Did I experience a Lucid Dream?

I have never heard of Lucid dreaming before 5mins ago when I stumbled upon this site. I posted the the below post on a different forum an hour ago, is what happened Lucid Dreaming?

"I have been having vivid dreams of my best friend who died nearly a year ago, these dreams range in frequency from once a week to 3-4 times a week.
The dreams take up different situations/locations and range from how he died to why he decided to die, along with me saving him or him coming back from the dead.

It may seem strange to some people but I love these dreams even though they remind me of the saddest and most painful time of my life. I feel like I am closer to him, I get to talk to him and just be around him in these dreams.

The more dreams I have the more I want to believe that I am actually in contact with him. I am not holy and I do not believe in the paranormal though my mind is open to possibilities.

In a recent dream it all got so real and I was able to keep myself asleep even though my body tried to wake me up(confused as to how I did this?, first time I've ever been able to keep myself dreaming). He was telling me something important (an answer to an undying question in my head) when my mind tried to wake me up (like in a nightmare when things get too much) but I fought it off and kept the dream going, when I woke up I could remember the dream very well all except the answer that I kept myself dreaming for.

Anyone know what to make of all this? Anyone have similar experiences with lost loved ones?"

If you knew that you were dreaming then it was a lucid dream. If you didn't know you were dreaming then it wasn't a lucid dream. It's quite easy to tell.

I knew it was a dream but when my mind tried to wake me up I stopped it and went back to the dream. I didnt feel like I was in any control of the dream though

Brandon, it's not always that simple. Often I'm lucid and don't know it. Hard to explain, but it happens a lot.

unregd, that sounds like it was not a lucid dream to me. It sounds like a very vivid non-lucid dream that you were able to remember with great detail because it was something important to you, but it seems to me that you were not lucid.

But remembering in detail these very vivid dreams is an excellent start!

Oh it's that simple by definition that's what it is. If you know your dreaming then you are Lucid. If you don't know you are dreaming then you are not lucid. If you think you might be dreaming then you are semi-lucid. If you are lucid and don't know it then you are not Lucid you just have lucid abilities.

sometimes i can control my dreams without knowing i'm dreaming. like rainman said its hard to explain but it happens

dream control and lucidity are two completely different things. You can be lucid and have absolutly no control. No control of the surroundings, your actions, or even your thoughts. All you need to be lucid is to KNOW THAT YOU ARE DREAMING. on the other hand, You can have control of everything in the dream, your surroundings, your actions, other people. Heck you can even have control over your thoughts, but if you dont know that you are dreaming, you are not lucid. It doesnt matter how much control you have, it just matters if you know that you are dreaming.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freefire

dream control and lucidity are two completely different things. You can be lucid and have absolutly no control. No control of the surroundings, your actions, or even your thoughts. All you need to be lucid is to KNOW THAT YOU ARE DREAMING. on the other hand, You can have control of everything in the dream, your surroundings, your actions, other people. Heck you can even have control over your thoughts, but if you dont know that you are dreaming, you are not lucid. It doesnt matter how much control you have, it just matters if you know that you are dreaming.

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Exactly at least some know the difference.