Fake Lucid Dreams vs Real Lucid Dreams

So far, I've had two "lucid dreams." However, the reason I put them in quotations is that I can never be sure if my dreams are really Lucid Dreams or just fake ones where I dream that I'm lucid. In the dreams, I "know" that I'm dreaming. I even tell my friend next to me that I'm in a Lucid Dream. (She happens to tell me that SHE'S in a lucid dream to, but deep in my mind I knew that she was just a figment of my imagination.)

However, I don't even think of doing a reality check. Instead, the first thing I did in both dreams was try to backflip, and fail. Then I try to fly, and that fails too. The only thing I managed to do last night was impress everyone at a party by moving a teddy bear across the table with my mind. (And it was hard to do...) It was a boring party, and I KNEW that I could teleport away if I wanted to, but I didn't. It just seems that I know I'm dreaming, but I don't seem to do anything logically. And pretty soon, everything just mushes away into a normal dream.

So I guess these are either just regular dreams where I dream I'm lucid, or something like a semi-lucid dream. In a real lucid dream, do you really act in total control like you would in waking life? And how do you achieve that?

Are you taking time to stabilize before you start trying to do these crazy flips and jumps? Try to make sure that you are 100% lucid before rushing off to do things, or yea you'll risk the chance of losing lucidity or waking up, and you may have a very vague notion of the fact that you are dreaming... what I like to call "low lucidity". Just look around the environment, tell yourself that it is a dream out loud over and over, doing RCs to confirm it. THEN go ahead and do crazy stuff :tongue: and don't trust those pesky DCs! ;)

Remember- it's a lucid dream if you knew you were dreaming. Dream control does not factor. You know you are dreaming = lucid. You don't know you are dreaming = not lucid.

They were "real" lucid dreams. As Shift said, if you realize that you're dreaming during the dream, then it's a lucid dream. Lucid dreams are not fundamentally different from regular dreams.

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Originally Posted by Pelephant

In a real lucid dream, do you really act in total control like you would in waking life?

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Sometimes, but not usually. You'll certainly act more like your waking self than you would in a non-lucid dream, but most people find that their behavior is different in some subtle (or not so subtle) ways, usually pertaining to impulse control or logic/reasoning.

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Originally Posted by Pelephant

And how do you achieve that?

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Using the stabilization techniques that Shift mentioned will help. They help to raise your lucidity level, ground your awareness in the dream, and even make the dream more vivid. However, they are not a 100% guarantee of 100% lucidity.

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Originally Posted by Pelephant

So far, I've had two "lucid dreams." However, the reason I put them in quotations is that I can never be sure if my dreams are really Lucid Dreams or just fake ones where I dream that I'm lucid. In the dreams, I "know" that I'm dreaming. I even tell my friend next to me that I'm in a Lucid Dream. (She happens to tell me that SHE'S in a lucid dream to, but deep in my mind I knew that she was just a figment of my imagination.)

However, I don't even think of doing a reality check. Instead, the first thing I did in both dreams was try to backflip, and fail. Then I try to fly, and that fails too. The only thing I managed to do last night was impress everyone at a party by moving a teddy bear across the table with my mind. (And it was hard to do...) It was a boring party, and I KNEW that I could teleport away if I wanted to, but I didn't. It just seems that I know I'm dreaming, but I don't seem to do anything logically. And pretty soon, everything just mushes away into a normal dream.

So I guess these are either just regular dreams where I dream I'm lucid, or something like a semi-lucid dream. In a real lucid dream, do you really act in total control like you would in waking life? And how do you achieve that?

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You were indeed having lucid dreams, and lucid dreams are no different from regular dreams except for the fact that you are aware you are in the dream state, and from there you can exert your will on the dream itself to make any changes you can imagine.

In the dream reality (as I call it), you can do anything you can imagine to do. The reason you were unable to backflip or fly, was because you had doubt that you could do so. You were essentially making it harder for yourself to do those actions with your thought processes.

If you expect that there is gravity, then there is. If you expect that you can change everyone in the room into rabbits, you can. If you expect that you can turn into the most glorious mythical creature you've ever seen, you can. If you expect that you can fling fireballs from your palms, you can. If you are flying and think you can fall without regaining the ability to fly before hitting the ground, you will. Your results when trying to do things in dreams that you cannot do in waking reality are based on your beliefs, intent, and will.

In order to make changes to the dream scene, to characters and objects, you have to fully believe you can. If you have ANY doubt, even a small hint of it, a fleeting thought, that doubt becomes a part of the situation, and the results of that doubt will be the final result, instead of your intended one. For example, if you believe you can walk through a brick wall to the inside of a building, you can, but if for some reason you think "what if I get stuck halfway or something", don't be surprised when you are then stuck halfway through the wall with your body sticking out of either side until you reaffirm your belief that you can pass completely through the wall, and then you'll be able to.

When you are dreaming, waking life logic no longer matters. You know you can teleport away somewhere, so think of your consciousness relocating to the spot you are considering teleporting to and then say "teleport" believing you will relocate to that spot. You can even add a motion or process to it if you'd like. Something like summoning a warp hole that will take you to such and such location, then you jump in and end up there. Be creative, and don't use waking reality logic in your dreams. The physical does not matter, it's all mental, and anything is possible.

Sounds to me like the dream wasn't fully stabilised. Try rubbing your hands together and/or spinning around in circles. Then say (or shout!) out loud "I'M DREAMING!", even affirm that you have absolute control (i am god? lol) if you want. A lucid dream is a lucid dream - the only difference should be control.

I recommend you watch this series of videos on the 'layers' of lucidity, very interesting watch and an insight into what constitutes 'lucidity' in dreams.

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Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

I recommend you watch this series of videos on the 'layers' of lucidity, very interesting watch and an insight into what constitutes 'lucidity' in dreams.

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Thanks for the link. That guy is very interesting :)

You were lucid :)

As long as you know you are in a dream, you are lucid. But some dreams do have more quality than others, so it is really just that :)

I've had dreams like this before. Like exactly like this. I'm able to lucid dream but I can't seem to hold it