I used to be really interested in lucid dreaming, but fell out of it once I needed to have a steady sleep schedule. However, especially lately, I’ve managed to become lucid in my dreams frequently without even really trying. Or at least I think I was lucid. In my most recent dream when I went lucid, I even remember thinking to myself specifically “okay, I need to remember when I wake up that I really was lucid!” and proceeded to go around trying to do various things like cut glass with my finger tip. However, in retrospect, I’m still not really positive that I was truly lucid!
Welcome Sephyyyyy to LD4all!
The line distinguishing the two is often blurry, and there are such things as low lucidity, where you recognize faintly you’re dreaming but go on doing random stuff;
with time, one settles with his own definition, based on how much lucidity (s)he considers enough to matter.
In particular, I recognize a dream as a LD if I do say at some point “I’m dreaming” or I would be very likely to say that.
But my problem is telling whether I realized I was dreaming, or that I dreamt I realized I was dreaming. Like having a FA but with lucid dreaming instead of waking up.
Ok, I see where you are coming from. Technically it’s not possible to have a dream where you dream you know you’re dreaming, because in that case you know that you are dreaming. Your confusion comes from the fact that when you wake up, it still feels like a dream. That’s very common for low lucidity.
i didnt get much sleep last night so i decided to go back to bed at about 11 in the morning to try wild. I kept as conscious as i could and different dream scenarios began to form in front of my eyes. unfortunately whenever the scenarios would become relatively vivid, i would find that i would lose focus in the dream and flash back to reality. a couple of times i would even see the sun outside through my window only to open my real eyes and realize that i was actually seeing the sun in my dream. was this partial lucidity or just my imagination?
That would be you beginning to slip into the dream. If you are able to stay aware as it forms around you, it would be a WILD. These can be tricky because it is easy to slip into the dream rather than keep conscious. Still, it’s a good sign for you! Just make sure to stay relaxed and passively observant. As soon as the dream world feels stable, begin to make gentle movements. Try to do anything you can to make yourself aware of your dream body, and don’t do it too soon, or like you found out you will wake back up.
A couple of nights ago I had this dream, where I basically slipped on ice and fell down a mountain slope, winning a bobsled competition or something. Anyway, down in the valley I made the nose pinching RC, found out I’m dreaming…
… And then decided to end the dream (the dream was getting a bit downbeat as I started to think the competition organizers suspected me of cheating) by throwing myself down from my parent’s balcony and therefore killing myself.
I didn’t kill myself (my parent’s arrived just the moment I was jumping, and I didn’t want to upset them, and then I woke up), but after waking up I was puzzled whether or not I had a LD. It’s as if I didn’t really understand what the RC meant. I remember being rather nonchalant about the RC (“Well, that’s nice.”) and whole killing-myself-to-wake-up thing just seemed odd for someone who hadn’t have a LD for a while. It’s as if the dream continued as a ND, but now with a premise of “you don’t really die, you just wake up”.
I once had a dream like that where you aren’t sure if you were lucid after waking up. The only way to tell is to take notice of your actual thoughts when you did the RC and just afterwards. Was it just automatic and superficial thoughts? or were you aware even just for moments? It is possible to become lucid then have it fade quickly again into a ND.
Oh wow, guys! I’m so excited, I’ve just woken up from my first LD! (have I???) (it’s 3AM and I’m very excited haha)
So, I try to sum up my experience and you can tell me whether you think it was a LD or just something else
My dream: I was in an unknown apartment which was very dim. It was during the night and I was just walking around looking at the furniture until Idid the nose RC! I felt all that fresh air flooding my nose even if I was pinching it with my fingers and I knew it! I was dreaming!
The first thing I did was jump out of the window thinking “I hope this is a LD or I’m just killing myself like an idiot!” But it was a dream and I landed on the street below like a feather. An amazing feeling. I landed on an area of the city where I live. Still at night and deserted. I tried running and flying and I was pretty successful. And I can’t believe how calm I was! I was very happy for my first LD, but still calm enough to make it last!
The dream goes on, but I wanted to point out some things that happened later:
I went through scenes where I think I went back to a ND and then regained lucidity.
I met only one DC and told him “heyyy, I’m in a lucid dream.” He just ignored me or went like “oh, your dad is special” (like that). Conclusion: that DC was an awful RC…
I could stabilize my dream by both shaking my hands and spinning. It really really worked, although I couldn’t change my location.
I felt my dream lasted quite a lot, although I had it at around 2AM having gone to bed at 11PM. So, I had it at a pretty early REM stage.
I started “trining” my mind for LD on September 12, 2010, for those interested in time and how-long-will-it-take-me. It really depends on the person, I guess.
I woke up and I thought “oh, I had a LD” veeery calmly, and five seconds later I became excited and “Oh, boy, I HAD a LD!!!” However, I must say I always try to concentrate on the idea that I must remain calm if I want to enjoy my LD.
It felt so cool
I really owe part of this joy to LD4all ,. So, thanks!!
PS: Sorry about my bad English, I’m both excited and sleepy.
SIncere congratulations Lucho! That was really good for a first LD! If you keep it up that way, you’ll be able to do so many things in your next dreams! Just remember to behave like you did this time, and you’ll be pretty fine ^^
I think I might have experienced my first LD ever… Not sure though.
Went out the night before, and didn’t get a lot of sleep.
Went to bed early enough yesterday, though, but I woke up to watch the F1. Midway through the grand prix I fell asleep, for what I’m guessing was a really short time (max 5-10 mins)
However, during that I experienced something weird (for me). I was sitting in my living room, with a special person (more on that later) and some others (I think! I can’t recall this exactly…) But one person stood out as I said. That person was me.
At first I didn’t notice, but then I thought/said to myself ‘Hey, I look pretty good with that shirt’ or something like that.
Then it came to me that it’s impossible to see myself IRL except on a picture/in the mirror etc… Then it came to me, I was dreaming!
My world started becoming hazy, I think. I tried to spin around, but I was soon awake… So, was this a LD?
Well, you were dreaming since you weren’t feeling your real body, but a different one, plus you recognized it was a dream, so I’d say all the prerequisites are there, congratulations!
Hope you will have many more LD’s.
After I realized I was LD’ing, my body tried to wake up I guess. At one point I was awake but I tried to keep my eyes shut and tell my body to stay in the dream, but I guess it didn’t work
Staying calm and taking some good breaths are the first and most important thing, you can look at Waggoner’s article or my Dream Control Training Course down in my sig if you want more tips
I think I just had one of the best dreams ever, but was also frustrating.
It started out with me, this kid I like(Not going to say who. Fictional character) and someone else hopping a freight train to get to another town. There were seats in the train, but very uncomfortable, so I leaned into my crush. Everything felt real. I could smell his sweatshirt, and feel him breathing against me. Within my dream, I realized I was dreaming and started controlling him. I verbally told him to put his arm around me, which he did. (yay!) I stayed like that for a minute, then woke up within my dream at my friend Jessica’s house. (False Awakening or no?) Her mom was making blueberry waffles while I kept rambling about the dream I just had. I then actually woke up after that part and recorded it in my dream journal. I’ve been keeping one for about a week now, and this dream was the most vivid of them all.
So, was this a lucid dream? Or am I just really close? I didn’t realized the whole thing was a dream until I woke up, but then again I had a lucid dream within a dream, so I don’t know.
Weird night. Went to bed at the usual hour, a few hours before I’d usually wake up the power was cut; twice. Anyway, this caused a few alarms to beep for a good minute in the house, which woke me up. I decided to go back to sleep, and then it happened. I was somehow walking around in someone’s house (I know the person - never been to the house, so I guess I must’ve made the house up) and I was really conscious while walking around, I still recall all my thoughts that passed in my mind when I entered the different rooms. Anyway, I was in this girl’s bedroom when I heard the front door open, I was like ‘shit - what if I get caught now’? Then it came to me, I’d never break into someone’s house or anything, so I decided ‘Oh, it’s okay, I must be dreaming so I’ll just wake up’. Then I started waking up when something came to me ‘wait, I could start LD’ing now’. I was already pretty much completely awake, so I did the trick of spinning around and holding something. I guess it worked, because I remained lucid (or what I thought was lucid).
Another weird thing I just remembered; there were incoming letters on the girls desk, which all carried my or my brother’s name as recipient, and not hers. I could read those clearly too.
Anyway, so I thought I was lucid. I don’t really know how it came to me anymore, but I jumped through the window and started flying. First time flying, as this was my first LD where I had control (as I didn’t wake up). All of the sudden I find myself in my own garden, not like I had flown there, I was just there. I tried to fly again, first with some cloak thing (and I don’t recall this correctly - I’m still wondering if I was completely lucid or only a bit, meaning I could only influence my actions a little bit…), followed by trying Superman-flying. I had a problem of only being able to fly UP and DOWN. I went up, tried to steer and then started falling down, while I thought ‘this is going to hurt’, but obviously it didn’t. Tried this a few times, but didn’t manage anything new.
I don’t recall anything else after this, so I guess my dream must’ve kinda faded in another one. It was not untill starting breakfast/getting dressed it suddenly came to me ‘oh, I’ve LD’d!’.
,. So, thanks!!
That was really good for a first LD! 
Just remember to behave like you did this time, and you’ll be pretty fine ^^
