Lucid Dreaming vs. AP

[shaman]

Lucid dream starts from a dream, OBE starts from awake. OBE can turn into dream and Lucid dream can turn into OBE. Often AP is pictured as an OBE close to the real physical world, but it does not need to be so, if it is the case then the 'environment' in which you are during the AP/OBE will be the same as in a dream. SOmetimes OBE/AP and LUcid dreams are completely the same. What seems to be is that you can reach the same "place" from AP and from lucid dreaming, and that that place is not in the physical world but somewhere else. Some people tend to differentiate lucid dream and AP/OBE by the level of lucidity and clarity, where that level is higher in AP/OBE. There have been other posts here on lucid dreaming and obe, check all the messsages on the forums... TO me I believe that lucid dreaming is a dream from your mind that you are aware of, and AP/OBE is not from your mind. In that sens some of the dreams we have are not dreams, but they are travels in the astral world. The problem arises as it seems that your mind can affect the world in which you 'travel' during an AP, so that the two are interconnected.

[Phil_Trance]

I am new to the world of AP and have read the first 100 pages of "Do OBE" by Don DeGracia PhD. while I'm waiting for my AP books to arrive from Amazon.com.  I've also done some research around various AP/OBE websites.

Dr. DeGracia is the first writer I've come across that says "lucid dreaming", "astral projection", and "out of body experiences" are all the same thing....it's just that different people (occultists, parapsychologists) have different names for it - But it's all the same thing.

Now "lucid dreaming" can be described as 'consciously dreaming' or 'having control over your dreams'.  And this usually seems to happen while you are dreaming, and something triggers your mind then suddenly you realize you're dreaming.

Am I right so far?

And "astral projection" is also described as 'consciously dreaming' but it seems that people AP when they put themselves in a trance (or another method) and then pull themselves out of their body.

Now these two things (AP & Lucid Dreaming) seem like two totally different experiences but Dr. DeGracia says they are basically the same.

Okay, here's my question (finally!)....

I have control over my dreams often.  I'll be dreaming and for some unknown reason, I'll realize I'm dreaming and have more control....but I'm still in weird dreamland, it's nothing like what people have described about APing.  But according to Dr. DeGracia, I'm APing.  But I hope this isn't what an AP is!  Is it?

From the information I've gathered from other sources, it seems as if AP & Lucid Dreaming are two totally different things - Lucid Dreaming is what I experienced, while AP are the experiences that are discussed in this forum and books etc...

So are lucid dreaming & AP the same thing?