I can't decide if this was a lucid dream or not

I won't recount the whole thing, but at some point in this dream:

A thug with long reddish hair attacks the man I was talking to. My first impulse is to run away so I won't get hurt, but I realize that is not a very noble impulse and I remember what Stephen LaBerge said about dealing with enemies: If this were a dream, I could approach the thug and try to make friends with him, or at least face him bravely, so I walk over to the fighting pair, but before I reach them, I see them walking toward me together, chatting as if they are friends. It worked!

(end of dream)

I can't decide if it was lucid or not because I never thought "I'm dreaming," but I thought ABOUT dreaming, and proceeded as if I were dreaming. I did record it on my list of lucid/semi-lucid/briefly lucid dreams. Was that cheating? :)

i dont think it was an LD somewhere in your brain reconized this was a dream but it wasnt a consious thougt so no doesnt count as lucid if you ask me

Yeah, you're probably right. Thank you for the opinion.

Any dreams you experience, lucid or not, should be recorded and written on dream journal. And yeah I agree with dreamperson, it was not lucid dream I think. Since the definition is being conscious you are dreaming.

I no longer record every dream in a dream journal. I have pretty good dream recall (4-6 per night on average), so when I do it properly, it takes an hour per day (time I would rather spend sleeping and dreaming) and if I print it out, it uses a lot of paper--not so great for the environment. Currently I only record lucid dreams and other dreams of particular interest in detail.

Someone said here (or somewhere) that our goal is to recall every dream, not necessarily record every dream, and that is my goal. (Of course, everyone can proceed as she/he prefers in this regard.) I make dream notes during the night, and in the morning, I flesh them out a bit on one or two quarter-sized pieces of paper and I carry around a few days' worth. That way I can appreciate, remember, enjoy and stay in touch with them while using less paper and time.

I'm glad for the months/years I spent carefully recording all my remembered dreams and definitely recommend it for anyone new to dreamwork/lucid dreaming practice. It does give you a very good idea of your own dream world. But I don't think you necessarily have to record every dream you recall for the rest of your life.