I have and remember more dreams than the average person, thanks to the amount of sleep I get per night and by pure chance. As a person who remembers most of the vivid scenery and occurrences in her dreams, I'd like to share some experiences I've had with lucid dreaming.

I only knew I was weird when I told people I used to dream about four to eight dreams per night. I told them everything that happened whilst I was asleep, and all the little details that came with it. There were moments when I pranced about magical forests and other moments when I fooled my mind into climbing abstract mazes. Because I dream so frequently, I also have a higher chance of encountering nightmares. I don't dream of being chased or spiders crawling everywhere, I dream of hospitals filled with gore, zombies chewing through my flesh, and serial killers bloodthirsty for anybody they can see. They're so vivid that I almost always wake up with a cold sweat. But that's just it. I've had so many traumatic nightmares of watching people bleed and bleeding myself, I've learned to lucid dream.

I believe it is the brain's response to having these traumatic nightmares that it decides it's had enough. It recognizes itself as conscious and dreaming so that it would prevent the fear that follows. It helps the main character, me, to remove myself from the state of reality vs. dreaming.

Since then, every time I've had a nightmare, I've learned to control it. There is no simple way to tell you how I lucid dream, I just do. I know there are ways to practice lucid dreaming - through actively trying to remember your dreams, write down your dreams, and to consciously force yourself to dream - but I have never done any of them. How I learned to lucid dream was through fear. If I encounter blood, I immediately recognize that it's a dream. I shift myself to the next room by walking, teleporting, or simply flying, and move on. If I am being chased by zombies, I change the scenery. And I'll be satisfied waking up the next morning knowing that I did not have a nightmare.

I frequently have four to eight dreams per night. I remember them even if I didn't want to. Recently, I've had dreams of Parisian streets, the clear blue ocean as shallow as could be, and fond memories with old friends. In peaceful stories like these, there is no need for lucid dreaming. It is my mind's work at its own pace, with its own story to tell. I wake up flabbergasted that it was only a dream. But I do remember every detail.

Of course, I comprehend that not everybody shares the same dreams. For most, it is recollection of daily life. For others, like me, it is heaven on earth. I did once have a dream that I grew wings. I was able to fly past the clouds, but kept spiraling to the earth. This was in the early stages of developing lucid dreaming. I was only 12 at the time. I forced myself to get back up into the sky, thinking how dismal it is for an angel to be away from the sky. The wings flew back up, allowing me to feel the wind rushing through my body, and taking me away from the ground. I swerved left and right and all around under my control. It was one of the most riveting experiences I've had. However, I wouldn't constantly try to lucid dream.

It's because of nightmares that I discovered to lucid dream. Although I've had great experiences with lucid dreaming, I would wake up exhausted the next morning and unhappy that I am unable to control the situation in reality. It keeps me gloomy and foggy the next day, knowing I am only a regular human. And since I have many gleeful dreams, there is no need for lucid dreaming. I'd rather let my mind wander on its own.