Why didn't this turn into a lucid dream?

[Kyte]

Okay, I have a question last night I had a dream without much clarity and I couldn't see anything, and then things started getting clearer, and I said "I know I'm dreaming!!!". Then confusingly I said "How come I'm not having a lucid dream?" Then I was walking around the room and my dream self said I want a shower to appear, and it appeared!! Then it kind of felt I woke up but I went back into the dream and then woke up in real life.. Can anyone explain what happened here?

[Vex Kitten]

As soon as you realize you're dreaming... it's a lucid dream. You can lose lucidity too , especially if you immediately doubt your lucid. It's good to do a reality check to reaffirm that you are in a dream state. What you do from then is up to you. If you don't believe it you'll continue on with a regular dream. So, you were lucid, though only for a few moments by the sound of it.

[Kyte]

As soon as you realize you're dreaming... it's a lucid dream. You can lose lucidity too , especially if you immediately doubt your lucid. It's good to do a reality check to reaffirm that you are in a dream state. What you do from then is up to you. If you don't believe it you'll continue on with a regular dream. So, you were lucid, though only for a few moments by the sound of it. I see, but what made it seem like it wasn't a dream was it felt like I woke up, and I could see my head[dream sign?] and about half my room, so thats the only reason why I doubted it was a dream. I couldn't do a dream sign the clarity was awful, and everything looked so disorientated, are they're any other methods?

[Chris182t]

I see, but what made it seem like it wasn't a dream was it felt like I woke up, and I could see my head[dream sign?] and about half my room, so thats the only reason why I doubted it was a dream. I couldn't do a dream sign the clarity was awful, and everything looked so disorientated, are they're any other methods? What you experienced there was a false awakening which is common after lucids or semi lucids. Therefore, it is always best to perform a reality check when you "wake up" to check whether or not you are actually still dreaming. When you say you "couldn't do a dream sign", I'm not sure if i know what you mean. So I'm going to presume what you meant to say is "reality check", not dream sign. A good reality check to perform to ensure that you are dreaming is to hold your nose and see if you are still able to breath through it. Once you have confirmed that it is a dream, a good way to improve the clarity would be to shout out loud "increase clarity", or something of that effect. If that doesn't work, stand still and stare at an object close to you until it becomes clearer. Maybe feel the ground, listen for sounds, smell the air, just try to engage all your senses. Hope that helps.

[Barns]

"increase clarity", That is a really good one because it is easy. Personally I think the best Reality Checks are the ones which don't take too much effort, otherwise you could wake yourself or just end up going non-lucid anyway.

[Robot_Butler]

Disorientation like that is very common. Upon realizing you're lucid, you will often feel your sleeping body in bed or have a false wakeup, ect. Try some of the techniques mentioned on the forum for 'grounding' yourself in the dream. Also, keep in mind that lucidity is not black and white. You can know you are dreaming, and then immediately forget. You can also realize you are dreaming, and then for some reason do absolutely nothing about it. I have this problem a lot. You are so freaking close. Try a couple more times, and you should become familiar enough with the feeling to not get so confused and disoriented. It sounds like you had bad luck this time, and got lucid in a very fragile and crappy dream.

[Johnny87]

Man that sounds exactly like what i had early this morning, except i opened my eyes and i woke back up, cause i felt myself sitting up looking around, even though everything was disoriented, and i was under my covers.

[Barns]

Man that sounds exactly like what i had early this morning, except i opened my eyes and i woke back up, cause i felt myself sitting up looking around, even though everything was disoriented, and i was under my covers. Ah yes, I know the feeling. It is very strange.