My Introduction / First Question as a new member

Hey Everyone,
I am a new member of this site, and i have been researching lucid dreaming for a little while.

starting with a little history, as a kid I had many nightmares and my dad first introduced into my head the idea that it is possible to control your dreams and it was that very same night he told me this that I realized I was dreaming while being chased by a monstrous figure and instead of running decided to turn around and chase the monster....

skipping ahead give or take 8-10 years. I had not had another lucid dream after that since tonight although this time my realization did not seem as powerful which leads me to my question...

Is It Possible to Dream That You Are Lucid Without Actually Being Lucid?

What I mean by this is that because I have been researching lucid dreaming I know what is supposed to happen in a lucid dream and could recreate this experience without ever actually being lucid.

The dream I had was in the setting of my university residence and I ran into my friend who I have been discussing lucid dreaming with recently and he began telling me how he thought he had a lucid dream the other night and as he was telling me this I noticed my body felt very sluggish and heavy and I was having trouble walking, I told him that I think I'm having a lucid dream and told him to wait as I approached a light switch. I flipped it off and on twice with no change in light and told him that it was indeed a lucid dream.

as much as all this seems to cohere with what a lucid dream would be like. I didn't feel very aware of it being a dream and my so-called "realization" wasnt as powerful in this dream as I remembered from my first lucid dream as a kid when I was running and I stopped in my tracks as it hit me like a ton of bricks, in a sort of surreal epiphany as i exclaimed to myself in disbelief "this is a dream!"

I would very much appreciate if someone can provide me with any insight into my experience.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Meta4

Hey Everyone,
I am a new member of this site, and i have been researching lucid dreaming for a little while.

starting with a little history, as a kid I had many nightmares and my dad first introduced into my head the idea that it is possible to control your dreams and it was that very same night he told me this that I realized I was dreaming while being chased by a monstrous figure and instead of running decided to turn around and chase the monster....

skipping ahead give or take 8-10 years. I had not had another lucid dream after that since tonight although this time my realization did not seem as powerful which leads me to my question...

Is It Possible to Dream That You Are Lucid Without Actually Being Lucid?

What I mean by this is that because I have been researching lucid dreaming I know what is supposed to happen in a lucid dream and could recreate this experience without ever actually being lucid.

The dream I had was in the setting of my university residence and I ran into my friend who I have been discussing lucid dreaming with recently and he began telling me how he thought he had a lucid dream the other night and as he was telling me this I noticed my body felt very sluggish and heavy and I was having trouble walking, I told him that I think I'm having a lucid dream and told him to wait as I approached a light switch. I flipped it off and on twice with no change in light and told him that it was indeed a lucid dream.

as much as all this seems to cohere with what a lucid dream would be like. I didn't feel very aware of it being a dream and my so-called "realization" wasnt as powerful in this dream as I remembered from my first lucid dream as a kid when I was running and I stopped in my tracks as it hit me like a ton of bricks, in a sort of surreal epiphany as i exclaimed to myself in disbelief "this is a dream!"

I would very much appreciate if someone can provide me with any insight into my experience.

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There are different levels of lucidity. Stephen LaBerge defines them in his book. I won't bore with defining this all, but keep working and you will find that most of your lucids are much more "lucid" so to speak. Here is an article although you need to scroll down to see the levels he defines. Other books define these as well in simpler terms. As you have more lucids you will see you'll will likely experience all of them.
http://www.improverse.com/ed-articles/kellogg/

When you become lucid in a dream, there are varying degrees. My guess is it's to do with how easy it is to turn on the logic centre of your brain. Sometime you'll get a huge blast of enlightenment, and be like "Holy shit, this is like visiting another universe! Maybe I'll do that thing I've been wanting to try in RL." Other times it doesn't seem the same, like "Hey so this is a dream, fancy that..." -but you'll not really do much about it. Anyway, once you get a couple more you'll see what I mean! Best of luck, and welcome to the forums!