Thread: What does LD'ing feel like?

Hiya, I'm new to this forum as i just recently came across it and made an account
The whole lucid dream topic got me pretty hooked and I read a few guides but my question is;
What does it feel like?

I've never try to consciously(or whatever) attain a lucid dream so I can't really tell the difference between a random dream and a lucid dream. Can you feel things in lucid dreams? Can you consciously think? I do remember a dream a looong time ago that (seemed) to go for a few seconds where there was a stick of dynamite in my shirt which briefly exploded afterwards, I felt my body explode but my head seemed to be intact as I watched it explode for a few more seconds before I woke up.

[ Fast reply ]

Hi Collateral, welcome to Dreamviews!


Usually when one becomes lucid (especially the first few times), it's a blast of awareness. You suddenly realize you're in a dream, and you can get pretty excited. People who aren't used to lucid dreaming have to be wary of getting overexcited at first, because they might wake up. You can definitely feel, smell, see, and hear things in lucid dreams, just like in real life. Of course, things are more surreal at times, but they can be very realistic. I've rubbed my hands along a stucco wall and it felt like the real thing.

You can consciously think, depending on how aware you are within the dream... Sometimes you become lucid but aren't able to change the dream plot because you're not that aware, but other times it's like you're fully conscious.

If I were to rate my average lucidity on a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give it a 7. It's a bit less than fully conscious, but conscious enough to change the dream plot, teleport myself, and do all sorts of awesome stuff.

Is it possible to die in a lucid dream? (Like, in the dream, not real life) because I've read a few stories where people say they got shot multiple times and what-not without feeling a thing.

Originally Posted by Collateral

Is it possible to die in a lucid dream? (Like, in the dream, not real life) because I've read a few stories where people say they got shot multiple times and what-not without feeling a thing.

If you're really lucid, I don't think you can die, because you are aware it's a dream and that it can't hurt you. Even pain you can choose to feel it or ignore it, because you hold the power.
It will be like the Matrix scene in which Neo stops the bullets. If you're really lucid, the bullets will never hit you, unless you consciently decide you want it to. Then I don't know, but I've heard of dreamers who die in dreams (normal ones) and have a dream out-of-body experience - not a real one, but a dream version of it. Maybe in lucids can happen the same, but I think only if you want.

Originally Posted by Collateral

Is it possible to die in a lucid dream? (Like, in the dream, not real life) because I've read a few stories where people say they got shot multiple times and what-not without feeling a thing.

You can die in a lucid dream; from my experiences in regular dreams, usually I enter a post-mortem state in which I'm floating above the ground watching the scene unfold. But you'll never die in real life.

Hi Collateral,
Try reading some Dream Journals with lucid dreams descriptions, so you can get a grasp of what it feels like for different people, but I can say that for my it's like hyper-reality.
Not only I feel all the senses as in waking life and I have my memory and mindfulness as in waking life - I think a lot inside my dreams (and not only on lucids, actually), you can see that on my dream journal.
Of course the level of awareness and consciousness varies from dream to dream, but I'm talking about those that are really on the top of the scale: those are like real life with the benefit that it isn't and therefore you can do anything that in waking life you can't. So on top of already sensing everything in the dream as if it was real (tastes, smells, colours, shapes, textures, distances, weight, pain...) you can levitate, fly, cross walls, travel at the speed of light, jump from dream to dream, etc.
It's that awesome

Dont want to hijack this thread or anything but just wondering, if your pretty lucid can the dream feel like real life and you will remember that dream as if a real memory, or will the dream still have that feel of artificiality and the memory seem foggy like other dreams?

Good question. I have to confess that I have many times not distinguished memories of dreams from real memories, thus making myself look like a fool in diverse situations.
But none of those dreams were lucid, they were simply vivid and totally believable (no funny things going on), that I put them on the archive of real memories.
On a lucid dream you're lucid because you realised you were dreaming in the first place, therefore all that happens from then on, will be stored in your dream memories. Also it's not likely that you have a lucid dream and not use it to do extraordinary things like flying and going to the moon, so even if the memory is very vivid, you will know it is from a dream, and there's no chance you will come to your friend saying "oh, remember that day when we were in Jupiter?" convinced it really happened.
The chances for this to happen with normal vivid dreams is far far greater, than with lucids in which you KNOW you're dreaming, therefore no place for confusion.

Hey man...
What a lucid dream feels like?
I'll do my best to describe this feeling from my experience,however this feeling is nothing like you've ever felt...
When you realize you're dreaming, you immediately feel a mix of anxiety,adrenaline,fear,and excitement...
It feels like you're in another world,things are the same as in the real one,but this one is entirely yours...
This is not a hobby man,this is a part of a life...something I'll keep on doing until my brain wears out..
-Sam

I don't know how one feel like but as soon as I do have one I well tell you.

For me they're usually very vivid and clear, but I'm never very conscious. There has only been one time were I was 100% conscious (it felt like) and fully aware. I went around feeling everything doubting if it was real, that was a very short dream though..

How do they feel?

Well, basically, it's like this:

If I were to tell you, RIGHT NOW, that you were dreaming - and I proved it by levitating off of the floor - how would you feel?

That's how it feels.

It varies, depending on your present state. If you were groggy and you'd just woken up - it would feel one way. If you'd just got done running a 100-meter dash and you were full of adrenaline, it would feel another way. Basically, it's just the realization that you are dreaming. So there is no "set feeling" for it.

And yes, you can "die" in lucid dreams - but what happens after you "die" is different. And, even whether or not you "die" is not set in stone. Allowing people to shoot me, at point blank range, is actually one of my favorite things to do while lucid. The look on their faces is usually priceless. Lol.

What's it like?

Well, for starters, your dream body feels different from your real body, somehow less...tangible, it's really something you have to feel for yourself. The feeling of being lucid isn't something one can really describe, you have to experience it for yourself. But, a word that captures it in part, one word...freedom.

Originally Posted by Supernova

What's it like?

Well, for starters, your dream body feels different from your real body, somehow less...tangible, it's really something you have to feel for yourself.

It's almost like you're not aware of your body's movements until you choose to notice them.

All I can say is epic. Totally worth the effort