Rejection of an obvious lucid dream

[Deb]

I just now remembered my lucid dream from last night/this morning.

I was dreaming, realized I was dreaming and popped into lucid dream territory.

But I consciously CHOSE to not lucid dream this time. It was a very obvious decision. I need to explore the reason behind that. It would explain my lack of recent lucid dreaming.

[smbgood]

I had this happen to me recently after trying to get back into lucid territory and stating the intent to remember my dreams more before bed (since my very lucid experiences as a child)

For me, the dream I was in had become somewhat uncomfortable and when I realized that I was dreaming I took a rather violent approach to dispatch of the people who were bothering me at the time, and after the scene was over, I couldn't really think of anything that I wanted to consciously construct or dream about and ended up just sort of watching a tv with a grey screen and becoming bored in the dream. When I couldn't get back out of the dream I ended up walking to another room and going to sleep (which always exited me from my dreams as a child, and did so again this time). When I woke I was sort of disappointed in myself for not creating anything more exciting than just watching tv.

The only explanation I can think of for rejecting my dream in this similar fashion is that trying to introduce my conscious mind to the dream left something lacking in terms of creativity and expression, like I was trying to clamp down too hard on the elements which usually make dreaming enjoyable to me. In the weeks after, I've not really dreamed in the same way lucidly, moving around 'consciously' and creating different elements which I had so enjoyed as a child, though last night I did experience more of a free-form experience in which I was able to 'transform' willingly into my other counterparts/probable selves and see dimly part of their experience. It was not exactly 'lucid' in the way that my other dreams have been, though I definitely felt a sense of control more so than the normal dreaming experience I'm used to.

Perhaps something similar is going on here for you?

[Deb]

When I couldn't get back out of the dream I ended up walking to another room and going to sleep (which always exited me from my dreams as a child, and did so again this time).

First off, welcome to the forum!

Your saying the above jogged my memory: I've had dreams within dreams, where I wake up from a dream in another dream, not knowing that I'm actually still dreaming and thinking that I'd just awoken. Sort of levels of dreaming. This took place several times during one very exhausting night in a cabin in the mountains, there seemed to be lot going on energy-wise that night. I've also had dreams where I was tired and went to bed, I guess similar to what you're describing.

like I was trying to clamp down too hard on the elements which usually make dreaming enjoyable to me.

That could be similar for me too. Trying too hard also. On a better note, I did have a lucid dream a couple of nights ago. Nothing exciting, just got into "observing" details in things like wood grain, furniture details, other things that were in the room I was seeing. I'm always amazed at the richness of detail, like I'm expecting my dream content to be similar to a staged model home with blank books, fake cabinets and glued down décor. There were 2-3 other people in my dream and (once again) I told them we were all dreaming and that they should make every effort to remember that, so we could compare notes when we woke up.

SOME day I'll actually get feedback from someone.

[smbgood]

Thanks for the welcome  

I've done some more reading and I think I got the answer I was looking for today, why I would reject a lucid dream, from page 497/498 of 'Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment' Vol 2

It is instead, of course, quite possible that your predictable world exists not in spite of but because of those surprising, unpredictable, unofficial occurrences. Period. There is a kind of larger spontaneous order of which the seemingly unpredictable elements of your world provide their own clues.

By taking notice of seemingly unpredictable events, by changing your focus, you can indeed begin to sense the larger patterns of such a reality. And that reality leaves many traces in your own experience.
It everywhere provides hints and clues as to its own actuality and your own participation in varying fields of expression that have not been given any official recognition.

Within the patterns of human experience, then, lies evidence of man's greater ability: He rubs shoulders with his own deeper understanding whenever he remembers, say, a precognitive dream, an out-of-body --
whenever he feels the intrusion or infusion of knowledge into his mind from other than physical sources. Such a creature could not be the puppet of a genetic engineering accidentally manufactured in a universe that was itself meaningless. Period.

If man paid more attention to his own subjective behavior, to those feelings of identification with nature that persistently arise, then half of the dictates of both the evolutionists and the creationists would automatically fall away, for they would appear nonsensical. It is not a matter of outlining a whole new series of methods that will allow you to increase your psychic abilities, or to remember your dreams, or to perform out-of-body gymnastics. It is rather a question or a matter of completely altering your approach to life, so that you no longer block out such natural spontaneous activity.

[Deb]

It is not a matter of outlining a whole new series of methods that will allow you to increase your psychic abilities, or to remember your dreams, or to perform out-of-body gymnastics. It is rather a question or a matter of completely altering your approach to life, so that you no longer block out such natural spontaneous activity.

Thanks for that quote, I only have Volume I of Dreams/Evolution. That's the key to everything: altering our approach to life so we no longer block out what's available to us beyond the five senses. I suppose there are no shortcuts either. Ferreting out limiting beliefs, changing them (which in turn alters our approach to life) opens many doors. Know thyself! Ancient wise advice and yet we're still working on it.