Dream within a dream (I know these threads spring up a lot, bear with me)

[DeletePlease]

So I woke up this morning, went to the bathroom, got a drink, etc then attempted a WILD by counting backwards from 100. It worked but I thought it failed because my dream started with me in bed. So, thinking I was still awake, I got up and brushed my teeth (still dreaming) then went to the living room and sat down on the couch. I thought I'd give WILDing another go so I laid down and did the counting thing again. This WILD was "successful" in that I ended up in a different dreamscape - my old school. I had a little fun, caused a ruckus, etc then I felt this "micro-dream" destabilizing and I could feel my dream body on the couch (although I thought this was my physical body). I stabilized it for a bit and then it destabilized completely. I got up from the couch and went to take a shower, but when I noticed that the water was green, I realized that was a dream too and woke up as a result. I know people on here say it's impossible to have a dream within a dream but wouldn't that count as one? Or would that still be one dream, followed by another, and then followed by third that serves as an extension of the first? If that's the case, isn't that technically a dream within a dream? Why do I have a tendency to fill my last paragraph with questions when I make long posts?

[nina]

It's not impossible. It is very possible. I know because I've had them.

[Refrain]

Yes I think so.

[MischiefManaged]

I didn't particularly had lucid dream within a dream, but non-lucid - quite a few. Why can't it be possible anyway?

[ElectaGuitar]

You cant fall asleep while you're sleeping. You will still be asleep. It's like eating mushrooms, then tripping, then while in the trip you're eating mushrooms. In the trip you ate them, maybe it enhanced them, but your body remained the same trip-level. P.S - I suck at explaining things.

[MischiefManaged]

Well, of course - you can't fall asleep while you're sleeping - just because in general sense you're already sleeping. So your brain creates the situation which looks like you're going to bed, falling asleep and start dreaming again. After that it may recreate the scene from which you fell asleep in the beginning of the dream. But that's just general sense. We all know that dreams can't be considered the same way as waking reality, simply because everything that is possible in reality IS possible in the dream and also everything that is impossible in reality still IS possible in the dream. So falling asleep in the dream following this logic is still possible. The other appropriate question here would be - what do you consider as "falling asleep"? Physical aspect - your body is relaxed, all the processes are slowed down etc, or mental aspect - you see the transition to the dream, patterns, hypnotic images etc, or both of them - there is still no difficulties for the brain to recreate the process of falling asleep in all of the aspects, brain knows how it looks and how to do that. Anyway, no matter what's the answer is - result is still the same - you lie in bed in the dream, eyes closed and see dream inside a dream. What's the difference how you call that then?

[Vertebrate]

I think it's just a terminology thing. Technically, this wasn't a dream within a dream. However what really happened was a dream that you woke up, tried to wild, had a lucid dream, woke up, and then realized you were dreaming. For all intents and purposes this was a dream within a dream, but your dream body can't really dream.

[Caden]

You mean like this?

[Max ツ]

I think Vertebrate explains it most clearly. The so called 'Dream within a dream' are very real, yes, but of course, I don't think your dream body actually falls asleep. It's the same as a change in scenario. However, I have experienced some LDs of layers of dreams, (dream within dream within dream within...) where I would wake up to each successive layer as the previous dream collapsed. I still don't think dream bodies fall asleep. XD

[Drandrewsarchus]

I think that the original poster is right. Of course your dream body can't fall asleep, but your hallucination of falling asleep a 2nd time and waking up IS real (dreams are just natural and controlled hallucinations, I just think that's wild to think about!). I would agree and argue that since you perceive a dream within a dream, it IS real and it CAN be done. I've had the same thing happen to me too...my favorites :-)