The 5 Layers of a Lucid Dream
Layer Two
Layer Two is the first layer of the five that we can properly classify as lucidity. Even though the previous two layers have some very compelling and intriguing qualities about them, you won’t get a chance to truly explore the dream world in a lucid and conscious state until you reach layer two. From this layer onwards, you can begin to experience prolonged periods of lucidity, and really start to test out the dream world. Although, be warned, the possibility of losing focus and therefore slipping back into a non-lucid state, is still very much prevalent within this layer. Once you get to this stage, give yourself a pat on the back. You’re doing great. But, you’re still a while from the finish line, yet.
Layer Two (Minor)
Layer Two (Minor) is an interesting layer of lucidity. At this point, you still won’t have broken through, although you’ll indeed be aware that you’re dreaming. However, the full implications of what a dream really is, may not properly sink in.
For someone who hasn’t experienced this layer before, this may seem like a foreign concept to you. You may wonder, how on earth you can know you’re dreaming, yet in another sense not have any idea what a dream really is. But, once you stumble across this layer, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
It’s one thing to be able to say, “Okay, this seems weird… I must be dreaming,” bsut, it’s a totally different thing to understand the full implications of what that exactly means, i.e., the fact that your real body is still lying in your bed at home, the fact that everything in your dream is just part of your imagination, the fact that you literally have control over every aspect of the room around you, etcetera, etcetera. All of these things won’t properly sink in during a layer two minor experience, due to the logical part of your brain still being shut off.
So, for example, when I was a very young child, maybe seven or eight, I dreamt that I was out on the streets playing with a group of my school friends. At one point, I looked up to the sky, and it had turned a beautiful shade of pink, and the sun had grown abnormally large. This was obviously like nothing I had ever seen in my waking life before, so this began to trigger something off within me, and I began to question if this was really my normal, everyday reality after all. After a short moment of analyzation and questioning, I came to the conclusion that I must indeed be in the dream world. How exciting! I remember thinking,I must tell everyone else that we’re dreaming. What then proceeded was a rather humorous conversation where I desperately tried to convince my mother school friends that we were in a dream together, and we must try our very hardest to remember, and talk about it in school the next day.
However much I tried to convince them, though, they wouldn’t believe me, and they repeatedly tried to assure me that it was, in fact, waking life and not the dream world at all. And, I certainly had no idea that they were merely a facet of my imagination, dream characters and nothing more. This is a perfect example of Layer Two (Minor) in action. I wasn’t grasping the concept of what a dream really was at all, even though I thought to myself, “I’m dreaming,” I was still treating the dream characters like they were real people, and I was treating the whole experience in general like I was still in waking life. Do you see the difference?
Another slight variation to this layer is when you realize you’re dreaming, but you don’t care enough to break through. Yeah, this is a really odd phenomenon, but it does happen, and more often than you’d think. I can recount numerous times where I’ve been perfectly aware that I’m within the dream world, but just haven’t felt the need or desire to take control. At the time, it just doesn’t seem that important to me, so I merely brush the awareness to one side, frivolously. Again, this shows that within this layer, you’re never properly grasping the full implications of what dreaming really is, because, in any other state, you’d be thrilled to come to this realization, and you’d most definitely choose to break through.
Isn’t it amazing? The subtle levels of awareness that your brain is constantly working on whilst in the sleep state… Even to this day, it astonishes me.
Layer Two (Major)
Layer Two (Major) is very similar to the minor variation. You still have a lack of full awareness, the dream may appear very unstable—i.e., flickering scenery, blurry textures, unclear faces on dream characters… you probably won’t even feel like you’re in complete control. It will almost feel like you’re observing the dream from an objective standpoint—as if you’re watching a movie. Again, within this layer, you’ll know you’re dreaming, but you’ll still be treating the dream as if it’s waking life, and you’ll be completely unaware that the people in your dream are dream characters. However, the major difference here is that the dream characters will be fully aware of the fact that they’re not real—and will even try to inform of this, at point. This is a fairly rare and bizarre layer, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless.
So, for example, I once dreamt that I was on a planet far, far away from our own. Its surface was comprised of purplish sand, with bits of small glistening crystals scattered throughout it. Lots of tall, jagged quartz crystals were bursting through the ground also, and on the horizon I could see many high-tech spire-like buildings. It was a fascinating planet to explore—and, the more and more I explored it, the more and more I suspected I was dreaming. Eventually, I decided to do a hand reality check, and found out that my suspicions were indeed correct. I then had a sudden epiphany: that it would be a great idea to try and bring some of this quartz crystal back to waking life. And, this is where the faulty logic comes into play. As I was searching around for something I could use to chip off a small chunk of quartz with, a dream character approached me, and informed me that my attempts to bring a dream object back into waking life, were in vain, as the feat was completely impossible to accomplish. Being in a Layer Two (Major) state, however, I ignored him and continued on regardless. This is a perfect example of layer two major, as the dream character seemed more aware of what was going on, than I did. Another slight variation to this layer is when a dream character informs you that you are dreaming earlier on in the dream. So, for example, he or she may say to you, “Do you remember when we was down in the shops, earlier?” And you may say, “Yeah, I remember that,” and they’ll then say to you, “Well, that was a dream.” You’ll accept this as the truth, but again, you won’t understand the full implications of what’s just been said, and you won’t think to do a reality check to find out if you’re still dreaming right there and then. This is another fairly rare occurrence, but be aware of it because it does happen every now and then.
Breaking Through
Also, throughout this layer, you may experience what I call the “breaking through” tingles, where you’re literally on the brink of becoming fully lucid. When you have these waves of realization wash over you, grab them with both hands and hold on tight, because this will lead you directly into Layer Three. I’m sure you’ve all got the gist of what I meant when I’ve alluded to breaking through, but I want to clarify this once and for all: “breaking through” is the art of raising your consciousness to full awareness whilst in the dream world. It is the art of realizing the totality of the situation you’re in, and pushing through fully, into the dream world, and emerging on the other side with a fresh outlook and stance. A clear and vivid view of your surroundings will ensue, and you will finally see the dream world through your normal, every day eyes. To put it simply, “breaking through” is the art of bringing forth your conscious mind and planting it into the dream world. As always, I’m on a constant search for more intricacies and subtle variations within each layer. So, please don’t hesitate to message me or comment me, if you discover more yourself.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll catch you later.
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