Natural Lucid Dreamer/Real Injuries Sustained From Dreams

I've been doing some research on dreams because of some slightly worrying issues I've been having. During my research I have come across lucid dreaming- being aware that you're dreaming and being able to control them. It wasn't until then that I realised that wasn't normal. I have never tried purposely to have lucid dreams, I wouldn't have a clue how to go about that, but as far as I can remember I've always had this ability (as has my father).

I've been aware of my dreams since I can remember and have been able to control what happens- I've seemed to gain more control as I've grown older (I am now 16). I remember when I was younger I used to fly around and they used to be nice, fun dreams. However, as I got older my dreams started to turn into nightmares. In all my dreams as far as I can remember I seem to be a victim of something/someone. I’m either being chased, held hostage, killed, attacked or I'm in some kind of fire or war or whatever. My 'nice' dreams have become less and less frequent over the years and now they are all bad. And yes, since I am a natural lucid dreamer it isn't THAT much of a problem.

I'm fully aware that it's only a dream and so they're never scary. It's kind of exhausting having to control everything that happens too so I tend to just sit back and watch it all unfold, viewing myself in third person being victim to whatever my mind creates. When they go a little TOO far however that's when I intervene or just wake myself up. I've never been scared in a dream; I've only ever been nervous/anxious. This is some background information about my past dreaming.

As of a couple of weeks my sleeping pattern and my dreams have suddenly changed. I do suffer from a lot of anxiety and anxiety-related health issues meaning that I never have had a great sleeping pattern. One day I was sleeping as usual- taking a long time to fall asleep, having one long 'lucid' dream and then waking up again. The next day I literally had 15-20 dreams in ONE night, waking up between each one to change position and then drifting off again. They are all short but extremely vivid dreams that I can remember perfectly for a long time after waking up. And now they're even MORE vivid... to the point that I'm being physically harmed.

I dreamt that I was arguing with my grandfather in front of friends and family when he grabbed my arm and pulled me away violently. I realised in my brain that this wasn't good so I ran away from him and barricaded myself in my bedroom. Anyway, I woke up after this short dream and felt an aching in my arm where he'd forcefully grabbed me. When I looked there was (and still is) a very clear bruise where his thumb had pushed into my skin. This freaked me out for a moment but I tried to think logically and persuaded myself that I had somehow harmed myself in real life.

Last night, I dreamt that a stranger had sneaked up behind me and burnt my hand with a cigarette before disappearing again. When I woke up I felt a stinging sensation and I now have a perfect-circle shaped burn exactly where the guy had hurt me in my dream. NOW I am concerned.

I have found no similar stories to my own on the internet so I've decided to post my own in the hope that someone out there knows what's up with my dreams.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 16 female England

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} No

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Maddie,
Dreams are a reflection your true emotional self and although you are able to control your dreams the emotional energies still attempt to break through. The problem with lucid dreaming {an issue I have discussed often at the Dream Forum} is it can disrupt the normal function of dreams {help to communicate and resolve emotional issues}. And in certain instances create even more emotional conflicts which can disrupt sleep {as with you}. Lucid dreaming can be a powerful tool in helping with the normal function of dreams but there has to be an awareness of how to do this. The temptation to play with our dreams is often beyond resistance and should not be the way to use this special ability. There are those who believe lucid dreams are most always positive {Stephen LaBerge of the The Lucidity Institute} and there are studies that demonstrate that lucid dreams are more likely to make nightmares better than worse. But these studies are in controlled environments and do not take into consideration of the individual in normal circumstances. Just as with your lucid dreams when they go 'a little too far' you end them. This may reduce the severity of nightmares but when the dream gets to the stage {there are stages in most dreams} where the dream is ready to define what the emotional issues are the dream is ended. Nightmares are usually the result of severe emotional experiences and when dreams are being played with or too controlled this function of dreams is negated. Nightmares are not made up out of thin air so there is something evil but fun to dream about, they are due to strong emotional energies brought about by severe negative experiences in life. These experiences become a part of the psyche and live on forever and have an influence on conscious life, often with the person not knowing it. All emotional energies that are conflicting share these properties but nightmares either indicate something very severe or severe emotional issues that have survived with the psyche so long they must be highlighted in disturbing ways. The dream is attempting to help reconcile the energies by showing the dreamer {through their dreams} these issues exist and need immediate attention. Of course that is not so easy since dreams have a language of symbol and metaphor and few hings in dreams can or should be taken literally.

As for your dreams turning into nightmares as you get older, this would be normal for many people. The developing mind of a child is resilient in its ability to be the 'playful child', unencumbered by life's negative energies {unless the whole life is so severe there is not a normal childhood}. The 'nice' dreams give into reality because that is how the waking life is evolving. A child is able to ignore the negative outre environment and still be a child. But that is lost as we grow older {the senior years are often full of stronger emotional energies} and life throws so many emotional twists and turns life becomes either an escape from reality or beholden to reality and the emotions it presents. The brain matures away from childhood and we begin to accumulate emotional baggage {which begins to really show itself at midlife}. Being able to control your dreams, play with them when you are a child adds to the fun in dreams. But when reality takes control that aspect is lost.

As for your sleeping patterns. You do need to resolve this issue if you want to live a harmonious life. We sleep not only to rest but also to dream. Research has shown when we miss sleep the next time we sleep the psyche attempts to make up for the lost dream time. This may be the reason you have so many dreams in one night. Because our dreams are attempting to help resolve emotional issues {the intent of nature, much like the immune system is to the body, the dream is to the psyche} REM sleep is increased when sleep time is missed. The exhaustion you feel when attempting to control your dreams is magnified because you are attempting to block the natural intent of drams. It could also be your attempts to control your dreams through lucid dreaming extends into personality traits or attitudes in your waking life {a need to overly control your ego life}. Often I can discern personality traits from dreams and provide insights in my analysis that may be helpful to the dreamer. If the normal function of dreams is disrupted than that can affect this ability. Lucid dreaming has many positive aspects but I am one who believes there needs to be set intent to how we use lucid dreaming. I am not a strong advocate for lucid dreaming because of the reasons I have listed.

As i stated earlier dreams have a language of symbol and metaphor. Being chased in a dream is indicative of some emotional issue is 'chasing' you, an experience in life that left an imprint on the psyche and caused an emotional conflict. Dreams reflect our true selves, or true emotional lives absent the censored bias of the ego. Dreams where you are the victim reflect the fact you are a victim in some sense, physical and/or psychological {a physical experience automatically becomes a psychological experience}. It is reflective of an experience{s} in your waking life where you were a victim. Whatever those experiences were is what are chasing you and will continue to chase you until the issues are resolved. Our dreams use images that are symbolic, metaphorical {the same as} of the real experiences that occurred. Whatever is chasing you in the dream will most always have a symbolic image rather than a literal depiction of the person or thing that caused the traumatic experience {that is chasing you}. These emotional energies are holding you hostage {with the smaller possibility of being literally being held hostage}. Being killed isn't about a real death but is symbolic of something that has 'killed' some natural part of yourself {put an end to it and/or changed you}. The war is an inner war but also could point to an 'emotional war' of sorts in your waking life {all dreams have at least two meanings/applications}. The 'nice' years of childhood where you were able to ignore {or not comprehend the negative experiences} turn into reality as your mind matures and you are able to recognize the realities. Instead of confronting the negative experiences you have taught yourself {through lucid dreaming} to wake yourself up. This may not only be due to lucid dreaming but also because the experiences the dream is trying to communicate where so traumatic you wake up because of they are so severe. The lucid dreaming may be the sole reason you wake up or it could lend to the problem.

Your dream about your grandfather
The only times to take a person in a dream as the actual person is when that person is very close to you {parents, siblings,husband/wife, lover, etc}. But even then that person can be symbolic {could be both}. The dream where your grandfather grabbed your arm may be about your grandfather {his relationship with you, your dreams are about your emotions} could involve your actual grandfather and an experience where he grabbed your arm. But the symbolic value of his 'grabbing your arm' would be the real message to do with the experience. It could represent his 'seizing control' over your emotional abilities {arm}. Being in front of friends and family would likely be symbolic of positive aspects {friends} that has affected your whole being {family}.
Let me state these are examples and until I can analyze the whole dream should be used as such.
Waking up with the feeling in our arm may be psychosomatic or you could have grabbed yourself. Either way the dream left a 'mark' which needs to be understood {understanding the dream and the issues}.

As for the dream about the stranger burning your hand with a cigarette, that too would be likely be symbolic {always with the lesser possibility it was an actual experience}. Symbolically the stranger could represent hidden aspects within your unconscious {experiences that are frightening/scary and thus hidden away from consciousness}. Burning your hand could represent intense emotions {burning} affecting your ability to function emotionally {hand} that could lead to destructive behavior/attitudes {cigarette}. The fact it 'disappeared again' may suggest something repressed/ignored or forgotten {every word/image/action has meaning in a dream}. Whatever is chasing you would be related to these symbolic images and what they mean/represent.

It may be of great importance to not only learn the emotional issues that are troubling your life but also find ways to sleep better. Sleep is essential to a healthy mind/body and a lack of quality sleep can be unhealthy. If lucid dreaming is a factor in disrupting your sleep it may be important to either learn to control your dreams in the fashion I champion or learn not to lucid dream at all {if that is possible}. Your sleeping habits and your lucid dreaming are affecting not only your ability to get proper rest but are also disrupting the natural function of dreams and dreaming. Whereas lucid dreaming can be beneficial when use properly it looks to be the opposite for you. And the psychological issues must be resolved or they will go with you and grow with you as long as they do remain unresolved. A simple solution when put into words but of course not so simple in their resolution.

If you will post a complete dream {preferably not too long} so I can analyze it I should be able to provide insights to what is 'chasing you'. Understanding those issues {especially if repressed or forgotten} should help with the nightmares. Healing can only begin when you know what the emotional issues are. Let's begin there and then work on the lucid dreams. Try not to control future dreams, if not entirely but to the point when you get to a place you don't wish to go you go anyways. You may discover something very important. It may be frightening but not knowing and let it control you is worse.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 65 Cocoa, Fl

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Yes

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Jerry,

I'm very grateful that you've taken the time to reply to me. I found what you said very informative, especially about our minds making up for lost dream time, I now have a better understanding of what's happening so thank you.

As for the dream about my granddad, it was quite a short one. My mum, my best friend and I were at his house discussing the money that my grandmother had left behind after her passing away 8 months ago. My granddad was finding the subject very frustrating and unfortunately my attempt to console him only made him furious. Suddenly, he forcefully grabbed my arm and when I saw the anger in his eyes I knew I needed to escape him. I made myself run to sanctuary in my bedroom and pushed all my furniture against the door before waking myself up.

The dream about the cigarette was even quicker, it took place in my town centre with a few friends. We were having casual conversation when I felt the burn on my hand. I spun around quickly to see a stranger removing their cigarette from where they'd burnt me and take a drag from it before disappearing.

My most common dream is that I'm being chased. I have this one very often. They always have the same start and end but I'm always able to regain control in the middle. My mum and I are being held hostage in our own home but I manage to escape by myself to try and bring back help. One of the 'bad guys' see me escape and chase me down the street. This is where I'm able to 'take the wheel' and change what happens next. I can choose different routes to run down, different people to involve etc. based on what worked out best in my past dreams. I know it sounds odd being able to recall previous dreams and using that logic to help me in this one. It's just something I've always used to my advantage during these nightmares. Although, no matter how hard I try it always ends with me discovering that my mum was actually the evil one all along and that she's been the one trying to kill me the whole time. I never bother waking myself up during these nightmares because I'm kind of determined to bring help back one night.

Thank you again for your time :)

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 16 female England

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Yes

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Maddie,
First let me say that this dream illustrates the importance of age when analyzing a dream because someone your age would more likely have images that are closer to literal experiences {although they would also have symbolic/metaphorical references} than an older person/adult. This is because your psyche is still developing and maturing and there is not a lot of emotional 'baggage' to deal with. The mind is not encumbered by emotional issues that an adult has acquired from experiences in life so the brain is still in a mold where literal life experiences are more likely to be associated with the dream images/actions. This would be highlighted by your actual experience with your grandfather. But the emotional response to that experience would be the primary focus. It left a 'mark' on you psychologically {and literally physically}. This is why i ask for age when analyzing dreams, to alert me to the likelihood the dream could be pointing to such literal experiences as one aspect of the dream. Of course as I stated previously it is the symbolic value that is more important, how it affects you emotionally. The 'shortness' of the dream about your grandfather may be due to the literal experience being a part of the dream but the significant aspect being the emotional. The dream about the cigarette would be the same. The literal experience was not the important reason it was a part of the dream, the symbolic aspects would be {what about that event was so emotional it left a 'mark' in your mind?}.

Of course the real issue is 'what is chasing you emotionally in your life'? You take control in the middle which could be a statement about an actual ability to take control despite the emotional issues that are chasing you {an ability if true that will likely disappear as you grow older and lose the innocence an adolescent possesses}. But it may also point to the problem of lucid dreaming and taking too much control of the dream. Instead of letting it play out and communicate its intended message you take control and do not allow it to do so. This could not only be a result of the lucid dreaming but may be due also to the censoring of negative experiences that cause painful emotions. I suggest you let future dreams play out without taking control, be the bystander and see what happens. This will allow the dream to do its intended function of communicating an emotional issue so your conscious mind is aware there is one and what it may be {dreams seldom state the actual problem, at least in a way that is clear and precise}. Do this in future dreams and see what occurs. This may allow whatever emotional issues/conflicts that are chasing you to come through {which will match your waking life}. Let me know the results and post the uncontrolled dream and see what it has to say.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 65 Cocoa, Fl

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Yes

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes