Question of Lucidity

[Cirrus Minor]

Hello!

I have had times where I realized that I was dreaming, but I'm not sure how "conscious" I actually was. If I realize that I am dreaming, but do not realize normal things that my waking mind would consider, then am I truly lucid? In a lucid dream are people usually aware of what they did the night before and the current state of their physical reality, or do they merely come upon the realization that they are in a dream, but not everything from the conscious mind is present?

Also, how does this apply to the astral state? Is it usually like being awake, or "more" or "less"?

Thanks for any information
-Russ

[CFTraveler]

Hello!

I have had times where I realized that I was dreaming, but I'm not sure how "conscious" I actually was. If I realize that I am dreaming, but do not realize normal things that my waking mind would consider, then am I truly lucid?

Good question. If you realize you are dreaming, you are technically lucid, but there are degrees of lucidity other than the clear-cut 'lucid' or 'nonlucid'. There is a thread called '10 degrees of dream awareness' by Kurt Leland that describes the progressive continuum of lucidity, and, whether you agree with it (or not), it is interesting to see the degrees there can be in the dreaming mind.

In a lucid dream are people usually aware of what they did the night before and the current state of their physical reality, or do they merely come upon the realization that they are in a dream, but not everything from the conscious mind is present?

In spontaneous lucidity it is normal to 'become lucid' at the end of the dream, due to the change in brain states when you wake up. But in WILD, or cultivated sleep induced LD, the awareness is more 'complete', and often includes 'waking state' memories.

Also, how does this apply to the astral state? Is it usually like being awake, or "more" or "less"?

In my experience, it's about the same. Sometimes less, but I don't recall being 'more' aware than aware- however sometimes I get memories from the astral in the astral, that I didn't have in the physical. FWTW.