Degrees of lucidity

So this morning during a successful WBTB, I transitioned fairly perfectly from a dream into what I initially thought in the dream was me falling asleep (a dream inside a dream, for you Inception fans out there lol), and I recall exactly what set it off for me that I was dreaming, but I know that at one point I figured out that I was dreaming, and in fact even tested it with a reality check (the standard noseplug, my favorite). Now in the past a lot of my lucid dreams have been in scenarios which were more or less "plotless"--that is to say, first that I generally gain lucidity through DILD (haven't had the focus to try WILDing yet, but now that I've gotten really good at DILD I'm hoping to try it in the near future), and that when I do get lucid it's usually because the setting is open enough, I guess you could say, to facilitate my critical thinking enough that I can realize I'm dreaming. In dreams that are "plot-heavy", like say where there's some well-established overarching dream goal that me and my fellow dream characters are pursuing, no matter how ridiculous or patently fantastical it may be, I historically haven't been good at gaining lucidity because I just sort of go along with the dream plot, since it's so strongly understood by me. Another way to put it is that in the majority of my lucids it starts off like a sandbox environment, where there's a just a general area that I find myself in (a generic forest, neighborhood, house that perhaps I don't particularly recognize as being any one person's) so that when I become lucid I end up being able to be as exploratory as possible, just walk around, and maybe meet some dream characters along the way, but I'm able to fully take in the environment and try out a bunch of different things.

This morning however, when I became lucid, there was a definite plot (first I was in a house with a girl I didn't know, and we were trying to get away from another girl who I thought was her older sister or something--afterwards we ended up on a train with a bunch of other dream characters who I didn't know but who made it clear that they had some goal and I was to help them), and so even though I was totally aware that it was a dream the whole time, I made no attempt to remove myself from that environment. And that isn't because I didn't have other goals I wanted to try and accomplish with my lucid last night--I had gone to bed with the intention of trying out a few new things on my list of lucid goals. However, the reason I didn't try to do any of them, I think, is because it virtually didn't occur to me to leave that environment.

My question to you all is--do you believe there are perhaps "degrees" of lucidity? Which is to say, where total awareness leads to total freedom of movement and expression, and where minimal awareness is something like what even some people who aren't interested in lucid dreaming are able to do when they try and get out nightmares or something like that? My hypothesis would then be that my dream last night was somewhere on the upper end of the lucid scale, but maybe only like 75% lucid, because it was definitely like other lucids in that it was very vivid starting especially at the point where I gained lucidity, but unlike previous lucids of mine in which I made conscious effort to change scene or achieve some lucid goal.

Interested to see what you guys think.

Well, I'm gonna pick apart your words just a little...but I do agree with you in general. As far as lucidity goes... its all or nothing. You're either aware that you are dreaming, or you arent.

Now, theres another factor that I think comes into play. For lack of a better word, I'm going to say 'cognizance.' When we're dreaming, certain parts of our brain are functioning at a lower than normal capacity (in relation to waking life), and others are working in overdrive. The logic side of the brain seems to be inhibited during dreams. So, even if you become aware of the fact you are dreaming, its still possible that your logic centers are dulled, and you're too handicapped, you could say, to process all the abilities that are available to you.

Maybe it has something to do with which sleep cycle you're in... if its your 6th sleep cycle and REM period is 40+ minutes long, I'd imagine your brain is alittle more active that in your first or second cycle, where you're primarily in a deep sleep and only have REM for 15 minutes or less.

Either way, I will say that I almost prefer the "level of lucidity" that you are talking about. When I'm 100% lucid, I have a tendency to play god...but, when I'm oblivious to the fact that I'm practically a God, but I'm still aware that I'm dreaming, I'm able to appreciate the story a little more, and I go along with things and still have a blast.

I do think its possible to overcome though. Just having it ingrained in your mind to always stop and stabalize the dream as soon as your lucid will work the logic centers up. Try stopping, looking around, remembering your name, do some low-level math real quick, and then be on your way. =]

I don't think that there are "degrees" of lucidity, but I do think that there are all sorts of different types. I think that some are higher than others, but most are just different. For instance. Sometimes I think that the entire plot is something that I need to finish, but all the people are just DCs. Sometimes I think that everything is fake but the DCs are real people. Most of the times I think they are other dreamers. Sometimes I think that everything is fake but the time is real and I need to wake up. Just different.

This is just my experience. I am excited to see what others say.

I have had quite similar experiences with lucidity, but i don't think there are 'levels' of lucidity to talk about. It's rather the fact that we don't instantly regain memory/goals from waking life in the dreams, and sometimes we don't regain them at all, it's easier for some people and harder for the others as well. I was having hard time recalling my goals from waking life(even something simple like stabilization) in most of my lucid dreams, like 'Huh, i am dreaming, let's just walk around until stuff happens!', until i have found a way that worked for me. :zzz:
And when we have not much to remember from waking life all we can do is to follow the dream storyline in one way or another. :yawn:

I'am not yet lucid enought in my dreams to judge that, but i remember a video on youtube that may be relevant to you guys:
The 5 Layers of a Lucid Dream (1/5) - YouTube