Had a weird series of dreams last night, which inspired this poll

[conuly]

Poll #19615 Dreams

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 100

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When you dream, are you more often

View Answers

doing whatever you're dreaming about
74 (76.3%)

observing whatever you're dreaming about, like a movie
23 (23.7%)

If you're doing the things, are you usually

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Yourself
52 (55.9%)

Yourself but different (younger, older, taller)
25 (26.9%)

Somebody else
16 (17.2%)

Lucid dreaming?

View Answers

Never!
18 (18.0%)

Rarely
46 (46.0%)

Sometimes
24 (24.0%)

Often
10 (10.0%)

Always
2 (2.0%)

********

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Comments

[larryhammer]

I cannot answer the second question, because I do all three in roughly equal proportion. I had trouble with the other two questions as well: it's about 2:1, if that much, that I'm doing rather than observing; and my lucid control is a very specific kind, namely, that if I get to a Do Not Want situation I can wake myself up, but nothing else. (Having an escape button like that is Very Useful.)

[conuly]

That sounds extremely useful!

[loligo]

On the first two questions, my dreams are continuously fluid. I will seamlessly shift from watching like a camera, to being a participant, to being a not-myself participant, from minute to minute even within the same dream, and never notice anything strange about it while I'm dreaming.

[conuly]

If we noticed things were strange in dreams, they wouldn't be dreams.

[dark_phoenix54]

1- sometimes doing, sometimes observing. It can switch instantly during the dream.

2. Usually myself as I am, but can be younger or older. I've also been a man, been black, been a ghost, been a superhero...

3. I rarely lucid dream these days, but I used to do it a lot. I blame it on the meds I'm on these days.

[lavendertook]

I can't answer the first 2 because all those states are just as likely and point of view can shift in a flash. I can't say "never" to lucid dreaming because I do sometimes become conscious in dreams, but I'll wake up as soon as I know I have the choice to change the script. I seem to think that taking control of the script is cheating and have never allowed it, or I'm not admitting to myself when I take control of my dream, because I think I have actively solicited flying dreams, but notice I say "solicited"--if it feels like I'm controlling it, then I'm day dreaming which is something else entirely.

I'm not sure if I'm being particularly self aware or have problems with taking control here. I guess I'm skeptical about the whole idea of lucid dreaming as being anything other than day dreaming while waking between bouts of sleep.

[rahirah]

I sometimes segue between states in dreams -- like, I'll start out doing something as myself, and then dream!me will start to, say, read a book, and the dream will transform into me watching the story in the book unfold, or to me being a fictional character or something.

ETA: usually the closest I come to lucid dreaming is reminding myself that I've already graduated, so it doesn't matter if I flunk the final I haven't studied for.

[darkoshi]

If I realize that I am dreaming, I pretty much always wake up right away. Those are usually dreams that I'm glad to wake up from anyway, though. So the realization that it is a dream is like an escape hatch.

[conuly]

That's fortunate.

[pebblerocker]

Like others, both doing and observing, often changing between the two in the same dream; when I'm doing, I often don't know who I am until I find out more information, and sometimes I experience different parts of the plot from the viewpoints of different characters involved in the action.

My nearest approach to lucid dreaming is when I consciously realise that planes can't stop in the air, or bicycles don't change into different bicycles while I'm riding them, and I know that that means SOMETHING very important about the world I'm in, but I can never quite remember what.

[marahmarie]

doing whatever you're dreaming about | observing whatever you're dreaming about, like a movie

I had a really hard time ticking a box on this as for me it's almost equally, as far as I can tell. With the added bonus that I have the latter effect while awake, but not so much in the last year (that started after my mom died and just persisted way too long; it's so weird I've actually come to dread it, and even wrote a post about it a few years back, where the analogy was me arguing with my (already) dead mom about being (half) dead, myself (she denied I could be half-dead, as of course she would)).

Lucid dreaming was a tough one to answer, as it seems most dreams one can recall would be lucid, unless I'm misunderstanding (and I think I am, because what's the difference - if any - between a lucid dream and one you can merely recall; is it that you think you're awake when you're having the lucid dream? Because in that case, lucid dreaming is probably minimal for me).

[conuly]

A lucid dream is a dream where you recognize you're asleep and dreaming. Frequently, people who are lucid dreaming are able to control their actions or the rest of the dream to some extent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

[marahmarie]

OK...I've definitely had some of those (I'm studying charts and graphs, I'm doing tons of complicated math...the more lucid dreams are always incredibly analytical, for some reason). Most of my more vivid/can recall them afterward dreams are the opposite: I think I'm awake, and doing or watching things occur that are either bothering or terrifying me, so I have to wake up to stop the dream (and rarely, can't stop the bad feelings from the dream even after I wake up).

Brain defragging can get rather weird.

[conuly]

Does your complicated dream math make sense?

I'm constantly having very funny dreams, a real laugh riot, only to awaken and realize they were seriously dopey and boring.

[marahmarie]

In the dream it makes sense, yes, but I have no idea if (upon awaking) it would withstand the light of day, pun maybe intended.

I'm constantly having very funny dreams, a real laugh riot

People have told me I laugh in my dreams. And moan, shout, cry, kick, thrash, and/or that the bed looks like WWIII was conducted on it while I slept. Active dreamer, I guess...

[thawrecka]

I'm often myself, but a fabulously dressed vampire in dreams, which I suppose I can't complain about.

[conuly]

You're often a vampire in dreams? Pretty sure that's a symptom of being a real vampire.

[thawrecka]

I am pale and unable to eat garlic. It all checks out.

[conuly]

Don't eat dinner at my house. Lots of garlic in everything.

[spikethemuffin]

I actually don't like lucid dreaming, which I experience as the realization that I am godlike and can do anything within the dream, so much. It tends to be much less rich, and my dreaming self comes up with such boring, cardboard solutions, with no meaningful interactions with the dream characters! It's like writing affirmations versus discussing your goals/ hopes/ fears with someone else.

[conuly]

Here's hoping it doesn't happen too much to you, then.

[spikethemuffin]

Oh, I don't mean to yuck others' yum, truly I don't, just making an observation about my own rather-odd brain!

[sallymn]

I didn't answer because I tend to swither (between doing and observing/reading about, and back again, quite often several times; between me-now and me-then and me-but-part-imaginary)

[conuly]

Swither, that's a new word to me!

[sallymn]

I have no idea where I picked it up (I am a linguistic packrat, sad to say) but it's so me and I use it a lot....

[zyzyly]

I love the link to the beautiful chickens. I need to introduce those guys to my wife's grandma in Thailand, who raises the ugliest chickens ever seen.