Are you dreaming?

[cos]

Are you dreaming right now? Or are you actually awake, reading my LJ post?

I've heard that the trick to having more lucid dreams is remembering to check, every once in a while, "am I dreaming?" It worked for me once - I thought about it, and realized that I was, and managed to avoid waking up for a while longer. But how often do you just randomly think to think about whether you're dreaming or not? My problem is getting into the habit. Usually, it only occurs to me when the topic of dreams comes up - ironically, not something that seems to come up often in my dreams.

...

I had recently spent a few days in Portland, OR, unfortunately a week too early to join yix for something, so we thought I might fly back there the following weekend. I suddenly realized that my plan meant flying tomorrow, Sunday - meaning I'd have to miss the concert on Sunday afternoon that I had just found out about the other day and had been inviting several friends to. I'd miss it, and they'd wonder where I was. Except... I hadn't actually bought the tickets, or made definite plans with yix yet. Oops! So I called her, and we decided it was too late and this wasn't going to work.

So I can go to the concert after all. It's early Sunday morning, the show is this afternoon... but Boston is too far from here (Portland) to get there today by bus, train, or car. I zip off to PDX airport to see if I can get a standby flight. The woman at the desk tells me to wait while she goes back to check, and I realize that I won't have time to go back to my friends' place to grab my clothes and things for the trip - if she finds a flight, I'm gonna have to get right on it, to get to Boston in time. No problem, I have clothes and stuff at my apartment in Boston, all I need is my key (I check, yup, got the key) so I can go there to resupply. Okay, I'm all set, I'll just take a quick trip with my one carryon bag, see the show, come back tomorrow.

If you're confused, you've spotted the glaring plot hole. Huh, I thought, howcome I'm in Portland? If I didn't fly back out here to see yix, shouldn't I be in Boston this morning? Didn't I fly back to Boston almost a week ago? When I woke up I thought I was in Portland, but can merely thinking I'm there cause me to be there? *ponder* No, I conclude, it can't. I shouldn't be here. This must be a dream. And yet... I look around... it's all so realistic.

*poof* I'm awake. No jolt or feeling of transition, I'm just lying peacefully in bed, eyes closed, but awake, thinking it over, realizing it was a dream, and I am in Boston. On reflection, it wasn't very real - it all just faded away instantly.

Some things I didn't think of:

• yix doesn't live in Portland anymore.
• It's been two weeks since I went to Portland.
• The concert is on Saturday.
• How could I get to PDX so quickly if I didn't have a car there?

If all my dreams had huge plot holes, perhaps I'd notice. How do you tell whether you're in a dream or in real life?

Comments

[darxus.livejournal.com]

I used to do this. Just think about it a couple times a day, particularly when you experience anything weird (possible dream sign). And write your dreams down when you wake up - helps you remember.

[cos]

Does that help you figure out that you're dreaming when you actually are? And if so, can you then stay in a lucid dream, or do you just wake up?

[darxus.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes, doing it more makes it less surprising so you have a better chance of staying with it.

I've had a number of dreams where I've had a conversation much like:
"Huh, this is a dream, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess it is."
"Wonder who's."

Of course, each time it ended up being mine :P
And I assure you I have much more fun after that point in the dream.

[cos]

I once had a lucid dream where I spent the entire time after I figured out it was a dream, trying to tell someone that it was a dream, so we could have sex (because it being a dream removed the reason we were refraining in the environment we were in). When I finally got her alone and was able to tell her, I woke up. Very frustrating.

[darxus.livejournal.com]

That dream I quoted part of.. the rest of the conversation was "Lets have sex." "Okay." :)

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I tried keeping a dream-log for a little while. Problem was that I only *thought* I was writing in english, using a known alphabet. Later I couldn't read it at all, even though it did neatly flow across the page in even rows.

[darxus.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Do you still have it? Could you scan it and upload it?

[cos]

That reminds me of how purpleminute would sometimes wake up and the first thing she'd say, still lying down in bed, would be total gibberish, except with English-sounding syllables. I'd look confused or maybe ask "what?" and she'd realize I didn't understand, and "repeat" herself, and the second or third time it would be actual English... but she would always think that she was saying the same thing right from the first time. When I'd repeat back to her what she actually said (as best as I could remember it), she wouldn't recognize it.

[kirin]

That sounds quite a lot like certain speech disorders that you can get when some very localized parts of the brain are damaged. Makes me wonder if those parts are often left idle during dreams (who needs real language when you're just interpreting your own abstract thoughts and concepts?) and just have quite been hooked back up upon waking.