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