Do people REALLY know what a lucid dream is?

ukonline

I get the impression from some posts where people say "Yeah, I have lucid dreams all the time", that they are not really experiencing lucidity.

My understanding of lucidity is that you are fully aware that you are dreaming and are mind blown at how powerful the hallucination is. It's like being inside a computer game or on the Holodek of Star Trek. But no computer on Earth could replicate what the lucid world can.

You can touch things and they feel like they should: metal, wood, concrete, flesh, etc. Sounds are realistic, smells, touch. More importantly, you're 'aware' that your testing the dream world's 'realness'.

You may have difficulty controlling events because you're paralysed from sleep paralysis or fear but when you've learned to calm down, you can start to enjoy the lucid world more.

There should be some test that a person can prove they were lucid such as knowing you're dreaming and at the same time, being fully aware that your real body is asleep and knowing your real name and address, age, etc. during the dream. Or reading text, looking away, then when you read the same text again, it's different or looks weird. Or being able to do things that you cannot do in real life, and being 'aware' that you are doing those amazing things so it must be a dream.

Is this everyone else's understanding of 'lucid' or what is your understanding of lucidity?

If you have lucid dreams, what is it about the dream that proves it's lucid and not just more 'realistic' than a regular dream, which is not so unusual?

Goodshape

Lucid dreaming is realising that you are dreaming. You have freedom of thought and can review the world around you with a lucid, almost 'awake', mind.

You can have a very realistic or memorable dream without being lucid.

You can also have a lucid dream without being in full control. It can take a bit of practise to have full control, the mind's a powerful thing

ukonline

Yes. That's it.

I've had a couple of dreams lately each featuring unusual and larger-than-normal insects. One lucid, the other normal but 'vivid'.

The first was a lucid dream where I was lying in a bed, paralyzed, but I knew it was a dream. The sky outside was purple and I was admiring that when I saw the giant 'feelers' of something creeping up the edge of the bed and became fearful. Didn't want to hang around to find out what it was, so 'woke' myself up somehow.

The second featured a half snake/half mosquito thing on the wall of some room I was in. Like a giant mosquito front and it's body was that of a snake's tail. I woke up and was thankful that it was only a dream. ie. I only realised it was a dream after waking, NOT while it was happening. Some 'critical' part of my mind was dormant while it was happening, but in the first dream I was fully aware it was a dream.

On a sidenote, how could I or anyone 'handle' that if it were a lucid dream? A half snake/mosquito thingy about the size of a kitten clinging to the wall that could attack at any time?! Fear of the unknown might explain why I find it difficult to have lucid dreams more regularly. The 'realness' of monsters and horrible things may be preventing lucidity on a subconcious level but I don't worry about such for normal dreams.

southcentralts

ukonline wrote: »

Yes. That's it.

I've had a couple of dreams lately each featuring unusual and larger-than-normal insects. One lucid, the other normal but 'vivid'.

The first was a lucid dream where I was lying in a bed, paralyzed, but I knew it was a dream. The sky outside was purple and I was admiring that when I saw the giant 'feelers' of something creeping up the edge of the bed and became fearful. Didn't want to hang around to find out what it was, so 'woke' myself up somehow.

The second featured a half snake/half mosquito thing on the wall of some room I was in. Like a giant mosquito front and it's body was that of a snake's tail. I woke up and was thankful that it was only a dream. ie. I only realised it was a dream after waking, NOT while it was happening. Some 'critical' part of my mind was dormant while it was happening, but in the first dream I was fully aware it was a dream.

On a sidenote, how could I or anyone 'handle' that if it were a lucid dream? A half snake/mosquito thingy about the size of a kitten clinging to the wall that could attack at any time?! Fear of the unknown might explain why I find it difficult to have lucid dreams more regularly. The 'realness' of monsters and horrible things may be preventing lucidity on a subconcious level but I don't worry about such for normal dreams.

lucidity would allow you control over the dream if there is something frightening you then you can move away from it transporting yourself (jumping through a mirror or window seems to work best) but allowing the fear to control the dream would not indicate full lucidity. if you do wish to have more control one method would be to introduce dream checks into your daily life (while awake) test if it is a dream by counting your fingers (we have difficulty fully creating our fingers and can often pass our fingers through the palm of the other hand in a dream) do this several times a day and if you begin to suspect you are dreaming (while actually dreaming) performing this test reinforces in our minds that it is actually a dream, allowing us to take control of the dream.

also try this - lay perfectly still in bed but keep your mind active (not counting sheep maybe) and after maybe 20 mins your body will throw tests at you to check if you are ready for sleep, usually an itch / feeling of if I don't move my arm I think it will fall off, ignore these to tell the body you are ready for sleep and you should be carried to a dream state - Although you may have to spend some time in a state where you are still in bed connected to your body and not yet dreaming but feel as though you are and interrupt the process trying dream checks. visual hallucinations are common with this approach as is sleep paralysis. ( feeling of being unable to move in bed due to the brain having disconnected from the body so we do not act out our dreams.

im invisible

i've had lucid dreams from time to time, but the thing about them is they are never fully 'realistic'. one thing that makes me realise im dreaming would be if im walking, but my legs aren't moving, im just being dragged along, or floating. some times i try to fly.

another time i was being chased by a dragon/ dinosaur type thing, and i thought 'feck it, its a dream, i'll let him catch me' and then i was in his mouth, i didnt feel any pain, but i could feel pressure squeezing me, and i woke up.

its fun, when you realise you are dreaming, seeing just how far you can take things..

ukonline

I remember a lucid dream where a bat type thing was flying straight at my head and I thought, "You're not going to spoil this dream", and I head butted it and it just disappeared. I didn't feel anything at all. Funny thing about that dream was the room was in focus, I was lucid, but the bat or whatever it was, was out of focus.

My first lucid dream occurred after reading about lucidity. I was slumped at the bottom of the stairs in a 'replica' version of the house, paralyzed and remember thinking, "Wow, I'm dreaming", and felt scared as hell not knowing what was going to happen next. Then the dream just ended. Another dream ending abruptly because of fear of the unknown.

Yeah, I need to practise.