Im in day 18 of the mastering astral projection program and i have a question about lucid dreams. Correct me if im wrong. Is a lucid dream for instance. Im awake now, i close my eyes and delebarately make myself see the computer screen in front of me, and see the owl and the bee with the words "astral dynamics forums" sign on the screen. With my eyes closed, i can delebarately make the owl fly. I can also make the owl come out of the computer screen and lay on my hand. I can do that easy with my mind and eyes closed. I can make the owl do anything i want to at will. Is that the same as lucid dreaming? It seams i can do that easy while awake, but when asleep, it seams to be more defecult. Would it be better if i drank TONS of water before going to bed so i can keep waking up through the night and perhaps have more ability to lucid dream that way? Because by being a bit more concious, i can then be a bit more stronger in my will too. Am i correct in this or no? If no, please help me understand.

Also when im looking at the wall or looking at a number i wrote down and stick it on the wall and just focus on it to clear my mind. As i try to reach 3 menutes doing this without any thoughts entering, just focus and think of the wall im staring at; what if i say to myself "focus, focus, i wont think of a thought" < is those words in and of themselves a thought? Does that count as a thought, or no? Because im thinking that by me saying those words, that is stoping my focus on the wall, even though im saying to myself "focus on the wall". The words "focus on the wall" could be a destraction from the wall itself? Im just wondering about this.

And I have tried practicing this thing at work to. While im pushing carts or walking through the store, i would just focus on my steps, smells, and seeing stuff, but then a thought comes in and i wonder, after a menute of thinking of the thought, i then realize "hey i just got distracted, why did i not stop the thought at once?" Because that was my purpose, to be thought free the whole day or atleast catch the thought the moment it entered my mind. Just to think about the moment, nothing else. It seams defecult.

Oh ya and is the trance thing when your in a daze. Like sometimes just sitting down, invulentarily i will just go into a daze or a stare. Is that the same as the trance?