Thread: How can I be sure a "lucid" dream was really lucid?

Hello everyone! I got into lucid dreaming about 6 months ago now, and I'm fairly well planted within it at this stage. I've been doing routine RC's, I know my dream signs, and most importantly of all my Dream Recall is nearly perfect - I'm remembering almost every dream I have.

I have never had a lucid dream however. Until last night.. at least, I think. My dilemma is because I never had a lucid dream I am not quite certain that I was in fact lucid or if I merely dreamed that I was lucid. This dream, whether it was lucid or not, was very different from most of my dreams, so allow me to elaborate:

1) All of my dreams are in 3rd person. I never dream in first person, the way one would perceive oneself in reality. I always physically see my self and the environment around me in my normal dreams. However, this dream was in first person.

2) In this dream, I think I felt conscious. I'm not sure whether or not I was or whether or not I was dreaming that I was. The problem is that I know for a fact that if this dream was lucid, that I was only partly lucid. How do I know this? Well, I remember "thinking" to myself about all the neat things I could now do, but I didn't question much around me and I didn't once think to myself: "This is a dream." I constantly remember thinking to myself how cool it was that I was lucid, but never thought of anything around me as "fake." I knew for a fact that I wasn't in reality and that I was dreaming, but I didn't think about it. I didn't question why any of the characters were there, or why I was in the location I was in. My dream, for some random reason, took place in my high school gyms locker room. I was aware of this, but I didn't bother to ask why I was there. A character who I had known from school was in the locker room and only he was there. I didn't question why it was only him or why nobody else was around, though I did acknowledge it.

3) I felt a great deal of extreme vividness and control in this particular dream that I often do not feel. This is why I think the dream was lucid. I cannot remember what happened prior to appearing in the locker room, but I do in fact remember all of a sudden gradually thinking to myself "Hey I'm lucid!" I then noticed the character I mentioned earlier, and pushed passed him by mistake. He insulted me, so I decided I'd punch him in the face. He was much stronger then I so I decided to give myself extra strength. At first I thought "No I can't get away with this" but then something told me "I was lucid" and I remembered someone on these forums saying if you think you can do it, you can do it. So I did it, and it worked. The character kind of disappeared then. Then "realizing" the power I had, I ran down the locker room screaming "I'm lucid! I'm lucid!" It felt like I was saying it becuase I was excited, and I did in fact feel excited in the dream. I then realized my excitement was probably going to wake me up, so I ran out into the main gym area looking for a particular character. I found the character I was looking for, but he knew I was coming somehow. I think if I was luicid that I was rapidly losing lucidity and becoming fully conscious, because it was as if the characters knew exactly what I was thinking and even pre-anticipated my actions - i'm not sure if this is jus something DC's do, or if it was becuase I was actually waking up, but just as I got up to the character I woke fully up, convinced I just had a lucid dream.

4) I didn't do any reality checks. I just knew I was lucid and dreaming somehow. I don't remember what happened before I was lucid, so it's possible that a RC triggered the lucid dream altogether, but once lucid it didn't even cross my mind.

Now that i've been awake for the entire day, I'm not so sure. The dream "felt" so real, and I swear I remember guiding what I myself did in the dream. I've only experienced a dream where I actually FELT objects physically once before, but that dream was not lucid in the least nor was it in first person.

Did I just have a at least semi-lucid dream, or did I dream that I was going to have a lucid dream? I had given up on lucid dreaming in the past week so it has not been on my mind very often, before anyone suggests it was on my mind so much I dreamed myself into thinking I had one.

If anyone could tell whether or not this was a lucid dream based on what i've provided I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

As long as you think you were dreaming, you DID have a LD, even if you didn't do any Reality Checks. So it was a lucid dream! Congrats!

And welcome to the forums!

Originally Posted by Optics

Hello everyone! I got into lucid dreaming about 6 months ago now, and I'm fairly well planted within it at this stage. I've been doing routine RC's, I know my dream signs, and most importantly of all my Dream Recall is nearly perfect - I'm remembering almost every dream I have.

I have never had a lucid dream however. Until last night.. at least, I think. My dilemma is because I never had a lucid dream I am not quite certain that I was in fact lucid or if I merely dreamed that I was lucid. This dream, whether it was lucid or not, was very different from most of my dreams, so allow me to elaborate:

1) All of my dreams are in 3rd person. I never dream in first person, the way one would perceive oneself in reality. I always physically see my self and the environment around me in my normal dreams. However, this dream was in first person.

2) In this dream, I think I felt conscious. I'm not sure whether or not I was or whether or not I was dreaming that I was. The problem is that I know for a fact that if this dream was lucid, that I was only partly lucid. How do I know this? Well, I remember "thinking" to myself about all the neat things I could now do, but I didn't question much around me and I didn't once think to myself: "This is a dream." I constantly remember thinking to myself how cool it was that I was lucid, but never thought of anything around me as "fake." I knew for a fact that I wasn't in reality and that I was dreaming, but I didn't think about it. I didn't question why any of the characters were there, or why I was in the location I was in. My dream, for some random reason, took place in my high school gyms locker room. I was aware of this, but I didn't bother to ask why I was there. A character who I had known from school was in the locker room and only he was there. I didn't question why it was only him or why nobody else was around, though I did acknowledge it.

3) I felt a great deal of extreme vividness and control in this particular dream that I often do not feel. This is why I think the dream was lucid. I cannot remember what happened prior to appearing in the locker room, but I do in fact remember all of a sudden gradually thinking to myself "Hey I'm lucid!" I then noticed the character I mentioned earlier, and pushed passed him by mistake. He insulted me, so I decided I'd punch him in the face. He was much stronger then I so I decided to give myself extra strength. At first I thought "No I can't get away with this" but then something told me "I was lucid" and I remembered someone on these forums saying if you think you can do it, you can do it. So I did it, and it worked. The character kind of disappeared then. Then "realizing" the power I had, I ran down the locker room screaming "I'm lucid! I'm lucid!" It felt like I was saying it becuase I was excited, and I did in fact feel excited in the dream. I then realized my excitement was probably going to wake me up, so I ran out into the main gym area looking for a particular character. I found the character I was looking for, but he knew I was coming somehow. I think if I was luicid that I was rapidly losing lucidity and becoming fully conscious, because it was as if the characters knew exactly what I was thinking and even pre-anticipated my actions - i'm not sure if this is jus something DC's do, or if it was becuase I was actually waking up, but just as I got up to the character I woke fully up, convinced I just had a lucid dream.

4) I didn't do any reality checks. I just knew I was lucid and dreaming somehow. I don't remember what happened before I was lucid, so it's possible that a RC triggered the lucid dream altogether, but once lucid it didn't even cross my mind.

Now that i've been awake for the entire day, I'm not so sure. The dream "felt" so real, and I swear I remember guiding what I myself did in the dream. I've only experienced a dream where I actually FELT objects physically once before, but that dream was not lucid in the least nor was it in first person.

Did I just have a at least semi-lucid dream, or did I dream that I was going to have a lucid dream? I had given up on lucid dreaming in the past week so it has not been on my mind very often, before anyone suggests it was on my mind so much I dreamed myself into thinking I had one.

If anyone could tell whether or not this was a lucid dream based on what i've provided I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

Man that is long. Judging by your #3 you were most definitely in a lucid dream. It is possible to dream about being lucid without actually being lucid, and there are also "low-lucidity" dreams where you are lucid, but either lose it or just have a very low level of awareness. Try to get into the habit of doing RCs and pretending through out the day that you have found yourself in a dream and what you would do to stabilize yourself and make sure you are 100% lucid before moving on, that may help.

Originally Posted by Shift

Man that is long. Judging by your #3 you were most definitely in a lucid dream. It is possible to dream about being lucid without actually being lucid, and there are also "low-lucidity" dreams where you are lucid, but either lose it or just have a very low level of awareness. Try to get into the habit of doing RCs and pretending through out the day that you have found yourself in a dream and what you would do to stabilize yourself and make sure you are 100% lucid before moving on, that may help.

Exactly what Shift said.
Once you get used to having LDs, you have to learn how to stabilize them once becoming lucid. It can be pretty aggravating when you wake up from an LD for no apparent reason; so next time you find yourself in a slowly fading LD, try spinning around and/or rubbing your hands together.

Originally Posted by WolfeDreamer531

... try spinning around and/or rubbing your hands together.

Or talking out loud, talking to dream characters, looking at your body, touching the dream scape, looking at the textures and details in objects, or scouring the forums for other dream-stabilization techniques.

Thanks for the replies guys!! Sorry about the posts length I don't keep a very active DJ so the post here kind of acted as that for me, sorry if I gave to much detail.

I suspected it was a lucid dream, and the confirmation definitely helps my confidence. All that work paid off! What an experience it was too!

Originally Posted by Shift

Or talking out loud, talking to dream characters, looking at your body, touching the dream scape, looking at the textures and details in objects, or scouring the forums for other dream-stabilization techniques.

Wow, never thought doing all that could help stabilize your dreams. I guess I have to start actually listening to what my DCs are saying; usually they start babbling off about something pretending like they're real even after Ive confronted them about only being a DC. Its pretty funny actually.

I had an LD last night and to stabalize it i picked up the closest object to me which was a postcard, and my LD got more clear.