Help me please

[evilknny9]

Ok, well first of all, I have a problem and a question. I'll begin with my problem. So far, i believe i have been getting successful lucid dreams with the FILD method, but here's the problem. When I wake up, i remember the following very clearly. I'm sitting on some front door step in a big city, and idunno how i got there, and I think that i might be dreaming but then i dismiss the thought. I end up doing a reality check just to be sure, and it turns out that I am dreaming, and I realize it. I start to levitate a few feet of the ground just for fun, and suddenly, I can't remember ANYTHING after that, and I mean NOTHING. I just don't get why I can't seem to remember anything past that. If you have any tips as to getting better recall, they would be much appreciated. For my question, I was curious about how "real" lucid dreams really are. Basically, when you wake up from a lucid dream (lets say you were flying, just as an example), would you feel like you had just REALLY been flying in real life, remembering all the sensations etc., or would it be like when you have a normal dream, where you remember some of the stuff that happened, but you don't actually feel like you were "there" (i'm sorry if this is kind of confusing i'm just trying to understand this all). Also, I believe that I am having some lucid dreams (as you can see above) where I must be having concious input and thinking clearly while i'm in the dream state, but I don't recall any of it when waking up except for that short period where I realize I am in a dream. I wonder if I can control them as though I would when I am awake, and when I do wake up, if I feel as though I actually experienced what I did, or if it's just recall. Thanks for any help I get!

[O-Nieronaut]

Welcome to Dream Views! You have some good questions there, and I think you'll like the answers! First of all, I'm not sure what FILD is, I think you meant to type DILD based on your account. When you started floating, I think you may have inadvertently changed your state of consciousness. I know that some activities like floating, riding an elevator, or anything that moves you up or down can have that effect. Some people use it for inducing OBEs and astral travel. If it becomes an issue, just resolve not to fly around until you become more acclimated to your dream environment, that should help. As for the "reality" of a lucid dream, strictly speaking, it is entirely subjective. Fortunately, the human mind is unable to discern objective reality from subjective reality. In the waking state, your brain uses nuero-chemical inhibitors to prevent you from experiencing your memories as though they were happening there and then. When you're dreaming, however, those inhibitors are blocked by yet another inhibitor, so you can't tell that you're dreaming, hence the necessity of RCs. As you become more accustomed to lucidity, you'll find that the experiences feel just as "real" as waking life. You recall every color, sensation, thought, event, and emotion. This is why lucid dreaming is so inviting; you actually have the opportunity to experience things that you could never experience in waking life. I wish you good luck in your endeavors. You'll find that this community is the best place to be for people like yourself. Enjoy your stay!