[citation][nom]the_punkinator[/nom]"Still, a future that allows people to exercise some control over dreams"Lucid dreaming is a very real thing. Don't thumbs down be, it is real. Just because you don't believe it is; doesn't mean it isn't.[/citation]
I wasnt aware there was any controversy left over whether lucid dreaming existed, its laboratory proven, its well known amongst people who discuss their dreams.
Im sure many people have had some experience of becoming aware they are dreaming whilst dreaming, the first step to controlling their dreams. Its not a huge leap from there to exercising control.
OF course its one thing having the ability to control your dreams its another entirely to consistantly do so, I find even after 3 decades my dreams can still rebel against my orders at times
. I also manage to wake myself up too often when exerting too much control over the dream.
The hypnagogic entry to the best of lucid dreams can be terrifying for the uninitiated. It was for me for many years before I had ever heard the term lucid dreaming.
As far as shared dreaming goes, Ive had several episodes of coinciding dreams with other people, and only one which I could call a shared dream, and that was witnessed by a third person...
A very late night in the early 90's staying at my half brothers house his mum came in to see what was going on as we were arguing, we were debating whos turn it was on a non existant hand held console that projected its display onto the wall in the room. We both have sleep issues, and we had both managed to enter a non rem atonia dream state and our console discussion on the edge of sleep turned into the shared perception of a projecting console. I guess the conversation between us in this state managed to reinforce and synchronise the major points of the dream. I could not say that everything he saw was what I saw their was no "magical telepathic link" but the overiding principle was the same and we were both seeing a hand held projecting console and discussing it out loud whilst asleep much to the bemusement of his mum. Only when she switched on the light did we actually wake up.
I have very disrupted sleep so I have alsorts of weird sleep \ wakefullness interactions, and so a high proportion of lucid dreams. The other side affects of my disrupted sleep are another topic entirely...