Thread: Am I kidding myself?

It's not at all strange to start lucid dreaming immediately after getting interested in the topic. Reading these forums and thinking about LD's will help you to think about it while you're asleep. I've always had LD's as long as I can remember but got inspired to get more involved after a similar experience to yours in which an attractive friend of mine just happened to materialise in my bed. I realised it was a dream and woke up, rather angry with myself for not being able to stay asleep. And I've also noticed that when I LD everything becomes much more real than normal. I attribute it to focusing more and paying more attention to my surroundings. I also have a suspicion that when I believe I'm dreaming my subconscious tries to trick me into believing otherwise.

Sounds to me like you had a lucid dream - you were in a dream and aware that it was a dream (although it's funny how people can dream rationalize their way out of the reality checks). I know the feeling of "maybe I just dreamed that I was lucid" but that argument ultimately ends up being circular, in my opinion. There are different levels of awareness or lucidity, which accounts for why some lucids feel like you were still mostly dreaming and still succumbing to dream logic.

I've not had many lucids, but I know what you mean about lucidity increasing the vividness or realness of the dream. Lucid dreamers always remark on how real and vivid everything seems, and I've gotten that with mine as well. Anyway, congrats on the early success!

Maybe your excitement about the subject carried over into your dream. I think only you can be a judge of whether or not you were lucid. I have a lot of borderline dreams. Some where I act lucid, but am not. Others where I know it is a dream, but I am still fooled by things, and don't exert any control.

I don't think this was a LD. You were ridiculously close, but as long as you believe everything is real, then it can't be a LD. It's hard to tell and only you know how aware you were of the situation. Your actions after the RCs do seem like the actions of a LDer, so I don't know. Don't trust reality this much. Even I have a hard time believing I'm dreaming after doing a RC and it turning out negative. I guess it's normal, just imagine how you'd feel if you found out that everything around you "doesn't exist" and isn't real. Being awake and dreaming is generally very similar. You believe you're awake in both of those states, and in only one of them (if we don't philosophize) this turns out to be true.

Remember this dream and next time this happens you might just remember that something similar has already happened to you which will probably result in a LD.

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies, your thoughts are welcome.

For the time being I'll concentrate on the reality checks and the dream journal, anything else will be a bonus.

After all, it's a hobby that doeasn't waste any of your time or money.