Thread: How vivid are lucid dreams supposed to be?

I have only ever had DILDS, and I always remember doing a reality check and becoming lucid. But for me the world is always very blurry and confusing, and it feels like I only spend about 5 minutes and everything is just really blurry and not vivid at all. It feels like remembering a drunk night out.

But people always say how it feels exactly like Irl and can be very vivid?
I heard WILDS are more vivid.

I don't even know what I mean by vivid, I just know that when I remember these lucid dreams they do not at all feel like reality or are nearly as clear as them, but still feel kinda real.

I have been wondering the same thing. I thought I had a lucid dream because I did a successful reality check, was able to control my thoughts, knew I was dreaming and the dream world seemed more in focus than it usually does. But when I woke up my recollection of it seemed foggy so I began to doubt if that was a lucid dream or just a semi-lucid dream.

Others who have had a few lucid dreams have told me that if you had a fully Lucid dream you wouldn't ever question it and that it is exactly like "in real life". So if this is true (I don't know) and you are questioning it perhaps we are not quite there yet.

So I don't know if these are all just different levels of lucidity, or if some people just experience lucid dreaming more vivid, or if it has got to do with a memory thing. I have read that we can have lucid dreams/astral projection experiences and then not remember them upon wakening because some of the data get's lost when going from the dream state to the waking state. So it could be that the lucid dream was very vivid at the time and when recalling it it becomes foggy?

I also wonder how much expectation can influence our perceptions.

It's really surreal how vivid they are for example I still remember my first lucid dream like it was yesterday... and that was 6 years ago. But it all depends, sometimes you could have an amazing lucid dream but forget alot of details because you continued into a non-lucid dream.

Originally Posted by Gr8God

It's really surreal how vivid they are for example I still remember my first lucid dream like it was yesterday... and that was 6 years ago. But it all depends, sometimes you could have an amazing lucid dream but forget alot of details because you continued into a non-lucid dream.

So when you had your first lucid dream did you get over-excited and wake yourself up?
That seems to be a common occurrence for first time and perhaps does have something to do with how vivid you remember?

In my semi-lucid (?) dream it went into another dream. Every time I almost become lucid it then fades into another dream.

Originally Posted by midnightfire

So when you had your first lucid dream did you get over-excited and wake yourself up?
That seems to be a common occurrence for first time and perhaps does have something to do with how vivid you remember?

In my semi-lucid (?) dream it went into another dream. Every time I almost become lucid it then fades into another dream.

Nope, I remember sitting in my class with my friends and other classmates and I was holding I guitar, I instantly knew I was dreaming and I didn't freak out I just stood up did a reality check and went on my way causing mayhem :-)

I think it doesn't matter what technique you use to get into the lucid dream: what matters is that when you are in it, you must focus completely. Take a minute to try and look at everything in complete detail, looking everywhere around you, touching objects, seeing if you can smell anything, hear anything, etc... Just take a minute to do so before moving on with the dream. I haven't had the chance to try it yet, so tell me how it goes ^_^ I hope it at least makes things a bit clearer!

I also don't think it matters what technique you use.
I think the reason some people think WILDS are more vivid than DILDS is because from a WILD you get straight in and are very lightly sleeping, when the Lucid ends you usually wake straight up from it so the experience is really fresh.

In DILDS though, they can happen at some point during the night when you're in a deeper sleep and you might not wake straight after them so the experience might not be as clear.

To answer your question though, yes Lucid Dreams can be as vivid as waking life and often are!
If yours are fuzzy try grounding yourself more like LadyGalaxy says, touching things and feeling the textures, clapping your hands together and really taking in all the little details should help.

From my understanding when you enter into a lucid dream from a waking state (WILD)you usually are entering into a different realm (astral projection) with different rules from that state in which you go to after first getting into a REM state in other Lucid dreaming methods etc. SO these would be of a different nature but may or may not be remembered as blurry or not.
I feel it is a higher goal to develop the ability to enter from a waking state, I Have knownn people who can relax their body and go there in 15 minutes...or so they say.

If you know you are dreaming you are lucid.

If you do something like raise your hand and look at it your are exercising control (do you think your dream was going to have you raise you hand and count your fingers?)

In my first intentional lucid it was crystal clear and I was totally aware, but I was being heckeled by DC's who countermanded my orders to other DCs, I made many mistakes like remaining completely still.

When I am in a blurry lucid dream I often go blind, I just rub my hands and if I can feel the ground I begin to walk, I feel for a door (expecting one), when I open the door vision usually returns sometimes crystal clear.
A good thing to do is look at your hands to stabilize and to focus, also say verbal commands like get brighter or get clearer or something
(I rarely use verbal commands myself, but I should)

as for OBE and Astral Projection I don't believe in such things, you can dream anything, so you can make it seem like that if you believe it but as far as I'm concerned they are all just dreams, your brain making up what it wants or what you want/expect in response to your past experiences and imagination

I know there are different views when it comes to OBE/Astral Projection and Lucid Dreaming....I think people can be influenced by their beliefs what happens after death, this question can have a big impact.

But if lucid dreaming is all just in your own head/mind, how do you explain accounts where people have organised to meet at a certain location one night and then then they come back and can describe the same conversation they had there/the things they did etc.?

Robert Monroe did a lot of experiments like this at his institute which involved multiple people going to the same places, talking to different deceased people etc. and having the same experiences that seem to suggest something a lot more than subjective experiences.

I just think it is all very interesting

To the OP..when you remember a dream, it will obviously seem more vague than when you were actually experiencing it, but what you were describing was blurriness actually in the LD. I don't think this is unusual. Certainly my (limited) experience has been a few LDs that were super clear like RL, and many others that were blurry and vague, even though I knew I was dreaming. I've had a few occasions where I've managed to improve the clarity, and it seems that's something you have to work on.
On one occasion I had what seemed like bandages obscuring my vision which I had to pull off, then the clarity of the dream scene improved, but it was my intention to make it clearer that helped.
Try a few things as suggested here and find what works for you.

I've had obscured vision during psychedelic experiences, excellent point Goldenspark. In my there's a kind of cobweb constricting my view. I can 'ask' to remove them and they will unveil usually revealing something of a scary and intimidating nature that I feel my subconscious - deliberately - obscured my view to protect me from focusing in on what is not important at the moment. Something that I am not ready to experience.

In my opinion ur dreams even the blurry dreams have the possibility of being very vivid. They are on some level. It's ur perception that is making it so. You can work on that. But there might be more reasons. I have vivid dreams and often it is distracting how "Real" my dreams seem to be. When I stop to think how real this all is. It kind of sucks me into the AWE of it all. And makes it harder to function. Since it all seems so real. I tend to equate vividness to something being real and that is precisely what can trick me into believing that the dream is reality and not actually a dream.

I remember having a few very intense dreams that were much vivider than my only LD (so far)
I personally never really feel things in a dream, I guess next time I should intentionally touch something to feel it so I can make it seem more real.

Do you guys usually feel and smell things in non-lucid dreams?

It's not very often. I often only feel when there's a motion that I am doing. Or that I am touching Walls, persons.

Smell.... I can not recall smelling anything in a dream.

Oh good, that means I'm normal
The only times I felt touch in a dream so far was when I was touching a person I like, such as family. I've felt pain several times though, when I fell down or when I was bitten by spiders.

I've only smelled something once... rotten fish. It even made me wake up.

Yes,

perhaps you should set an intention to dream of Cats (the animals not the musical)

I have felt them brush past me,

I have felt their fur

and in a particular house with a very moist floor yes I have also smelt them (not that thats a good thing)

In a lucid dream I once decided upon seeing grass right after becoming lucid to take off my shoes and anchor by feeling the dream world with my feet (the idea was to keep in constant contact with the world so I would be stable) I could feel the moist lush grass between my toes, my next decision was to jump in the air and fly (never again to touch the ground DOH!)

In a recent dream a familiar looking red head walked up to me and shoved a little laundry bag into my face, I could smell perfume, it was a dedicates bag and inside it were unmentionables , she smirked at me as if I should know her, but I couldn't place her she left the bag in my hands and walked off. I woke up a few seconds latter and realized "Alyson Hannigan" (this was a non lucid dream)Hannigan.jpg

"In a lucid dream I once decided upon seeing grass right after becoming lucid to take off my shoes and anchor by feeling the dream world with my feet (the idea was to keep in constant contact with the world so I would be stable) I could feel the moist lush grass between my toes, my next decision was to jump in the air and fly (never again to touch the ground DOH!)"



Yeah that's a good idea!

I often make it rain so I can constantly feel it falling on me, even if I fly.

I've had pain in a lucid dream. Where glass shattered and I slipped in the glass and shards where in my skin. It was really painful. But I thought it was weird how much I was at mercy of the pain. Then with the right focus all the shards where still in my body and all the pain vanished and I just got up and walked.

Licking walls is always funny. It doesn't really make things more vivid (it does for some) but I did have one of the longest LDs then. You can taste the texture of walls. It's pretty cool.

And as for feeling textures. In the book Soul Traveler. The guy describes putting his hand in a OBE-style dream. He didn't have a human body,l most of a ghost-like thing. He put his hand through his matress and he could feel the texture from the inside of his coating. his bed. the wood. and the floor !!! ALL AT ONCE.. :O

My LD cone from DILD and they are very clear/vivid most of the time. I have those LD's that almost feel drunk as you explained some times. I haven't had a lot of success recently, but the ones where I become lucid have been very short but extremely clear and real. I had a dream the other night that I realized was a dream, I saw a mirror and stood in front of it. I knew one million percent that it was a dream but I looked perfect. I'm 40 and have the odd creases on my brow due to age but in the dream I was young and flawless, it was amazing. The dream ended. Last night was a first for me, I did a reality check in bed and became lucid, I went down stairs and sat on the couch, my wife was in the room and I said "can you see me" ... I wasn't convinced after my successful RC that I was dreaming, she said "if course I see you, you're sat there pinching your nose". With that I felt stupid and not dreaming, I went to the bedroom and went to sleep .... In a dream.. Sorry for the huge response but they can range ... They can be weak and very strong... Peace..

some of my lucid dreams are so real i have to question am i dreaming. I can feel the wind hitting my face when i fly and even feel the g force.

Originally Posted by arson519

some of my lucid dreams are so real i have to question am i dreaming. I can feel the wind hitting my face when i fly and even feel the g force.

I think you need to have a couple of reality checks to work with, as do I apparently. I once tried a reality check I heard of, I grabbed my thumb and pulled, guess what, that thing stretched out as long as I could pull,... If that isn't proof it's a dream, nothing else will work lol .. All in all, I am so glad I can dream lucidly, on rare occasions of late, but it's amazing. Peace..

Well, It can be blurry, but you can make everything clearer by shouting "Clarity now!" As many times as you need to