how to differentiate between a lucid dream and a dream about being lucid

**mihir83in** · 03-10-2011 06:14 AM

Hi all, i have had two dreams that i considered lucid in last month. One was a DILD and the second i recon WILD. Both dreams where done with WBTB.
one was only few minutes short where i was in an adventure dream which was having a Pirates of the Caribbean theme. I became aware of this being highly impossible in real life, and i became lucid. I was transported to a new location, and i tested my senses as how they feel and studied my surroundings, and the dream faded away.

The second one was a more intense, I had some eggs for dinner and woke up and i had Withania somnifera and bacopa monnieri 250 mg capsules upon waking up.

This combination led me to what i consider a WILD, and the WILD lasted around 22 minutes, and my alarm broke it off. I did all sort of things, flying high jumps, glides.
I consider this wild because directly after closing my eyes, My thoughts manifested and materialized in a dream. does that qualify as a lucid dream

Now my question is, still both the dreams where dreamlike, i mean i felt not so real. And i have read other peoples experiences, sometimes mind can trick you to think that you are lucid dreaming but you are just doing the normal dream.

So how does one differentiate between a lucid dream and a dream about being lucid..

Thanks in advance.

**Binsk** · 03-10-2011 06:25 AM

Lucid Dream- Recognizing you are dreaming while in the dream.

That is all it is, nothing less, nothing more. People seem to associate Lucid Dreaming with control, or vividness, but Lucidity has nothing to do with those directly. As long as you realized you were dreaming while in the dream then you were lucid.

People often associate the control and vividness because lucid dreaming makes those two easier to accomplish, but they have nothing to do with lucid dreaming themselves.

**mihir83in** · 03-10-2011 09:56 AM

Well, okay i understand about control and vividness, but still how do you know whether its the dream in which you realize that you are dreaming or is it the dream of realizing that you are awake in a dream.
I hope i am clear.

Thanks,
Regards
Mihir Pandya

**MischiefManaged** · 03-10-2011 10:23 AM

But the thing is it's the same. If in the dream you realize or understand that you're dreaming then it's lucid dream. But if you, for example say "wow, it's a dream", but you don't understand that, only say it, then it's not lucid dream. Well, as I understand that.
Or you can know that it's a dream, but have no control even over your own actions - you can feel like a doll in someone's hands.
Also, there are different levels of lucidity. For example you understand it's a dream, you are lucid and you have some or even full dream control, but you still are not the same as in waking life - sometimes dumber copy of yourself, sometimes just different. You are still lucid, but when you wake up from that lucid dream you realize that some of your actions still not logical enough...like that. I don't know if that makes sense X)

**bihon** · 03-12-2011 04:23 AM

As I understand it, even if you are dreaming that you are lucid, it is in fact, still a lucid dream. Lately, I'm having a problem with my lucidity, because I would be dreaming inside a dream whenever I reach a point of lucidity, my awareness is close to nothing, though my control is still normal. Because my lucid dream is in a dream itself, I would not be aware that I am still dreaming when I wake up from the lucid state. Also, I've had tons of experience dreaming that I'm having an OBE or Astral Projection. . .

**Tripoli** · 03-12-2011 04:59 AM

I see it like this, if you are in a dream and your character says "This is a dream" but you don't understand those words until you wake up then you weren't lucid, or if you wake up and go "Wooh, that was a dream.".