Thread: Real Life vs. Lucid Dreams

Just how real are lucid dreams in comparison to real waking life? Sensory and time wise?

Dreams for me always have big and small gaps in between them. Like, I can remember I was at my house, and then I was suddenly at the school, as though no travel time had transpired. I wonder if this is true in Lucidity as well.

Alot in my dreams, I can remember very 'fuzzy' parts that have either very poor vision, or scarce details of the surroundings. Like, I may recognize something as a convenience store in my dream, but not see the distinct details, like the way the neon glows in the 'Open' sign or even what colour it is.

Can anyone make a brief (or complex) comparison?

I have those gaps too, its quite annoying. I have had them in LD's too, I dont know were they gaps or didn't I just remember what happened between those wo places.

Hey Colin,

Yes, those gaps and "blurryness" are common (if not mandatory) in non-lucid dreams. I've only experienced a handfull of LDs and one thing I definitely notice in difference is that the lucid dreams tend to be remembered with much more clarity and realism.
In Non-Lucid:

...but not see the distinct details, like the way the neon glows in the 'Open' sign or even what colour it is[/b]

In a Lucid:
There would also be more subtle things, like not only would you see the neon sign in the store, but you would also hear it's buzzing sound, and maybe even notice the reflection in the glass behind it.

In Non-Lucid:

Dreams for me always have big and small gaps in between them.[/b]

In a Lucid:
From the moment you become lucid, you are far more likely to remember everything from that point on in complete consecutiveness (not sure if that's even a term ) Anyway, due to the "realness" of the dream at that point, it will seem more like a regular waking memory.

My last lucid was the most "real" to me. I was holding on to this rock in a tropical bay. I could feel the courseness of the rock, the sound and color (clarity) of the water, even the smacking of the waves hitting my back. Whenever I recall it, it feels the same as when I've been in tropical waters like that on vacation - it's really being there, man!

Originally posted by Tornado Joe

From the moment you become lucid, you are far more likely to remember everything from that point on in complete consecutiveness (not sure if that's even a term )

Consecutivity? O.o That doesn't sound right either.

Originally posted by Mirath

Consecutivity? O.o That doesn't sound right either.

Consecutively.. BUT consecutiveness IS an actual word per my Webster's dictionary!!

Oh.. and great post Tornado Joe!

True relation of comparisons in the waking world vs Lucid is definately all if some identical. I don't remember anything in the waking world that doesn't present some great importance or just stands out as unique. The experience is the same in my Lucid Dream. I can remember some fine details but only what my mind feels is important enough for me to hold on to for memory.

But they are both consecutivly outlooks...

what do you think about people that say that they find Lucid dreaming more "real" in sensations that waking life?

My LD´s are pretty real, thats why they are so amazing, but cant imagine them being more real than reality..

Originally posted by Blasphemy
My LD´s are pretty real, thats why they are so amazing, but cant imagine them being more real than reality..

Hmmmm Thats a pretty easy statement to make when you're wide awake. Now I have a mission for you. Think of that same statement in a Lucid Dream and tell me if you think differently. It's easy to regress to netural feelings when you're out of that state. I think its the same in one. When Im Lucid It seems just as real as the waking world Even knowing that its all created within my mind.

In a good lucid dream I find things to be much more alive than in my waking state. You feel conected to everything.

I hardly ever find myself in a believable situation when i dream. Infact i think that is why i am able 2 LD as much as i do. Things r so different from my dreaming state 2 my actual reality. I find my dreams 2 often be cartoony or in a non perspective way 2 the actual object it may be resembling.
So for me LD never really takes the shape of real life

My lucid dreams are pretty much regular dreams but I know I'm dreaming. It's just as clear and I have just as much control.

I have noticed that in regular dreams, I too experience the time gaps. I just sort of pop from place to place with no rhyme or reason. But with lucid dreams, I don't have the time issue at all. In fact, time seems to travel just as in real lfe.
Sensory wise, my lucid dreams are very close to the real thing, but not quite. It's close enough that my mind is satisfied with what is going on and accepts it, so I find myself experiencing emotions such as guilt, love or happiness quite strongly when I awaken, and I have to remind myself it was a dream. But I don't believe I could get the two states confused. There is just a certain element of "unrealness" in my lucid dreams. The surroundings look just slightly different. A lot like the beach Jodi Foster lands on when visiting the aliens in "Contact". It's pretty and satisfying in itself, but it just doesn't look 100% right. However, when I relate to other people in a lucid dream, I can touch, smell, feel and taste them. That part is way real!! Still not 100%, but maybe 99.5??

My thoughts exactly, Girismyleader. I think that I LD so much because my dreams are always so off the wall that I know that it could never happen in real life. It's VERY rare that I wake up thinking what I was dreaming was real.

well time wise ive had a dream that was over a year long and i know someone on here (i cant remember who) had a 35 year lucid dream thats fream time of course because in your mind you dont have to experince things data can just be generated

It all depends. It depends how lucid you are, and how perceptive you are. The first lucid I had was obviously not real, the visuals weren't vivid at all, kind of like a daydream. I was flying, but it was more like fuzzy pictures of a city were moving past my face. There were also lots of time gaps. I don't remember where I was in this made up city, and nothing really seemed consistant, like everything was changing when I looked away.

The one after that, though, felt more real than I feel right now. I was seeing, feeling, hearing, and smelling more than I could possibly right now. I was flying, but unlike the other dream, I could feel the wind blowing my shirt, and the feeling of being scared of heights, and I could see all the leaves on the trees I was flying over, in much more detail than my real eyes could see. It also seemed like I could look in multiple directions. Everything had detail, there were mountains, lakes, clouds, blades of grass, bricks, pebbles, hairs on my head, craters on the moon, etc.
Nothing was inconsistant, everything had a place and stayed in it.

Sometimes you're just really lucid, I guess.