In a lucid dream, how do you figure out you are dreaming?

For me, usually i ask someone if i'm dreaming and they say yes. But sometimes i just think ';this is to crazy to be real'; and know im dreaming.In a lucid dream, how do you figure out you are dreaming?
This is amazing ,what you do is exactly what I do ,except as I come into a dream, depending how bizarre it is , I gauge whats going on in the dream, and its a special test I use.. I actually quiz myself by saying,, Would I ever consider doing whats happening to me now?? If the answer is no, then I know I'm dreaming, and sometimes, I'll do the bizarre things in the dream, BECAUSE I know I'm dreaming!! That realization doesn't happen often, but it does happen!! Pleasant Dreams!!! SOLOMONIn a lucid dream, how do you figure out you are dreaming?
You wake up.
Easy. Look at something, look away for a second without closing your eyes, and then look back. If it is the exact same, you are awake. If it is different, you are dreaming. This works good with permanent things, especially writing. Obviously, you don't want to look at something that is known to change, like a television. But if you look at something permanent, like ink on paper, or metal letters, or painted signs, and it is different when you look back...you are definitely asleep and dreaming.
The best way to figure out if you're dreaming is to do a state test. The one that works for me 99.9% of the time is to read a line of text, look away, then look back and if it's changed at all, then you know you're dreaming.





As to your question, I will often just ';realize'; in my dream that the things that are taking place simply cannot be happening, and then I do a state test in order to confirm my suspicions. If you are dedicated to lucid dreaming, you can make a habit of testing your state during the day, so that eventually it will be second nature, and you will simply do the same thing in your sleep.





To learn a lot more about lucid dreaming, you should read the books of Dr. Stephen LaBerge. He is an expert on the topic, and has produced scientifically rigorous works which prove lucid dreaming's existence, and which give techniques for how to induce lucid dreams. Look in your library for his books, or I'm sure your local bookstore would have them in the ';Dreams'; or ';New Age'; section.
An excellent rule of thumb: if the question: ';Am I dreaming?'; even arises, You are dreaming! I have never thought I was dreaming when I was actually awake, but maybe that's just me. I used to frequently have a strange problem, I would realize I was dreaming, think I had woken up, but still be dreaming! this was very frustrating, and a word to the wise, sometimes its best not to know, I used to try and tell, and when I discovered I was, it would lead to horrible nightmares.
there's a few tests that i use:


pulling on your index finger in a dream will usually cause it to elongate. jumping up will usually cause floating. somebody already mentioned about looking at things (esp. clocks, small print, and similar things) and seeing if they're the same when you look back. usually when i ask a friend if im dreaming in a dream, they tell me no, but if it works for you, great. also, lighting tends to stay the same, so flicking a light on and off shouldn't do anything in a dream. also, you can ';prove'; you're awake by remembering the events you've just been through- i was sitting at taco bell, i ate, i got in my car, i drove here to mom's house, i'm sitting here now... if it doesn't make sense, like going straight from the desert to the police station, you're probably dreaming.


happy journeys.