first full-fledged LD

With only a few posts under my belt, you can read that I've only had dreams where I was quasi-lucid. That is, during my dream(s), I simply realized and "just knew" that I was dreaming (without any reality checks.) But rather than take control of those dreams, I just let it roll out like a normal dream, simply being in it "for the ride," so to speak.

But I finally attained full-fledged lucidity, without even trying. You see, I'm not an avid lucid dream chaser (i.e., no active dream journal and no active reality checks during the day.) It's just become a back-burner activity for me.

Anyway, [in real life] I took my sons to visit Grandma & Grandpa. While there, I took a nap with my 3-year-old son in my parents' basement. Shortly thereafter I had the first of several false awakenings. Initially I didn't realize it, of course.

For my first time "waking up," I was in my parents basement right where I went to sleep with my son (so nothing unexpected or out-of-the-ordinary.) I took my son upstairs with me. But once I settled down, I realized that I had NOT taken my 3-year-old son out of bed, but my other [5-year-old] son. (who, as far as I knew was already upstairs playing.)

At first I figured that maybe they switched places while I was asleep. But the more I thought about that, it just didn't seem very logical to me. So without a second thought, I performed a reality check (mind you, the last time I actively performed reality checks was months ago.)

Anyway, I plugged my nose and then inhaled through my nose. WOW! I was breathing through my plugged nose. I've had many false awakening in the past that, in hindsight, were obviously dreams. But this false awakening was as real and vivid as real-life. So when I plugged my nose, I just expected it to be no different than all those times I've done the reality check IRL.

As I'm sure many of you have experienced, it seriously was a big shock to me to realize that I was actually dreaming; everything was so vivid and real and very un-dreamlike. It would be no different than for you to realize that right now, as you're reading my post, just as you're sure you're NOT dreaming, that it's just a dream. So crazy! But I digress.

Prior to taking my nap, I had Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata going through my head. I only have the first few measures memorized that I can play on piano. But now I thought, What the hell, let's see what I can do with it now!

So I headed back downstairs to my parents' piano to see what I could do. Never mind the fact that I could just teleport myself downstairs or the piano upstairs, I proceeded on foot. But in doing so, I made it fun. I was overcome with a buzzed/high/intoxicating feeling. This lucid dream is crazy, I thought--I knew it was all a dream; it didn't matter how buzzed/high/intoxicating I made myself feel.

So I got to the piano and I played up to the point that I have memorized, and then continued beyond. Physically I know I wasn't playing the piece correctly (I was just moving my fingers over the keyboard randomly going through the motion of playing piano) but in my lucid dream I was playing it (even adding my own parts to it as well.) All the while I knew I was just BS-ing myself since I knew I was just dreaming it all.

I never finished playing the piece because I kept having false awakenings. But unlike false awakenings from the past where I just lost all lucidity, I regained lucidity by doing the nose plug reality check. It's so weird to be able to breath through your plugged nose. :)

And each of my false awakenings were in the same place; i.e., in my parents' basement lying next to my 3-year-old son (everything seeming normal and not out-of-the-ordinary.) And so when I woke in real life, being that my false awakenings were so vivid and real, I couldn't just trust my senses that I was really awake, so I performed the nose plug reality check a few times just to make sure. I was finally awake.

:)