Is it possible to test lucidity in an LD?

Quest for Lucidity
1

Every time I wake up from a (seemingly) successful lucid dream, I wonder if I was really lucid. I want to test my lucidity the next time I have an LD, but I can’t think of a good test.

I originally had a simple test I was going to try, but I realized recently that it is flawed. It’s rather silly, but the test was I would find a banana in my LD and say, “Ooga booga.” I figured if I remembered to do that in a lucid dream, it would prove the authenticity of my lucidity, if that’s what it really is. The problem, though, is I have no proof that, if I did perform this test in a dream I thought was lucid, I remembered as a result of being conscious. I would often repeat in my head as I was falling asleep that I would do the banana routine in my LD, so I would remember when I was lucid. The problem is just that it would become routine; it was like programming my mind to do this action when I become lucid. And while that isn’t necessarily bad, if I am fooled into thinking I am lucid in a dream (when I am not), that triggers my recollection of the banana routine I planned, and thus I execute it, regardless of the fact that I am not lucid.

It’s very annoying not knowing for sure whether I was lucid once I awake from a “lucid” dream. I mean, I do stuff that I planned ahead of time, but I can argue that with the same point I used for the banana example above. My doubt is also fueled by the fact that I often forget to do some of the more important things on my hypothetical List of Things to do in a Lucid Dream.

I know there are ways of proving the validity of lucid dreams, but is it possible to do it alone? I feel there must be some way, but I certainly can’t concoct anything.

2

you’ll know if you are lucid, the most coherent lucidity is lucidity upon re-entry to a woken up from dream.

you’ll be able to do it eventually, one time you’ll wake up froma dream and you’ll just feel like you can go back… and you’ll find a way.

you can just keep thinking about it, or ask a DC that was near you to pull you back in.

I find that waking up and going back helps me clear my head and really fully realize the full scope of my potentials… gives me the highest level lucidity where I’m not as likely to get carried away with the plot of the dream, but rather hold my own agenda.

The thing about lucidity is it is very much a different mind, it’s not going to be as logical as the waking mind, usually, but you’ll be able to loosely think of things you want to do and realize that you are dreaming.

you’re right about drililng the banana thing into your head… what I’d do is just ask

“What do I want to do while lucid?” as you’re falling asleep, if you manage to ask yourself “What do I want to do?” while you’re dreaming, it can help prove to you that you are “really” lucid.

3

Rather than always using the banana trick, come up with a different one each night. While programming is possible, I’ve found that my non-lucid self is virtually incapable of thinking to do something that I just came up with the previous day. Let’s suppose that you happen to wake up at like 4 in the morning. You think “okay, when I’m lucid I will punch through a window.” If you remember to do that, you know it must be lucidity because there’s no time for it to be programmed into you.

4

Note: I changed my forum name.

If I ask myself, “What do I want to do?” while I’m dreaming, how does that prove my mind is awake? I could say that in a normal dream, too. Sorry if that isn’t the point of your whole post.

But the lack of abundance of reminding myself to do the banana procedure doesn’t prove that I remembered as a result of lucidity. Similarly, your inability to remember things that you haven’t spent much thought on doesn’t mean it will be the same case for me. For instance, one boy might remember to pick up bread from the store on his way home from school like his mother asked him to that morning, whereas another boy might forget. Some people are better at remembering than others.

On the contrary, I often dream about things I think of as I’m falling asleep in bed or have thought about earlier in the day, leaving little time for it to be “programmed” into my brain. So, if I think about doing a specific test in a lucid dream, I may very well dream about it.

When I have these “lucid” dreams I have a feeling that I am lucid while in the dream and when I wake up. But this feeling isn’t enough for me, and that leads to doubt. I want to prove to myself that I am truly lucid in a dream with proof that I can bring with me into real life (at least in a sense. Obviously, I can’t bring physical proof from a dream into waking life). To give better understanding, let’s say there is a man with schizophrenia but isn’t aware of his condition, and this man sees a moose in his living room. The moose is only a hallucination, but it seems completely real to him. He can see it, smell it, and feel it. He has no reason to be skeptical that the moose is really there, except for it’s logical inconsistency, as he has plenty of reasons to justify his belief. It can be proved, however, via scientific experiments that there isn’t actually a moose. The moose is not real. Consequently, he doesn’t have sufficient reason to believe a moose is in his living room, despite it’s apparent reality.

Indeed, my supposed lucidity feels genuine to me, but I can’t prove that it is. And if there is no evidence that I was conscious, how do I know I was?

5

Because like I said if you are lucid, you’ll know, if you answer “I want to go get a flying fish like my friend just bought from the pet store” or something stupid like that you’re not lucid.

The question makes you stop and think and reflect back on the nature of the environment, asking it, providing you were lucid, would clearly let you know, it would open a window of normal thought to say "hey… what do I want to do… " and if you answer something that has absolutely nothing to do with the dream environment, you’ll know you were lucid.

I don’t see what the point is though, if we are never lucid there’s no way to know that, so what matters is having a good dream, it’s just like we probably aren’t REALLY in control of our lives, and we don’t REALLY have free will… so…

I don’t really see what you are wondering, if you’re lucid, it’ll be like how you feel sitting here reading this, just maybe a little less clear and realistic… it’ll be the same mind with the same ability to make decisions though.

Which is why an open question like that would let you know if you are really lucid or not, since when you wake up you can think about your answers and whether they seemed like stupid dream answers (if they did they will make little sense)

6

No, I am pretty sure any “lucidity checks” connected to performing actions that you have thought about while awake won’t be very useful.

Probably there isn’t any secure check at all, but I suggest to ask yourself some questions:
Who are you, full name?
What day was yesterday, what did you do yesterday?
What day is tomorrow, what are you planning to do?
Where exactly are you sleeping right now?

7

Waw ! What a marvelous reality check ! I like it !

Of course you can lucidity check : by definition, a lucid dream is when you know you’re dreaming.

There are a lot of reality check : try to

  • strech your finger : it lengthen
  • look twice at a writing, or at your (dream) watch : it changes
  • remember your name, address, phone number : you hardly can
  • make easy calculations : you hardly can
  • take a long look at your hands : they change
  • levitate (a few centimeters)
  • push your finger into a wall

And above all, ask yourself if your are dreaming.

8

Problem is, a RC isn’t a lucidity check. It happened to me that I did a RC in a normal dream, concluded that I am dreaming, yet didn’t go lucid.
See “what my friend thinks of LDs” in the “Theory of Lucidity” section for discussion on these false lucid dreams

tapir

9

Tride, you can change your name in your profile and keep the same account. No need in creating an additional account and losing your post count. However, if you want the “Tride” name we will now have to delete this account to free up the name slot.
Please PM me or pasQuale if you wish to use your original account with your current name.

About your lucidity checks, we do that every week here:“Lucid Laboratory”
:happy:
Many of us are able to recall tasks, ideas, and gain waking perspective while in our dreams. Yes! Lucidity is real! :wink: