Becoming lucid: pain, drugs, or other? Thoughts?

[ButterflyWoman]

I was in hospital last week for a routine but, it turned out, quite painful surgical procedure. The first night I was there (hours after the surgery) I was drifting in and out of sleep all night and I was achieving lucidity repeatedly and very easily. I haven't had that much success with lucid dreaming (yet), and I was really impressed by my consciousness in the dreams. I would look around and say, "Oh, I must be dreaming," and look at my hands or try to read something (all the usual "reality check" things) and confirm it. At one point that unfortunately I only partly remember, I was actually interacting with the dream environment (I was putting rainbows in the sky, very symbolic for me ).

Since that night, though, my dreams have all been decidedly non-lucid. I had achieved minor lucidity prior to last week, but they were limited and infrequent.

I suspect that the lucidity was brought on by being in a strange place and feeling that I had to stay at least partially conscious of my environment, but I also wonder if the light sleep due to the pain might have been part of it (during the dreams, I wasn't experiencing the pain, so that was good, at least). Or if the drugs (morphine and some other good stuff) had a hand in it...?

I would LIKE to believe that it was that I'm actually starting to develop more lucid dreaming ability and the "need to stay conscious" thing just helped it along, but I don't know if I should think that just yet.

Anyone have any experience with strong painkiller drugs and/or pain as a factor in achieving lucidity? Maybe the pain was keeping me partly awake and the drugs were keeping me mostly asleep? Or.... ?

[CFTraveler]

I have had ongoing back problems, and found that I project more when my back is acting up- I can't take any strong painkillers because I seem to be allergic to morphine and anything stronger than ibuprofen. (I have been helped by a good chiropractor and finally got the right bed for me, so my back problems are almost none now)- but for a while I was unable to sleep on my bed for a whole night, and having to 'finish' my sleeptime on a recliner kept me more 'conscious'- so I found myself projecting from the recliner and made it my 'official projecting platform'- my version of a ritual, but that is another theme.
I also find that I project more from hotel rooms than my own house, not so much because of the noise (I sleep with earplugs) but because I'm in a strange place and I think having things in 'not their usual location' makes for a less relaxed sleepytime.
So I think it's all of the above.
As for painkillers, in my experience there's two main types- the type that block your pain, and the type that make you forget the pain after you felt it (hypnotic type)- so whether a painkiller helps or hinders the process would depend (IMO) on the type used.
Of course, given the dangers of addictive drugs, we absolutely don't recommend them for anything resembling spiritual growth.

[ButterflyWoman]

Understood about the drugs. I'm only on an ibuprofen/paracetemol (acetominophen) plan now. I have, in the past, used drugs illicitly, but I can't imagine how that would have helped me achieve lucidity (it actually made me a lot LESS lucid, waking or sleeping ).

I might try sleeping in a recliner later in the week and see if I'm more likely to become lucid. I was sleeping in a semi-sitting position in the hospital, so that may also have contributed.

I did remember that I also tend to become lucid in my sleep when I'm ill, too, particularly if I have a fever. So the discomfort probably actually DOES have something to do with it. When I'm nice and comfy and I sleep well, I go out like a light (though I do tend to remember my dreams).

[Rain, iF]

Your lucidity was indeed likely caused by a combination of all of those things. The medicine, the discomfort, and the thought of sleeping some place not normal.

Actually, the latter is part of a technique for achieving lucidity called the "wake back to bed" method, (WBTB).
I'm too lazy to type it all out now, but if you're interested in learning how to become lucid, let me know. Lucid dreaming is probably the only thing mentioned on this forum that I am capable of doing, and actually know extensively about.