I had a rather irritating experience the other night during one of my dreams. I’ve already read a post or two along the lines of this problem, but I decided to post this just to get some more feedback. I’ve had a dream before where I dreamt of trying to WILD. I think I was in this desert-like scenario with someone else, walking along the vast sandy plains, and telling him that if we kept walking, eventually we’d enter into the dream. I think I was under the impression that what was happening then was some form of hypnagogic imagery. The one I had the other night, however, took it a step further. I was in my dream, and actually picked out something in the dream that I thought could trigger a lucid dream (I think a bolt of lightning coming out of a dark cloud or something, it doesn’t matter). I thought, 'If I see this during a dream, I will know that I am dreaming." I thought about testing it right then and there, but for some reason didn’t, and went about the dream. How many times has this happened to other people, and are there any solutions? (if this seems like it’s entered in the wrong thread, I’m sorry)
Not that it’s any consolation, but this happens to everyone from time to time. Anything you allocate a great deal of thought to during the day is likely to appear somewhere in your dreams, including the topic of lucid dreaming. I’ve had entire dreams about looking for somewhere to do a reality check, or trying to convince a friend that we were both dreaming - and without ever realizing that it was a dream. It can be frustrating, but at least it indicates that the topic has made it’s way into your subconscious mind, which is a sign of progress.
It might help to focus a little more on reality checks during the day. In case you haven’t read much about them yet, reality checks are simply tests you can perform to determine whether you’re asleep, or awake. Since a lot of people report common inconsistencies within their dreams (digital clocks not displaying properly, text changing each time you look at it, unadjustable light levels, etc), these tests can be very effective. If you find yourself thinking about lucid dreaming, do a quick RC. The more frequently you do this, the faster you’ll build an association between lucid dreaming, and reality checks. Then, if you ever have a another dream like the one you described, hopefully your subconscious mind will immediately think “Hey, I’m thinking about lucid dreaming, better do an RC”.
Good luck. 