Aware you're dreaming, but just dream anyways

[Kryslove]

So I've been reading a lot on this website about tons of stuff and I'm at the point where I'm done reading at the moment. I'm not sure if I'm even posting in the right place- anyways here it is. If you become aware you are dreaming and then just let the dream play out but still aware you are dreaming... Is that considered a lucid dream? Or do you have to control anything about the dream to be considered lucid? Like what you decide to do? I've had a few of these experiences, I remember knowing I was dreaming but it's been a while so I can't recall the dreams. I tried finding an answer from previous posts but couldn't find what I was wondering specificly. And sorry if I posted in the wrong spot- I wasn't sure where to post this topic.

[Him]

I'd consider them lucid because you're aware your dreaming, if only on a subconscious level. They're common for me which isn't the best but it is what it is

[Dreaamer]

It'd be kinda cool to know you're in a dream but just go along with the dream Makes it seem more like waking life.

[Cobalt Storm]

If you are aware your are dreaming, then it is a lucid dream. What you decide to do with that is irrelevant to the definition.

[~Dreamer~]

Simply being aware that you're dreaming means you are lucid. Choosing to influence the dream beyond that is called dream control. Some people enjoy just letting the dream plot play out, while others strive for omnipotence. If you're looking to improve your dream control, there is a DVA class and some other great tutorials/tips around the forum. I also find reading other people's DJs gives me great inspiration for different techniques and powers/tasks to try!

[Kryslove]

Cool, awesome! Thanks for the help! If anyone comes back to this thread and sees my new question, I'm interested in knowing this too: As I am falling asleep my mind will kind of go into this weird state where I know I'm falling asleep and I have short thoughts that are trying to become dream- or short dreams that quickly go to a different dream. And I know I'm falling asleep- is that lucid? Or is it something else? Last night I woke up and tried to go back into my dream but instead that happened and I couldn't stop in/ focus on previous dream I woke up to, so I just watched the dreams/thoughts float by.

[Dreaamer]

Cool, awesome! Thanks for the help! If anyone comes back to this thread and sees my new question, I'm interested in knowing this too: As I am falling asleep my mind will kind of go into this weird state where I know I'm falling asleep and I have short thoughts that are trying to become dream- or short dreams that quickly go to a different dream. And I know I'm falling asleep- is that lucid? Or is it something else? Last night I woke up and tried to go back into my dream but instead that happened and I couldn't stop in/ focus on previous dream I woke up to, so I just watched the dreams/thoughts float by. I think that's called sleep paralysis

[dolphin]

I think that's called sleep paralysis This is not sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is the presence of REM atonia outside of the dream state. Kryslove, what you are experiencing is the hypnagogic state, the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Dreams by definition only occur during sleep. Any other perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception is known as a hallucination. Since the hypnagogic state is the transition from waking to sleeping, it still occurs during waking, so until the transition is complete, any perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception is a hallucination, not a dream. So, even though these hypnagogic hallucinations may be called "dreamlets" or "half dreams" they are still technically not dreams and therefore are not lucid dreams. Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to tell the hypnagogic state from the dream state, but a dream tends to be more stable than a dreamlet so that fact can be used to whether the experience is a dream or a hallucination.

[Kryslove]

Kryslove, what you are experiencing is the hypnagogic state, the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Dreams by definition only occur during sleep. Any other perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception is known as a hallucination. Since the hypnagogic state is the transition from waking to sleeping, it still occurs during waking, so until the transition is complete, any perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception is a hallucination, not a dream. So, even though these hypnagogic hallucinations may be called "dreamlets" or "half dreams" they are still technically not dreams and therefore are not lucid dreams. Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to tell the hypnagogic state from the dream state, but a dream tends to be more stable than a dreamlet so that fact can be used to whether the experience is a dream or a hallucination. Wow that's crazy! It's so cool to learn all of this! Thanks !

[Goldenspark]

There are different levels of lucidity. At one end of the scale you just have a slight inkling that you might be dreaming. The problem is you can get that feeling, or even a bit more where for a moment you actually realise you are dreaming, but then you drift back into non-lucid dreaming. However your recollection on waking is just that you realised you were dreaming, so you think of it as a lucid dream. I would say that was a semi-lucid, because probably some part, or even most of it was non-lucid. I tend to call a lucid a proper lucid if it causes me to go on and do a reality check. Even then you can drift back into non-lucid dreaming and not even be aware it has happened. On a few occasions where I have had full lucidity for several minutes, it is so obvious compared to a semi-lucid. In my case I knew it because I continued to influence the dream and change the scene etc., as well as deliberately doing things that are in themselves reality checks, e.g. feeling the wall to see what it is like and finding it all weird, and realising it's weird because I'm in a dream. As you progress it becomes more and more obvious just what is a lucid dream and what is semi-lucid. Nothing wrong with letting the dream scene run it's course though, lucid or not, just more fun to influence it.

[EarthBoundRules]

Sometimes I'm so lightly lucid that I realize that I'm dreaming but don't even realize that I have the power to control the dream. Duh!

[Kryslove]

There are different levels of lucidity. At one end of the scale you just have a slight inkling that you might be dreaming. The problem is you can get that feeling, or even a bit more where for a moment you actually realise you are dreaming, but then you drift back into non-lucid dreaming. However your recollection on waking is just that you realised you were dreaming, so you think of it as a lucid dream. I would say that was a semi-lucid, because probably some part, or even most of it was non-lucid. I tend to call a lucid a proper lucid if it causes me to go on and do a reality check. Even then you can drift back into non-lucid dreaming and not even be aware it has happened. On a few occasions where I have had full lucidity for several minutes, it is so obvious compared to a semi-lucid. In my case I knew it because I continued to influence the dream and change the scene etc., as well as deliberately doing things that are in themselves reality checks, e.g. feeling the wall to see what it is like and finding it all weird, and realising it's weird because I'm in a dream. As you progress it becomes more and more obvious just what is a lucid dream and what is semi-lucid. Nothing wrong with letting the dream scene run it's course though, lucid or not, just more fun to influence it. Thanks for all this info!!

[Kryslove]

Sometimes I'm so lightly lucid that I realize that I'm dreaming but don't even realize that I have the power to control the dream. Duh! I haven't been able to do that yet