Lucid or Dreaming...?

Lucid or Dreaming...?

Howzit...!

So I took an afternoon nap today and I'm not sure if I became lucid or if I just dreamt I was. I remember it like this...

I was laid on the sofa and I'd dropped off for a second and awoke briefly, I made a conscious effort to see images behind my closed eyes, I can remember seeing colours and moving shapes. I think I fell asleep again briefly and when I next woke, I was shaking at my head and jaw, I mean really shaking. I told myself to remain calm and to try and get up, as I sat up I thought to myself that I didn't want to disturb myself if I was starting too early. The next thing I remember is being stood in my living room by the sofa and looking forward, the room was the same, however it was much larger and almost empty. I jumped forward and it was as if I was on the moon, I just floated across the room and came to rest at the other end. I don't recall moving from room to room, but I was then in the toilet, which I'd needed before I sleep, but I was floating above and trying to pee in the pot from there, I thought I was too high and would get moaned at by the girlfriend if I missed and so I lowered myself and finished. I was then back in the front room and I noticed the mirror on the wall, I remembered reading somewhere that one of your first goals should be to look in a mirror and so I did so, I started to feel excited and told myself to calm down, I think I did quite well at keeping my excitement down, however I don't remember what I saw in the mirror.

There were other things during the dream and it was quite long to say the least, but my question is, was I lucid or not. Do I count it towards my count or not..?

Thanks for your input..!

Cheers, Nicho...!

Hi Nicho :)

It sounds to me like you remembered some things you learned about lucidity, but it didn't really sink in all the way. This happens all the time. Unless I explicitly know I am dreaming in the dream (meaning I can verbally and willfully confirm that I'm in the dream), I usually don't count my dream as lucid. But it's entirely up to you whether to decide if your dream was lucid or not, and it can sometimes be difficult for an outsider to give a good opinion. Since your recall of the dream is a little bit iffy it's even harder to conclude.

But it doesn't really matter! Either way, that's certainly a positive step in the right direction and it will be no time before you start having more frequent full-fledged lucid dreams. In the end, if you felt like you had a legitimate realization that it was dream, I would count it. Good luck :P

It was a lucid dream. Seeing the mirror triggered a memory of a dream goal. You linked this memory related to the concept of dreaming with your awareness of the dream itself, which made you realize you were dreaming. This is was made you excited. After all, if it wasn't the realization that you were dreaming that make you excited, what did? A dream in which you realize you are dreaming is a lucid dream, so your dream was lucid.

Dexter is referring to a fully lucid dream, one in which you realize that you realize that you are dreaming. In your dream you realized you were dreaming, but didn't realize that you realized you were dreaming, so your dream was only half lucid. It was still lucid, though.