Does lucid dreaming feel like reality?

[alissa]

I have never achieved a fully lucid dream, only semi-lucid ones. They still had that dreamlike unrealishness (I know that's not a word ) about them. But in a fully lucid dream, does it have that clarity of real life? Like, if you didn't know you were dreaming, would you think you were in real life?

[lucidinthe sky]

My lucid dreams are exactly like real waking life reality, so much so that I can't even believe it's happening even after waking. In my first ones I remember thinking "No way this is a dream!". I spend a large part of time there touching everything which to me is the most amazing aspect of the experince that things are real to the touch, have weight, I've felt warm and cold, sharp edges, hard surfaces, etc. I felt someone's skin, and hair in one and they were exactly the same as waking life. One of my first lucid dreams I spent about 3 or 4 minutes just stamping on the ground and feeling it beneath my feet, running around telling everyone I could find. Truly unbelievable. In the good ones, I can never completely shake those lingering doubts that just maybe I'm actually awake after all. To me that aspect of lucid dreaming is much more amazing than controlling the dreams. Of course is fun to fly and do crazy things, but just experiencing dream "reality" is quite amazing.

[Dark wolf]

That depends on dream control and awareness. in my lucid dreams it looks like reality, sounds like reality but does not feel like reality. Well i only had 2 lucid dreams so far.

[taniaaust1]

Yes they can feel just like reality.. with everything around you being experienced the same with the senses. I wouldnt be able to tell the difference in many of mine (if those stupid DCs often didnt go and act so stupidly) if I didnt know I was dreaming.

At times thou I had 100% lucidity.. Ive still be very startled with things in a dream as they seem so real. I even feel pain just like I would in RL if I hurt myself in a dream eg fall while flying (last time I did that I felt like I broke ribs so scared to fly unaided now). Many of my LDs are extremely vivid.

[lucidinthe sky]

To be honest, this is the main reason I do it, because it's so real. Looks, and feels like real life, but actually a dream. It's really the ultimate "trip". It really reboots your conecpt of "what is reality".

[Ryan]

Anything you can experience is REALity.

My dreams are environmentally indistinguishable from this physical reality. ALL of my non-physical experiences (dream, lucid & astral) are all completely indistinguishable from my physical life.

All that differs are some minor things... like being able to fly and whatnot.

[lumencryster]

mine aren't that much like reality, except things are more vivid and i am more lucid than in waking life, if that's what you are asking.

[LucidAcademy]

The question you ask goes very deep existentially. I clearly remember the first time where the sharpness of my awareness inside a dream equalled that of my waking consciousness. My entire life changed.

Your awareness inside dreams can be more sharp, more clear, much more intense than daily life. Ancient yogis considered the dream state to be more of a home for humans because when we die they say we spend many hundreds of years in the dream world before reincarnating back into the physical world.

When you experience this type of clarity in your dream it is a real treat

[crazytoucan4u]

I only had my first truly lucid dream a few days ago but I can tell you that it felt 100% like waking life. I am still in shock and now cannot stop reading and thinking about lucid dreaming. I agree with lucidinthe sky on how the feelings are really the most amazing thing. I couldn't get over simply feeling the floor under my feet or touching someone's skin. It felt so real that I was convinced I had to be sleepwalking in real life, but of course I wasn't. It has opened up a whole new part of life for me and I am really excited to delve into it.