Are dream decisions real decisions?

Decisions in dreams are the same as in real life, if you have ever been lucid in a dream and think about doing something immoral while there, you most likely will not do it because the psychological implications are still there. When I lucid dream I cannot do anything bad because you still have a conscience, if I did do something in a dream like hurt someone for example it would haunt me as the same as it would in real life, even after I wake up. You (consciousness) still experience things the same in dreams as you do in real life.

I myself have unaware dreams all the time about PMO, I wouldn't worry about it if you are not fully aware that you are in a dream at the time and do such things. This is because you are not in a full aware state when you are not lucid in a dream (a bit like been drunk), it's like watching a film of yourself and you have no control because all you can remember is the memory of the dream. Whereas when you are lucid you are fully aware of the situation and are in control of yourself. If you were lucid while making those decisions about PMO while in your dream, then yes it is exactly the same as in real life. However remember that having dreams about sex is natural, it's whether you want to be celibate for example for a period of time or whatever your personal goal is, is how PMO in a dream will affect your progress.

If you want to change your dream patterns about PMO, I would recommend daily meditation and keeping a dream diary, also as hard as it sounds don't indulge in sexual thoughts throughout the day, this is the only way to avoid having wet dreams and sexual encounters while your body sleeps. This makes your mind and focus stronger and you will eventually be a lot more lucid while dreaming; making it more likely for you to be conscience of your decisions both in real life and while sleeping.

 

A dream is not reality, by definition and most things on dreams, as you posted, don't even make sense. Just enjoy them for what they are, something away from reality and of course, don't embrace as your own the decisions your brain makes while dreaming.

When I lucid dream, I use it as my personal playground and do everything I'm not allowed in real life. I have no problems killing people, having casual sex with everyone, engaging in terrorist activities, fighting authorities. I take advantage of not feeling any pain so I put myself in danger for any reason if that will give me a reward in whatever form.

Don't take dreams to reality, it is just your mind wandering around.

 

There's a clear difference between your conscious self making decisions, and your sub-conscious self making decisions. Dreams are basically sub-conscious desires seemingly coming to life. The same as we aren't our sub-conscious desires, dream decisions do not mean real-life decisions, as our minds are in a completely different state.

 

I guess the difference between real life and dream decisions comes down to how a person experiences dreams. Personally, when dreaming, I feel like my brain is not working as it should. Even for some time after waking I can feel that I'm not fully awake until after 45 minutes or so. So no, I don't think that the decisions I make in my dreams are reflective of the decisions I'd take in similar scenarios in real life.

 

You have to own the matrix, Neo!

 

A few years ago I had a dream that I cheated on my GF...I remember being consciously aware in my dream that I was cheating, but I didn't stop myself (I didn't know that I was dreaming, but the decision to cheat felt authentic to me). I woke up pretty concerned. I asked everyone who would listen if what I had done in my dream would constitute as cheating.

What I learned after gaining several perspectives is that, no, I didn't cheat on my girlfriend because it was a dream, and the ability to make decisions in dreams is significantly hampered by our self-conscious desires. All I had was a desire to break up with my GF, and given the same exact situation in real life, there's no way I could've possibly made the same decision to cheat on her.