Thread: What is lucid dreaming really?

I'm sure there are many of you out there that accept the definition of 'knowing that you are dreaming', though there are some (no doubt?) that have gone beyond simply 'knowing they are dreaming', especially those who have been experimenting/experiencing longer.


Dreaming of lucid dreaming, I think is often taken as lucid dreaming itself, and determining real control and awareness doesn't lie within the boundaries of 'I know that I'm dreaming'.

I don't know if I have 'lucid dreams' any more. Almost all of my dreams are with high awareness and I have control over them from an objective detached standpoint, as well as being absorbed in them at the same time -- a double pointed awareness which technically doesn't relate to lucidity at all.

Only sometimes do I say "I am lucid dreaming" and recently I have been saying that deliberately to see if it makes a difference, which it doesn't seem to. That said, for the beginner of self-aware dreaming I think that it makes a huge difference, because it helps with the detachment as well as the involvement.

Real control comes from detachment, real sense-experience comes from being involved, together they are what I call a lucid dream, not a simple 'oh I'm dreaming', which lasts for maybe a few minutes because people get so distracted.


The definition as it stands seems to be inaccurate to me, and I've had this discussion before, but I'd like to know what you personally think lucid dreaming is.
If you've had a lucid dream, then what was it like? Was it any different from a regular dream, and how so?

What do you think lucidity is?
And why do you think it is that?

For me, lucidity is just being aware. I know you can be fooled into it, but I feel there is a distinct different feel between the two.

To me, being Lucid, is when I'm absolutely certain that I'm in a dream. And my decisions are made on the basis that I am not in the real world, and can do what I want.

For example. I realize I'm dreaming, and then run and jump head first off a cliff, that I would otherwise be terrified of falling off.

I'm at the mall. I do a random RC, or just realize I'm dreaming spontaneously. I take my cloths off and go walking naked. Having fun watching the reactions of DC's.

Edit: I rarely continue with the events of the dream, after I realize it's a dream.

The term 'lucid dreaming' has a definition. It means, having a dream, and while in the dream, consciously knowing that you are really asleep, and that everything around you is a dream. Knowing that you are dreaming. That's what lucid dreaming means. Control and immersion in the dream itself are irrelevant, as long as you realize that what you are experiencing is a dream, and that your physical body is asleep.

The term was coined to refer to these kinds of dreams. There's no reason to change the definition, it has one that works fine. If you are having dreams that are not this, then you are not lucid dreaming.

But how many people really lucid dream then? And is it much grander to be dream-conscious as opposed to self-conscious?

Originally Posted by ClouD

But how many people really lucid dream then? And is it much grander to be dream-conscious as opposed to self-conscious?

Neither, especially since if anything that is just a matter of opinion and a whole different topic. It just means that if a person goes to sleep, has a dream, and knows that they are dreaming, they are lucid dreaming. Overall self awareness and reflection, besides that required in being able to recognize that the stuff around you is a dream, doesn't factor.

I have no idea how many people lucid dream. I would say a large amount of the world's population will at some point in their lives have a dream during which they realize they are dreaming and become lucid. A smaller portion will realize the potential for this and learn to induce lucid dreams, and a smaller portion still will be having lucid dreams regularly for reasons unknown, though many of them will be through many cases of having nightmares and desperately telling themselves it's merely a dream, then realizing that that is the case and waking themselves up.

I've had dreams where I (myself in the dream) know I'm dreaming, but I (my conscious self) don't know I'm dreaming.

I had a dream once where I thought, "This is a dream. Do I want to become lucid?" I decided the answer was yes and then there's a definite switch to being aware of the fact that I was dreaming.

I think just knowing your dreaming isn't enough. You have to be aware of that fact and what it means.

Yeah, I didn't much like the cookie cutter definition either. It's much too clunky to pick up on the subtle aspects that are different from dream to dream. This is why I made my levels of lucidity tech to try and classify semi-lucidity. (Which is what I think you're describing above).

No need to attack the current terminology, though. I like keeping "lucid" defined as knowing to the point where you can say it out loud "I am dreaming". Not so much for an in-depth analysis sake (I'd change it if it were up to me too) but for an elegance and simplicity sake.