Closed Minded Family Members

[Sanctum]

So today I revealed an aspiration of mine to a group of my family members; my two sisters, and my two brother in laws. I told them about Lucid Dreaming and how I have begun to do it. The reaction i received made me think i accidentally said i wanted to kill myself. They were completely bewildered, in regards to its purpose and application. They readily rejected the notion, and started telling me the bad things that can go wrong (as if they researched the subject), and come to find out all their information came from movies like, Insidious and Inception. I could tell that they just couldn't fathom the possibility, and thought of no real use for it. I personally want to Lucid Dream to learn more about myself and explore the amazing abilities i hold as a human. Even if they weren't interested in self discovery etc, doesn't the ideas of lucid dreaming sound incredible, needless to say i got a reaction i was not expecting. I chalk this up to close mindedness; their regular way of life was challenged and skewed and they became defensive, which is understandable. My only problem is who will I talk to about these subjects that I encounter if 95% of my family is closed minded. This realization that I cant even connect with my family furthers feelings of isolation. The only real person who remotely understands me is my ESTJ mother, I will ask her about how she feels about Lucid dreaming and I'm sure here reactions will be significantly different. I'm still gonna Lucid Dream but I really pisses me of how ignorant my family is. At first I was thinking maybe its because they are Christians but I'm a Christian too and I believe probably more spiritual than most of them, but I don't Know. So far that has basically been a rant, so lets make this a question. How do you guys feel about the Excessive amount of close minded people on this earth people who fear things they are not custom to?

 

[Jennywocky]

If your family is comprised of conservative Christians, I'm not sure what other reaction you were expecting. When i was growing up in that environment, everything was either evil or a cult. Lucid dreaming, ESP, dungeons & dragons, eastern thought, astrology, tarot cards, all of that is a doorway for Satan to get a hold; and the Mormons are believed to be a cult.

Even among the non-conservative Christians, many won't believe in lucid dreaming or won't understand it.

your question seems a bit rhetorical. Is there any other way to feel around close-minded people but frustrated or disappointed? It certainly doesn't seem to make most people happy.

 

[Bucca]

Being aware you are dreaming whistle still dreaming... oh god the horror.

Honestly I would probably laugh at my family if one of them said that and then explain to them how ridiculous they are being. With my feeling on the close-minded people on this earth, well a lot of people are from undeveloped, uneducated countries and I do not blame them so to say. Though the people who have grown up with good education, have solid facts and information that is easily accessible and the ability to expand their mental horizons I have no pity or sympathy in. Get your head out of your ass, wipe the shit off your face and looks at the world around you.

 

[pjoa09]

I don't understand why anyone likes lucid dreaming. It always loses the suspense and tension. I just start molesting the females and ignore the rest.

Proper dreaming brings proper emotions. I believe that they are my actual emotions to my waking life that I could have possibly been repressing. It sounds stupid but I believe that. Sometimes truly terrifying.

 

[NinjaSurfer]

can you describe the experience?

I don't know if this qualifies, but when I was quitting weed, during the withdrawal symptoms, I could close my eyes, and before I fell asleep, I started to see imagery, like a scene at the beach, playing right before my "eyes" while my eyes were closed; it looked so real, and it almost felt like I could control the scene;

I just chalked it up to withdrawal symptoms and being somewhat delusional.

It was also a stage of my life where I experienced true paranoia and much of my behavior could have classified me as schizophrenic. Although I have always thought that I am completely sane and more sane than anyone else around me. But most crazy people think that.

 

[pjoa09]

can you describe the experience?

I don't know if this qualifies, but when I was quitting weed, during the withdrawal symptoms, I could close my eyes, and before I fell asleep, I started to see imagery, like a scene at the beach, playing right before my "eyes" while my eyes were closed; it looked so real, and it almost felt like I could control the scene;

I just chalked it up to withdrawal symptoms and being somewhat delusional.

It was also a stage of my life where I experienced true paranoia and much of my behavior could have classified me as schizophrenic. Although I have always thought that I am completely sane and more sane than anyone else around me. But most crazy people think that.

In lucid dreaming it's so real you need to convince yourself its a dream. It can be quite difficult. I have woken up thinking my dreams were real life so doing the opposite is pretty much luck. You might find yourself in a delightfully satisfying dream and realize it's all a dream. In my case, I end up abusing the situation.

 

[Bucca]

can you describe the experience?

I know this wasn't directed at me but by hell I'm going to reply.

One time I was dreaming I was in a city, lot's of buildings and alleyways. Then I started to run and suddenly I could fly. I then became aware I was dreaming and started to control myself. I flew around and then mentally 'commanded' government officials to start to chase me. It was a fun night, seeing as how it actually felt like I was flying.

 

[NinjaSurfer]

oh and I definitely recommend to avoid most of the spiritual forums out there-- most of the people there are crazy. Maybe just take my word for this, or you can find out the hard way.

 

[RedN]

As people say, humans fear what they do not understand. The more ignorant a person is to a subject, the higher the possibility that you will get a negative response. You cannot really just get upset right? Coz like here, there are some things that you individuals would outright reject right?

Solution is, talk about it with people who are also into it or close in subject, whatever it is.

Alternative is to talk to people who are very open minded about things in general - theyre rare but they exist.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Hell, my family does not even try to engage me in serious discussions about anything anymore. Basically because I overwhelm them with depth of knowledge.

I am 23 with a degree in civil engineering, a degree in applied mathematics and a fair number of years of work experience, they still treat me as an ignorant child. Hilarious; assholes...

 

[Minuend]

They have heard bad things about it and are worried about you. Don't take it personal. Humans think differently, and there are different ways of connecting with them. You don't need to be in synch in all areas to do that. If you remain calm and explain how it is not dangerous, perhaps they will understand eventually. Or you could exaggerate humorously.

Rather than pegging them as close minded, try putting yourself in their shoes. If humans divide themselves by a line every time there is a disagreement, we will never move forward.

 

[Manic]

I haven't looked into this for a while, but I have had experiences usually termed hypnagogic hallucinations. I don't know if there is any relation to lucid dreaming, so this may not help. The experience typically goes something like this:

I'm falling asleep, in that limbo state between being awake and asleep. I typically sense a presence or two, nearby. This is often frightening, but not always. If I am unable to wake myself up I next have an out-of-body experience where my consciousness rises out of my body, quite similar to the way they depict a person’s essence leaving the body at death in movies. I usually float around by the ceiling for a while; I can look down and see my body on the bed below. I hear a weird chorus of voices. My consciousness floats around, through walls and ceilings and outside, and it usually seems as if I’m able to control where I go and what I do.

At other times, instead of the out-of-body thing, I have various visual and/or auditory hallucinations. I have seen disembodied heads float past my bed. A glowing green old lady once opened my door and walked in, with her glowing dog on a glowing leash.

These are not like dreams at all; rather, they are surrealistic or even hyper-realistic. Unlike dreams, which I always forget almost immediately, I tend to remember these hallucinations vividly and forever. They started when I was in my teens and continued periodically for the next 25 or 30 years. They seemed to have stopped in the past 10 years, although I sometimes feel like it is about to happen. I am not able to control when this happens, although when it starts I can usually choose to let it happen or not. Whether I do depends upon whether it is scary or pleasant.

I am a profound skeptic and not spiritual or mystical in the least. I do not consider these experiences as paranormal phenomena or evidence of the supernatural, but the result of explainable brain activity. In my view, these hallucinations probably provide a rational explanation for everything from ghosts to astral projection to alien abduction to visitations by sex demons. I need to look this up again. I imagine there has been more scientific research in recent years.

I have mentioned this to people over the years and have found only one or two who had experienced something similar. My family believes me when I tell them because they’re as opened minded and weird as I am for the most part. I don’t hang around conservative religious types if I can avoid it because our worldviews are diametrically opposed, but I suppose someone like that might see this as satanic, or at least in supernatural terms. I think women who have believe they have had carnal relations with an incubus (or a man with a succubus), is probably having something like this. Anyway, now I need to google this and lucid dreaming. Thanks for the thread.

Sorry this is long, I just find this topic fascinating.