Unable to Use Guns in Dreams

So I have a little, funny problem. I've been lucid dreaming for a year or two now - still a beginner.

In all my dreams I've ever dreamt, I've never been able to fire a gun - in lucid and non lucid dreams alike. I'm an action-maniac; I love having dreams about running away from or chasing people, and these dreams always involve guns.70% of my dreams involve people carrying guns, firing at me, and me fighting back.

My problem is that it's literally impossible for me to use a gun. I always end up shaping my finger into a gun and making retarded sound effects with my mouth. This happens so often it makes me wonder why this is. I've tried summoning a gun while lucid several times and it never worked.

Anyone else experience this? And what is going on? :D I find this so funny and weird at the same time.

Kitty who feels sleepy, I think that a reinforced obstacle as you describe is hard to overcome. I suppose it is little help for me or anyone to simply say that you must believe there is no obstacle. The gun is like the common difficulty of light switches, where it might help to imagine the result of the shot instead of the trigger (or switch).

I developed my own obstacle with ability to fly through walls, after I read a book in which the author discussed this. The author mentioned that having the slightest doubt about ability to cross through a wall had caused him to get stuck in a wall. I wish that I never read of such possible hindrance now.

I still have extraordinary fun in spite of my "wall". I have found that I can quickly cut a small hole in any wall that my mind will accept that I can pass through. You might can develop similar bridging to a solution that your mind will accept.

Good luck!

Wow - I didn't know guns were another one of those "light won't turn on" thing as well. I really hope I can overcome this hilarious obstacle because it's pretty embarrassing even in a dream for me to be pretending to fire guns with my fingers and making sound effects with my mouth...

It sounds like, in spite of your conscious intent, you have now unconsciously identified with the problem of not being able to fire a dream gun, so this expectation keeps manifesting in dreams.

I suggest that some time during the day, try to get into a relaxed, semi-dreamy mood. Imagine that your dream body is made of lovely glowing light, and nothing can harm it. Then practice playfully conjuring up a whole variety of alternative ways to defend yourself against dream opponents, other than using a gun.

Examples -

• Invincible helper animals - tigers, elephants, dragons, giant snakes or hawks

• Imagine you are the leader of army of knights, who possess a variety of science fiction weapons, using powerful light, sound vibrations, fire, magnetism, etc.

• Imagine that you can shrink your attackers down to the size of ants, and make yourself as huge as the sky.

• Ask elemental forces of nature to come to your assistance - lightning, tornadoes, volcanoes, floods, earthquakes.

• Also, you can take another approach. Ask your opponents why they are attacking you, and tell them you want to be their friends.

• Or ask "the awareness behind the dreaming" to send you a dream which involves a totally new and unexpected way to deal with conflict situations.

Pilgrim wrote: The author mentioned that having the slightest doubt about ability to cross through a wall had caused him to get stuck in a wall. I wish that I never read of such possible hindrance now.

Thanks for that, now I'm going to have to relearn how to walk through walls. XD

:mrgreen:

Yes, tell us if I made you lose your ability. It was Waggoner's Gateway to Inner Self.

jasmine2 wrote: It sounds like, in spite of your conscious intent, you have now unconsciously identified with the problem of not being able to fire a dream gun, so this expectation keeps manifesting in dreams.

I suggest that some time during the day, try to get into a relaxed, semi-dreamy mood. Imagine that your dream body is made of lovely glowing light, and nothing can harm it. Then practice playfully conjuring up a whole variety of alternative ways to defend yourself against dream opponents, other than using a gun.

I'll be sure to try that out some time! Thanks a bunch c:

Hey Sleepy Kitty,

Maybe some practice with a gun on your waking life would help? I never used to be able to fight or run in my dreams, then I got much better at tai chi. There is a threashold after which you begin to activate your movements in a much more mentally focussed way. Since I managed that I have been able to physically act much more accurately in my dreams.

So maybe some very mindful use of a real gun/air rifle or maybe even a nerf gun :lol: Then this real ability and expectation may become internalized enough to pass into your dreams?

Sunflowerbader, your comment is the first time I have ever heard about a connection between Tai Chi and dreams. You said that when you got much better at Tai Chi, with improved body/mind focus, this also enabled you to act much more accurately in your dreams.

I've read that having a very good sense of balance and spatial orientation can enhance ability to experience lucid dreams. There seems to be a close bond in the unconscious mind between the real world body and the dream body. Also, Tai Chi and the imaginal dream world both involve concepts related to subtle energy.

Sunflowerbader wrote: Hey Sleepy Kitty,

I never used to be able to fight or run in my dreams,

Thats funny, I used to have the same problem, when I would try to punch someone, the punch would happen in slow motion or it would be very soft and weak. And when I would try to run, it would always be in slow motion or some weird sideways running. I started to be able to fight better by focusing on punching through the target instead of at it. And whats really weird, is I would be able to run really fast, if I would get down on all fours and run like a tiger or a dog. that is how I would be able to run fast in my dreams.