Everything I've heard about lucid dreaming kicks butt, as you're semi-conscious of what's going on and can affect it any way you want. 98% of my dreams fade on waking, so I never get to go to that point. If you can do it, then fly for godssakes! When else will you get the chance? (Make sure you throw in a bunch of spectators too, so they can oooh and awww at how totally cool you are.)

Wow, congratulations. I am a little jealous. I have just returned to trying to work towards this, but I am still taking very little steps, just disciplining myself to the point I begin to remember my dreams... *sigh* Someday, someday soon...

Very cool! I had one of these as a young child, many many years ago. As soon as I realized I was dreaming it seemed like the right thing to do was try to wake up. I guess some part of me felt trapped once I realized I was dreaming. But I wasn't sure what to do, how to wake up. I remember climbing on top of a yellow VW bug and jumping off... not sure what that was expected to accomplish but I guess it was the most extreme physical act available to me, and I thought it would wake me. It did, as I recall.

Fortunately, I dream about flying all the time. And those dreams are better than they could ever be if lucid, because there is a huge, welling sense of "oh my god I can really fly!" that would not be possible if I knew I was only dreaming. It's great, actually... my flying dreams have always been the same and have kind of built on one another over the years. There's this kind of motion... something like pedaling a bike, but only in my mind, that I need to do to leave the ground. Each time I have one of these dreams it's a triumph of "oh yeah! THAT's how! I remember now!" I soar off, ready to teach others and unshackle the hidden power of the human mind for the rest of the world. It's a pretty sweet feeling.

If I got the hang of lucid dreaming I would probably just wind up conjuring some lurid scene... flying... how noble to think that's what I'd spend my time doing :)

I have lucid dreams all the time. I really would like a real dream. From what I've read I must have them but I can never remember them. I feel I am missing something.

Of course, maybe there's no such thing as real lucid dreaming

No, there totally is.

Enjoy.

I never assume that I am awake when life really isn't making any sense. I simply ask myself if I might be dreaming. Sometimes I am. Then I breathe a sigh of relief and say "it's only a dream, I can relax, that explains all these (dead end streets or whatever), it really doesn't matter if I miss this exam/find my pet dolphin/die of strangulation." As I recall, the dream usually ends shortly thereafter because it's been "found out," so what's the point.

If it does not seem to be a dream, I usually find out pretty quickly the reason that crazy thing happened, whatever it was ("Oh, that's right, it's not even Wednesday yet" or whatever.) In that case, I conclude that I am awake and I usually am.

If I am having a dream I really want to get away from, I make a huge effort to wake up. When I do wake up I'm always shocked at how different it feels to be awake.

I don't think I've very often consciously turned a bad or average dream into a great dream due to the fact I knew I was dreaming, but it's hard to remember. So I'm not sure if I qualify as a lucid dreamer, especially as most of my dreams seem ordinary.