while i was traveling a short time ago, i had an experience on an overseas flight that surprised me. i slipped directly from being awake and discussing environmental housing with the most interesting single-serving friend ever into a sleep state. once asleep, i was dreaming, but fully aware that this was the case, the same as i might have been aware that i was sitting in an uncomfortable seat. i could continue to control my actions, but, of course, i wasn't actually carrying out those actions. in other words, i was having a form of lucid dream.
what was surprising was that this wasn't a singular experience. all through my short trip, it seemed that whenever i fell asleep, i would almost immediately start dreaming, but would be perfectly aware that that was what i was doing.
interestingly, this is something that people strive for. there are various techniques recommended for inducing lucid dreaming, for both practical and non-practical reasons. i have to admit that i've even tried some of these out of curiosity, but never with any luck. then all of a sudden, there i am, over a period of several days, lucid dreaming without any prompting whatsoever.
and you know what i've found out? lucid dreaming feels a lot like not having slept at all. i woke up tired and convinced i'd been puttering around, wasting time and not getting any sleep. damn. what a let-down.