Lucid Dream #10 — Different Levels of Lucidity

March 8, 2023

‘It is quite normal to have fluctuations of lucidity within our dreams’

Hey there, dreamers! Today I want to talk about the different levels of lucidity within dreams. Lucidity refers to the degree of awareness within a dream. It can range from a complete lack of awareness to a high level of clarity that may come with a form of control. The degree of lucidity varies from person to person and from one dream to another. When you become aware in a dream, it doesn’t always mean that you have control over it. And, sometimes, when you have control, you might not even be fully aware of the fact that you are in a dream. Many people struggle with trying to experience lucid dreams, but it’s not always a case of either being fully lucid or not lucid at all. There are different levels to it, and you might be lucid more often than you think you are. Below, I share my latest lucid dream in which I am aware but don’t take active control of. I let the dream take me instead.

I am in my house packing my bag. I’m going on a trip soon. As I pack, I realize I’m missing some things I need. I search for my missing items, but can’t find them anywhere. As the minutes tick by, I know I’m going to be late. I hear a honk outside. My friends are waiting to pick me up. A bit stressed, I take my bag and walk out to meet them.

Just when I’m about to step into my friend’s car, I become lucid. I look around, and my street looks very real and vivid like I’ve never seen it before. I get in the car, and we start driving. I’m sitting in the back looking out of the window. We’re just driving around my neighbourhood, but it looks quite different. The light is warmer, golden, and it feels more magical. A sense of calm washes over me. I focus on my breathing, determined to stay lucid for as long as possible. I want to enjoy this ride and let it take me someplace new.

As we drive towards our destination (wherever it may be), I feel my mind starting to wander. I remind myself to stay present and focused, and I can feel my lucidity deepen. The world around me comes alive with even more colours I’ve never seen before. But the longer we drive, the more I feel my lucidity fading. Unfortunately, the dream ends after a while, and I guess I’ll never know the final destination.

If you’ve read some of my other dream stories, you might have noticed that I don’t always have full control over my lucid dreams. I’m still a novice after all. But in this dream, I didn’t actually feel the need to take control at all. Instead, I wanted to let the dream take me and stay fully aware. In previous lucid dreams, I have tried to control aspects of it, often resulting in blackouts and the experience ending altogether. This time I took a different approach, in hopes of deepening my lucidity and making the experience last longer. That definitely worked! The dream became more vivid, and I felt very lucid.

Even though the dream still ended sooner than I wanted to, I didn’t have any blackouts this time. I have given these blackouts a lot of thought recently, and I personally think it is quite normal to have fluctuations of lucidity within our dreams. If you think about it, this is also the case in waking life. Some moments we are more aware than other moments. We can be caught up in daydreams, for example.

Realizing this, I started looking at my dreams differently. I noticed that even some of my ‘regular’ dreams have more lucidity than others. For me, it’s not always the case of being lucid or not, but more how lucid I am. That’s why I started categorizing all of my dreams into different levels of lucidity. Below, I have listed the 5 different lucidity levels I use in my dream journal:

• Regular dream: This is the most common type of dream where you aren’t aware that you are dreaming. The events and experiences in the dream feel real, and you go along without questioning their validity.
• Level 1. Pre-lucid: This is a regular dream where you notice something is off but don’t realize it’s a dream. For example, you may see a deceased relative and think how strange it is to see them and wonder what they are doing here. But nothing clicks, and the dream continues like normal.
• Level 2. Sub lucid: This is a regular dream where you may notice something is off. You decide to change it, but you don’t actively realize it’s a dream. For example, you are running for the bus because you are late, but then you wonder why you are running when you can also fly. So you fly and catch the bus in time, and the dream continues like normal. You made a conscious choice, but there is still no realization about you being in a dream.
• Level 3. Semi-lucid: This type of dream is classified as a lucid dream with limited control. You have some degree of awareness that you are dreaming, but you may not have full control over the dream. For example, you want to use a door as a portal to a different place, but when you open it, the door leads nowhere or somewhere totally different.
• Level 4. Fully lucid: A fully lucid dream means that you are completely aware that you are dreaming and have full control as well. This awareness allows you to consciously navigate and influence the dreams events, characters, and actions within the dream.
• Level 5. Super lucid: A super lucid dream takes the concept of lucidity to an even higher level. In this type of lucid dream, the level of awareness and control is intensified. You may have a profound sense of clarity, vividness, and an extended range of abilities within the dream. This type of lucid dream is often described as transformational and of spiritual nature. (I have not yet experienced this type of lucidity myself, but I have read many stories of people who have, and it sounds incredible!)

This is how many different types of lucid dreams I’ve had these past few months.

By categorizing my dreams in this way, I have noticed that many of my ‘regular’ dreams actually have some level of lucidity. I often know that I’m dreaming while I’m dreaming, although it doesn’t always click in my mind. The more I focus on my dreams throughout the day and practice techniques for lucid dreams, the more aware I become throughout all of my dreams.

Techniques like reality checks and dream journaling can help improve the ability to have more lucid dreams and enhance the overall level of lucidity within dreams. But your level of awareness during the day plays a big role as well. By practising mindfulness, you will become more aware throughout the day. After a while, this awareness will carry over into your dreams. And every dream with a level of lucidity is to be seen as a success.

Reflecting on the fluctuating levels of lucidity within my own experiences, I realized that even regular dreams hold hidden layers of awareness. I believe that every step toward more lucidity, no matter how small, is an achievement. So, keep dreaming, practising, and unlocking the secrets of your own lucid universe.

Very curious to hear about your experiences with different levels of lucidity!