lucid

I initially didn't intend on posting this because it wasn't that exciting, but I figure since I started this journal to keep track of my experiences I should include the small accomplishments too. This dream happened yesterday morning after going back to sleep around 8 or 9.

Normal Lucid

I'm on campus in some building, I don't recall what I was actually doing. I'm on the second floor looking outside a large window down at the people below and I see my girlfriend, E, exiting from another building across from me. I think about how it's rare to see her on campus and that I should go meet up with her, so I start going down some stairs nearby. I end up outside on the wrong side of the building and somehow get on a bike (I don't own a bike, but sometimes use my roommate's). I think about which way to go to more easily get to her, looking left I realize that the buildings are blocked off so it would be hard to go that way, so I head to my right. I'm biking around the side of the building, dodging some people, and end up riding through a muddy patch, a bit worried about splatter on my clothes but not thinking about it too much. I see E up ahead standing in a group of people and start biking quickly towards her. As I get close, close enough to almost hit her with the bike, she looks up at me with a startled expression and I realize that it's not her.
Somehow this immediately makes me realize it's a dream. I just know it is and don't need to reality check but I want to practice it anyway. I quickly go over my mental check and realize I don't recognize my location and remember falling asleep recently so I know it's a dream. My vision starts fading (possibly from thinking too much? may need to work on that) and I'm afraid that I'm waking up, but remember to just stay calm and focus on my surroundings. I touch the handlebars on my bike and start looking at my hands, then quickly my vision returns (this was really cool for me because it's the first time that's happened and I'm glad I could stay calm and present in the dream ). I start to observe my surroundings, I see my bike is blue and the handlebar grips are black with a ridged rubber texture. The large building in front of me is made of brick, some people standing around in front of it and trees nearby. To my left is a big open patch of really lush green grass and I see an old man sitting cross-legged and meditating in the grass, which seems really enjoyable. I'm amazed at how real it all feels, like I'm really there, and almost in disbelief that it's actually a dream. I don't have an intended goal set up yet because for the first few dreams I just want to practice getting used to the dream scene and exploring, and there just seemed like there was so much to take in I didn't know what to do. I stood in awe for about 30 seconds and then woke up.


This was a really amazing experience even though it's so short because it showed me how real the dream can feel, and how in the moment I can be in it. I felt like I had had lucid dreams before but looking back after this experience I feel like what I had were mostly false lucid moments, like dreaming that I'm lucid dreaming and waking up with the memory rather than actually being present and experiencing it. I really think the way I'm going about practicing now is a huge improvement over the last times I got into trying to lucid dream. My meditation and present moment self-awareness exercises are making my dreams (and waking life) feel more in control and not as much on auto-pilot. I am able to stop and think before I act a lot more and actually pay attention to what is going on in my mind and body rather than just letting my thoughts control my actions. I think this is having a major impact on my dream quality as well since I can step back and observe my thought process and see what is going on.

Also as a side note, looking back over my journal since starting LDing again in February, I had about 1 lucid moment a month, but after this dream I had 2 lucid moments for May. Slowly but surely improving!