Passive Lucidity

[opalwolf]

Hello, I have started to experience something that I call "passive lucidity". I would describe it as being lucid without realizing it. Examples could include: Asking dream characters what part of you they represent, or know that you can breathe underwater without realizing that you are dreaming. This is something that has been happening to me for a few years now on and off. It is similar to a lucid dream because you can do things that you'd only really think to do inside a lucid dream, but without ever actually becoming lucid or addressing the fact that you are in a dream. I am just wondering if anyone else has similar experiences or thoughts on the subject.

[Sivason]

These are good dream signs. They only occur in the dream. Program your mind to watch for any of the things that happen. Try repeating in your mind before sleep something like, "If I am floating I realize I am dreaming. I only float in dreams." Dreaming ca be fun in thousands of ways, but what you describe is not lucidity. Passive lucidity in my mind is when I acknowledge this is a dream, but just sort of watch the dream rather than attempt to do anything. Like watching a show.

[Sageous]

Most of my dreams these days are what you describe, Opalwolf; I see it more as very low-level lucidity, but "passive" seems a good term. I also think that this passive lucidity is, for me, a side-effect from practicing (full-on) lucidity for many years.

[Occipitalred]

It's funny how it seems our "dream self" is learning... For example, I know I can't fly in waking life but I've done it many times in lucid dreams so now, I don't need to be lucid, per se, to think "I'm dreaming so flying is something I can do." Just last night, I dreamed I was on the scene of a crime which might be suspicious if the cops found me and I subtly thought, this is a dream so I'll just fly away and it's fine" (but I wasn't lucid). You might say "you're lucid because you know you're dreaming" or "you're not lucid because you are not so aware"... I think, heck, I'm sleeping! I consciously practiced lucid dreaming before I ever touched alcohol so when I got real drunk the first few times, I had the same mentality... "Like, oh, I feel more lucid now, I'm able to stabilize and I feel I'm gonna remember this part tomorrow... Let me see if I'll remember the previous parts..." hahaha, you're drunk! You're cognitive faculties are limited. That's the fun part. It's like a Survival camping game... but instead of having few resources, you have few faculties. As lucid dreamers, we kind of make me think of a survivalist coming back from a camping trip, disappointed because despite having hunted to sustain themselves, it got too cold and had to come back earlier. They weren't able to be fully self-reliant... like a lucid dreamer thinking, I didn't have all my faculties, just enough to sort of know it was a dream but not realize I am actually a different person sleeping in their bed and who is this person? If in your dream, the knowledge that you are dreaming shows it's head... If in another dream, you feel a sense of heightened environmental awareness, If then later, you feel a clear sense of self awareness Do you know who you really are? and if the next week, you remember it all so clearly. If in this dream, the dream makes so much sense, you feel in direct conversation with the dream symbols (this clearly represents such and such fear...) If in that dream, you are in control, affecting the dream is like moving your own limb, because you know the dream comes from you... If these things happen to any degree... Be proud of yourself. Because you are sleeping. If you can get it all at the same time, wow. You're the survivalist who's created their own paradise. The coordinated drunk person achieving coherent and complex thought. That's the game I guess

[Sivason]

It's funny how it seems our "dream self" is learning... For example, I know I can't fly in waking life but I've done it many times in lucid dreams so now, I don't need to be lucid, per se, to think "I'm dreaming so flying is something I can do." Just last night, I dreamed I was on the scene of a crime which might be suspicious if the cops found me and I subtly thought, this is a dream so I'll just fly away and it's fine" (but I wasn't lucid). You might say "you're lucid because you know you're dreaming" or "you're not lucid because you are not so aware"... I think, heck, I'm sleeping! I consciously practiced lucid dreaming before I ever touched alcohol so when I got real drunk the first few times, I had the same mentality... "Like, oh, I feel more lucid now, I'm able to stabilize and I feel I'm gonna remember this part tomorrow... Let me see if I'll remember the previous parts..." hahaha, you're drunk! You're cognitive faculties are limited. That's the fun part. It's like a Survival camping game... but instead of having few resources, you have few faculties. As lucid dreamers, we kind of make me think of a survivalist coming back from a camping trip, disappointed because despite having hunted to sustain themselves, it got too cold and had to come back earlier. They weren't able to be fully self-reliant... like a lucid dreamer thinking, I didn't have all my faculties, just enough to sort of know it was a dream but not realize I am actually a different person sleeping in their bed and who is this person? If in your dream, the knowledge that you are dreaming shows it's head... If in another dream, you feel a sense of heightened environmental awareness, If then later, you feel a clear sense of self awareness Do you know who you really are? and if the next week, you remember it all so clearly. If in this dream, the dream makes so much sense, you feel in direct conversation with the dream symbols (this clearly represents such and such fear...) If in that dream, you are in control, affecting the dream is like moving your own limb, because you know the dream comes from you... If these things happen to any degree... Be proud of yourself. Because you are sleeping. If you can get it all at the same time, wow. You're the survivalist who's created their own paradise. The coordinated drunk person achieving coherent and complex thought. That's the game I guess WOW! If I could double 'like' this I would. I nominate you for the coolest post so far this year.

[GhostlyWanderer]

Yes i did have many passive lucidity dreams,they are kinda funny to me because i only do the things i want to achive the most,the dream turn really kind of strange,the way i react vary but it can turn quite interresting. When i woke up i'm annoyed at myself,but thoses sort of things happen,it's like that,no need to be annoyed at myself any longer!

[opalwolf]

Just wanted to quickly let everyone know I've drafted a response, but I have been quite busy the last few days. The finalized response will most likely be posted Monday evening. Thank you!

[CarpeNoctem144]

Sometimes it seems to me that a part of my mind is aware of the content's fictionality in many dreams. Though, this part plays along and doesn't bother to rouse my waking consciousness. Just recently I dreamed of visiting my grandma and I recall thinking: "Wait, she doesn't live here anymore, she's dead. But it's okay for this story." On other occasions I found anomalies in my dreams but instead of going lucid 'I' simply changed the dream to fit reality, without consciously deciding to do so. One might argue that this is just low-level lucidity. Anyway, there is clearly no sudden recognition of the dream state, as if I've known it all along, deep down. And there's also a huge difference to all truly lucid dreams I've had so far (which of course aren't that many yet). By the way, I wouldn't call this passive lucidity, either. Maybe subliminal lucidity could be a fitting term with subliminal defined as "below the threshold (of consciousness)". In combination with lucidity this seems quite paradoxical - but the state we're discussing here is. Thanks to opalwolf for starting this intriguing thread

[TravisE]

I've had experiences like this too, which I usually consider low-level or semilucidity. Occasionally, I have definitely become aware in a dream that I was not inhabiting waking life, even if I didn't happen to recognize in particular that I was dreaming or even sleeping. (For instance, I've often assumed I was merely thinking or daydreaming, as during sleep the notions of “thinking/daydreaming” versus full-blown dreaming often tend to blur and become difficult to distinguish from my conscious mind's point of view.) In addition, I suspect that I've experienced a bit of a shift over the years in the way I transition into lucidity. In the beginning I'd usually realize I was dreaming in a single, discrete moment, perhaps getting kind of excited and making a little fuss before going about my LD business. But in more recent years, it seems my transition into lucidity is often more gradual and subtle. I've had many dreams in which I've certainly become lucid to a degree, but I seem to focus less on the circumstance of lucidity itself and instead simply get right to lucidly exploring the dream without giving much thought to why or how I've just become lucid. I figure, though, that it may not necessarily be so much that I didn't “realize” I became lucid as it is that perhaps the state of entering lucidity/self-awareness has simply become familiar and normal enough to me that I no longer feel a need for much ado over it.

[opalwolf]

think of it this way you could have a low or high level passive the moment you recognize it is a dream, becomes active