New here :D, 1 quick question...

[Cosmo]

Hey I haven't been able to LD yet but i remember stuff from when i was younger like being stuck in SP etc.. so i just wanted to ask.. Whats the difference between LDing and just.. imagining stuff while awake? like.. do you have to put in all the effort of trying to think about what everything looks like or is it all sorta automatic, just an instant world which you can do whatever you want in? Thanks , Cosmo

[PercyLucid]

Lucid Dreaming happens in the non waking plane, happens on the dream plane. When you realize you are in a dream such as, "Gosh... pink people? I must be dreaming." You become lucid and you might start to explore your dream with more vividness, etc. You might even be able to control the dream. Imagine stuff just just that, day dreaming. It happens in the waking plane... so you are fully awake. To control a dream... well, I always said, "I'm in a dream, so I will make this appear" and it does appear. Does not always work, as you need to be fully lucid and have a vivid dream for that. Try to do easy things such as speeding in a car you might have in the dream or jumping high. If you try something hard, you might exhaust your dream and you will wake up. You can try something hard after a few successes in that particular dream (do not become lucid and go flying... do reality checks, make sure you are in a dream so you increase lucidity, then try easier things and then as you progress, try harder ones)

[Cosmo]

but i can do all that in my head being awake.. i guess i gotta experience it to see - also, whats the easiest induction method? i find it hard to take things as fake in my dream - like i see some really strange stuff happen and i just accept it as normal?

[eppy]

The easiest induction method is probably DILD or MILD. Practice a lot of reality checks and tell yourself that you will have a lucid dream throughout the day. Some good reality checks are plugging your nose and seeing if you can still breathe through it or not. Trying to push your finger through your hand. Try to think of how you got to where you are. Usually you think, oh! i remember falling asleep and now I'm in some random place. I must be dreaming.

[Cosmo]

sounds pretty cool - i will give the nose one a try if i remember.. though i dont think id be able to remember to be honest lol.. how did you start remembering to do this sorta thing? i heard that if you do it in real life u eventually remember to in you dream but i never remember to question anything.. just all seems normal

[PercyLucid]

Yes, you can, but you will need to start on the easy steps. However, there is an easy way to compare. Look at your screen. Look close at it, touch it, smell it, hold it. How does it fee? How does it looks. Now imagine you do that. You can image you are touching it, but you are really not touching it. Now in a dream, if you do the same steps, you will be able to look at it, to touch it, to smell it, etc... it will probably be different that in real life, but in the dream and the waking life you can touch the screen, but not in the imagination, you do not feel it, just imagine it. That is the major difference. And yes, when you are not lucid you accept anything comes up

[Cosmo]

oh yeah, i guess i can't. lol this is annoying - wanna LD now ... ive tried to remind myself that i need to question stuff for 4 nights now and i never remember. How long did it take before you started having LDs.. like the time between discovering what LDs were to having them weekly?

[PercyLucid]

I recommend you to visit the tutorials as well as http://www.dreamviews.com/ To get lucid dreams, you first need to recall your dreams. As a quick start I could say that you should write down anything you remember from your dreams. If you wake up in the middle of the night and remember something, you must write it down as soon as possible... that will help you to recall your dreams and many more things (such as finding the clues that will notify you that you are dreaming) In addition, you will perform a WBTB (wake back to bed) which increases dramatically the chances to LD. But you need recall or you won't even remember your LD. So go ahead and check the tutorials and that improving your dream recall. I just made an extremely shot brief summary to give you an idea.

[Cosmo]

okay i will check it out Thanks for help percy and others