wake myself up from unpleasant dreams.
You use lucid dreaming to wake yourself up from unpleasant dreams? Why would you do that? If it is a lucid dream, why take control and make it pleasant? :)
Actually, this goes to the heart of what I think lucid dreaming really is: you are just dreaming that it is lucid, the lucidity is as much an illusion as everything else you dream.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Sun 26 Jul 2009, 2:55, 1 reply)

Good point.
Thinking about it now, I think there are two reasons: (i) despite being aware that I'm dreaming, I'm often not particularly rational, so it doesn't occur to me that I can rewrite the dream's storyline; and (ii) I'm a lazy fucker. Easier to wake myself up than put thought energy into a rewrite.
( john3ners has relocated to the Highlands, Sun 26 Jul 2009, 9:21, closed)

I, too, do this
In nightmares, I'll sometimes stop and think -- hey, why aren't I blinking? Oh, that's because it's a dream. I'll try to change the dream, but if I can't, I just blink, thus waking up.
(FleetlordVT, Sun 26 Jul 2009, 11:44, closed)

The worst bit is..
..when you realise it's a dream, try and wake yourself up, and can't - thus making the dream even worse.

Then Freddy shows up..
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sun 26 Jul 2009, 11:53, closed)