Levels of Lucidity

Hi everyone. I’m new here. Just wanted to ask a question about levels of lucidity. I’ve had lucid dreams in the past, but wasn’t aware that you could do anything with them. I came across a video on YouTube about lucid dreaming, became fascinated and watched more. I watched one where they guy said it took him 2 months of reality checks for him to have his first lucid dream. I said, “Oh hell no, I want to do it now!” And I did, that very night. I was standing in the middle of this strange dreamscape and realized I was dreaming. I suddenly became as awake as I am right now. I said, “Holy shit, this is awesome!” and had no idea what to do. I decided I would fly, because flying dreams were my favorite when I was a kid, and I could instantly see my trajectory path right in front of me. Unfortunately, I was so excited as I started to take off the dream collapsed around me. But I was hooked.

I started doing reality checks, dream journal, reading lucid dreaming books, etc., and the next couple of times I became lucid I thought it didn’t work because it still felt dream-like. I could think, but I didn’t feel as awake as I did the first time. Since then, I’ve never achieved the level of lucidity like I did in that very first dream. I can do things in the dream, but sometimes I totally surprise myself by doing things I’ve never thought of or planned. And if the dream goes on for a long time, it’s often hard to remember all the dialog and everything that happened. I really want to achieve that level of lucidity in my first dream, because it feels like I couldn’t forget anything that happened when I’m that awake, and maybe I could control more. Although maybe that’s just wishful thinking, I don’t know.

Anyway, I was just curious about other people’s levels of lucidity and if anyone has any advice on how to get more lucid during the dream. I did a search and didn’t find anything, although maybe I’m just looking in the wrong place.

Thanks!

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After a year and a half of steady and fairly intensive personal training my levels of lucidity are all over the place.

One thing that I have learned is that you can’t push the river with this, Get into the flow and you will eventually get where you need to be.

Go to sleep every night with a smile and good intentions and be thankful every morning for your dreams.

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Kellogg has an interesting take on levels of lucidity and you can find it here.

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Fantastic paper, Barry. Thanks for posting it.

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Thanks so much, Barry!

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@melikeydreams My approach is to playfully increase daytime lucidity.

You might want to check from time to time during the day how lucid you are in experiencing daytime experiences.

I practice a few times during the day to take in experiences as vividly and „live“ as possible. Remembering to do it playfully.

Like in one of those very realistic video games, where I tend to be fascinated by visual details of the game, I practice to pay attention to details of „regular daytime experiences“ - even if they don‘t seem to be extraordinary. For me, it is important to still be fascinated by details and seeing the beauty to be found also in the non-extraordinary.

I believe that in the same fashion it is possible to practice extending the duration of lucidity during the dream by practicing to stay with daytime experiences lucidly longer and longer.

It could probably be also seen as a form of the practice of All Day Awareness (ADA) which is discussed in other forums.

Interestingly, a while ago I found that my regular daytime experiences were normally quite „dull“ and not vivid.
So following @Andrew ˋs teachings that mental daytime habits will largely influence mental nighttime habits, I figured that in order to improve lucidity and duration during the night, I need to practice both lucidity and the ability to stay lucid for a longer period of time during the day.

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Thanks! I’m reading “Dream Yoga” right now, which is helpful and I have been working on being more present during the day. I will do a search for ADA. Thanks for the suggestion!

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