Thread: Philosophical question: If you're dreaming you're having an LD are you actually having an LD?

Originally Posted by dolphin

Full awareness of being in a dream is knowing everything associated with the fact of being in a dream. I think Paul Tholey describes well what full lucidity is. He says a lucid dream includes:

That's a great idea to categorize all the aspects of awareness in an LD!

Awareness of the dream state (orientation)

So that's what most people think of when they think of being lucid, right? In other words, it's being aware of the fact that you're dreaming?

Awareness of the capacity to make decisions

That would be awareness of how much ability you have to make choices to do different things in the dream state, right?

Awareness of memory functions

Not completely sure what that one means. Does it mean an ability to remember things you had intended to do once you got lucid?

Awareness of self

So would that mean having a correct awareness of who you are? That is, your name, where you live IWL, where you're sleeping at the moment, etc.? Similar to what I was talking about relating to RFCs in a couple of recent posts?

Awareness of the dream environment

Not completely sure what Tholey is getting at with that one. Could you explain it?

Awareness of the meaning of the dream

Would that be an awareness of why you might be having the dream? Or maybe what certain dream content might symbolize?

Awareness of concentration and focus (the subjective clarity of that state).

I'm also not sure I understand what he means by that one. I guess maybe it's an awareness of how good your concentration is and how well you're able to focus on things you decide to do in the dream?

You're correct in implying that lucidity is a spectrum and that all lucid dreams do not have the same level of lucidity.

Definitely!