Discovering Aspects of Lucid Dreams

[kozzi]

I disagree with your statement that you cannot be fully conscious.  I've had plenty of lucid dreams in which my awareness was complete.  I've also had the type you're explaining in which conciousness takes irrational leaps of judgement.  I believe that, in those experiences, you're simply not completely lucid yet.  Trust me, I've had enough experience to realize the difference.

Kozzi

[Blackstream]

There are in fact levels of lucidity, it's not like a white and black line where you are either completely unaware or completely aware.

On one side we have compleltely non lucid.
On the other side we have completely lucid.

Completely lucid would mean perfect real life recall (what day of the week it is, my name, what I have to do tomorrow, things I had planned to do in the dream, things like that), know that I am dreaming and exactly what that means (cannot be hurt, can in general control things that happen, what I see is in general in my mind, ect), and things like that.

An example of being just bearly lucid would be knowing that I am dreaming, but going on with my dream as if nothing changed.  I have just enough awareness to know what is going on, but that's it.

Further along, I may realize I am dreaming and go about acting on it, but still use irrational logic to figure things out and be afraid of various dream objects hurting me and the such.  I also can't remember anything outside the dream.

Further yet, I may realize I am dreaming, act on it, know that dreams can't hurt me, but for the life of me I can't recall what day of the week it is or what it is I planned on doing.

And there ya have it.

[kozzi]

Ditto.

Kozzi

[The AlphaOmega]

Well, thanks for your insights.  However I must simply stick to what I know.  One of you says "trust me, I've had enough experience to realize the difference".  No offense intended, but why should I?  You disagree with my statements, I'm sure because of enough personal experience, but non the less... my experiences are not yours, and trust is by no means implied here.  And the other says that it is not black and white, yet gives two black and white statements.  I'm afraid that throughout my personal experiments I'll need a little more.  For instance, what has happened when you become "FULLY" concious within a lucid dream?  Do you consider that an OBE? If not, why not?  How did you reach this state?  When you awoke how did you recognize that it was not a lucid dream within a dream, but in fact actual waking conciousness within the dream world?  Was it like waking up at all or walking through a door from fully concious dream world to fully concious real world?  No disrespect intended, but throughout my OWN personal experience I have reached certain conclusions, and simply wish to varify how your personal conclusions can be varified.  After all, personal belief really holds no water to anyone but that person, right?  Which is why revelations, and OBE, and NDE have absolutely no barring in life at all except for the person who's had them.  These things must occur on a wide spread scale to have any foundation at all outside of personal belief.  So, how is it that one goes from lucid dreaming to concious dreaming?  What measures must be taken to reach this state?  ETC... you get the point.  Let us all varify it!

[The AlphaOmega]

In the past couple of weeks I have been having more lucid dreams then I ever had in my life.  Sometimes up to 3 or 4 in a single night.  At first it was a random event.  But the randomness has given way to understanding, and the realization that lucid dreaming is incredibly easy.  Unfortunately however, it's only incredibly easy if you've had a few in your day and know what it's all about.  Usually in the morning, early morning, while still tired but after a good nights rest, they are quite easy to bring on.  This is because it takes so little time to fall asleep again, but you are awake just enough to rationalize the sleep occurance.  You know when you start to sleep and and thoughts drift into your mind?  Eventually these thoughts become pictures that you can see while almost asleep but not yet fully.  It's hard to explain, but it's at this stage that you lose conciousness and the images become dreams and you sleep.  Well, when you recognize that this is happening, if you can manage not to wake yourself up, try conciously just walking into the scenerio that the image is conveying.  Tada, you are now fully aware inside the dream world.  I think however that a common misconception about lucid dreaming is that you are fully concious within them.  That is to say that it's just like being fully awake, only in the dream world.  This just isn't true.  Though you are aware you are dreaming and now able to take control over the things you do, it doesn't necissarily mean that you have a rational thought process going on.  For instance... last night in my lucid dream I actually fell asleep a few times, within the dream itself.  I would wake up in the dream and (while still dreaming) think it was the real world.  Then I would fall asleep in my dream, and begin lucid dreaming.  But there were times when I couldn't tell if I was asleep or awake and would have to ask people.  The dream world is far from the real world, and even in lucid dreams when strange and unexplainable things happen they are simply accepted with no question.  Basically I guess I'm saying that though lucid dreams are incredibly fun and exciting, and can possibly lead to an OBE (hasn't happened for me) don't expect you're mind to be equal to waking state conciousness.  Knowing it or not, you are still in a dream world.  But it is a WHOLE world.  Do what you want with it, change what you want in it, have a blast with it.  Oh and one last thing.  Always continue to look at your hands.  When you look at your hands in a lucid dream they melt away, and this will once again bring on that strong acknowledgement that you are in a dream.  Even when a lucid dream is realized it's still easily possible to drift back into normal unconcious dream, so it's important to keep reassuring yourself (by watching your hands melt away) that you are lucid dreaming.  Have fun!!!! []