Thread: Fed up with semi-lucidity

I enjoyed reading these responses and I'll surely get back to read them some more in depth.
Just wanted to say it's great to see this level of deep genuine discussion between dreamers , kinda makes me feel nice.

OK back on topic.
I'll give my 2c.
I don't like having dream goals. I feel they can also make semi-lucids happen, because chances are you'll just half-ass the goal in a semi-lucid trance.
I feel the one (and only) thing to do (and you can call it a dream goal too) would be to tell yourself that after you realize it's a dream, you'll STOP.
Stop what you're doing. Stop following dream characters. Stop following the plot. Look at your hands, look at the details of the world, do whatever grounding technique you do, but DON'T get pulled in.
If you start having the "oh my I wonder where this big orange cat is going" sort of thought, and you feel it occupying your mind -> STOP. You'll figure it out later. Now is your clarity time.
Don't let the dream impose its pace on you.
And then from there, you can do your own steps wherever and however you wish, with clarity and stability, not being dragged around.

Great Master Bodhidharma's Teaching on Peace of Mind says,
When people are deluded, they follow things;
when people are liberated, things follow them.
If you're liberated, then consciousness absorbs form;
if you're deluded, form absorbs consciousness.

Best wishes.

Originally Posted by Vortaix

I enjoyed reading these responses and I'll surely get back to read them some more in depth.
Just wanted to say it's great to see this level of deep genuine discussion between dreamers , kinda makes me feel nice.

OK back on topic.
I'll give my 2c.
I don't like having dream goals. I feel they can also make semi-lucids happen, because chances are you'll just half-ass the goal in a semi-lucid trance.
I feel the one (and only) thing to do (and you can call it a dream goal too) would be to tell yourself that after you realize it's a dream, you'll STOP.
Stop what you're doing. Stop following dream characters. Stop following the plot. Look at your hands, look at the details of the world, do whatever grounding technique you do, but DON'T get pulled in.
If you start having the "oh my I wonder where this big orange cat is going" sort of thought, and you feel it occupying your mind -> STOP. You'll figure it out later. Now is your clarity time.
Don't let the dream impose its pace on you.
And then from there, you can do your own steps wherever and however you wish, with clarity and stability, not being dragged around.

Great Master Bodhidharma's Teaching on Peace of Mind says,
When people are deluded, they follow things;
when people are liberated, things follow them.
If you're liberated, then consciousness absorbs form;
if you're deluded, form absorbs consciousness.

Best wishes.

Following something in a dream when lucid does not mean you are not in charge of your actions. You can choose to follow something. You can choose to investigate the dream plot lucidly, without getting so pulled in by emotion or desire that you lose lucidity. Why would anyone do this? Because it can help give very clear understanding about your own psyche and spiritual aspects. Moreso than a non-lucid dream just because you can consciously interact with, and ask questions of, dream characters or objects, and because of the increased vividness and memory.

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

Following something in a dream when lucid does not mean you are not in charge of your actions. You can choose to follow something.

Sorry for the confusion, I was talking about the first 15 seconds after attaining lucidity.

Originally Posted by Vortaix

Sorry for the confusion, I was talking about the first 15 seconds after attaining lucidity.

Gotcha. Also... sorry for going off topic a touch. Back on topic!

Originally Posted by Vortaix

I enjoyed reading these responses and I'll surely get back to read them some more in depth.
Just wanted to say it's great to see this level of deep genuine discussion between dreamers , kinda makes me feel nice.

That's what I like about DV

OK back on topic.

I feel the one (and only) thing to do (and you can call it a dream goal too) would be to tell yourself that after you realize it's a dream, you'll STOP.
Stop what you're doing. Stop following dream characters. Stop following the plot. Look at your hands, look at the details of the world, do whatever grounding technique you do, but DON'T get pulled in.

That's what I do in most of my LDs. But it simply doesn't happen/I can't do it in those semis. It's like I am too absorbed by the dream.
On the other hand, Moonage is right, it's perfectly possible and valid to follow the plot fully lucidly.
This brings me back to the fact that as I said, I don't really understand the state(s) of consciousness in non-lucid dreams. And to Tiktaalik's question.

Originally Posted by Tiktaalik

How many “full” lucid dreams do you get a week? I average 1-2 a week and then maybe 2-3 semis. I don’t see these semis as missed opportunities though and appreciate that I got so close to the bullseye. If you’re having a small amount of full lucids and then a bunch of semis I’d say you’re doing quite well and just need more time and practice.

1 LD per week or slightly less (3 so far in July, 3 in June, 4 in May, 6 in April). Hard to say with the semis. Probably 1 explicit per week, so not that many, but then there are almost explicit ones, dreams that feel somewhat lucid but I have no proof that they were and can't say if I knew or not, and dreams in which I am not sure if they were dreams. The implicit semis are much more common but they are not as clear-cut to identify.
Anyway, I don't count extremely short LDs and I don't count anything I am not completely sure about.
It's funny that the longer I am in this, the blurrier I see the line between lucid and non-lucid.
I am quite sure I could count some of the explicit semis as low-level lucid dreams if I wanted but I don't publish my count and this is not a competition for me, so any thinking about definitions is just for fun/trying to understand the nature of dreams more.
Here is one quick example that could be count as lucid, I think:

I am walking on grass, barefoot, or in some light-weight sandals, at night. With every step I take, there is a kaleidoscope of orange butterflies of various sizes, some full size, some much smaller. I love it and I think: "I've always wanted to have a dream like this." and then I think that this is almost like that TOTM task with lighting the floor with every step. Then I see a firefly and watch it fly and sit on the grass and its light going off. I go and try to find it in the grass.

I lost any bits of lucidity I had while looking for that firefly.
I think this happens when the awareness is there but the intention or memory (what it means, what I wanted to do with it) isn't. But then, I don't understand why I was able to remember the TOTM (which I don't even do).

Anyway, I think I have the tendency to overthink things. I have this strong need to understand things and I would love to be able to classify dreams and to quantify all aspects needed for them in some way but I think that the fundamentals can't be seen as a kind of progress or power bars that get charged by doing techniques or WBTB, it's more complex than that.
Awareness is the most elusive one. There are nights during which I just know I am at the right spot, very close to an LD or multiple ones. Or nights with multiple semis. And then there are nights that are the exact opposite extreme. And these two extremes can happen in one week, even if life doesn't get in, just as a natural fluctuation, I guess. The quality of sleep plays its role, the number and length of awakenings, the mood that day and possibly also the food eaten and supplements, and more. I just can't find any reliable correlations.

Right now, I am in a very confused mindset. I'll take the weekend off and then will start a new routine on Monday (memory practices connected to reality checks and reverse reality checks) and I'll probably give another chance to MILD with a greater focus on rehearsals/visualizations.