h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've read about this technique before, but I don't see any point in doing it. Please could someone explain the purpose of controlling your dreams?

I use it to fly, well, when it works.... one time I had it figured out, I was driving down the road in some sort of truck.... I realized I didn't have a truck, so I must have been dreaming, I then attempted to fly out of the windshield, I started to, and then I woke up. I guess it's just a way to do things you can't do when you are awake.

It can also be used to wake up from (or presumably change) an unpleasant dream.

Z

Once you experience it, you'll see that it's really amazing in itself. Your dreaming experience can be every bit as clear, and realistic (some say more realistic!) than the waking experience. It's also a good reminder to try and stay aware when awake -- so we don't stumble through our lives "asleep."

I have also used lucid dreaming to either break out of, or change the direction of a bad dream.

It is great fun, and flying is the most common people seem to admit to. But there are practicle applications as well. Some Formula-one drivers are known to practice particular tracks in lucid dreams, I regularly induce lucid dreams and can remember things better, memorys seem easier to reach and things you've forgotten you know are there on tap, I used lucid dreaming to help my revision for my Higher exams in school.
It can be hard to organise your memory and to mantain the amount of control to sift through memorys but an easy way to start is to take part in a film you've seen years ago, you'll be surprised at the amount you remember.

Merangadan

I find I remember song lyrics. Totally useless but quite good fun. As well as being able to change bad dreams it is also useful to recognise that a bad dream is just a dream (much less scary) and if things get really sticky you can wake yourself up. Not so much fun when you wake up and experience sleep paralysis though. I wouldn't know about training yourself to lucid dream though, I've just always been able to do it.

OK so that's the first useful thing I've heard. If I can remember the words of songs in dreams, how do I then get myself to do it when I'm awake. Apart from that I have never in my life had a dream that I wanted to change or that wasn't nice.

Except when on antibiotics.

I'm not sure, again I don't think about it it just happens. I have an amazing memory for song lyrics. Sorry not to be any more help. You're lucky to always have such good dreams. Just try not to take antibiotics.

I don't really believe in star signs and all that stuff, but there is a bit about me that is true. It says that Leos are born leaders, and love to be in control.
That is soooooo me!
And I would really like to be in control of my dreams. I have really weird ones (well at least the ones I remember are weird) and when I can remember it really vividly, I really want to tell someone, but they are usually a bit too weird, and only I understand them, or even sometimes rude and/or personal.
So I lie. A bit. I take out the rude bits or personal or embarrassing bits and add really funny bits.
Once I had a dream about a sequel to the lost world (before Jurassic park III came out) where loads of velociraptors swam over to Disney world, Florida. And it was set out exactly like a film. There was even a prologue, where there where these workers on an oil rig, spitting off the edge and they saw weird shapes in the water, that they passed off as sharks. But they where drunk, and one of them fell in. there was a lot of splashing, and then there was just blood.
The dream was fantastic, and scary, because after the prologue, I was the main character. But I didn’t have control of the dream, and I woke up before the end so when I told my friends, I made up an ending.
But this is only when I tell them to people, so if I could control my dreams, I would be able to create this mad wacky story of some sort and tell it to my friends and family without having to lie.
But the best thing is, you will be able to live out fantasies exactly as you want them to be, e.g., flying without any mechanical device, swimming in orange jelly, or even squirting ten tons of that squirty whipped cream into your mouth. And maybe sexual fantasies but it is the house rules not to write anything about that so I won't go further on that subject. I will try tonight to take control of my dream because I have never done that before. And I hope you try it and appreciate what it opens up for you.
My god, I didn't know I could be that cheeeeesey!!!!!
And god, that dragged on a bit

Don't worry - you'll always find someone who'll read what you've written. It does help to put in a few more paragraphs, though. I mean, leave a free line every now and again.

When I'm having a nice dream and have to wake up, I just carry on for a bit as a day dream, over which, of course, I (the ultimate control freak) have control. In fact, sometimes I work out a few alternatives. Like what to do with the dishy guy I've been dreaming about...

ah well, you can't have everything in life.
how do you do those smiley face things? is it like this? : - ) (without spaces) :-o

Just click on one of them to be shown how - or visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/Smiley . Have fun!

Away Where Mr T?

Nosey TC

Off the computer to give my arms a break.

I'm back just for today to distract me from my impending doom (A-level results)!

I'd cross my fingers, but it's all done now so keep us in touch.