From: someone@who.hates.junkmail   
      
   First of all, I want to begin by telling you that I used to have LDs   
   when I was in my late teens - early 20s. I'm now in my early 30s. It   
   has been basically about a decade since I had LDs.   
      
   It never occurred to me when I was younger that it was possible or   
   that I could do it, until it just started happening. I didn't read   
   about it, or imagine it, or daydream about what it would be like, it   
   just started happening. The funny thing is that recently having become   
   very interested in resuming the practice of LD, I have been doing some   
   reading on it. Many techniques are advised from many different people,   
   so I am going to start taking some of these pointers, such as keeping   
   a dream journal, doing reality checks, and other things like this.   
   However, I'm very surprised and confused, in retrospect, at how I was   
   able to just do it, without knowing about what the science behind it   
   was, or the techniques to accomplish it. Imagine a person who can't   
   swim deciding one day to learn to swim, only to recall that many years   
   ago, he spent a week on the beach swimming! How did he accomplish it?   
   Who knows? Didn't take any lessons, never inquired about how to do it,   
   he just... did. And now, cannot recall how! It is encouraging and   
   frustrating at the same time. I am frustrated at my lack of   
   understanding of it, and my inability to recall how to accomplish it,   
   but I am reassured by the factual memory of having definitely done it   
   many times.   
      
   I distinctly recall, back then, talking to one specific friend of mine   
   about it, because he is the kind of friend you have such discussions   
   with, you know the one you used to hang out and smoke with and listen   
   to music with. I remember talking about this ability I've stumbled   
   upon. He was kind of jealous, but in a light-hearted way. He believed   
   me that I was experiencing LDs (didn't even know the term "Lucid   
   Dream" back then, I just called it conscious dreaming), and he was not   
   surprised to discover it is possible, just that he'd never heard of   
   anyone doing it before. Sort of like aliens, ghosts, or ESP - you know   
   the kinds of things we really suspect are real, but have no first- or   
   second-hand account of. You hear about someone who heard about   
   someone... etc. But this was ME, I was experiencing it and I therefore   
   know for absolute certain that it is possible, amd as I recall it can   
   be very theraputic. Being able to make available to yourself   
   experiences which are for whatever reason unrealistic, impossible, or   
   just inappropriate in your real life - I think this is a terrific   
   thing. It allows your mind to be relieved of wonderings and   
   meanderings that often happen to all people, when your thoughts drift   
   to things, wondering what they would be like, or what you would do in   
   a situation. Answering these questions, scratching a particular   
   figurative 'itch', or discovering your own response to an experience   
   you're not likely to have in your real life can help you to focus on   
   the important things in your every day life, because your mind will   
   not have as many distractions.   
      
   But going forward, I am anxious, but not impatient, to reattain this   
   ability. I am confident in its feasability, but at the same time,   
   wondering how difficult it might be for me to accomplish again.   
      
   Any thoughts/suggestions/comments are welcome and appreciated.   
   Thanks.   
      
      
      
   ---Atreju---   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)