Hi, Robert,
I am a participant in your online workshop with David Cielak and a beginning lucid dreamer with a question. When I am lucid dreaming, I do not need a “dream sign”. I just know in the dream that I am dreaming. I say to myself, “Oh, great, I am dreaming.”
Also, when I am aware that I am dreaming, I don’t have a physical body that I can see. I just know that I am interacting iwth other people and they with me. I can see their bodies and I don’t know how they see me, but I don’t see myself at all. I am just aware of my “self.”
Can you please comment.
Hi Leah,
Thanks for being part of our online workshop.
To your point, some ‘lucid dreams’ will begin when you notice that things just seem ‘dreamy’. So you may not see a definitive dream sign (like a flying dog, or a 3 handed person), you just ‘know’ that ‘This is a dream!’
Of course, later, you may realize that you were flying — and that was the clue that prompted your lucid awareness. But sometimes, it seems hard to recall what (if anything) caused a person to become lucid. Now the only caveat here — if you do not recall yourself having that sudden realization of awareness, then you may actually be in another state of awareness….
Regarding the ‘body’ or lack thereof, you have a point. In some lucid dreams, we may notice hands and movement, such that we experience a ‘body’ and physical activity in the dream. But in some other lucid dreams, we may never see (or use) the body. Instead we seem like a ‘self awareness’ observing, and moving where we wish to be. Sometimes we may find ourselves in a bubble. Or may experience that we exist as a small point of light. And we may not even bother to notice that much (because you may know at deeper levels that you are not your body) !
Now if you focus on a body (or expect to see your hand, etc.), I believe you will discover that you can create it (or bring it into being). You can also go the other way, and do things to make the body image disappear.
Thanks for bringing up some of your unique experience with lucid dreaming!