Definition of lucidity

Hello dreamers. :) Let me start by saying that I'm kinda shy. But I love this forum so much. I enjoy the energy of this website and forum; it's incredible to see so many dreamers in one place. I've been journaling since 2005, after finding DreamViews, but I've been interested in dreams since I was 15. Now I'm in college, majoring in psychology. I hope to use my degree to work in dream research.

Here's my question: I know I've had "lucid dreams," but lately I've been experiencing heightened awareness. I'm able to dream, visualize, and think within dreams. I never say "I'm dreaming," but it's as though I "know" it's a dream. For example, the other night I had a dream that I was drowning. I remember telling myself, "It's okay, the dream will fix this!" Are these "moments of awareness" lucid dreams, or do they fall under a separate category?

Thanks for reading,
La (allthings)

:welcome: allthings

I hope you do get into dream research. In my opinion, there definitely are not enough people trying to figure this all out. I bet you can even find a few people on this forum who could end up being great contacts in the dream research world ;)

I think I know what you mean with those brief flashes of lucidity. I've found that the more I lucid dream, the more I get those brief moments of awareness in my normal dreams. I stopped actively lucid dreaming for a couple years. In my normal dreams, I found that I still maintained a lot of dream control, and got a ton of these lucid moments. Maybe its just a cool side effect of the increased awareness that comes with lucid dreaming. I thnk a lot of people would still consider this a lucid dream, if only a brief and low level one.

Thank you! I'm not sure what kind of work is available out there, but I'll be looking. I'll check around the forums too. It would be neat to touch base with others who are considering a career in dream research.

I think "brief flashes of lucidity" is a good way to describe what I experience. I think I'll call it "brief lucidity," for conversations and journaling purposes. I took a break from lucid dreaming as well, but kept up my recall (more or less). It wasn't long before I started noticing a pattern. Thanks for sharing your experience with this. :)

Welcome to the forum Allthings.:)

Yeah it sounds like you had a brief moment of Lucidity there. Or maybe partial Lucidity.

It's possible sometimes to have partial awareness like that, without the full comprehension setting in. Once you start thinking about it more, it probably won't be long before you have a full blown Lucid.

Good Luck!:)

Welcome to DV, Allthings! :okbyenow:

A "flash of lucidity" isn't a bad term, actually. Different people categorize "levels" of LDing differently, but from my personal experience (and/or lack thereof), I've also come to call those "pre-lucid dreams." You were aware of the fact that you were in a dream, but that wasn't a conscious thought. It's a large step towards becoming fully lucid, so consider it a good deal of progress!

I've also had some dreams where I've said to myself, "If I were dreaming, I would **..." and it happens. There's some control exerted, but you're not really willing anything to happen. So close!