Thread: I recognize that I'm dreaming but......

Hi =)
I have a bit of a problem. I'm able to recognize that I'm dreaming, but I'm not able to go lucid. I just think, "Oh good I'm dreaming" and that's it, hahaha. The only time I actually LD is when I find myself in a situation that's threatening, then once I find safe place I stop. I've tried to control this when it happens, but it's rare. So does anyone have any tips on how to get from that stage of recognition and start LDing? It would be greatly appreciated if I could get some help!!!
Peace and Love

well, whenever you realize you are dreaming you are having a LD, the problem is that you cant control them right? that happens a lot, just be patient

Don't get involved in the dream plot! As soon as you start going along with the dream, it's all over. Remind yourself it's not real, and keep a sense of detachment.

Meditation might help prolong lucidity. Really what you want from meditation is to stay focused on something without becoming distracted. And those distractions are what rob you of lucidity.

I'm able to recognize that I'm dreaming, but I'm not able to go lucid.

you are basically saying.."I become lucid, but I don't become lucid"
what I think is that you really don't become lucid, saying "ooh good I'm dreaming " doesn't mean you know you are dreaming.
A Lucid dream is when you KNOW you are dreaming, it has nothing to do with what you say, what you do, or how vivid is the dream...

Follow my tutorial for increasing your awareness of the dream, and pro-longing it. Only have your engage all of your senses do you start to wake up, and become truly lucid. The tutorial below will walk you through that.

Gary

hey atkins513, have you read what he say? you have to be lucid to do that thing of increasing awareness, else, it's impossible.
he says that he don't become lucid, just act like so.

I'm in the same situation almost every dream I know that I am dreaming and sometimes even saying that to myself but I am not "lucid". And I also become fully lucid in danger situations.

For me I feel that it is because I like my regular dreams a lot and I feel that if I will do something it would just make me wake up. I want to keep dreaming and see what happens in my regular dream. Also it usually happens at night sleep so I'm to tired to control my dreams. Almost all my lucid dreams happened in the afternoon. Either a long 12-14 hour sleep or an afternoon nap.

Actually, Mariano, I'm a female lol
And aren't you contradicting what you said. I'm Lucid dreaming by saying, 'I'm dreaming', but yet, by just saying that I'm dreaming means that I'm not Lucid dreaming? I thought recognizing that you're dreaming means you're having a LD, so how does what you say make sense?
I get what you mean by 'anything you do or say doesn't mean you're lucid dreaming', but still, if I said, "oh, I'm dreaming", wouldn't that mean that I know I'm dreaming, if I didn't know that I was dreaming then I wouldn't have said it, correct? I mean, by what you're saying, you could just be having a dream in which you 'know' you are Lucid dreaming, but in actuality you're just dreaming that, so anything you say or do isn't in your control and it's all just a very vivid illusion. It's by what you do and say that you KNOW you are dreaming...right?..Sorry, I'm just confused on that...anyway, All I want is advice for attaining lucidity.

And, my mistake, haha. What I meant is exactly what LipeMarques asked: I recognize that I'm Lucid dreaming, but I'm unable to control it.
Thanks Cusp and Gary for the advice =)

Nefarious, I know EXACTLY how you feel, I've always been way too 'into' my dreams and now that I'm trying to Lucid dream it's starting to become a pain =| but I think it will be worth it =]

Hey Moondust - it sounds like one of two possibilities.

You might have just been DREAMING ABOUT LUCIDITY, or you might have actually been lucid but had no control and little awareness.

I've had plenty of dreams where I'm dreaming about being lucid but I'm actually not. It's definitely possible for your dream-self to say "I know I'm dreaming" but for you not to actually be aware of dreaming. What your dream self says isn't necessarily true... example, if I say in a (regular) dream "Everybody knows the sky is made of purple taffy"... that doesn't make it true. By the same token your dream self can say "I know I'm dreaming" when you don't really know that at all.

When you start thinking about lucidity you'll dream about it a lot. In fact, whatever you've been thinking about a lot tends to turn up in your dreams. I think it's pretty common for people to have a bunch of dreams about lucidity when they're learning and attempting to go lucid. I know it happened to me a lot!!

By contrast when I really do go lucid it comes as a moment of exciting revelation. It always makes me laugh with sheer joy at the freedom. But when I just dream that I:m lucid it doesn't affect the way I feel, it's just words, you know?

Basically it's like love. You'll THINK you're in it several times before it's real, but when it happens, you'll just KNOW it.

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

Basically it's like love. You'll THINK you're in it several times before it's real, but when it happens, you'll just KNOW it.

I really like this.

where do failed reality checks come in on the spectrum?
early this morning during a dream, i tried an RC but it didn't work.
(i tried putting my hand through my other hand.) Clucnk!
i did this several times, no less.

i woke up and wondered, was i lucid, or not?

not that it matters - i'm not keeping score of my ld's, but i was curious. was i or wasn't i? it felt kind of half way or semi-lucid.

from my experience, if im truly LD, and i know i am... I can easily do any of these RCs and fail them.. but if I try one and expect the result to be a pass.. it will.. the only reality check that I think is 100 percent accurate is holding your nose and breathing.. and the reason I believe this is is because you still have conscious control over your breathing during LD, and you consciously know that you are still breathing even though you are holding your nose. RC's like putting your finger through something will fail or pass, based on your expectation and I Have proven this to myself during LD.

Try holding your nose and breathing next time, and you should know for sure.

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

Basically it's like love. You'll THINK you're in it several times before it's real, but when it happens, you'll just KNOW it.

Lol, I've had someone tell me that when they started drinking the same thing happened. They'd get tipsy and think they were drunk, until they really got drunk.

I find planning my LD's in advance helps me to stay Lucid. Usually when i attain Lucidity i have the "Aha!" moment (which i sometimes laugh at in my dream, as i find it hilarious). Then immediately i begin to try to control one thing at a time, the first is the most important which is my thoughts. I keep them from straying, i guide them, because at first the thoughts are wild and random, but i slowly get into a mindset of analyzing my current situation so that i can make clear sound judgement's that produce solid thoughts. It's all about keeping a clear mind. Meditation will really help you with this. I meditate for an hour to an hour and a half every day, and i have meditation retreats often, where i go to certain places where i know no one will be and meditate for hours.

Once i gain control over my attention and thoughts in my dream i assert to myself that this is a dream, i keep asserting it and adding to it. I begin to shun the events that were taking place during Non-Lucidity and move myself into events and places within a Lucid state of dreaming. This acts as a ""physical"" representation to my senses that i'm of clear mind and in control of my dream. I hardly ever use the term "Dream" once i'm Lucid as it implies to a Lucid Dreamer a loss of awareness and lack of control ( which Lucidity=/=Control but is born from it through practice) and using the term "Dream" in a Lucid Dream can accidentally cause you to "hand over" your Lucidity.

What i meant by planning your next LD is that you meditate on goals and objectives. Keep them in your mind, if in the back of it all day, or week. Then prepare for an LD and once Lucid try to think about those goals and objectives.

I had this problem when I started, too. Just keep in mind something you wanna do when you do become lucid. I remember the first time I broke from it I thought, "Hum.. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming?! Let's do something about it"

Thanks, MomentoMori and Darkmatters! What you two said helped me a lot! Last night I had a dream about reality checks, haha. I need to work on it, but I think I'm making progress. =D