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I am not a very spritual person, to be honest. I do not believe in God, at least not a God that remotely resembles the Judeo-Christian/Islam God. I sort of believe in ghosts and some paranormal stuff maybe but don't really think much about it.<br><br>
I started having lucid dreams a couple years ago when I read a chapter in a book about it. That night I had my first lucid dream; however, I woke up within 3 seconds of being lucid. Since then, any time I had a lucid dream (about once every other month maybe), my brain would trick my conscious mind into turning off by dreaming that I woke up, within 1-3 seconds of lucidity.<br><br>
A few months ago, I became lucid and my brain did the usual tactic described above. I immediately dreamed that I woke up in bed, and told my husband I had a lucid dream. Then I went down stairs (it was not really my house, but a New York City apartment) and then went out onto the sidewalk. There were a lot of people bustling on the sidewalk. I turned left and began to walk. Very soon, out of the crowd and walking toward me, I saw my best friend from high school, who died at her own hand at age 22.<br><br>
Seeing my friend was stunning to me.<br><br>
Her life was very painful, due to the extreme hurt caused to her as a child that eventually led to her taking her own life. I had seen her smile and laugh many times, but never in my life had I ever sensed the smallest glimmer of contentment. She was too badly hurt for that.<br><br>
In my dream, however, she was positively radiating contentment.<br><br>
I thought to myself that this difference distorted the girl/woman I knew so much that I could barely recognize her. But it was her.<br><br>
I had stopped walking in shock, but she came toward me and put her hand on my shoulder. I honestly can't recall if she said anything, but if she didn't, she still communicated to me that everything was ok. Then the dream ended entirely, went black.<br><br>
It was profound to me, and I spent a few days thinking about it, but what happened last night really changed how I thought about this.<br><br>
Yesterday I read another chapter of the same lucid dream book. (I hadn't read any more since the first chapter I read a couple years ago). Then I had another lucid dream last night. This was a new level of lucidity to me, because when I became lucid, I managed to stay in the dream. I did not try to control it or do anything really funky to test my dream enviroment, but I was aware it was a dream, and I reminded myself of this fact every few minutes. I was also able to be aware of my sleeping body, and how its position was different from the position of my dream body.<br><br>
My dream at the time of lucidity was nonconsequential. I was in a large building and wandering around. After being amazed at my lucidity for a few minutes, I went into a door. It was the kitchen of some apartment, dark and dingy. I looked around for a bit when the other door opened, and in walked my grandmother.<br><br>
My grandmother was about 50 years old (she died at 84), younger than I ever knew her, but still not young. Again, I was stunned. She walked toward me and took me into a great big hug. While my grandmother was warm and loving, and we had hugged in greetings and farewells, she was not the kind of person to give great big hugs like that - in life, anyway. We hugged for a good minute. I saw that she was my grandmother, but then again she wasn't. She had changed. She radiated contentment, though this didn't radically change her the way it did for my friend (my grandmother was reasonably content in life). The bigger change for her was that she was more open, and more expressive. She did speak to me, and I haven't been able to recall her words, but I remember thinking that she didn't say anything really profound (like giving messages to anyone or giving clues about the afterlife or anything like that) - ultimately I think the gist of her words were "it's so wonderful to see you" (again, not something the woman I knew would precisely say or communicate). Then the dream ended and went black.<br><br>
So, do you think I was just dreaming? Or do you think I could actually have been in a state of awareness that spirits/dead people could communicate with me? Or something else? I'm fully aware none of you could possibly know, but I'm really wanting to hear any input. Especially if you've had any experiences like mine.<br><br>
I'm typically a fairly big skeptic but I can't shake this idea that somehow, the state of lucid dreaming (like, perhaps, a trance or "insanity" or being a young child, etc.) allows a communion that isn't normally possible. In my first dream, I was NOT lucid at the time that I saw my friend, but I still wonder if she somehow "saw" me when I was lucid, and then came to me even though it was sort of too late.<br><br>
The contentedness I've observed is intriguing and also very soothing to me. I have always leaned toward the opinion that when we die, we just die, or maybe only a few people manage to keep some spark of life and haunt us or something. This has obviously given me a lot to think about. Also the fact that the people had changed in some intrinsic way (for the most part, leaving behind the "baggage" they had in life) was also interesting.
I started having lucid dreams a couple years ago when I read a chapter in a book about it. That night I had my first lucid dream; however, I woke up within 3 seconds of being lucid. Since then, any time I had a lucid dream (about once every other month maybe), my brain would trick my conscious mind into turning off by dreaming that I woke up, within 1-3 seconds of lucidity.<br><br>
A few months ago, I became lucid and my brain did the usual tactic described above. I immediately dreamed that I woke up in bed, and told my husband I had a lucid dream. Then I went down stairs (it was not really my house, but a New York City apartment) and then went out onto the sidewalk. There were a lot of people bustling on the sidewalk. I turned left and began to walk. Very soon, out of the crowd and walking toward me, I saw my best friend from high school, who died at her own hand at age 22.<br><br>
Seeing my friend was stunning to me.<br><br>
Her life was very painful, due to the extreme hurt caused to her as a child that eventually led to her taking her own life. I had seen her smile and laugh many times, but never in my life had I ever sensed the smallest glimmer of contentment. She was too badly hurt for that.<br><br>
In my dream, however, she was positively radiating contentment.<br><br>
I thought to myself that this difference distorted the girl/woman I knew so much that I could barely recognize her. But it was her.<br><br>
I had stopped walking in shock, but she came toward me and put her hand on my shoulder. I honestly can't recall if she said anything, but if she didn't, she still communicated to me that everything was ok. Then the dream ended entirely, went black.<br><br>
It was profound to me, and I spent a few days thinking about it, but what happened last night really changed how I thought about this.<br><br>
Yesterday I read another chapter of the same lucid dream book. (I hadn't read any more since the first chapter I read a couple years ago). Then I had another lucid dream last night. This was a new level of lucidity to me, because when I became lucid, I managed to stay in the dream. I did not try to control it or do anything really funky to test my dream enviroment, but I was aware it was a dream, and I reminded myself of this fact every few minutes. I was also able to be aware of my sleeping body, and how its position was different from the position of my dream body.<br><br>
My dream at the time of lucidity was nonconsequential. I was in a large building and wandering around. After being amazed at my lucidity for a few minutes, I went into a door. It was the kitchen of some apartment, dark and dingy. I looked around for a bit when the other door opened, and in walked my grandmother.<br><br>
My grandmother was about 50 years old (she died at 84), younger than I ever knew her, but still not young. Again, I was stunned. She walked toward me and took me into a great big hug. While my grandmother was warm and loving, and we had hugged in greetings and farewells, she was not the kind of person to give great big hugs like that - in life, anyway. We hugged for a good minute. I saw that she was my grandmother, but then again she wasn't. She had changed. She radiated contentment, though this didn't radically change her the way it did for my friend (my grandmother was reasonably content in life). The bigger change for her was that she was more open, and more expressive. She did speak to me, and I haven't been able to recall her words, but I remember thinking that she didn't say anything really profound (like giving messages to anyone or giving clues about the afterlife or anything like that) - ultimately I think the gist of her words were "it's so wonderful to see you" (again, not something the woman I knew would precisely say or communicate). Then the dream ended and went black.<br><br>
So, do you think I was just dreaming? Or do you think I could actually have been in a state of awareness that spirits/dead people could communicate with me? Or something else? I'm fully aware none of you could possibly know, but I'm really wanting to hear any input. Especially if you've had any experiences like mine.<br><br>
I'm typically a fairly big skeptic but I can't shake this idea that somehow, the state of lucid dreaming (like, perhaps, a trance or "insanity" or being a young child, etc.) allows a communion that isn't normally possible. In my first dream, I was NOT lucid at the time that I saw my friend, but I still wonder if she somehow "saw" me when I was lucid, and then came to me even though it was sort of too late.<br><br>
The contentedness I've observed is intriguing and also very soothing to me. I have always leaned toward the opinion that when we die, we just die, or maybe only a few people manage to keep some spark of life and haunt us or something. This has obviously given me a lot to think about. Also the fact that the people had changed in some intrinsic way (for the most part, leaving behind the "baggage" they had in life) was also interesting.
