I was thinking, I got an LD on my 3rd night trying but I am starting to think that it was not really an LD but that I was dreaming about having an LD . I have several reasons to think this: I haven’t had anouther since, I was not able to stop looking at the sun, and I was inside a dream inside of another dream at the time. I was wondering if that still counts.
Also I have a situation that may also clasify as a false LD. When I get to the last dream of the night I enter a concious state later in the dream where I can do whatever I want but I don’t care if it is a dream or not. This is where I try to do special abilities I had been able to do earlier in the dream and if I can’t I try so hard I wake up. This is also the point I start hoping some of my nightmares are dreams.
It’s always hard to tell someone if his dream was lucid or not !
“I haven’t had another since” is not a good reason. If so, I wouldn’t have a lot of LDs !
“inside a dream inside of another dream” could mean your lucidity level was low.
But the questions you have to ask yourself are : did I know I was dreaming ? When I woke up, why did I think it was a LD ?
You said it yourself : a conscious state. So it wasn’t a normal dream. There is a little difference between consciousness and lucidity : lucidity means you’re thinking, almost rationally, and you have an answer to your question : Am I dreaming ?
But you can be aware in a dream, even if it doesn’t fit exactly the definition of lucidity. You’re conscious, the dream is clearer than normal, but you don’t have in mind checking reality.
I would think it’s a pre-lucid dream, and it “counts”.
It was a lucid dream if you knew you were dreaming.
For your points:
Haven’t had another since - happens to all but the best of us
Was a dream inside a dream - was a meta lucid dream (MLD). I’ve had a fair few of these.
Could’t stop looking at the Sun - implies nothing
So yeah, as long as you knew you were dreaming (this is usually quite easy to tell) it was a lucid dream.
and you have an answer to your question : Am I dreaming ?