Hi all! Just a few questions!

Hi everyone!
I'm very excited to start learning how to lucid dream!
I was just wondering how I will know when I am in a dream? I have looked into signs and it's only when I wake up and remember the little things in a dream that I think "why didn't I realise I was dreaming? It's so obvious!".

I often wake during the night and see things like figures, spiders and objects in my bedroom change into something else! Especially posters. I seem to just stare at whatever I see until I'm fully awake and whatever it was disappears or changes back into whatever the object was. Is this the dream state for lucid dreaming? I'm not aware that I am dreaming and can sometimes get scared. I know I'm in bed and I know I'm in my room yet I can't seem to realise I'm dreaming.

Does anyone have any advice?

I can remember most dreams and I find that it's everytime I say to myself that I will remember as I'm dropping off to sleep.

Thanks! :)

Hiya Leigheff, welcome to the forums! You might want to check the tutorials section-> Tutorials and look up a tutorial for the DILD method. (Easiest method to start with)

When you lucid dream, it is just the same as when you are dreaming normally, except that you know it.

A method that is needed in almost every technique (and even if not, should still be practiced) is what we call a "Reality Check" or an RC. The goal behind a reality check is to do just that, check if you are in reality. There are certain common traits in dreams between dreamers that are unrealistic that you can use as a reality check. A few examples would be trying to breathe through a plugged nose, or pushing a finger through your hand. With the nose plugging, obviously you wouldn't be able to breathe through it in real life, however in a dream since your real nose is not plugged, you should be able to breathe still. So, if you try plugging your nose and breathing through it, and you succeed, you will know you are dreaming at that moment!

Great! So how would you make yourself try it in a dream? Well, the idea is that habits in real life carry over into dreams, so if you create some sort of habit that makes you do that reality check, it should carry over into a dream. You could start doing it at timed intervals, or perhaps every time you walk through a door frame, or enter a car, etc. That way when those things happen in a dream you will proceed with your RC.

If you prefer not to have timed intervals, or do it every time you walk through a door, there is something you can use called "Dream Signs." This will require a daily dream journal, and will take a decent amount of dreams to recognize a dream sign. The idea here is to look through your dreams and find something that occurs somewhat frequently. Perhaps it is looking for a bathroom, without being able to find one, being chased by something, maybe all your dreams are in the winter, or at night, you get the idea. This way, you only perform an RC when you see a dream sign. (So, for example, if you have to use the restroom and are having trouble finding a bathroom you would do a reality check to make sure you weren't dreaming)

Anyway, this was just a brief introduction to the DILD method of lucid dreaming, check out a tutorial or two to get a better idea. I hope this helps you out, Lucid Dreams can be some of the most exciting experiences you will ever have. Good luck.