Thread: Confused about lucid dreaming

First post here so please forgive if this topic has been covered, but how can you not know you are dreaming? I mean other than a nightmare that you force yourself out of because you are frightened (obviously not lucid here) or you force the dream or nightmare to change to a better story, don't you almost always know that you are dreaming?

I generally have very vivid, colorful and detailed dreams but almost always feel that I'm detached, watching the dream like on movie screen while I'm also participating in the plot. My husband also dreams very vividly and we often have similar dreams containing the same themes. Not exacttly the same dream but similar. Every morning we tell each other our dreams and sometimes in the night when we wake up, usually about 3 am.

There might be a place (a town, building, scenery) that I've dreamed about before and I will recognize it... "Oh, this place again" and then I compare it to the last time I dreamed about it while the dream is going on. Maybe the kitchen has changed a bit from the last time or the town has a new building or store front. Quite often I will recognize that the place or building is similar to one that I know in real life but just a bit different. Occaisonally I will dream about a new place (dream landscapes is what I call them) and later on in waking life or in the future come upon the location. I dreampt for years about a house on the edge of a riverbank and after we built our home, I realized that that WAS the place. Now I don't dream about that house anymore.

Often something will be happening in a dream, like I'm taking care of a child and I'm at the same time wondering...."What does this mean to me that I have this child that of course I don't have in real life? Why am I doing these things in this current dream."

Is this lucid dreaming?

Hehe. Yeah, you lucid dream all the time apparently. Most people are not aware that they're dreaming most, if not all, of the time.

There are other people who, like you, get reoccurring locations in their dreams. There are also other people who lucid dream all the time. I've actually had extended periods myself where every dream was lucid, but this doesn't seem to be the norm.

You sound like a natural lucid dreamer to me. There is the majority of people that don't realise they are in a dream when they are in one, then there are the natural LDers that almost always realise they are in a dream when in one. As long as you realise you are dreaming when you are dreaming, then yes, that is a lucid dream. You should take advantage of your lucid dreams and take control! Instead of just following whatever plot the dream has set, feel free to explore and do whatever you want! (Flying, and magic seem to be popular things)

yes, any dream where you are aware of yourself dreaming is technically a lucid dream, however control and reasoning are different. I often find myself doing that sort of movie like perspective and thinking, this is a weird dream but never fully realize it. Sounds like they are partial lucids, where you are aware of the dream state but not aware of your control or participation. If you can realize its a dream, and then come to the conclusion that you are in control of your dreams, then you can do whatever you want. You are very lucky you have already mastered the hardest part, getting the lucid dreams in the first place

Wow. Thanks guys. Never knew I was doing anything that everyone else didn't already. So now, I need to be taking more control of my dreams I guess.

Usually, I just go along for the ride unless I want to do something else in the dream, like go swimming. Love to go swimming in my dreams, so warm and relaxing. Or want to put the darned kid down, or go into a building that has appeared in dream town.

Okay, I think I understand what your 1st post it saying, and I agree with lucidboarder that you're only partially lucid. My advice is that you work on getting fully lucid first, otherwise controlling it will be pointless.

Actually, the level of lucidity that one is at has nothing to do with dream control and everything to do with awareness.

To be non-lucid is to believe that the dream is reality. You respond to dream characters and dream situations in a way similar to the way you would in waking life (usually, anyway - the key factor here, though, is that you think that you are awake). This may be surprising for you to hear, dust bunny, but this is how the majority of people dream, the majority of the time.

To be totally lucid, on the other hand, is to be completely aware that you are dreaming, and that everything you are experiencing is entirely based in your imagination. You respond to all dream characters with full knowledge that they are, well, dream characters, and you enter all dream situations with full knowledge that they are not real. You also understand at all times that the physical and socials laws of waking life do not apply in your dreams.

However, often people will fall somewhere in between these two extremes, a phenomenon which we call being "semi-lucid." While semi-lucid, you have the basic knowledge that you are dreaming, but you may respond to certain people and situations in a way more similar to the way you would in waking life. You may also forget that the laws of waking life do not apply. In short, while semi-lucid you accept the dream as a whole as a dream, but you may regard certain aspects of the dream as you would in waking life. Some examples of this would be if you realize that you are dreaming, but you...

• Mistakenly believe that a certain dream character is a real person.
• Are afraid of getting physically injured in any way.
• Become embarrassed in certain social situations.
• Believe that it is necessary to pay for things with money.
• Etc.

Also, while semi-lucid it is very easy to slip back into non-lucidity and begin accepting the entire dream as reality.

While there is a general tendency for high levels of lucidity to be more conducive to better dream control, this is nothing more than a general tendency and certainly not a rule, nor is it a basis for categorizing levels of lucidity. As it clearly states on the Dream Views main web page, "Many people seem ignorant of the distinction between having a lucid dream and controlling a dream. Being able to freely control one’s dream does not directly follow becoming lucid: one can have a lucid dream without any control whatsoever. Controlling your dream is simply proceeding to the next level by attempting to exert your will upon your surroundings." (What Is Lucid Dreaming?)

Now, regarding dust bunny's post, passages like this:

Originally Posted by dust bunny

Often something will be happening in a dream, like I'm taking care of a child and I'm at the same time wondering...."What does this mean to me that I have this child that of course I don't have in real life? Why am I doing these things in this current dream."

make it very clear that she is at a very high level of lucidity while dreaming. Dream control is an entirely separate issue. Dust bunny, if you want to learn more about dream control, I recommend reading the Dream Control section of the Dream Views main page, as well as visiting our Dream Control forum under the Lucid Dreaming category.