Did I Lucid dream???

[Taoistguy]

Since preactising trying to lucid dream for a few months, I may have had some success. I had 3 lucid dreams over 2 consecutive nights. But now I doubt they were really lucid dreams. Maybe I want them for longer and to be more lucid? It can be confusing trying to analyse them in this 'normal' mode of reality. But I'm gonna keep trying.

[Xanth]

Well, a lucid dreams only pre-requisite is that you REALIZE that you're dreaming WHILE you're dreaming.
Nothing more.  You might not have any awareness at all that your physical body is actually asleep in your bed.

Now... the way *I* see it is this:
If you realize that you're dreaming AND you have full waking consciousness (just as you do right now reading this)... then that is an Astral Projection.

Or as I like to call these two terms... it's you having:
Lucid Awareness
and
Astral Awareness

[Taoistguy]

Well, I did have a momentary awareness that it was a dream in all 3 dreams, but it didn't last long. Each time I created a new scenario for myself and got carried away with it but without the awareness like I have now in the 'real' world.

[Stookie]

Well, a lucid dreams only pre-requisite is that you REALIZE that you're dreaming WHILE you're dreaming.
Nothing more. You might not have any awareness at all that your physical body is actually asleep in your bed.

To me, that's not necessarily a lucid dream. That's more like having a thought about a lucidity during a dream. It's normal to have all kinds of thoughts and realizations during dreams, it doesn't make it lucid. Awareness must be lucid, not just experiencing passing thoughts about lucidity. It's like calling vibrations a successful OBE. You're close, but not there yet. It's a good sign post.

I'm sure you agree that there is a HUGE difference between your "lucid awareness" and "astral awareness". To me, that's the difference between near-success and success.

[Taoistguy]

In my opinion, just having a moment that is long enough to whereby you have the realisation and then attempt to have sone sort of control is enough to call it a lucid dream. My next step/s is to prolong the awarenss/consciousness of the experience and to do a lot more things.
One interesting thing for me was the difficulty of flying. I was running and flapping my arms trying to fly but not achieving much, only about a foot of the ground. But by relaxing I could get much higher.

[Xanth]

Well, as Stookie mentioned...

It was a non-physical experience in which in a small portion of it you were lucidly aware.
This is why I don't like using the term "lucid dream"... because it wasn't.

Awareness must be lucid... I believe that can happen within even a split second within the non-physical, but then it can slip away just as fast.

There is a huge difference between Lucid Awareness and Astral Awareness.
I see them both as a success though.  But, I think you were just comparing the differences to your success/near-success... which, I guess both are also "success"... just not PROJECTION vs lucid.

Ok, I think I was just rambling there... LoL
Sorry.

[Taoistguy]

Thanks for your thoughts. At my present level of understanding all this new stuff, I like to separate a lucid experience whilst dreaming from an astral experience/OBE. It helps me put things in boxes that I can later get out and rearrange.
One thing I notice a lot is how we all are asleep during our normal waking state. It's much like a dream itself; we rush around like headless chickens engrossed in whatever we are doing and hardly ever think, "I'm alive", or "IS this real?"/"Am I awake?"

[Taoistguy]

Well this morning I had a very lucid dream. I remember before it became lucid I saw a black cat and felt something odd or significant about it. But the dream didn't become lucid until I turned a light on which didn't come on and I immediately thought, "This is it." I remember a shift of consciousness whilst becoming aware of my surroundins=gs as well. Then I did a reality check by rubbing my hands and they started to bend. I began to get excited and could feel myself losing it so I decided to spin and focus. I regained lucidity and thought about what I wanted to do. I wanted to see someone so I went into a room and there they were! Then I changed my mind and decided on someone else, so I looked away so the change could occur and looked back and the new person was there. It felt so real and I'm in no doubt it was a real LD and not just me dreaming about having one.

One weird thing that happened was near the start and I rememnber having a thought that hit me like a revelation; I thought, "It's all astral." I remember thinking this and it seemed so obvious.

I'm now thinking that all dreams have the potential to be LD. I feel ythe cat was also instrumental in this somehow even though it happened before the lucidity and it was the lightswitch not working that triggered it all. What do you think?

[NoY]

"was it the same cat or one just like it"


:NoY:

[Taoistguy]

"was it the same cat or one just like it"


:NoY:

What? What do you mean? There was only 1 cat.

[personalreality]

The matrix

[Taoistguy]

The matrix

Ah; LOL

It's not so much as you try to bend the spoon, there is no spoon!