Lucid dreaming fascinates most non-lucid dreamers. The allure of being able to experience anything you want, within a dreamworld over which you have complete control, is tantalising. But if a lucid dream is just as hazy and unclear as a regular dream what’s the point? Are lucid dreams clear?
Spontaneous lucid dreams can be clear but they are not usually as clear as real life. However, trained lucid dreamers can induce lucid dreams that are exceptionally clear and that are just as clear, colorful and vivid as real life.
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Are lucid dreams clear?
To understand just how clear a lucid dream is you need to first understand that not all lucid dreams are created equal! Different types of lucid dreams have different levels of clarity.
In a previous article I pointed out that there are two different types of lucid dreams.
The 2 types of lucid dream:
- Uncontrolled lucid dreams.
- Controlled lucid dreams.
Uncontrolled lucid dreams almost always happened spontaneously. People who have natural lucid dreams, i.e. without using induction techniques, are much more likely to have uncontrolled lucid dreams.
Uncontrolled lucid dreams are more common for spontaneous lucid dreamers than they are for trained lucid dreamers.
An uncontrolled lucid dream is usually much more vivid and clear than a regular standard dream.
Although the dreamer will be consciously aware that they are dreaming they will have very limited control over the dreamworld being only able to direct their own actions and only in similar ways to the real world.
You don’t have omnipotent power in an uncontrolled lucid dream.
Although it is possible to have a very clear uncontrolled lucid dream these type of lucid dreams are, for the most part, usually hazy and somewhat unclear.
This is a direct byproduct of the fact that the lucid dream is uncontrolled.
Controlled lucid dreams are very different.
These type of lucid dreams, where the dreamer has control over the dreamworld and everything in it, can vary in clarity from slightly hazy to as clear as everyday real-life.
It seems that the degree of clarity of a controlled lucid dream very much depends on the amount of control the dreamer has over the dream and this, in turn, usually depends on the experience and training of the lucid dreamer.
I still find myself becoming lucid in unclear and uncontrolled lucid dreams.
In fact I became lucid in one only a few weeks ago.
However, unclear, uncontrolled lucid dreams only ever happen to me when I have a spontaneous and unplanned lucid dream.
Spontaneous lucid dreams happen to a lot of people once they train themselves to become lucid in their dreams deliberately even if they have never experienced them before.
Luckily, because I trained in both basic and advanced lucid dreaming techniques I can easily and quickly change an uncontrolled and unclear lucid dream into a fully controlled one and once that happens the dream then becomes very clear.
So, to recap: lucid dreamers who rely on natural causes to trigger their lucidity will have much less control over the dreamworld. Therefore they are much more likely to suffer from unclear lucid dreams.
On the flip side, people who train themselves to lucid dream are much more likely to have extremely clear lucid dreams. Experienced lucid dreamers can make any lucid dream as clear as they want it to be.
Are lucid dreams vivid?
You probably already know that lucid dreaming offer many benefits.
For example, you can use lucid dreaming to help you study, manifest, reality shift and even improve your performance. However, the main goal for most lucid dreamers is fantasy-fulfilment.
I mean who doesn’t want to have a secret liaison with their favorite celebrity on the deck of the Millennium Falcon?! Not that I’ve ever did that. 😉
But … if you are restricted to an environment that merely mimics the normal regular hazy dream-like state when you have these fantasy experiences, what’s the point?
Are lucid dreams vivid enough to enjoy them?
Lucid dreams vary in their vividness depending on their nature and the experience of the lucid dreamer.
Some lucid dreams can be very vivid while others are very hazy.
Spontaneous lucid dreamers are more likely to have less vivid lucid dreams while trained lucid dreamers can use techniques to change a hazy lucid dream into a very vivid one easily and quickly.
The vividness of a lucid dream can depend on a few factors.
For instance, if you deliberately induce a lucid dream it is more likely to be a lot more vivid than one in which you spontaneously become lucid.
Likewise, the more control you exert over a lucid dream the more vivid the dream tends to get.
However, it is the degree of conscious awareness the dreamer has within a lucid dream that plays the most important role in the vividness of that dream.
By far it is the level of consciousness a dreamer displays in a lucid dream that is the biggest factor in determining how vivid that dream is.
For example, it is possible to be only semi-lucid in a dream, where you are aware that you are dreaming but feel hazy and unfocused. In this hazy mental state you will experience the dream as a hazy – just as you do in most standard regular dreams.
Personal experience, and the experiences of many other lucid dreamers that I have talked to about this, has shown me that it is your level of awareness in a lucid dream that determines how vivid the dream is.
So, becoming more lucid in a dream (or more consciously aware and interactive with the dream) = more vividness in the dream.
But, by far the easiest way to ensure each of your lucid dreams is vivid is to train in advanced lucid dream-control techniques.
For an experienced lucid dreamer, with training under their belt, unvivid lucid dreams are almost non-existent.
Are lucid dreams as vivid as real life?
When we speak about the vividness of lucid dreams how vivid are we actually talking? Are lucid dreams as vivid as real life?
Spontaneous lucid dreams are not usually as vivid as real life.
Deliberately induced lucid dreams tend to be just as vivid as real life especially when an experienced and trained lucid dreamer makes them so.
In fact, some lucid dreams can be more colorful and vibrant than real life.
Again, it is the experience and expertise of the lucid dreamer that usually determines if a lucid dream is as vivid as real life or not.
Using advanced lucid dreaming techniques, that are actually very easy to employ within the dream, it is possible to make a lucid dream just as vivid as real life or even more colorful and vibrant than real life if that is what you want to happen.
Think Avatar and you’ll get the picture.
The good news is that it is possible to get trained to, not only induce lucid dreams but to also, ensure that all your lucid dreams mirror the vivid nature of real life.
Using the trainings in a good lucid dream course that has a community of other lucid dreamers attached to it, and interacting with those other lucid dreamers, it is possible to learn some really neat tricks to better control your lucid dreams and make them more vivid than real life.
Are lucid dream realistic?
Ok so we now know that not all lucid dreams are clear and vivid.
We also learned that only trained lucid dreamers can guarantee lucid dreams that are as vivid as real life, but how realistic are those lucid dreams?
Lucid dreams can feel very realistic. Trained lucid dreamers can have lucid dreams that feel as realistic as real life.
However, because you can do anything you want in a lucid dream, like levitate, they are not realistic in a strict sense.
In other words, via a lucid dream you can do unrealistic things in a realistic-feeling environment.
As I have already covered in the above sections not all lucid dreams will be clear and vivid nor will they all mirror the realism of your everyday waking world.
Most spontaneous lucid dreams, that are not deliberately induced, will not feel realistic.
It is usually only trained lucid dreamers who can make their lucid dreams 100% realistic.
If you want to have realistic lucid dreams and have full control over them you must train yourself to do it.
So are lucid dreams as real as real life?
Spontaneous lucid dreams rarely feel as real as real life. However, by using lucid dreaming techniques it is possible to induce a controlled dream that feels just as real as real life.
Deliberately induced lucid dreams tend to feel as real as the waking world feels to you right now.
As you can see it is the degree of experience and training that a lucid dreamer has that usually dictates how real a lucid dream feels.
If you want your lucid dreams to feel just as real as real life, and still have total omnipotent control over them, I advise you to train in both induction techniques and also dream-control techniques.
I have linked to an excellent course that teaches you both a few times in this article but don’t be afraid to also experiment for yourself.
If you want to create vivid and clear lifelike lucid dreams that mirror reality follow the advice below.
How to make every lucid dream clear, vivid and realistic
By far the most important key to having clear, vivid and realistic lucid dreams is to ensure you are fully conscious within the dream.
When you find that you are not 100% consciously present in a lucid dream, with a clear mind, you will almost always find that the lucid dream is unclear, not particularly vivid and doesn’t feel as real as real life.
A lack of conscious clarity in a lucid dream is reflected back to you as a lack of clarity in the lucid dream world.
The more aware and consciously engaged you become with a lucid dream the clearer and more vivid the dream will become.
When you are 100% consciously engaged in a lucid dream then everything in the dream will feel totally realistic and as real as real life.
So, you must train yourself to become 100% consciously engaged in a lucid dream to ensure the dream remains realistic, clear and vivid.
How do you gain full conscious awareness and maintain it in a lucid dream?
The first step is to deliberately induce a lucid dream.
You can use any lucid dream induction technique that suits you. It is the act of consciously inducing a lucid dream that helps you gain full conscious awareness in the dream.
Once you become lucid in a dream your first action should be to make the dream clearer.
Many times you will find that a deliberately induced lucid dream is very clear anyway.
But, on those occasions when it is not, or when you spontaneously become lucid, you should immediately make the intention to have the dream become more vivid, alive, clear and realistic.
If need be, call out aloud to the dream to make itself clearer.
Sometimes within a clear and vivid lucid dream you can start to lose consciousness and drift back into either an uncontrolled lucid dream or a regular dream.
Likewise, sometimes the dreamworld in a lucid dream can begin to become hazy or even start to fade. There is a fix for both of these.
By using the lucid dream time-lengthening techniques I outlined in the article how long do lucid dreams last you can force yourself back to full consciousness and also force the dream to become clear and vivid again.
Two great techniques for doing this are:
- Looking at your hands.
- Spinning your entire body.
By looking at your dream hands and focusing intently on them in a lucid dream that is becoming hazy, while telling yourself that the dream is getting clear and vivid, you can re-engage with the dream and make it more solid and clear.
Likewise, by spinning in a lucid dream that is becoming unclear you can move location within the dreamworld or force the dream to solidify once again.
Simply intend that when you stop spinning the dreamworld will have collapsed to a point where it is a more solid, clear and vivid environment. Then spin and stop. It’s as simple as that.
