I'm sure I've had several lucid dreams in the past, I just didn't realize what they were until now. Now they have a name to me, and now I know I can control them. Before I thought they were just overly real dreams.

Anyway, last night I had my first "real" lucid dream. It was a bit odd though. I was with a group of girls I didn't know, sitting in the middle of the back seat of the car, but I was driving. That was my first cue that I was probably dreaming. We were driving down the freeway and I was just about to take an exit, when it disappeared right before my eyes. Then the road turned into a gravel driveway that lead to this really creepy mansion. We went into the mansion to explore. We made it into the first room of the house, we creeped out and went to turn around and leave only to see the door slam behind us and the door across the room open up. When we started into that room we noticed this extremely horrible looking ghost, which then proceeded to chase us through the corridors of the mansion. (I often have nightmares of being chased by ghosts). It was when I looked back and noticed huge dogs chasing me as well that I realized I was dreaming. I immediately stopped running and said to myself, this isn't real, I'm only dreaming and there's nothing to be afraid of. The big dogs immediately turned into puppies. Then I realized that I was going all foggy, and tried to retain lucidity. But I woke up (or so I thought). When I opened my eyes and sat up in bed, it was to some man I didn't know telling me that I needed to maintain focus in order to control my dreams. I was confused as to how this man had gotten into my house. And then I really woke up.

Has anyone had a lucid dream within a dream? It was just so weird to realize I was dreaming one second, only to wake up in a dream and not realize it. But let me tell you, the few seconds I was lucid was wonderful, because it finally let me get over a nightmare that would have kept on going.