Not noticing I'm dreaming, though bizar events occur

Hey everyone, so I'm still new to becoming lucid, and ive only really had one intentional lucid moment but it was short lived. I basically was having a piss in the upstairs toilet, it was dark even though I had turned the light on it wasnt really lighting the room (1st thing) then I noticed the bath was full and there was a large spider walking on the water which I thought was unusual (2nd thing) then I could hear marching from outside and there were children's silhouettes passing the window (3rd thing) then I thought shit, am I dreaming?! And I tried a reality check while walking to the nearest window in the hallway to see what was with the marching and I tried to pass my finger through my hand and pinch myself, but I felt it and I could feel that my finger had not passed through my other hand. My walking was also tricky like that 'I'm dreaming and can't run away' feeling, and I got to the window and an explosion and huge white light went off and I woke up.

At the end of all that, I still wasn't certain that I was dreaming, even though in hindsight it was blatantly obvious from the start. Does anyone else just notice one thing and they just know they are dreaming? Just seems like peculiar events occur in my dreams but I don't realise they are peculiar while I'm in them...any advice?

Also I dreamt the other night that my brothers hand was cut open by accident and i couldn't focus in on the hand, another dream sign I know about that didn't aid me in becoming lucid. Strange events but no real lucidity. Been attempting lucid for about 4/5 months, feel I have made little progress

You're getting there. At least you were able to try some RCs. Pinching yourself really isn't a good RC though. As for the fingerpalm- how long did you try it? You usually have to push pretty hard for a few seconds (longer than you might think) and then suddenly it'll just pop through or sink in.

The best RC is the nosepinch. Works almost every time.

For me, when I go lucid it's never because of an RC - I just know it and then I do a couple RCs to confirm, and a lot of people will tell you the same. But definitely keep up with doing RCs inwaking life and also just look around and try to be fully aware of all your senses... keep thinking about lucid dreaming all the time. You'll get there.

Hi there my friend,
Some RCs might not work in some dreams, so it might help if you widen up your RC arsenal. In dreams, a person's ability to use his logic is hindered. That explains why you failed to classify a dream as a dream.In order to counter this, try practicing your critical thinking skills. No matter how strange a dream is, wether you're in a war full of gummies or in a concert set in space, you'll most likely end up not being lucid because of your untrainedcritical thinking skills. One thing i suggest is at some random points of the day, try asking yourself, "am I dreaming or not?". Examine your surroundings up to the smallest detail you can find. If you make this a habit, you're more likely to perform this habit inside a dream.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions :)

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah, I tried for what seemed like long enough, but I wasn't looking at my hands. I think that was one of the reasons. I remember wanting it to be a dream so bad cause I've been trying every night for months. I remember a feeling of confusion pc
Befall. It was kinda like too much to take in or something. Think a part of me was panicking a little. I'll keep trying

Everyone says trying too hard won't help your success and its true. You noticed all that stuff which is great, you were conscious in the dream state so that is somewhat lucid.

Reality checks are good to start out but they work a low percentage of the time. The best one imo is looking at your hands, if they look ANY different from real life, then you are dreaming. I have wondered if I was in a dream before, looked at my hands and they were all distorted and said to myself hmmm... no way I am dreaming, that would be crazy lol.

The main way I become lucid now is just to snap into consciousness while I am dreaming, if you are conscious enough to remember to do a reality check you should be conscious enough to recognize if you are dreaming, but reality checks definitely help to start out.

I have much of the same problems. There was a dream where my grandfather's dog was blue. It was so bizarre, but because the logic center is closed for the evening... everything is real. :chuckle:

And I too work a little too hard to become lucid.

The only reason I believed I was awake was that I had just awoken (in the dream) and it was dark and so I just guessed power was out or whatever. I remember when I looked at my brothers hand It looked wierd and unnatural and I remember thinking "hmmm his hands look wierd. Why can't I look closely at them? Why can't I focus in?" I know all too well that it's a clear sign of a dream but it didn't occur to me...the annoying thing is that that dream continued on for what seemed like maybe another 20mins so I was a bit annoyed when I woke up

You really just want to try being as aware as possible; this will take you from being "uncertain" that you're dreaming, to "I'm positive that I'm dreaming!". If you're lucid enough, there's a good chance you won't even need to do an RC because you'll know that where you are, or what you're doing, is unusual or impossible.

We normally have a low level of awareness in our dreams, so this is why we don't question things and ask, "wait... why is that pig flying?" or the likes. So be aware! And the more aware you become, it's likely that you'll start becoming lucid without even needing to have a dream sign or notice anything unusual. The majority of my LDs have occurred like this. Stop, look around, observe things, and reason out why you're not dreaming (or what things may look like if you were). Logic and being mentally conscious is important - just think about what the term "lucidity" means. :)

It may be frustrating to not get lucid to often and to wake up as soon as you realize you are dreaming. However, you have become lucid, so that means you are on the right path. Don't let it get to you and keep going :D If I may recommend something, it would be All Day Awareness. It is a very usefull DILD technique that can be easily combined with any other technique.