my dreams again and see if that helps. Plus, adjusting the novadreamer should help as well.

Hi Adrienne,

Welcome to the Forum -- and the Masked Dreamer's club!

Gordon is absolutely correct on both of his suggestions for you. Mode 1 offers lots of flexibility for the settings. Modes 2,3 & 4 are PRESET (i.e., NOT adjustable). When selecting your preferences for Mode 1, the handy acronym NIRTS will help you remember what each number on the dial refers to:

5 = N = Number (flashes per cue) 6 = I = Intensity (brightness of cue) 7 = R = Rate (flashes per second) 8 = T = Type (simultaneous/alternating flash/etc.) 9 = S= Sensitivity

Most importantly: Do prepare your mind! Set your "inner dial" to notice ANY flashing or unusual lights during the day so you'll be in the habit of questioning incorporated cues in your dreams. Keeping a dream journal is a must, especially if you hope to achieve effective results with the NovaDreamer -- and, more often than not, tracking your nightly adventures in the Land of Odd will become a surprising and delightful exercise in and of itself.

Also, take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and information offered in "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming". As explained therein, both Autosuggestion and MILD are techniques, while WILD is a type of lucid dream experience.

One final suggestion: check out the archives under "Induction Devices: NovaDreamer: NovaDreamer Experiences" for further encouragement. Oneironauts just like you have passed this way before!

Bright & wondrous dreams to you and all, Keelin

Last night was a hoot. I found myself sleepwalking outside in my yard. I heard people talking in the next yard, workmen I think who were doing something. I was aware that I'd sleepwalked outside and put on my new running shoes--the ones I walk in every day and will use at Dog Guide school. I thought it was amazing, that I didn't wake up before but had done all this automatically. So I asked myself if I could be dreaming. I actually said, "I'm probably not dreaming, but--" A check of my fence, and a double check, showed everything in place the second time. I concluded that I was not dreaming--are you ready for this?-- and promptly awoke to find I'd been dreaming my brains out. Hahahahahaha. Then I have dreams where cues are so obvious, like someone mispronouncing a word in an obvious way, or I'm interacting with characters from books and movies--my number 1 cue--and I don't get it. I'm afraid I won't have time to LD while I'm in San Rafael training with my first guide dog, but even though I don't practice, I still get lucid moments now and again, even if I'm not lucid for the whole dream. After waking up to find I'd been dreaming my brains out, I laughed at myself and went back to sleep. I was lucid then for a time.