Is this a lucid dream? | World of Lucid Dreaming Forum

LoneDreameron Aug 25, 2017, 02:59 AM

#1

Time of dream : Btw 4:00 and 4:30am Method : FILD with WBTB No of Lucid dreams : 2 Dream :- Well, I used the FILD technique while going to sleep. And after sometime, I felt a bit different than lying in the bed. I feel like I am awake but a bit different. So I plug my nose and try to breathe. And, I can breathe through it. And then my head clears and surge of activity happens in my head. I slowly get off my bed. I feel like I am walking in real life but feeling is a bit different or more dreamlike. I am in my room but my rooms a bit dull. I see my sister in front of me. I tell her I am lucid dreaming. But I kind of feel heavy. My body is a bit like that humped guy from 300. When, I walk I feel a bit off balance. Then I try to spin my body to change clothes. Because of my weird body I spin awkwardly. I tried to change into an assassin outfit. It kind of forms but then goes again. Then I run into the kitchen awkwardly to tell my mom. Instead of running, I am more like limping with my weird body. I loudly say that mom I am dreaming. And while running awkwardly, the dream shatters and I wake up. The dream was just 19 sec long, I feel. Then I try again using FILD. This time I repeat the breathing test three times. Then instead of getting up slowly I do it fast. But I wake up for real.

Conclusion: I must say this was very different from false awakenings. It was very clear dream. This dream was between 4:00 - 4:30am. I woke up on 7:00 am and then wrote it down. Usually, if I sleep again after watching a dream, I will most certainly forget it. But this one, I can remember clearly, it was more like a real life experience. I can still feel the awkwardly way I walked like in dream. Also, the environment was a bit dull. Maybe, I should have rubbed my palms. But I still have doubt if this a real lucid dream or false lucid? What do you think?

RedKryptoniteon Aug 25, 2017, 04:57 AM

#2

Congratulations! What you experienced is indeed a lucid dream. a low-level LD,but it counts as one nonetheless :)

You're making progress. See if you can achieve LD's on a somewhat consistent basis using your current method. However,make sure to remind yourself to keenly observe your surroundings as soon as you suspect/find yourself in a lucid dream instead of jumping in to whatever activity that comes to mind. This is so you can avoid the trap of only experiencing low-level LD's. Allow me to quote some info from Daniel's book that differentiates the difference between low-level LD's and the full blown experience below:

Did I experience a lucid dream?

One of the most frequently asked questions by those new to lucid dreaming is whether or not the dream they have recently experienced can be classified as lucid or not. This is a perfectly reasonable question, and not surprising for those who are trying desperately to achieve lucidity (it’s also common for those without an understanding of lucid dreaming to assume they’ve had the experience, when all they’ve really experienced is a very vivid dream). The answer to this question is really very simple: you will know with absolute certainty when you have experienced a lucid dream, not only after the experience but equally during it. However, there are degrees of lucidity, much as there are degrees of mental clarity during waking hours. There is a tendency among those new to the subject, before having experienced their first lucid dream, to attempt to classify non-lucid dreams, or very low-level lucid dreams, as the full-blown experience. This is understandable, and a combination of impatience and overzealousness is normally the reason behind such claims. However, there is one simple way to judge whether your dream was indeed lucid and also the level of lucidity achieved. This can be summed up in a single sentence:

Lucidity can be best measured by the appropriateness of one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviors to the knowledge that one is dreaming.

This statement is the very heart of assessing your level of lucidity. Let us take a look at a couple of examples to clarify this point. To do so, we shall look at three versions of the same dream, demonstrating the difference between the behaviour, thoughts and reactions of the dreamer when non-lucid, in low-level-lucidity, and with full lucidity.

Non-Lucid: I’m at a busy train station. I’m late to catch my train. The platform is full of people. I struggle to make my way through the crowd and worry about being late. The crowd bustle and hold me back. I start to panic that I’ll miss my train.

Low-level lucidity: I’m at a busy train station. I’m late to catch my train. I notice a dreamsign and perform a reality test. I discover to my delight that I’m dreaming. The platform is full of people. ‘No problem’ I think to myself. ‘I’m dreaming, so I can simply fly over these people and reach the train.’ I fly quickly, rushing to reach my train, all the while worrying about missing it.

Full lucidity: I’m at a busy train station. I’m late to catch my train. I notice a dreamsign and perform a reality test. I discover, to my delight, that I’m dreaming. The platform is full of people. I realize that the need to rush to the train is no longer relevant because I don’t need to get on the train. This is all just a dream and such concerns are just illusions. I consider what I would really like to experience now that I am conscious in dreamland, and proceed to follow my own wishes, not those of the dream.

As you can see, there is a distinct difference between the depth of realization between a low-level and fully-lucid dream. Whilst both can still technically be classified as ‘lucid’, it is only the fully-lucid dream that offers the full extent of freedom, power and enjoyment of a true lucid dream. Simply being aware that an experience is a dream, is not the same as the deep understanding of what this knowledge implies.

To discover one is dreaming, only to then still respond as if the events and emotions of the dream are of genuine importance, is to have not fully understood the implication of your discovery. In a true and fully-lucid dream, you will have established and understood that all you experience is an illusion, that whatever dramas unfold around you are the creation of your mind and have no consequence outside of the dream or beyond what you give them.

It is your choice to either choose to play along or to control the dream in the direction you wish. It is this realization that gives lucid dreamers the true freedom of dreamland. Lower-level lucid dreams, whilst still entertaining, can very easily slip back into a non-lucidity and can also be frustrating once you awaken, only to realise that you have not explored the experience to its full potential.

It is also important to note that the level of control you will be able to exert over the dream (such as ability to fly, to change scenery, etc.) is in direct proportion to your comprehension and awareness of the implications of knowing you are dreaming. The higher your awareness of what it means to be dreaming, the easier you will find it to control the dream world around you.

RedKryptoniteon Aug 25, 2017, 05:08 AM

#3

Oh,and awesome to see you use the nose pinch reality test. Its my primary reality test,and it has never failed me so far :D

HunterClashon Aug 25, 2017, 06:59 AM

#4

Of course CONGRATS! Awesoome!

LoneDreameron Aug 25, 2017, 09:35 AM

#5

Thanks! Everybody. 8-) 8-) :mrgreen:

LoneDreameron Aug 25, 2017, 09:44 AM

#6

One more thing to add. I tried the FILD technique first at 3:40 am. But it failed, so I slept again and woke up during 4:40 am and tried it again. That's when I became lucid. Also, there's a correction. The dream happened between 4:45 to 5:30 am.

Summerlanderon Aug 26, 2017, 10:30 AM

#7

LoneDreamer wrote: Time of dream : Btw 4:00 and 4:30am Method : FILD with WBTB No of Lucid dreams : 2 Dream :- Well, I used the FILD technique while going to sleep. And after sometime, I felt a bit different than lying in the bed. I feel like I am awake but a bit different. So I plug my nose and try to breathe. And, I can breathe through it. And then my head clears and surge of activity happens in my head.

The pinched nose technique is a good reality check. The surge in the head happened to me a few times as well. What you describe is very typical. You were definitely in the hybrid 40 Hz gamma brain wave---the phase state where false awakenings and lucid dreaming takes place.

I slowly get off my bed. I feel like I am walking in real life but feeling is a bit different or more dreamlike. I am in my room but my rooms a bit dull. I see my sister in front of me. I tell her I am lucid dreaming. But I kind of feel heavy. My body is a bit like that humped guy from 300. When, I walk I feel a bit off balance. Then I try to spin my body to change clothes. Because of my weird body I spin awkwardly.

The best way to spin is like a dervish. It can intensify the dream environment. But it often changes it to a new dream scene.

I tried to change into an assassin outfit. It kind of forms but then goes again. Then I run into the kitchen awkwardly to tell my mom. Instead of running, I am more like limping with my weird body. I loudly say that mom I am dreaming.

It's strange that sometimes we still feel like explaining what's going on to dream characters. :D

And while running awkwardly, the dream shatters and I wake up. The dream was just 19 sec long, I feel. Then I try again using FILD. This time I repeat the breathing test three times. Then instead of getting up slowly I do it fast. But I wake up for real.

At least you tried. There are several techniques to either hold on to the lucid dream or to return to it after an undesired awakening.

Conclusion: I must say this was very different from false awakenings. It was very clear dream. This dream was between 4:00 - 4:30am. I woke up on 7:00 am and then wrote it down. Usually, if I sleep again after watching a dream, I will most certainly forget it. But this one, I can remember clearly, it was more like a real life experience. I can still feel the awkwardly way I walked like in dream. Also, the environment was a bit dull. Maybe, I should have rubbed my palms. But I still have doubt if this a real lucid dream or false lucid? What do you think?

There was definitely lucidity there and perhaps a little bit of 'bizarre thinking' which can happen as described by Alan Worsely once. (See Dream Science section.)

Congrats, man! You are practically tuning into it. I hope you get more lucid dreams in the next few days. 8-)

Did I experience a lucid dream?

One of the most frequently asked questions by those new to lucid dreaming is whether or not the dream they have recently experienced can be classified as lucid or not. This is a perfectly reasonable question, and not surprising for those who are trying desperately to achieve lucidity (it’s also common for those without an understanding of lucid dreaming to assume they’ve had the experience, when all they’ve really experienced is a very vivid dream). The answer to this question is really very simple: you will know with absolute certainty when you have experienced a lucid dream, not only after the experience but equally during it. However, there are degrees of lucidity, much as there are degrees of mental clarity during waking hours. There is a tendency among those new to the subject, before having experienced their first lucid dream, to attempt to classify non-lucid dreams, or very low-level lucid dreams, as the full-blown experience. This is understandable, and a combination of impatience and overzealousness is normally the reason behind such claims. However, there is one simple way to judge whether your dream was indeed lucid and also the level of lucidity achieved. This can be summed up in a single sentence:

Lucidity can be best measured by the appropriateness of one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviors to the knowledge that one is dreaming.