Have you ever had a lucid dream? (You know you're dreaming while it's happening)?

I've been having lucid dreams since childhood. Yes, there are random elements in all dreams. In lucid dreams you have only limited control.

Let me give you some examples:

- You sometimes feels like you are moving in slow motion in dreams. If you are lucid you know that if you turn your gaze to something far in the distance then you can move quickly.

- You are in a lucid dream and you feel as if something is chasing you. So you decide to fly. You rise up and fly away, but you still feel as if whatever was chasing you is still chasing you.

- People in your dreams say things you cannot expect. For instance you are in a great lucid dream and you seek ultimate truth. You ask the people in your dream "what is the meaning of life" and they say, "you just live". Or you manage to summon Jesus Christ into your lucid dream and you ask Jesus, "what about demoninations", and Jesus replies with, "I've never noticed".

Yes, they do seem unexpected.

I've had lucid dreams all my life-- always at random. But they're not nearly as interesting or enjoyable as most people think. First, very few people can fully manipulate the dream scenario & total control is extremely rare. More often, we settle for minor changes like turning night into day or adding trees to the landscape. And characters are almost impossible to influence. Even if you manage to add a certain person, they won't ACT as you wish or expect.

The biggest thing non-lucid dreamers don't understand is that they really take all the fun out of dreaming. Being "aware" means there's no spontaneity, no surprises, no mystery... Bcuz you KNOW it's not real, everything feels fake. I'm probably jaded after all these years, but lucid dreams are not everything they're cracked up to be.