My wife & I were both up very late last night with pain flares, so after getting up early this morning for dog duties, we went back to sleep. During that time I had the most edifying lucid dream experience I can recall.

In the dream, I woke up sitting on my mother's couch (the one I had grown up with) as if I had fallen asleep there. My wife was standing a few feet away, and I asked her why my mother's couch was here instead of our own, and how I got here. It was at this point that I realized I was dreaming because I remembered going back to bed. Her response didn't make sense, which confirmed my realization, so I took the opportunity to make some observations and try some experiments to see where it might go. I was conscious of - and intentionally made note of - the colors and textures of everything I recognized; they were all correct.

I looked down at the floor, and saw our dog lying there wagging his tail, but due to lighting, I couldn't tell if it was our current dog (dark brown) or our previous dog (black) - both Labrador Retrievers. I bent down to pet him, and could see it was our current Chocolate Lab. I took note of the color & texture of his fur. Then I stood up and turned around and, perhaps because I was thinking of him or wanting him to be there, there was our previous dog (the Black Lab) - older and very grey on his muzzle, as he would appear if he hadn't died two years earlier. I greeted him as well, happy to see & feel him again and telling him how much I missed him, but still in the realization that this was not reality - just a dream. Nevertheless, I believe I may have made him appear - thereby exercising some control over the dream (kinda like in the movie Inception, but not nearly to the same degree). About then I became aware of lying in bed again, so I must have drifted back to semi-consciousness, and not being able to return to the same dream, I woke myself up. When I got back from the bathroom, my wife was awake, and knowing how quickly dreams fade from memory I immediately related everything I had experienced, as quickly and detailed as possible - for self-documentation if nothing else.

I've left a few things out, but it was my dream. What seemed important to me was recognition/validation of my lucid dreaming, awareness of accurate colors, textures, & sounds, and the ability to consciously control/create some factors/events within the dream. My wife & I thought all this was extremely cool. Just wanted to share it with some friends.

Doc