Lucid Dreaming Isn't Just Awareness (A Letter to the Smug New Age Gits)
- The Lucid Guide
- Apr 7
- 7 min read
Right, so I wasn't planning to write this – I was halfway through playing fetch with Chikon the Cat (far more worthwhile use of my time, frankly) – but then I spotted yet another smug comment on one of my videos claiming that "lucid dreaming is purely about awareness," and how "you don't understand the brain if you think intelligence and awareness are related."
Complete twaddle, delivered with that familiar patronising tone that pseudo-spiritual types (who somehow think they're intellectual despite the evidence) love to use when they lecture me on my own bloody subject. After all, how dare I suggest that intelligence might play any role in lucid dreaming?
It's not like the word "lucid" literally means clear thinking and intellectual alertness (oh wait, that's right, it does). And it's not as if I've spent decades studying this while they've spent 20 minutes watching YouTube tutorials.
So here we are. A bit of a vent. From someone who actually thinks about this stuff.
The Bloody Awareness Cult (and Why It's Getting Right on My Tits)
Somewhere along the way, “awareness” became the sacred cow of the lucid dreaming world. Just be “aware,” they drone on, as if that explains anything at all - as if that isn't vague undefined drivel open to any interpretation.
They act as if it’s some universal key handed down from the heavens, not just a word they picked up during an overpriced mindfulness retreat and have been recycling it to their long suffering friends ever since (yeah Steve, you're super aware, can we please go to the pub now, thanks).
It’s the sort of vague, twatty nonsense people reach for when they want to sound enlightened without actually knowing what they’re talking about.
It reminds me of “vibrations” or “alignment” – sounds deep, means bugger all unless you pin it down.
(And yes – before anyone starts – awareness does matter. Of course it does. But acting like it’s the whole story? That’s just lazy.)
Awareness Is Just Sitting There – Lucid Dreaming Takes Actual Work
Here’s the real issue: the way these people use “awareness” just means vaguely noticing everything around you (but somehow never noticing awareness is a spotlight, not a floodlight). You’re semi-present. You’re kind-of in the moment(ish). You’re... well, they never properly define it. They're not really aware of what they even mean by awareness.
And hold on a second, are they somehow suggesting that non-lucid dreams are entirely lacking in awareness? Because how on earth do you even remember something you weren't aware of? (and that's the slippery slope of the poorly defined use of "aware")
Lucid dreaming? well, that takes more than standing around vaguely noticing your surroundings. It takes a lot more than some half-baked "awareness".
It requires metacognition – the ability to think about your thinking (something I wish these people would do!). It requires you too stop and ask, “Is this real?” and have the brainpower to actually consider the answer - intelligently. Not just passively float through your life and dreams going, “Ooh, colours.”
You can be “aware” that something’s off – your bedroom door now leads to a library you’ve never seen before, or your old maths teacher is in your kitchen – but unless your brain does something with that information, you’ll just carry on like it’s business as usual. You'll not engage in an intelligent analysis of WHY it is off.
Awareness is the start. Lucidity is what happens when awareness grows a spine.
The Prefrontal Cortex – The Bit That Actually Does Something Useful
This is where I annoy the crystal hugging crowd.
During normal REM sleep, your prefrontal cortex – the bit that handles logic, memory, planning, self-reflection (the things most people consider "intelligence")– more or less switches off. Which is why dreams are mostly nonsense, and why you don’t stop to question the absurdity of any of it.
But in lucid dreams? That same area lights up again – specifically, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which handles all the juicy stuff like cognitive control, working memory, and reasoning (*cough*intelligent thought*cough).
In other words, the stuff that requires actual thinking.
(Not Mensa-level genius thinking, mind you. Just basic pattern recognition – like realising that your kitchen isn’t usually located inside M&S. That sort of thing.)
What I Mean by “Intelligence”
Before anyone gets so worked up they lose the plot completely, let’s be clear: when I say intelligence, I’m not talking about IQ scores or whether you’ve read Kant in the original German.
I mean the kind of functional, everyday intelligence that allows you to notice inconsistencies, remember your intentions, reflect on your experience, and ask questions about what’s going on.
It’s cognitive flexibility, working memory, self-reflection, and the willingness to think critically – even when it’s inconvenient.
It’s the mental capacity to spot a pattern (say, “I often dream about my old house”) and use that as a cue to test reality. Or to remember that you’re supposed to do a reality check when something odd happens. Or simply to ask, “Is this a dream?” and not instantly forget the question halfway through asking it.
It’s not about being “book smart.” It’s about being mentally engaged – and not just sitting there with a dreamy look on your face waiting for the universe to hand you a lucid moment.
So yes, intelligence is fundamental to lucid dreaming. Not because lucid dreaming is elitist, but because it’s a skill that thrives on mental agility and self-awareness that goes beyond just... “awareness.”
“So You’re Saying Only Smart People Can Lucid Dream?!”
Here we go.
This is always the moment someone gets defensive and accuses me of being elitist – usually in all caps and with a healthy dose of spiritual superiority. “It’s not about intelligence, it’s about being in tune with the universe!” and so on.
Let’s be clear: I’m not saying you need a PhD to have a lucid dream. But let’s not kid ourselves – certain mental skills do help.
Memory. Reasoning. Self-reflection. All of these are useful if you want to notice when you’re in a dream and actually do something about it. Same way they’re useful for literally anything that requires functioning beyond a goldfish level of awareness.
People don't freak out when I say that intelligence helps with learning music or languages or even video games – but the moment I apply that to lucid dreaming, it’s suddenly controversial. (Probably because a lot of people have wrapped their identity around “awareness” and don’t like the idea that critical thinking might also be involved.) Let me give you an example:
Last week I was dreaming about a garden full of butterflies. Nothing weird going on, no doors leading to the ocean or talking dogs. Just a perfectly normal garden with a logical backstory. And yes, I was 'aware' of every thing - aware of the butterflies, aware of the garden, aware of my body, aware of my thinking... all the awareness boxes ticked. Super present. Totally mindful. But still not lucid. Awareness alone didn't (and couldn't) make me lucid. But because I'm also a proper nerd who actually knows things about butterflies (judge all you want), I knew immediately that there's no way a Blue Morpho butterfly is going to appear in a UK garden in springtime (or ever for that matter). So engaging my intelligence - not my mystical awareness powers - the only logical answer was that it must be a dream. Awareness didn't get me lucid, an intelligent analysis of the situation did. In fact you could say that the intelligent analysis WAS the lucidity.
Some Actual Science (Because Believe It or Not, There’s Research on This)
In case you think I’m just making all this up:
Voss et al. (2009) found that lucid dreaming activates the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex – the bit of your brain responsible for logic, reflection, and the ability to notice when something’s off.
Blagrove & Hartnell (2000) found lucid dreamers tend to score higher on “need for cognition” – in other words, they enjoy thinking. (Apparently, that’s a thing some people avoid. Who knew?)
Schredl & Erlacher found links between lucid dreaming frequency and traits like openness to experience and internal locus of control – which basically means curious people who take responsibility for their lives.
So no, this isn’t just my personal grumble. There’s actual neuroscience behind it. Sorry if that’s inconvenient for your floaty Instagram quote collection.
Why the Awareness Crowd Clings to It
Because “awareness” is easy.
It sounds clever, requires no explanation, and makes people feel wise without having to actually learn anything. It’s the “just be confident” of lucid dreaming – a pleasant-sounding answer that helps precisely no one.
It’s also easy to market. “Just be aware” pairs nicely with an ambient track and a softly spoken voiceover. You can pop it on a thumbnail next to a crystal and call it a course.
Meanwhile, the real path? is a bit more gritty and human, It involves keeping a dream journal (and thinking about it), doing daily reality tests (with intelligence), training your memory, building intention, learning how your brain ticks... you know, actual effort.
Let’s Just Be Honest About It
Lucid dreaming is a skill. And like any real skill, it takes work. Not just waffling empty platitudes about presence or “watching your thoughts.” It takes brain training, habit-building, and genuine uncomfortable moments of self-honesty (like, "why do I dream of filthy toilets all the time? - and why do I never remember to reality check when I'm having a real-world poo?").
It's admitting that most of the time you bumble through existence, life and dreams, and in order to stop doing that, you're not going to need to just be "aware" of this, but you're going to have to intelligently act on that information, to understand what it means.
Awareness is a starting point, a small piece of the puzzle – but that’s all it is. A piece.
If you want to get good at lucid dreaming, stop waiting for some mystical breakthrough to happen while you’re listening to whale sounds in lotus position - or vaguely noticing the feel of the breeze on your skin (that's called perception). Start treating your brain like a muscle, not a potato.
Lucid dreaming deserves better than half-baked “awareness” mantras and regurgitated new-age waffle.
And frankly, I wrote this entire bloody thing so I can simply post it as a link the next time some self-aggrandizing smeg-head leaves a patronising comment telling me how little I understand about the subject that's been my life's work and career for decades (as if they've somehow cracked the code).
So if that's you... congratulations, you've now been made "aware" of my actual views. Perhaps this awareness might - dare I suggest it - trigger some intelligence on your part. Though I won't hold my breath.