“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (pages 58-59)
Lucid means clear, rational, or intelligible. During a lucid dream, the dreamer gains awareness of the fact that he or she is dreaming. This opens up many possibilities for the dreamer, including the capacity to deliberately direct the dream.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 59)
Toilets almost always have some oddity about them in my dreams. I'm not alone. I've read similar reports from other dreamers. Upon encountering these toilets, my limited consciousness tries to make sense of their oddities. I fail to and am often left confused.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (pages 60-61)
These toilets were odd because they were dream toilets and dreams are weird. My consciousness tried to make sense of their strangeness. That's all. My awareness led me to make changes to the dream. Would the dream, the one with symbolic meaning that represents something I need to learn about myself, have gone in the direction of a search for a working toilet if it hadn't been for either the need to urinate or the intrusion of my consciousness? Probably not. Does the confusion itself have any meaning? Again, probably not. So don't get hung up on trying to interpret the meaning of so many dreams in which you are confused. It doesn't necessarily reflect, as an example, confusion during your waking life. Examine the source of the confusion in your dreams to see if you can identify the intrusion of your conscious mind into your dreams. If so, then make a note of it in your journal after the entry for that dream.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 61)
Light switches not working is a common prompt for experienced lucid dreamers.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 62)
Lucid dreaming is dreaming in which your consciousness is active and you aware of the fact that you are dreaming.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 63)
Awareness of dreaming is the essence of lucid dreaming. Any dream in which you recognize that you are dreaming is a lucid dream. But you need not necessarily have control over the dream.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 65)
There is a second way of losing a lucid dream. You can, while lucid, believe that you have woken up and are no longer dreaming at all. This is often called a 'false awakening.' You are in effect still lucid, but you just don't think you're dreaming.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 66)
Lucid dreaming can provide much joy and even serve as an aid for your waking life — such as preparing for athletic or business events — or even in your spiritual life. But lucid dreams are not meaningful for the limited purpose of interpretation. While you will certainly record your lucid dreams in your journal, you will not include them in your analysis of dream patterns. But you must first recognize your lucid dreams and false awakenings so that you do not include them in your analysis. Fortunately, they are easy to recognize. Keep your eyes open for them and have fun when you do realize you're dreaming. The more you work with your dreams in general, the more likely you are to have lucid dreams.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 72)
Note: If you find yourself trying to figure out whether or not your dream is a "big dream," then it's not. These dreams are forces you can feel during the dream and upon awakening. You'll know it when you have one.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives
“Chapter 5: What Dreams Are Made Of (page 73)
Try recording your dreams in the third-person if you need help distinguishing your whole self from your limited dream self.”
Source: Dream Patterns: Revealing the Hidden Patterns of Our Waking Lives