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Last night, I decided to try MILD for the first time. At some point my dream faded to black and I told myself: "this is a dream."
The problem was: I couldn't see anything. If I opened my eyes, I would wake up. I could hear sounds of people talking but could barely make anything out. In the dream, I was standing but when I woke up, I was in bed.
Was I dreaming or just awake and half-asleep, thinking I was dreaming?
I've had this problem several times. The dream would fade away and I couldn't see or really sense much of anything. My assumption would usually be that the dream had ended and I was already awake. I was almost always wrong and I would open my eyes and wake myself up because I was expecting to wake up.
I've been teaching myself to assume I'm still dreaming when this happens instead of assuming I'm awake. I find it best to try to continue the dream and work on stabilization or clarity.
Better luck next time :)
I had this happen just last night twice during the same LD. Here is what I think happens. The truely vivid LDs are in REM phases, but the phases wax and wane in how much true REM is going on. You may even slip all the way out of REM, but still be aware. I simply recommend learning to explore the dream world with other senses. nREM or poor REM dreams still have things you can do. nREM dreams are very tactile (touch) so if you just keep doing stuff you will experience the feeling of doing the thing. Often, when the dreams visuals go black or dim or fuzzy, I will just fly around or start walking or dancing about. This keeps me aware and in the LD, and after a minute or two the true REM stuff comes back. Some times you can not get into REM at all, but are still lucid. You can either be mad that 'it is not working' or you can explore what nREM has to offer, like sex, flying, transformation and anything that can be fun with out good visuals.