From recognizing a dream to lucid

[Stookie]

I had an experience over the weekend that might be of help to someone trying to maintain lucidity:

I was having a very vivid dream, and without going into much detail, I was in the country riding down the road in an open wagon, and on the side of the road I kept seeing owls. They were very close and eying me as we went by. We stopped at a barn. There were several people there, and I saw another owl and it cued me - "hey, this is a dream". But I felt, tired I guess would be a good description, like I knew I was asleep and just wanted to keep sleeping. In other words, I recognized the dream but didn't feel like becoming lucid and taking control. But my next immediate thought was "I need to take advantage of this", and without much thought about it, in the dream I SCREAMED at everyone around me and the dream itself "HEY!!! I'M IN CONTROL!!!". Wasn't planned, it just happened, and I'll be damned if everything didn't come to a complete halt. The dream and everyone in it just froze. Then I grabbed the doors of the barn with each hand and pried them open, straight into the starfield or FZ. It went from being very hard to maintain awareness to very simple in an instant of screaming, or for all practical purposes, intent of being in control.

[Xanth]

I'll have to try to remember that one!  Sounds like it worked wonders. 

[personalreality]

were you aware of your physical body being back in your bed asleep during that period of awareness?

[Stookie]

Yes, I'm often aware of my physical body while doing non-physical activities. It's not all the time, but fairly normal (and comfortable) for me.

[Pauli2]

for how long did it last?

[Naykid]

Ha!  Love it!  If it were only that easy every time.  Could you imagine?   

[Stookie]

Ha!  Love it!  If it were only that easy every time.  Could you imagine?   

Actually, this year I realized that it can be that easy every time. It's not yet, but I'm getting there and know it's possible. I've learned that success sometimes comes just from a realization of what is really possible.

for how long did it last?

The dream was just maybe a 1 or 2 minutes total, FZ was immediately after lucidity, but events afterward from FZ is really hard to say. It could have been anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes, but really my point was demonstrate a possible way to intend lucidity in a dream.

[Naykid]

Actually, this year I realized that it can be that easy every time. It's not yet, but I'm getting there and know it's possible. I've learned that success sometimes comes just from a realization of what is really possible.

Wise words.  Now I need to apply them to my life. 

[iamkuljuarenot]

what does it mean if your aware that your physical body is laying in bed?  Just wondering because every time I have a lucid dream I am aware that my physical body is laying in bed.

[Xanth]

what does it mean if your aware that your physical body is laying in bed?  Just wondering because every time I have a lucid dream I am aware that my physical body is laying in bed.

To me it doesn't mean much really.  I feel it's actually rather normal to experience perception of more than one reality at a time... personally, I've accepted Frank's term of "Focus Overlay" experience for it. 

[Pauli2]

I SCREAMED at everyone around me and the dream itself "HEY!!! I'M IN CONTROL!!!". Wasn't planned, it just happened, and I'll be damned if everything didn't come to a complete halt. The dream and everyone in it just froze. Then I grabbed the doors of the barn with each hand and pried them open, straight into the starfield or FZ. It went from being very hard to maintain awareness to very simple in an instant of screaming, or for all practical purposes, intent of being in control.

Could it be your guides/I-There forcing you to take advantage of the experience? And perhaps they gave you an energy boost to manage to do it?

[Stookie]

Could it be your guides/I-There forcing you to take advantage of the experience? And perhaps they gave you an energy boost to manage to do it?

To be honest I don't know anything about my "guides", but I don't think they are here to force anything. I'm sure if they exist, they are there, but I don't rely on them as I do myself. I've been having a lot of experiences like this lately, and I'm 99% sure it's a residual effect of the effort I've put into meditation. I've been taking control of things as of late, not waiting for them to come to me.