Definition Of False Awakening

I just realized I am not sure of the definition of FA. Does it mean anytime you switch from one dream to a totally unrelated one? Or does it have to be that you dream that you wake up in your own bed, get up, and start to do the things that you normally do but at some point either you become lucid or it just goes into a regular dream?

I have had both things occur; since I started trying to LD I've had lots of FA's where I think that I am getting up and recording in my journal, but things go wrong somehow, then I wake up and realize I had an FA. Recently I had a series of what I described as FA's, but they were really more like going from lucid to lucid; as soon as it switched, for a little bit I would think it was reality, even tho it wasn't like I woke up in bed, but then I quickly became lucid again. I'm thinking now those weren't really FA's, just dream-switching or whatever it is called.

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Originally Posted by Moonbeam

I just realized I am not sure of the definition of FA. Does it mean anytime you switch from one dream to a totally unrelated one? Or does it have to be that you dream that you wake up in your own bed, get up, and start to do the things that you normally do but at some point either you become lucid or it just goes into a regular dream?

I have had both things occur; since I started trying to LD I've had lots of FA's where I think that I am getting up and recording in my journal, but things go wrong somehow, then I wake up and realize I had an FA. Recently I had a series of what I described as FA's, but they were really more like going from lucid to lucid; as soon as it switched, for a little bit I would think it was reality, even tho it wasn't like I woke up in bed, but then I quickly became lucid again. I'm thinking now those weren't really FA's, just dream-switching or whatever it is called.
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Probably something to do with your body "waking up" and your dreams get interfered with by these signals.

Maybe something happens where your brain actually thinks it is awake, but it really isn't.

No, that's not what I mean. Does an FA have to be a dream in which you think you have woken up in your own bed, you get up, go in the bathroom, etc. and at some point you really wake up and realize the first time that you woke up was a dream? Or is it whenever you switch dreams and think that the situation you were previously in was a dream, but now you are really awake? I guess it's kind of stupid to like, wake up and you're driving a car and think, oh, I guess I was just dreaming. But it feels similar. Thinking about it, I guess only the first situation really counts as an FA, but I'm not sure.

Moonbeam, for me, a "false awakening" is where I sincerely believe that I'm awake and going about my day, etc. .. but in reality I'm still asleep in bed.

At one point, I will then really "wake up" .. and kick myself for not realizing I'd experienced a false awakening!

Which is another reason, you should always do a reality check EVERY TIME you "wake up".. just in case!
If you're in a FA (false awakening) and you reality check.. it's LUCID time!!

I normaly Think of false awakening's, as dreaming that I wake up in my bed.
But, I can see how switching to another dream could happen the exact same way.

I almost always consider FAs to be when you feel that a dream has ended because you think you are no longer asleep. The exception is that you don't have to have falsely awoken from a dream. You can also falsely awaken into a dream.

And, just to note, a FA doesn't have to be in "your own bed". It can be when you dream of waking up anywhere. Any time you think you've just awaken from being asleep you've experienced a false awakening if, in fact, you did not actually wake up but only dreamt of doing so.

A transition from LD to LD (or non-LD) is pretty much the same thing - in effect - but without the impression that you've awoken.

In most of my FA's, I'm trying to write in my dream-journal, but something weird prevents me. That was turning out to be a good lucid-inducer, but last time I had an FA and tried to write, everything was fine. I even did RC's, but no proof of dreaming, until I really woke up (much later in the night) and was surprised to realize that it had been a dream.

Clairity, I missed your post when you first wrote it--you're definitely right about doing RC's first thing; I need to get in that habit better. I think I'll make a note and stick it somewhere (like on my nose!)

I guess FA's are a kind of dream-switching where you actually have the dream-thoughts of "I was asleep, now I'm awake."

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Originally Posted by Moonbeam

In most of my FA's, I'm trying to write in my dream-journal, but something weird prevents me. That was turning out to be a good lucid-inducer, but last time I had an FA and tried to write, everything was fine. I even did RC's, but no proof of dreaming, until I really woke up (much later in the night) and was surprised to realize that it had been a dream.

Clairity, I missed your post when you first wrote it--you're definitely right about doing RC's first thing; I need to get in that habit better. I think I'll make a note and stick it somewhere (like on my nose!)

I guess FA's are a kind of dream-switching where you actually have the dream-thoughts of "I was asleep, now I'm awake."[/b]

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make it a habit to nosepinch whenever you think of it or you suddenly become aware you're in bed or you wake up

i nosepinch many times a night and it's always when i least expect it to be a dream that it is, and many many of my LDs have come from this. it's just such an effortless way to start a LD, and you always are in your own house so you will have doors to do the change-scene-to-whatever trick.

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Originally Posted by Taiji

make it a habit to nosepinch whenever you think of it or you suddenly become aware you're in bed or you wake up

i nosepinch many times a night and it's always when i least expect it to be a dream that it is, and many many of my LDs have come from this. it's just such an effortless way to start a LD, and you always are in your own house so you will have doors to do the change-scene-to-whatever trick.[/b]

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Yea that's a good idea too; I'd like to practice opening doors into new scenes.