Thread: Can you still call it a LD if you control the dream but don't say 'I am dreaming?'

i think that if you have enough awareness, even if it is unconcious, that you can direct the dream and do stuff you otherwise wouldn't, then it's lucid

for example last night i watched some violent anime and was like MAN I WANNA KNOCK SOMEONE OUT. while i was dreaming, at some point i started beating the crap out of some girl in a mall (surprise! i can do more with girls in my dreams than just sex ). on some level i knew i was dreaming, but then i was like "damn, i better transform so the mall cops don't recognize me"... so i turned myself into a white guy with short hair. WTF?

Lucid dreams are dreams where you are aware you are dreaming, control or lack of control does not determine a lucid dream.

I know what a lucid dream is, I have had them before. I guess I consider my control dreams lucid, and that is why I posted this post to see if anyone else thought so, because I know at some level that I am dreaming and that I can control the dream I just have to make the effort to say something to that effect and not just passively realize 'oh here we are again' or something like that because then I am not able to remember any tasks or anything I wanted to try in a lucid dream.

It is like just habitually doing the controling and not thinking like people do stuff sometimes in reality.

You can have killer control in normal dreams and not be one ounce lucid. Likewise you can be lucid and not have any control.

To be lucid you have to come to the realization that you are in a dream.

Hey there,

Does it matter? You can call the dream whatever you want to call the dream. Lucid, non-lucid, blue, red, yellow, green

I know we have this habbit of 'having to classify' our experiences in some way or other, but in my opinion does little to actually help you have a richer dreamlife. Instead I'd advise you to just take the dream as it is, appreciate it, write it down, learn from it if you can.

Find the intrinsic value in your dream, rather then give it a name-tag

Just my 2 cents,

-Redrivertears-

For many people, it's a trigger for you to have control over the dream. It's like a light switch, for example. Maybe it's because people read how you're supposed to do it, and the "I am dreaming" trigger is implanted in your head.

well I think there are two things that can be mistaken for lucidity

1. Feeling like you are lucid but not actually being. (although this can easily make you lucid, it is not lucidity itself)

2. Having control over the dream. Basically, dream control consists of having you desires done. Sometimes, your subconscious may actually do that for you (so it wouldn't be lucid). But it could also be a low-lucidity dream as well.

I believe in a difference between conscious dreaming and lucid dreaming.

Conscious dreaming = conscious control over your actions and your surroundings, even if you do not know it is a dream. E.g. you consciously find your dream guide, but you don't even bother askign yourself if you're in a dream.

Lucid dreaming = knowing you're in a dream, even if you have no control over yourself or your surroundings. E.g. you know you are in a dream, but you get dream drunkenness (cannot move properly/at all etc)

Originally Posted by Shlumpeet

Lucid dreams are dreams where you are aware you are dreaming, control or lack of control does not determine a lucid dream.

This is precisely correct. Control is not even in the definition.