Originally Posted by
JoannaB
Well, it is your choice of course whether or not to count it.
There are people who have lucid dreams before they know what LDs are. People who have a lot of LDs like that are called "natural lucid dreamers", but my understanding is that a lot of people have at least one lucid dream in their lives especially during childhood - lucid dreaming is something humans are capable of doing naturally, though it is not naturally common.
As for not counting a lucid dream though because it is not the experience that one wants: I would advise you to count lucid dreams from now on even if they do not meet your expectations at first; a lot of early lucid dreams are low awareness and low control and very short - though there are exceptions of course, people's individual experiences vary; but it is important to acknowledge those early lucid successes to yourself, to give your mind a message theat yes, this is what you are looking for, now more such experiences please and next time a bit more vivid and longer and more aware and more stable and more control please - if you chastise your mind for the early incomplete lucid dreaming experience though, and do not acknowledge that even that is a success, your mind may not give you additional lucid dreams though because you will be giving it the mixed message of "no, that's not it" which may confuse part of your mind.