Thread: Can you dream about lucid dreaming without really being lucid?

I had a dream in which I could control bits of the environment, I acted out what I planned to do in a lucid dream, but I'm not sure if I was really aware of the fact that I was dreaming. The last thing I remember was trying to create a scenery, but my next memory is in another dream where I was describing my previous dream to another person like I've just woken up. Usually people describe LDs as vivid and realistic but I can't recall that much from last night, it all seemed rather unclear. I'm not sure, was I semi lucid, can you have control without lucidity?
I don't know if I explained this well

Actually I think this could very well be possible. I haven't personally experienced it to that same degree as you're describing, but I've had some fun related things happen to me as well.

In one dream I was very passionately describing lucid dreaming to a dream character, talking about how you can realize you are dreaming and that you can then do whatever you please. I then continued to demonstrate different things you could do which would be impossible to do in waking life, where I actually started to fly around, transform the environment and so on. I did all of this without once realizing I was in a dream! When I woke up and realized it was one of those classic moments where I'd love to bang my head down into a desk

In your situation, it sounds like you had a dream in which you acted out something you wanted to do while being lucid without actually being lucid. If you really did become aware at some point, you most likely would have known if you were aware or not (unless you forgot it after waking up, which could be another possibility).

But it is definitely possible to dream about lucid dreaming without becoming lucid at any point.

Originally Posted by SomeDreamer

Actually I think this could very well be possible. I haven't personally experienced it to that same degree as you're describing, but I've had some fun related things happen to me as well.

In one dream I was very passionately describing lucid dreaming to a dream character, talking about how you can realize you are dreaming and that you can then do whatever you please. I then continued to demonstrate different things you could do which would be impossible to do in waking life, where I actually started to fly around, transform the environment and so on. I did all of this without once realizing I was in a dream! When I woke up and realized it was one of those classic moments where I'd love to bang my head down into a desk

In your situation, it sounds like you had a dream in which you acted out something you wanted to do while being lucid without actually being lucid. If you really did become aware at some point, you most likely would have known if you were aware or not (unless you forgot it after waking up, which could be another possibility).

But it is definitely possible to dream about lucid dreaming without becoming lucid at any point.

Haha, your dream sounds like fun
I just a had a non lucid dream in which I was lucid dreaming, what a fail. But how are you supposed to become lucid for real, does it happen just by chance? How long does it take for reality checks to sink in and start appearing in dreams?

Human brain is a mystery. If it can make us a false awakening dream, of course it can produce a fake lucid dream.

It depends. Some could have their first lucid within a week and some took longer. I become lucid for the first time not because of reality check but from recognizing a dream sign. Think back I was amaze at how my dream mind act "don't care" around my strange surrounding when I asking too much question before I realise that I was dreaming.

Yes, it's strange that the weirdest nonsense stuff can happen in dreams without the brain questioning reality. The problem is that I can't recognize any dream signs other than the general randomness of some events and apparently that isn't enough to wake me up. The first time i realized i was in a dream was when I saw a person who passed away, the second time it was automatic, but things like flying white horses in slow motion on the motorway seem to not bother me at all

But how are you supposed to become lucid for real, does it happen just by chance? How long does it take for reality checks to sink in and start appearing in dreams?

There is a whole lot of ways in which to achieve lucidity And one of them is by chance, though it's not the preferred way of doing it for those of us that want them frequently But perhaps you have tried dreams in which you just suddenly realize that you are dreaming, maybe because you see something odd and out of place and just suddenly think to yourself that this is odd, then realize it must be a dream. Most of the times though you will find your mind creating an excuse which you find plausible, thus continuing with a non lucid dream.

I'm not sure how experienced you are with lucid dreaming in general? Do you keep a dream journal yet?

If you do not keep a dream journal I would suggest you start doing this right away, it is the single most important tool to understanding your own dream worlds, as well as improving dream recall.

Now if you are not familiar with any techniques for inducing lucid dreams on purpose, such as WILD and so forth, you can find more information about them here:
Dream Induction Techniques - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I would suggest you look through and read up those you find interesting

Also you should read this article on reality checks:
Reality Check Tutorial - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

it is important that you do not use reality checks in a way where you simply just do one every 10 minute or so with no thought behind it, and then hope it will randomly happen in a dream after a while (that is, sink in). This is not their purpose. Instead, you should do a reality check every time you see something weird or out of place in your real life that could make you question if you are dreaming or not. Why? Because if you then see something weird or out of place in a dream, you will make a reality check, which will then test positive, which is what will make you realize you are dreaming. That is, a reality check is supposed to be triggered by the thought of something weird happening, not simply by chance.

Another way is to use your dream journal to recognize dream signs. After having collected a fair amount of dreams, you can start analyzing them, go through them and look at things which are weird and would never happen in your waking life, something that appears in a lot of your dreams. You can then train your mind to recognize these signs next time they happen in your dreams, which can also make you realize what you are dreaming.

I can recommend the Book "Exploring the world of lucid dreaming" By Stephen LaBerge. He is a recognized researcher in the field of lucid dreaming, and in the book he describes everything you need to know about how to lucid dream in the most effective way

I do keep a dream journal, and I find that since I started my dream recall improved so it has definitely been helpful, but it's been only a few days and I haven't yet found a pattern or a dream sign. But I managed to become lucid in the most awesome dream I had in a long time, I think reading around this forum somehow helped my subconscious to be more aware and I got lucky.

I read the part on the reality checks and I think I see what I've been doing wrong, thank you very much. I just did them mechanically when when I remembered to do so and didn't really pay much attention. It makes sense that I should put more thought in it and examine reality more carefully if see something unusual.

i had a dream where somehow i found out i was lucid. Couldnt fly or do anything cool. So i went to my parents and asked them if i was dreaming and they said no. So i was like i guess im not dreaming

Originally Posted by xpin2winx

i had a dream where somehow i found out i was lucid. Couldnt fly or do anything cool. So i went to my parents and asked them if i was dreaming and they said no. So i was like i guess im not dreaming

How vivid did your dream feel? In my case it was the opposite, not sure if dreaming or not but had some control, I made a door appear out of nowhere with my will.
You should have done a reality check instead of asking your parents, I read that dream characters often deny that fact that they aren't real.

Originally Posted by Shamaness

How vivid did your dream feel? In my case it was the opposite, not sure if dreaming or not but had some control, I made a door appear out of nowhere with my will.
You should have done a reality check instead of asking your parents, I read that dream characters often deny that fact that they aren't real.

wasnt vivid at all. Pretty blurry. It was technically my first and only DILD (never even practiced for DILDs before). i am still a newb at this though.

Originally Posted by Shamaness

.../but I'm not sure if I was really aware of the fact that I was dreaming/...

So, you were not fully lucid...

I think you could try to recreate in your waking life the moment when you realize you are dreaming and then stabilize your dream, it would be like 'Role playing' (not just imagining but feeling it). Perhaps It could help you the next time you realize you are dreaming. Sometimes I used to recall the dream feeling through this way in my waking life, but I don't know if it could work for you.

Originally Posted by Box77

I think you could try to recreate in your waking life the moment when you realize you are dreaming and then stabilize your dream, it would be like 'Role playing' (not just imagining but feeling it). Perhaps It could help you the next time you realize you are dreaming. Sometimes I used to recall the dream feeling through this way in my waking life, but I don't know if it could work for you.

Interesting idea, I'll definitely try I it out along with the reality checks. It's a frustrating feeling to know that I was so close and I didn't fully take advantage of the possibilities.

I'm surprised so many people had this experience.

Originally Posted by Shamaness

I'm surprised so many people had this experience.

In Germany there even is a word for this experience: "Präluzider Traum" (pre-lucid dream)
I don't know if this word is known in other languages as well.

I also had this experience maybe three times. But for me it was the other way round: I knew I was dreaming and everything was really vivid but I couldn't control the dream (I weren't even aware of the possibility of control).

I had this issue last night. I got lucid after like a month long dry spell and I have recently read on here a lot of people trying to convince dc's that they're not real and that it's a dream. For some reason I realised I was dreaming and with little thought I started telling a dc they weren't real. But it seemed false, like I was acting it out without being fully aware. My aim in ld's (as I'm still noob) is to stay calm and survey my surroundings, and see how detailed everything is. That thought didn't even cross my mind last night. The previous ld before that I carried out my plan, and surveyed.

I think it's common to appear to have had a lucid without really being aware. I find it frustrating.

Sounds like my dream a couple days ago. I dont recall becoming lucid but was just in the dream and was lucid sort of. The dream didnt end either.. Scene changed and I described it to others thinking I was awake. I wasnt sure when I really awoke if I was dreaming I had an LD or really lucid. And it was fuzzy and more like dream-feel rather than reality feel. But I decided it was a low level lucid as I think I took actions I would have if fully lucid... I kept checking my hands and then decided to fly...pretty standard actions I take. Just really low awareness.

In English the phenomena is called Simulated Lucidity. My Dream Journal is filled with simulated lucidity, it might sound annoying, but at the same time if you dream you are lucid, you are not far from becoming lucid.

Yeah, the other day i was dreaming of doing all my lucid goals and feeling as if I was lucid. However, i was actually non-lucid with no control

The easiest way for me to see it is this: First of all I become lucid (I realize that it's a dream and all the implications of it, that is to say it's all built by my neurons while my body lies comfortably on my bed) and then I have a lucid dream which lasts as long as I'm aware that it's a dream.