I believe I was born lucid dreaming. I never knew it even had a name. I also always thought everyone did this, until I tried explaining it to my friends as a teen and they all told me I should write books/movies. Many of my dreams were like movies where I was the director. I think I started when I was about 3 but clearly was a pro by the age of 6 conquering my recurring nightmares. I am now in my 50's. I have never had an easy time falling asleep and on average takes me about 45 minutes. I am an extremely light sleeper. I have also had really bad insomnia for many years. I don't have excellent dream recall but I feel I am 100% lucid in all of my dreams. I have always used my lucidity for learning, practicing, flying and only really controlling my nightmares. I wished I had realized this had a name and more people had it when I was much younger. I was embarrassed to talk about it.
If I had to guess why I am a natural I would say from being such an empathetic, compassionate child who was always very appreciative of everything. Being an extremely shy child this helped me practice real life in my dreams. I am an observer and always loved trying to figure people out. I am very intuitive and also ask a lot of questions. As I got older I feel I am much more aware and mindful because of my LD's.
I came here for more information and feel I have a lot more understanding of this. I was shocked to see all of the terminology and ways people try to get to be lucid. I feel so extremely blessed to have it so naturally. I would love to learn to have better recall, but I think that is a product of my lack of sleep. Being it came so natural I never tried to manipulate or control it much. I just always felt it was there to help me so I had to listen, watch, practice and learn. I also was afraid if I controlled it too much I would lose it.
What causes some people to be so aware they are dreaming? Was it events that happened in their life? Personality? Survival?