Repost:
So the key to dreaming is to realize that expectations become reality; like some comic-book character that I can't recall, events are determined by your belief in them.
In the past, I did a lot of research on lucid dreaming (a dream in which you know it's a dream); it's a pretty interesting subject. A common theme in my older dreams was that I frequently had the ability to slowly levitate... later, I read that other people dreamt that they could swim through the air, or imagine that there was an invisible force coming out of their hands that pushed them up and away. So I started dreaming that I could fly like Neo (from the Matrix), and now I can fly pretty damned fast in my dreams (as opposed to the slow levitation from before).
The cool thing is that I've done it enough that I can also fly in a lot of non-lucid dreams. The problem is that sometimes, doubt starts to creep in, and I start to lose my flying ability. So it's very much dependent on the strength of your convictions.
I rarely have "nightmares" any more, because whenever I feel the kind of abject terror that accompanies nightmares, I tend to realize it for what it is, and then it turns into more of an action flick. I used to just freeze whoever is following me, but (again) if I am not completely convinced that they can't break out, they break out. So now I tend to just throw them really far away (like past the horizon).
Lucid dreaming is a very interesting experience. In order to have one, you need to train yourself to perform what's called a "reality test." There are certain things that don't work properly in dreams, and anytime you think you might be dreaming, you just perform a reality test and if it fails, game on. Here are some of my favorites:
- Light switches: normally, a light switch will work in a dream, but if you flick a light switch on and off really fast, your brain can't handle it and it'll just stop working.
- Reading: if you read a piece of paper, then look away and look back, the paper will contain completely different text.
- Clocks: if you look at the time on a clock, then look away and look back, it'll be a completely different time.
The latter is the one I use the most, as I always wear a watch (once, my brain tried to trick me by getting rid of my watch when I tried to do a reality test; I wasn't fooled).
The "comic-book character I can't recall" is Green Lantern, whose abilities are fueled by
willpower and the strength of his belief in them. This is exactly how abilities in dreams work.
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