I keep going into this annoying "half dreaming" state

In my recent attempts at lucidity I've been slipping into this state where my body is still "switched on", so to speak, so when I dreamt it was more like I was imagining the events rather than experiencing them. The really irritating thing was the fact that in this state I'm aware that it's a dream and everything but any attempt to do anything just tips me back into regular consciousness.

Examples: Lest night I tried the WBTB method and when I went back to sleep I was picturing this scene in the african plains except it was more like I was a spectator to the events that unfolded rather than actually being involved.

And before that, while I was in a similar state, my previous dream seemed to end with some sort of "advertisement" for a book in which the character has several lucid dreams. As if the dream was some how "taunting" me with the idea of it.

Has anyone else ever had this issue? Anything that anyone can recommend to do about it? I've heard that binaural beats can help dream states.

How do you mean your body is switched on, if you are in a lucid dream their is no way you could move due to full sleep paralysis. Either you are never actually entering a full dream or you are just telling yourself.

Hi Ocean,

Similarly, I will periodically have dreams where I am a spectator of RTS games and I basically watch the game unfold. I have found there is also a point at which too much concentration and preparation for lucid dreaming will keep my mind so active that I wake up throughout the night from dreams where things like advertisements or work-related conversations are taking place.

In the former cases, there isn't much I can do, except take a break from whatever game it is that carries through into my dreams. In the later cases, I find being diligent with my LD practices, but not overly so, is the key to finding the sweet spot.

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by dutchraptor

How do you mean your body is switched on, if you are in a lucid dream their is no way you could move due to full sleep paralysis. Either you are never actually entering a full dream or you are just telling yourself.

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I mean the dream is happening while I can still feel myself lying down in bed and the dream feels more like a mental image that I'm not directly controlling.

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Originally Posted by RedNaxela

Hi Ocean,

I have found there is also a point at which too much concentration and preparation for lucid dreaming will keep my mind so active that I wake up throughout the night from dreams where things like advertisements or work-related conversations are taking place.

In the former cases, there isn't much I can do, except take a break from whatever game it is that carries through into my dreams. In the later cases, I find being diligent with my LD practices, but not overly so, is the key to finding the sweet spot.

Hope this helps.

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I think I know what you mean. In this instance I was really concentrating on having a lucid dream before I went to sleep.

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Originally Posted by OceanSong

I mean the dream is happening while I can still feel myself lying down in bed and the dream feels more like a mental image that I'm not directly controlling.

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Ahh I see, I and a few others have discussed this a while back. I'd say most people would have have this when they wake up and voluntarily go back into the dream. If I understand it's no much a full awareness but more of controlling the entire dream. You are still aware of the outside world but making up the dream on your own account.

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Originally Posted by dutchraptor

You are still aware of the outside world but making up the dream on your own account.

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Not sure if I follow you here. I didn't feel like I had come up with any of the dream scenarios myself, especially since they were all largely different and unrelated to eachother.

Does it have anything to with a lucid dream at all?

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Originally Posted by dutchraptor

Does it have anything to with a lucid dream at all?

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What, the dreams? Well the very first dream (which was a normal dream) actually explicitly mentioned the concept of lucid dreaming for some reason.

I have no more ideas, very unusual indeed..Hmmm :sleepmeditate2:

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Originally Posted by dutchraptor

I have no more ideas, very unusual indeed..Hmmm :sleepmeditate2:

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Yeah I thought so too. The book thing towards the end of it that I mentioned before just made it weirder...

I can remember most of it well enough to sketch it out though so that's a good thing I suppose. I'll just keep trying I suppose, I didn't have a great night's sleep in general that time anyway.

I've a terrible sleeping pattern and unless I've something to do when I first wake up, I usually go straight back to sleep. I've been this way for atleast 4 years now; going to sleep at 4am and waking up at 3pm. I have "half"-dreams everyday, it's not a healthy habbit. The dreams nearly always relate to whats on my mind before I fall asleep I have no control over the dream (I just dreampt I died, resulting in me finding this thread). I just thought it sounded similar to what you have, and that maybe you could reflect off of this.

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Originally Posted by OceanSong

I mean the dream is happening while I can still feel myself lying down in bed and the dream feels more like a mental image that I'm not directly controlling.

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I've been experiencing the same thing for a while now. And so far this is the first place i have seen it mentioned. It usually happens right after i become lucid (DILD), and then in my excitement to begin controlling it, i almost slip out of the dream and instead start to try and imagine what i could be seeing. Exactly like the mental image you were describing.
It is extremely frustrating because you almost have one foot in the door.
I have found that at the moment things become dark and the dream fades, just keep staring into the darkness, imagining a figure walking towards you. Slowly it will gain form, and dream control will be at your fingertips once more. I have found this tends to bring you back into the dream, and a wonderful experience awaits.
Conversely, a lucid dream beginning from a false awakening is also very stable and you avoid that 'mental imagery' stage.
Good luck!

I have experienced this as well. When it happens to me I just wake up and stay awake for a few more minutes... Maybe read something or just have a wank. When I fall back asleep I mostly dream and in this way I have attained lucidity a few times.

I think that what is happening is, like some others have said, you are concentrating too hard on becoming lucid. You are entering into something that, from what my experiences with them are, seems to be a half trance. You shouldn't have to focus on keeping the mental images or not letting your body move in a lucid dream, but a trance requires a lot of focus, so your mind may be too active.

The first stage of NREM sleep is "drifting off". It lasts ten minutes or so and is accompanied by hypnagogic imagery. That means that your still half-awake and might believe that your in a 'half dreaming' state, but there is nothing like that. Just simple hypnagogic imagery that's all, but i understand the confusion. I used to think i was half dreaming aswell, but i wasn't.

Or your dreaming, but your dream is just horrible quality without dream control. Hey, it happens.. :D

I don't know if this is really what you're talking about at all, but sometimes, right before I fall asleep, I'll stop thinking about anything, but every once in awhile I'll see completely random images or short scenes play out. After a few seconds of thinking about it, I regain full consciousness, and usually fall asleep not long after. I don't think I've ever witnessed an entire dream in that state, because my mind realizes I'm not falling asleep anymore. I'm not sure if all of my dreams start off with random images that eventually lead to a dream with a "storyline," or if my mind is just "practicing" for dreaming. When this happens, it's never because I've previously been trying to become lucid, but I would imagine, if I could at least trick my mind into thinking I was drifting to sleep, I could become completely lucid without waking up.


*EDIT*
Somehow I overlooked Ekyu's post. I guess what I described was in fact, NREM sleep. I'm not very educated on the stages of sleep yet. I still have a huge amount of information to gather on the subject.

I think I know what you are talking about, it has happened to me a few times. It is like a poor quality 3rd person dream for me. I was semi aware of my body and the fact that i was dreaming but felt like if I moved any of my attention the dream would end. I don't know how avoid it or shift into a lucid from it, but in one of them I transitioned into a brief yet vivid lucid somehow.

I get this after a few minutes of relaxing in bed. I believe what is happening is that his mind is playing through recent memories and altering them, as if he could've or should've done something else. My first "half dreams" tend to stem from memories that get altered, by their own accord, and play out. I'm usually in them but it's more of a third person thing. As they get more deep and vivid, my mind usually falls asleep and my mantras are forgotten. Wish somebody could help me find a decent anchor or something! :P

That half-asleep state has a name. It is the Theta brainwave state. This is an altered-consciousness state very much akin to hypnosis or deep meditation. Visualize while you are in this stage of sleep onset and you will fall asleep. NREM lucid dreaming can occur almost immediately if you have done your RC's and such.

I think I may know what you're talking about. Do you mean you are in your dream and you feel your own body wake up, but you still remain in the dream? The same thing has been happening to me lately. It's rather annoying.

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Originally Posted by OceanSong

In my recent attempts at lucidity I've been slipping into this state where my body is still "switched on", so to speak, so when I dreamt it was more like I was imagining the events rather than experiencing them. The really irritating thing was the fact that in this state I'm aware that it's a dream and everything but any attempt to do anything just tips me back into regular consciousness.

Examples: Lest night I tried the WBTB method and when I went back to sleep I was picturing this scene in the african plains except it was more like I was a spectator to the events that unfolded rather than actually being involved.

And before that, while I was in a similar state, my previous dream seemed to end with some sort of "advertisement" for a book in which the character has several lucid dreams. As if the dream was some how "taunting" me with the idea of it.

Has anyone else ever had this issue? Anything that anyone can recommend to do about it? I've heard that binaural beats can help dream states.

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A little late to the game, but:

I suggest you simply try shifting to DILD, Oceansong. In spite of Cellardoor's thoughtful post above, it could just be that you're dragging a bit too much physical wakefulness in your wake when you WILD/DEILD, and joining a dream midstream (aka, DILD) ought to bypass that.

... just a thought.

If I'm understanding this right, it does happen to me after some of my WILD attempts which I made right after I first laid down in the night. You can see it unfolding, it's almost more clear than a daydream, and all the events seem to come from somewhere other than your directly conscious mind.

Something similar happens to me on a regular basis. Also, at some point, I become engrossed in the imagery, and my body turns over almost of its own accord. In other words, before I realize that I have an urge to turn over and can do something about it, I have already turned over and woken up. I'm guessing that the sweet spot you guys are referring to is the fine line between trying to control the transition into a lucid dream, and observing the imagery with the intention of allowing myself to be drawn into the dream scene . Am I correct?