Newbie Lucid Dreaming in 5 nights.

Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster.

I started delving in lucid dreaming about a week ago, although I have been familiar and curious about it for 15 years now. So I started reading stuff about it, including this forum amongst others, and watched many videos on YouTube. The ones I liked most were the Reece Jones's videos. Very clear and concise.

I started my dream journal 5 days ago, but with a modification: I used my iPhone's Voice Memo app to record my dreams as soon as I woke up. I then transcribe it to my computer when I wake up. Works perfectly.

Nothing earth shattering, oh hold on, I just discovered another dream sign while typing this lol. Anyway My first dream was a plate mat, with animal figures on it, trying to eat food from a plate I was handed. That's it. The dream sign here is the animal itself, as a kid I used to have recurring dreams bordering on nightmare, that my bed goes into the wall and travel through it while these creature took sips from a glass of water on my nightstand.

Next night, nothing at all.

I then had 3 dreams the third night, and while I was listening to my dreams on the voice memo and typing it out on the computer I found my first dream sign, which is my name. Anything to do with my name. Somebody looking it up, someone writing it down, calling it over the PA, or someone asking my to spell it. It felt great to see that I had discovered a dream sign on my 3 night. Gave ma a huge boost to keep at it.

Nothing significant the next night, I had two dreams.

Now this is where it gets interesting, Last night I headed off to bed about 2 hours earlier than I normally do to synchronize my body clock for a really early morning flight in two days (Im a commercial pilot). I wake up a few times to record my dreams, but in my forth dream something interesting happened, as I was talking I was slowly realizing (you know how the mind is faster than the mouth) that I was lucid in this dream. So I was talking very excitedly. Here's what happened.

I was with a guy and two little girls. Now I think this guy is my best friend but I'm not really sure. Same goes for the girls, I think one of them is my daughter. But again, I'm not 100% sure. The other girls is her friend. So we're at our beach house where we were going to through a party later, and us 4 decide to go out for a swim before the party. Next thing we're far in, about 2-3 miles in, but the water is only chest deep. Hmmm that doesn't look right. So, we decide after a while to head back in to get ready for the party. So we're wading back in chest deep water when I get a message on my phone from a friend who tells me I heard you guys are going swimming with the kids, and to be careful since there was an oil pipe rupture in Iran and it's affecting the whole are with a huge oil slick. I live in Kuwait. So I was like well its too late now we're done and heading out and all is OK. No later had I thought that, that all of us simultaneously 'see' something black in the water ahead. At this point we were about a mile out. The problem was that I couldn't get a clear view of it because of the angle of view. The water was still chest high so Im trying to look at something at almost eye level, therefore its impossible to get a clear picture.

So I thought I need to jump or levitate or something to get a better angle to see if the object was a threat. Somehow my mind's eye levitated and got a better view, it looked like bedrock or some kind of thick vegetation growing under the water in that area, or maybe, nut for some reason unlikely, it was an oil slick. I thought "Well we'll push on and make a better decision as we get closer and get a better view of it." So we keep going and the water is not stomach deep a few feet later it was ankle deep only. At that point my daughter's friend points out a large black object in the water a few feet to our left. So I'm looking at it and Im thinking "Whatever this is it aint natural, it looks man-made." For some reason we did not see it as a threat and continued walking. Just as I looked away and started walking I glanced at it one more time but this time I can make it out, it some sort of cylindrical object about 25-30 feet long and 7-8 feet high. So I thought this looks a lot like a submarine, no sooner had I thought that a periscope pops up from it. For some reason I just kept on walking, but I was thinking "how the hell can a sub be so close to shore and in only 1-2 feet of water and the thing is fully submerged. As I was thinking that I think "hold on something's not right, time for a reality check!!!" So I poke my finger into my palm while my hands were near my stomach, so I never actually look at my hands I just do the check without looking down. Its worth mentioning here that I am very, very strict with my reality check in the waking world. I would do them every 15-30 minutes never more than 45 minutes. I also need to improvise a few things like flashing the lights, I cant be doing that anywhere so I just use mu iPhone's LED flash to do that check. Again I am very methodical and strict with my check, bordering on anal.

Anyway, so now all 4 of us are on the beach standing in a circle when the guy says "are we in a dream?" So I look at him and say "its funny you should say that, it feels like it right?" he replies in the affirmative. "I just did a reality check and I'm not dreaming" I said so he says "oh you did? So you're not dreaming?" I said "Well no, but something's amiss here, I cant put my finger on what it is." So I tell the group "OK listen we're in a dream and we need to find out who's dream this is, so let's all close out eyes and concentrate really hard on being in the beach house. Visually take yourself there. Imagine the room, the sounds, the people, the smalls, where you want to materialize on which chair or sofa ok?" So we all close our eyes and a few seconds later we open our eyes and my daughter's friend had vanished and we all knew and agreed that she was now in the beach house. So I say, man this is so funny IMO, "So she's the dreamer and we are all characters in her dream!" Well, played consciousness lol.

I cant remember what happened next. It was interesting to note how I was talking to my dream characters about lucid dreaming, not only that, but how my friend was the one that bought it up in the dream. Also interesting is the guy actually questioning if we were in a dream or not. Funny how we all agreed that we were characters in a dream character's dream :shadewink: which is obviously my conscious mind telling me "No No No. You are in a dream but you're someone else's imagination so as to not attain full lucidity.

Now a note on my habit. Like I said I do my RC's religiously. About half an hour before I go to bed I'll start to think of the night ahead, and that I WILL become lucid. So I just start to think about it. Then as I'm brushing my teeth, taking out my contacts, etc, I'll tell myself over and over "Tonight I WILL have a lucid dream and I will record all my dreams." Even if I don't become lucid but I never say that part out loud or even in my head, I don't want this negative thought to get in there if you know what I mean. So anyway, I'll keep on saying it over and over and then when I'm in my bed I'll say it for another 2-3 minutes and as I start to drift off I start to think of what I want to do when I become lucid tonight, where I want to be, what will I wear, who will be there and stuff like that, basically setting the scene.

Reece calls this Layer Zero lucid dreaming. Do you agree?

It was essentially a normal dream, only that the topic of the dream was lucid dreaming. In order to be truly lucid, you have to be aware, in addition to knowing that you are in a dream. In this case you knew that you were in a dream; you just weren't aware enough.

Congrats on the early semi-lucid.

Thanks for the reply. Agreed. But doesn't count that we were all in agreement that we were in a dream, we just didn't know who's. Again I agree that I never became lucid enough to realize that it was my dream, but still isn't that in and of itself considered a certain level of lucidity?

Does having an experience like this usually mean acheaving full lucidity is near?

Yes, you came close to becoming fully lucid in your dream. Just keep up with your reality checks (try incorporating more awareness into them) and you should have a lucid dream within a week or two (in my opinion).

That's interesting. I've never thought that I was a dream character in another person's dream.

Thanks for the reply guys. What do you mean by "incorporating more awareness into them"?

As for one thinking he's a character in someone else's dream and accepting the fact it bizarre to me. Then again I'm a newb here so what do I know. Ill get there. Hopefully within a few hours.

Well thats me, I'm off to bed.

Thanks again for the replies.