Is it possible to LD before knowing what an LD is??

[lilk1000]

I've had a few extremely vivid dreams in my life, but two nights ago I had a very strange experience. I will give you the details just so you understand what was going on. I did not know lucid dreams even existed before this happened, so today I searched the internet about vivid, REAL dreams. Anyway... In my dream, I was with this guy I like. We were just sitting in a field and talking, and I was getting the strangest feeling that I had done this before, exactly how it was happening in the dream. Our positions and actions were just like they were when this exact event was happening two weeks ago. Well, two weeks ago, we basically ended up sort of kissing, but it was very brief. Suddenly, I realized, "Wait. This already happened. But we weren't in a meadow; we were on a bus, at night. This must be a dream!" So then I started thinking about how cool it was that I could practically relive that night and change things to the way I had always wished it would turn out. So I just kept it going, and before I knew it, we were making out. The strange thing was, I could actually feel everything. He was real, the kiss was real, and I was real, doing what I wanted, completely aware of the fact that I was dreaming. I may have forgotten somewhere in the middle of all that, but I at least remember the point of realization. Was this a lucid dream? And if it was, do you think it will be easy for me to do it again, now that I've been on this website all day researching?

[Mortalis]

It was a lucid dream! The cool thing about LDs is there is no prerequisite knowledge. In fact, the second you realized it was a dream your normal dream became lucid! I think if you start reading up on LDing, it might even help you have more of them, give it a shot! There are a bunch of good tutorials here that will help you brush up on the different techniques, though from what it sounds like you don't need much help.

[lilk1000]

Thanks, but I'm just confused as to why it's never happened before, and suddenly I can do it.

[Mortalis]

Well, I'm not sure. I'd guess that perhaps your previous experience that was almost identical but not quite the same had much to do with it. I think remembering the past experience and comparing to the current one helped you pick out the inconsistency (that being the field instead of the bus) and that snapped you into lucidity. As far as time frame, I'm not a natural (someone who lucid dreams without working to do it) so I'm not sure when most of them begin to be able to do it, but I would guess that now that you have had your first, you are likely to have more.

[Wolfsbane]

I've been having lucid dreams for as long as I can remember. I learned the term "lucid" more recently, but I thought that just meant that you could remember your dreams in full detail, not that you were necessarily aware. I'm just now learning all of the terms for things I've been doing all along. It's like a baby learning to talk. He doesn't know the name for it, he just knows that he's doing it. Congrats on your first lucid! It's good that you took full advantage of your situation. Next time you may think of other things to do, such as flying. You still may have to work on getting more lucids. There's no guarantee that they'll always come to you naturally. Reading and thinking about them definitely helps. I'd suggest making a list to read before going to bed. Maybe have the word "lucid" in big, bold print, and have a list of things to keep in mind. Write down some RCs (I usually bite my lip) and things you'd like to try out when you're lucid.

[Mortalis]

Oh and... Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge.. Great book, and good for someone who wants to learn a bit more about lucid dreaming...I found it to be a great read.

[slayer]

Of course it's possible to lucid dream without knowing what a lucid dream is! Some people around here claim they've been doing it for a long time, so I would guess they've been able to do it without knowing what a LD is. And yeah, the brain can make feelings feel even better than things in real life. It's amazing.

[Shift]

Absolutely, that's how I got my first one, and it definitely sounds like this was a lucid dream, congrats!!

[moonshine]

Absolutely, that's how I got my first one, and it definitely sounds like this was a lucid dream, congrats!! I was the same. I found myself having lucids and was so astonished I looked it up in a psychology book. I was amazed to discover it was quite common. The chapter referenced laberge, I looked him up, found his books and there you have it.