First Amazing Experiance

Something great happened last night. I was off to a bad start, waking up at 5:00 AM with no dreams to remember (Not even a trace of one) and I had already written the night off as a failure. But then, almost towards dawn, I found myself in a little dream, and something clicked. I don't remember ever having that dream before, but I thought to myself, (in the dream) "I've had this dream before!" I was, I guess, at least a little bit lucid. On impulse, I said (in my dream) the magic words: "I am dreaming."
Everything went dark and my body began to tingle all over. And then it was over. I was awake, lying in my bed with my eyes closed, awake. But it was still great, and I am still happy, even though the dream lasted only a few seconds.
So, was this a lucid dream? Is a lucid dream simply a dream in which you know you are dreaming, or are they much more vivid? And if so, how do you keep yourself from being kicked out of the dream into wakefulness? And what is the difference between a lucid dream, and lying awake in your bed, seeing images on the inside of your eyelids?
Anyway, I am very, very happy.

William :fly:

Hey there, good job at realizing that you were dreaming. A lucid dream means being aware that you are dreaming within your dream. So if you realize that you are dreaming and then wake up...you had a lucid for about a second. ;) But it's ok most people wake up from excitement the first few times. Once you get the "feel" of being lucid....almost like waking up within your dream then you will be able to remain lucid. There are also techniques that you can use to extend your lucidity once your LD is stabilized enough. For example, doing a reality check...or staring at the palms of your hands and examing them in detail will bring time and vividness to your LDs.

An LD can either be extremely vivid and realistic, or somewhat blurry. Also there are levels of control. And any LD can be any variation of that. Some LDs I have are extremely vivid and real, and I have little control. Some are more like semi-lucid where they are a bit blurry but I have total control. Just all depends. I've learned however, how to turn a not so vivid LD into a more vivid one just by looking at my hands.

Lying in bed staring at the back of your eyelids...you are awake. Before you enter a dream you experience hypnogogic hallucinations (or HI). Most people don't remember HI because their mind is already off in LaLa Land and about to fall asleep. However, if you try inducing a WILD (wake initiated lucid dream) where your mind stays awake as your body falls asleep you will experience the full extent of HI which is an immensely rewarding and crazy experience. Being awake and staring at your eyelids is VERY different from HI...which in turn...is VERY different from dreaming or LDing (because then you are actually asleep). They are all like...three different levels of consciousness. Awake. In-between trancelike state (same state that is used for hypnosis). Sleep.

Hope that helps...if you have anymore questions feel free to ask. :)

Nice going William D., you are now an official LDer. Welcome to the club.

I still love reading about people having their first LD. I had my first one about 30 years ago and I still remember the excitement. And it only lasted 2 seconds.

Ha! Mine was a whole three seconds! (or so :wink: )

Thanks everyone.