Have you ever considered that perhaps there is no difference between 'dreaming' and 'being awake' in reality? That the apparent differences are only logical deductions your consciousness makes based on its own beliefs about what 'dreaming' and 'being awake' entail? In other words, you have certain notions about what being awake in reality means. According to this, it is no different from 'dreaming' at all. Your mind produces the scenes based on its thoughts and beliefs, etc., just like dreaming. However, because of your beliefs about being awake, when you have accepted that you are awake, your mind produces scenes that are predictable and repetitious, or however you would like to characterize it, just like you would expect to happen while awake. I have had various experiences with lucid dreaming that have made me think such things. This morning I had another experience, that has really made me consider this. First let me preface it with a previous experience I had, that is related and sets it up.

A couple weeks ago, I was lucid dreaming. Suddenly I started to come out of my dream and wake up in my bed. Now sometimes you can have 'false awakenings,' where you apparently wake up in your bed but in actuality you are in another dream. As I woke up in my bed, I kept my eyes closed, and thought to myself how it was equally plausible that I could be awake or I could be dreaming. Each were possible, and whatever turned out to be the case I would believe. This happened right after I had a lucid dream with significant meaning, and this seemed significant to me too. Now this morning I was lucid dreaming, and the same thing happened. I began to come out of my dream, and I was lying in my bed. I started to get frustrated that I was waking up. I then realized that it was possible that I could just be in another dream. I determined that I would RATHER it be a dream, so I tried to hold on to the feeling of being in a dream, with the belief that I was still dreaming. As it happened, I was in a dream. About 4 more times I 'woke up' in my bed, but I tried to focus on the feeling of dreaming, and believing I was dreaming, and it kept turning out that I was simply waking up to another dream. One more time, I woke up in my bed, in the EXACT same way it had happened about 5 times before. This time, for one reason or another, I didn't focus on dreaming, and instead thought that I was awake. This is when I woke up in reality, and here I am. I had the same thing happen 6 times. 5 of them I tried to feel and believe I was dreaming, and I was. The last time I did not, and felt that I was awake, and I was. Perhaps the only reason I was still dreaming those 5 times is BECAUSE of my feelings/interpretations, and the reason I am awake now is because of my feeling/interpretations.

Perhapse practice and time will help?

For me my conscious mind is something that can OVER-RIDE dreams. Like a dream I was having this morning where my logical brain realized that I would NEVER allow myself into that situation - I woke up and took a shower.

And just now - after having a bit of conflict with my dog's food possession I had a "lucid dream" of a bigger problem with the poor dog... It was just an extrapolation of a concept in my head. Thankfully I still believe I'm able to "manage the animal" to prevent such a situation. He's basically a good dog other than his "issues". As are your dreams... good in spite of your "issues".

Journal'ing is good till you learn to remember - but after that burn/destroy those things since NFW would you want that personal stuff in the wrong hands. Practice, meditation/prayer, practice - and they truly do extend your sense of "life-time" and experience.

+ So that basically says I disagree with you're concept that there's no difference. Sure there's a similarity. However, even if "life is bout a dream", having a dream within a dream allows the master-dreamer (councious mind) to control the dream/subconcious/lucid-dreams.

Ive had that happen to me but I've "woken" up in a dream about 2 times only. Then finally managed to wake up in the real world. I would be very scared to have to continually wake up about 6 times to the same thing. Are you ever scared you may just not come out of it?

It kinda reminds me of the movie Inception. A dream within a dream.