Levels of Lucidity

the Stuff Dreams are made of...
1

I am not sure if this topic has been raised before, but it is very clear that there are various levels of lucidity. You wouldn’t know it from reading some of the books that i’ve seen about lucid dreaming, but when you start to LD, the levels are evident.

For example, last night I believe I had a very low level of lucidity. I was doing stuff I might do when lucid, but I didn’t have full realization of the fact that I was dreaming. Perhaps this would be some kind of low level lucidity. Anyway, it would be easier for us to communicate about lucidity if we define some levels. It isn’t lucid/non-lucid, one or the other, as some might believe. Does anyone have any ideas, thoughts, questions, proposals?

2

This is absolutely right. Simply knowing that you’re dreaming doesn’t always imply total control or awareness. Often when a normal dream becomes an LD, you’ll begin at a relatively low level of lucidity. Provided you think of doing so, you can then ‘upgrade’ to a higher level by performing RCs, or simply standing still and paying attention to the world – as opposed to running off and getting caught up in the existing dream plot. Other methods, such as WILD, usually provide a high level of awareness right from the beginning.

3

Thank you Atheist, I will try that for my next LD. It makes sense that exploring a dream with your senses should help one become more lucid. I have heard about this before but never tied it into becoming more lucid. Also, attempting some left brain activities might have similar effects.

I have heard that before exploring a dream it is a good idea to check to see how lucid you are. One time I tried doing some math, as someone suggested. I think I added 2+2 and I ended up with something way off, but in my mind I thought I was right… This might have to do with left brain versus right brain activities…

4

I had the same thing with math but it wa really tough. ANd all I was doing was 4 * 5 it took me like 10 minutes to get the aanswer

5

Recently I read about a nice description of the various levels of lucidity:

Nonlucidity: people respond to a dream situation as if it were real

Tacit Lucidity: the dreamer acts as if he/she is lucid without actually being lucid. The dreamer doesn’t know that he/she knows. A subtype of the tacitly LD is when you recognize the dream plot as being unreal, but you perceive the action as a television show or movie that you were watching or in which you had a part. Sometimes you may also interprete the dream as a story you are making up.

Prelucidity: the dreamer begins to suspect that he/she is dreaming.

Postlucidity: the dreamer becomes aware that he/she was recently dreaming, without being aware that he/she is still dreaming. This situation is very common after you have a false awakening.

Semilucidity: you realize you’re dreaming without understanding the full significance of that fact. There’s a whole range of levels of semilucidity.

Dream within a dream: this can happen when you fall asleep in a non-lucid dream and then become lucid in the following dream within the dream. This ain’t full lucidity because you think you went to bed in real life. WILDs which occur during falling asleep inside a dream seem to develop much faster than irl, but otherwise they are indistinguishable from regular WILDs.

Full Lucidity: this is actually pretty rare. You FULLY understand the implications of your lucidity. You’re able to morph the dream scape in whatever setting you wish.

Protolucidity: when the dreamer becomes aware of the state he/she’s in while observing hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, or when one’s asleep (so-called lucid sleeping). Again there are many variations of this type, such as tacitly protolucidity.

Source: Janice Brooks & Jay Vogelsong - “The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming”

All these types are very hard to distinguish while in a dream: they flow into each other because these types cannot be pinpointed down to one specific moment. They form a continuous spectrum, going from non-lucidity to full lucidity. While you may decide that you’re semi-lucid to some degree at some point in the dream, the dream consciousness is constantly shifting on the lucidity spectrum, often showing only very subtle changes. The one moment you may be semi-lucid to various degrees, while the next moment you’re back prelucid or non-lucid, and so on…

6

That’s a pretty good list. I think I’ve been through all of those stages.

7

I am a little confused on protolucidity, what exactly is it and is it a higher form of lucidity than full lucidity?

8

No, protolucidity is a bit different than the other types of lucidity, because it doesn’t occur during the dream itself, but during hypnagogic imagery or during sleep. Thus, protolucidity occurs in the transition state from waking to dreaming, or vice versa.
Normally we flow along with the imagery preceding the onset of a dream, and so we flow nonlucidly into the dream state. Whenever we become aware of the hypnagogic imagery we can interact with it in different ways. If we actively interact with the imagery we could wake up, but if we’re fully protolucid we can use the imagery to flow passively into the dream, which is the basic principle of WILD.
Same thing when we become lucid during our sleep. The levels of lucidity can vary as much as dream lucidity, but now there are no illusory sensory perceptions. We could get claustrophobic and not knowing the true nature of our state (non-protolucid or pre-protolucid) or we could be aware of it and just enjoy the show (fully protolucid).
I hope this explains it better :smile:

9

Yes it does, thank you!

10

I agree there’s definitely a few levels of lucidity.
My main problem (it’s hard to explain) is that when I become lucid I sometimes forget that my body is actually lying still in bed. So when I move around in the dream I keep thinking my parents will hear or see me. It shouldn’t bother me but I get self concious by the thought of them seeing me stumbling around trying out all the lucidy tests.

11

I would recommend going someplace where you would never expect your parents to be and to a place you know you’re parents would never go to.

12

Here’s my own system about the levels of lucidity.
Perhaps that would help you out. :smile:

-Pre-lucidity: You’re questioning your own content and the possibility that the “reality” is all just a dream.

-Low-lucidity: You’re aware that you’re dreaming, but you’re NOT aware that since you’re dreaming, you’re in control… or that everything are fake.

-Average-lucidity: You’re aware that you’re dreaming and you’re in control.

-High-lucidity: You’re aware that you’re dreaming and you’re in control, but more complete in control than average lucidity. The vividness might be increased in that level as well.

-Super-lucidity: You’re very aware that you’re dreaming and everything seems to be oversaluated and very sharp. You might also find that you’re very aware of what is going on around you. You’re very in control.

-Super super lucidity: You’re EXTREMELY aware that you’re dreaming. You’re EXTREMELY aware of what is going on around you. You’re EXTREMELY aware that you seem to be onmipresent in your dream. You’re COMPLETELY in control. Everything seems to be very intense, including emotions.

There ya go. :wink:

13

Hehe I use something like that too. It’s a bit easier than the one I mentioned above. But I don’t have a “Super super lucidity” category… yet… :wink: Do you have lots of super super LDs DM7?

14

I have had quite few… I won’t say that I have them occasionally… unfortunately. :tongue:

What about you mystic?

15

A few super LDs so far, but I’ve never had a super super LD as you describe it… But we’re working on it :happy:

16

I’d say I get a super-super LD somewhere around 1 to 2 a month, unless I’m really focusing on increasing my lucidity. JUst out of curiosity at what piont does the whole realization that you’re in bed and that nothing can hurt you etc. etc. come in?

17

Thank you Mystic and DM7 for those lists. I definitely see those stages at work in my LDs.

For some reason in my LDs I don’t have much control, often times I have more control in my non-lucid dreams. With the control factor disregarded, I would say the highest level I have reached on DM7’s scale is “super-lucidity,” although this is rare for me.

I have only had this kind of lucidity when I recognize a false awakening… What’s strange is that I had hardly any control at all… I could barely even move. I’m not sure how to explain this. I think that as I become closer to being awake, my dreams become more vivid, but I lose some of the control in my dream. However, I don’t have a fantastic level of control to begin with in my dreams. The most I’ve done in my dreams is fly and make things appear. Never have been able to change the dream environment or alter anything in the dream LD very much, even when I am fully aware that it’s a dream… probably just need more practice. :content:

18

Probaby in mmm… in between average LD and super LD. It really depends on how aware you are in average LD. That awareness is for sure in super LD.

19

About that proto-lucidity, I think I had one of those before. I became lucid during hypnagogic hallucinations. It was this amazing spectrum of colors flying past me in this strange vortex. I had no body or even a sense of touch. I was wondering why I couldn’t do anything with this lucid dream except to merely observe. I don’t remember what happened after I lost lucidity though. It might have led into a dream, but I don’t remember. It was still pretty cool anyway.

20

I too think that I have had proto-lucidity a few times. I see some sort of HI almost every night. Some nights when I think about something it suddenly starts looking a lot more real. It’s almost like a dream, but I’m more like an observer.
Sometimes I can feel my brain wandering away and I start seeing different objects and somehow I sort of wakes myself up a little and I look at the objects.
So far I have always snapped out of it a few sec after realising it. Would this be proto-lucidity?