Hi everyone,
I'm working on a paper about different aspects of lucid dreaming, and I'm exploring the reasons why lots of people don't know about it and how it's not as widely used. I guess it's obvious that it there's a lot of effort to be put in, and people tend to quit after trying for a few nights and failing. But why is it, that people don't learn about it in school? What are your experiences on failing or maybe even quitting, but still ending up pushing through it? And finally, to what extend do you think it's feasible to juggle all that comes with practicing to be lucid, while also balancing a busy everyday life?
Also note that I'm not going to quote any material as it is on this forum. I am merely searching for experiences and opinions on this whole thing.
All feedback is greatly appreciated!
Hi!
As Daniel would say it IS a new-ish subject, and it's a bit of a fringe subject as well. I'm not sure what value most people place on dreaming in general, most people accept it as a normal process and don't think about it that much. The fact that lucid dreams even exists makes the occasional appearance in movies or pop culture, but isn't really common knowledge unless you search around for it. That's what some people do when they experience one.
If you've never had one, it may be easier to give up early. I think a lot of people have had a very vivid dream at some point, so those people may put in more effort. Personally I haven't been the best practitioner as I've been off and on with the subject for 30ish years :)
I think the best way is to look at it from the standpoint of a fun skill to learn, and give it whatever time you can in your life. There's no time limits on it, so you can just do what you can and what you'd like to fit it into your life.
Good luck on the paper!
I find that a lot of people don't know about lucid dreaming because the topic is often looked down on as its viewed as "oh, you do that?" in a negative connotation. It's hard to spread the word about it due to "hush-hush" mentality that it's gained, which is similar to other topics. It's also due to a lack of interest and knowledge in comparison to many other topics, making it hard to find others who share your interests. This is just personal perception so I could be wrong about these types of viewpoints.
As for why people don't learn about it in school. People don't learn about it in school because of how unknown it is. As far as I know, only one other person I know knows what lucid dreaming is and has general knowledge while also knowing the term. It may also be a lack of base facts that lucid dreaming has as we don't know a lot about in in comparison to other scientific things. Along side this, the topic of dreaming is complex, therefor even making teaching about it difficult in a curriculum where topics move to different ones in two weeks of time.. While I know my high school I went to had a psychology class and they had a small topic about dreaming in their flyer, I never took the class, therefore, I don't know if lucid dreaming is or isn't being taught about. As at the college level, it may be skipped due to the nature of the not really adding towards someone's knowledge for a degree.
I've thought about giving up on lucid dreaming - and have quit - multiple times. It's a harder thing to do and most people only want either physical or quick results. Most people want to fly and shoot fire out of their hands during lucid dreams, which is fine, but, after they do that, what else are they looking for? They already have their results so why go farther? I'll admit that I may be in that group of people since I still haven't achieved my dream goals, but, getting to live (dream is more accurate) fantasizes is something that can only really be done in dreams, therefore, I have a higher chance to keep going since I have that. Others may not even start with lucid dreaming because they see no value in it as they cant show results overnight or to friends. They also can't add it towards a job experience while an artist can add their works to climb higher in the work force. I'm sure that if people found out that lucid dreaming can have a deeper personal value, I'm sure at least a few people would stick around.
Juggling lucid dreaming with a busy life can be hard as there can be so much to do with a technique. Techniques are really there is to aid you - not to cause stress in your life. Lucid dreaming is a personal experience and, due to this, not one technique fits all. If someone has a busy lifestyle, change a technique to something more fitting to it. If they can't dream journal due to early work hours, record yourself talking about the dream when you can. Do reality checks when you can. Nothing is really required for lucid dreaming as nothing is set in stone, but, do your research and figure out how to implement things into your life to help with lucid dreaming.
I think people don’t learn how to lucid dream in school because there aren’t enough quality teachers to fill the spots needed to make it a class. Also, schools don’t always heavily focus on skills like critical thinking and observation so much as math science, english, history, etc. As for how not to give up, it really is a matter of persistence. And, when you have a busy life, it’s similar to practicing a sport or religion almost- you will find time to get it done at some point.