Dreaming of LDing... real or fake?

[NitePhlight]

I've LDed a couple of times in the past (having never realized what it was). I became aquainted with this site yesterday night and actually attained lucidity the same night.... I think. It may sound weird (or totally normal as I'm a total newbie at this) but I think I may have dreamed that I was LDing as opposed to actually experiencing it. Basically I was in the middle of a regular dream, no lucidity, then had a false awakening. I was laying on the bed and repeating the name "Sheikh" to myself (as in my regular dream, his being there was somehow significant, though now I'm not sure why). I reached for my cell phone to check the time, but the light on the display did not appear and I could not read the time. Frustrated, I reached for the desk lamp, but this did not work either. At this point, I was in a panic because I felt I really had to write down the significance of "Sheikh" in my dream journal. I got up to test the light switch, which also did not work. Then it slowly dawned on me that perhaps I was LDing. As this was the first time I was actually recognizing the lucidity, I tried to calm myself down. For some reason (which is now the reason I believe it was not an LD but a dream OF an LD), I screamed the name "Sheikh" down the hallway several times. I then turned back into the room (which had a strange haze over it). Within a moment, the vision from my left eye suddenly became totally clear, and seemed like it had "awoken". I shut it and tried to force it back into the lucid hazy state, but within a few more moments, I had another false awakening in which the desk lamp DID work and I was able to record something (I dont remember too well). Upon actually waking up several hours later, I realized that nothing was written in my journal and that I had had two false awakenings. Now my question is when you attain lucidity, are you totally conscious and logical, or can your thought process still be irrational and random (such as screaming down the hallway, which I normally wouldn't do nor does it seem significant at all anymore). Basically my newbie question is if that was truly a lucid experience or a dream of one?

[TygrHawk]

Originally posted by NitePhlight Now my question is when you attain lucidity, are you totally conscious and logical, or can your thought process still be irrational and random (such as screaming down the hallway, which I normally wouldn't do nor does it seem significant at all anymore). Basically my newbie question is if that was truly a lucid experience or a dream of one? Yes, certainly you can be lucid, and still not be thinking straight. I think most of us agree that there are different levels of lucidity, and at the lower levels, it's can be hard to stay focused. FWIW, I think that your dream qualifies as lucid. But a lot of other people have asked this same question about "dreaming of lucid dreaming". I have to admit that I don't really understand the confusion -- if, at any point during the dream, you realize that it's a dream, then you are lucid. At least, that's my take on it.

[Glorfindel_III]

Yep, I agree with Tygr. You did have a lucid dream but you didn't have control (or much). Lots of people assume that once you are in a LD you can do whatever you want but often your dream still seems to carry along on its own track. This is a good first step though and with practice and patience you should be able to increase control, hopefully. Good luck and gratz with your LD, Glor