Is it possible to be TRULY conscious?

I was wondering... I've been at this whole LD thing for about 1 year and i've only had about 2 where I had a substantial amount of control. I have had other sporadic LD's with no control whatsoever and the memories typically fade. My question is, Is it possible to be truly conscious, almost awake in a way, inside your dream? I realize this is how it comes across but I don't see how that's possible. Someone with the experience please tell me. If i keep this up, will it eventually become as if I am actually LIVING what i'm doing in the dream, WITH full control? And if so how long does it usually take to master this?

** AND will i remember it clearly?

Yes, it's possible to be truly conscious...er, well at least it's possible to be just as conscious as you are when you're awake (can't guarantee the "truly" part).

The higher levels of LD'ing are nothing more than the full presence of your waking awareness in your dream, including memory. I've been there plenty of times, so if you're willing to take the word of some jamoke on the internet, then you can be assured it's possible.

Now the not-so-fun part: It's possible, but it ain't easy. Your brain is not wired for full awareness in a dream, so it will take much waking-life work on your part to train it -- and teach your also naturally disinterested dreaming mind -- to allow your full awareness in. (to save repetition here, check out my Lucid Dreaming Fundamentals thread for more on this)

But wait, it gets worse! I've been at this for well over thirty years now, had thousands of LD's, and I have still not completely mastered the art of Lucid Dreaming. Don't despair, though...mastering LD's can be a very long journey, but the stops on the way are most excellent: remember that lower-level LD's, where you have less awareness, memory, and perhaps lower control, are still LD's, and possibilities for adventure, exploration, and fun abound even then -- some of my best dreams were low-to-mid-level LD's!

Will you clearly remember the dreams in which you were truly conscious? Of course. Look at it this way: when your waking consciousness is in a dream, its memories are stored in the exact same manner as the ones created during waking life. So a full-on LD will likely be remembered as well as any awesome event you encounter while awake. As a matter of fact, that I remember it like a waking memory is one way I confirm that I had a LD, and wasn't just dreaming I was lucid.

So yes it's possible, and you will remember them as well as you remember anything. And yes, it might take a while to get good at it all, but be patient, because it's worth it (and the awards along the way don't suck at all)!

am not an expert, but if you want to know the ansewr for your Q just read this Dreamwalker Chroniclesand tell me if he is fully concsus or not.

as for remembering them,lucid dreams are often really hard to forget,as you were conscuis during the dream, and you will remeber as you remeber waking life events

^Thanks for the plug, areyoume! :shadewink:

To answer your question, OP (though the others did a good enough job of it), yes, it is possible to be at least as conscious, in a dream, as you are here in waking life. Of course, there are 'levels' of consciousness in the dream, just as there are 'levels' of consciousness in the waking state. There is a difference between feeling groggy in the morning, when you wake up, and feeling alive after a run around the block. You are more 'aware' in your exercised state. That's the same as when your mind breaks into a strong, vivid lucid dream. It is just as intense.

The length of time it takes is different, from person to person. There are different ways of getting to that level, so it really just depends on what works for you. I've always gotten my early LD's as a response to having nightmares as a kid. So, usually, when I become lucid because of a harrowing situation, I'm already just like "BOOM :shock:; Awareness." I feel like I have just been shocked awake, and am full of life. It's something that developed over years, for me, so I can't really say how long it would take someone else to have a 'fully conscious' lucid dream.

Don't let that discourage you, though. It only takes one dream, with either the right content or the right amount of preparation, to have that mind-blowing lucid. There's no guarantee that it will be a long and daunting task, so stay positive, and welcome to Dream Views!

And as a last thing, control and lucidity are two separate things, you may have the most aware moment in your dream life, and still have no control over the whole thing. By the same token, some people have control in dreams but not lucidity, and often confuse the two.