I’m often “almost lucid” in dreams, in that I am influencing dream characters, moving objects without touching them, walking through walls. These are common occurrences but often I don’t clue in that these are my “dream powers”. Are there ways to better notice such obvious dream signs to give that final push from nearly lucid to recognizing the dream state as the dream state? I seem to be playing at the early phases of dream yoga, but I can’t progress to more meaningful practices in dream until I really grasp that I’m dreaming.
If you are doing “lucid things” in your dream do you have to think “I am dreaming” or are you lucid just by doing those things you mention, “influencing dream characters, moving objects without touching them, walking through walls?” Are your actions intentional, such as “I will put my hand through the wall?” If so, wouldn’t that be a lucid activity whether or not you acknowledge the dream state?
In the dreams, there’s often an understanding that “dream rules apply”, but I don’t often really think to myself “this is a dream”, so I’ll influence the dream and my intents are somewhat lucid, but when it comes to remembering to do more involved practices the realization isn’t there.
I may have some similar circumstances but who can really tell about these things? I am optimistic that the higher level practices will come because there’s an iceberg of samsara in my unconscious, way deep, still left that I have to melt away. So I celebrate any melting as a step in the right direction. Measured by lifetimes of struggles, seeing some light, over time, is encouraging. It’s blocked until it isn’t.