Is it really that hard?

[Stenpung]

Is a lucid dream really so realistic you aren't able to know wether you are awake or dreaming without using a RC? As I haven't had any LD's yet, I just can't imagine not knowing the difference between dreaming and living. Thanks!

[bored2tears]

A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming. If you know you are dreaming, you know it is not reality.

[mattbrox]

Once you're fully lucid you'll know it's a dream. If you remember getting in bed one second then being in some strange desert another you'll noticed it -right? That's what it's like when you become lucid.

[ninja9578]

It's not that it's realistic, it's that you're not thinking logically. The logical part of the brain is largely shut off during a dream, so even though you might be floating on the back of a purple elephant, your mind thinks of it as not out of the ordinary.

[Rathez]

For me RC's are more of a confirm than making me become lucid. If I think I'm lucid, I'll do a quick RC just to confirm I'm dreaming. The reason you can't comprehend it is the fact you've never had a lucid dream. Normal dreams are like a movie to me, like I'm watching something happen. Lucid dreams feel like I've woken up in a completly different world.

[Stenpung]

I am so sorry, I realise that I have chosen my words very unwisely! I do in fact know a little bit about dreaming etc. What I meant to ask was: Can the dreamworld be so realistic that even when I am lucid, It is hard to belive? The reason pose this questions is because I read about WILD or other inductiontechniques where you often go directly into lucidity, and therefore have problems knowing if you are awake or asleep. I just can't understand how it is possible for your imagination to create something so realistic its hard to tell whats what? Don't really know if that question made any sense at all Thanks for all the answers to my first question! PS: My gf just sat up in bed, said "uuh" loudly and kept on sleeping, i wonder what she dreamt=)

[Shadowborn]

I'm gonna sound like Morpheus now, but the "real" you're talking about is nothing more than electrical signals interpreted by your brain. It can create a world in your "mind" that looks and feels very real. When you experience your first LD, you will notice how this vividness increases. Even today I am sometimes surprised how real a LD can get. As for your question whether or not you can mistake the dreamworld for the real one, even when lucid, well my answer is yes..maybe. A false awakening is perhaps an example of that; every now and then I have a lucid dream where I believe that I've woken up from it, when in fact I'm still dreaming. (now you can argue that I wasn't really lucid if I mistook FW for real life, but you get my point) When in doubt, perform a RC Good luck with the lucid dreaming!