How to tell if your're dreaming

I was part of the NCIS team, perhaps even Gibbs himself. We had infiltrated a prison undercover and were closing in on the bad guys. Then there was a prison break and I was chasing one bad guy through town on a motorcycle.

This is all perfectly normal and routine for a dream. I had no idea I was dreaming at this point. Of course I'm a secret agent. Why not? It all makes perfect sense.

The chase of the bad guy went over a bridge and... whoa! The motorcycle and the bridge were gone and I was falling toward the ground a mile below. Except I wasn't. I was flying! I hate to hit the ground from so far up. It creates a real mess (I know, I've done it). So, keep flying. Wait! There's something I'm remembering about flying... This. Might. Actually. Be. A. Dream! Okay, what was it about dreams and flying? Oh, yeah,... "if you can fly, but you can't run... you're dreaming!" What to do? Try to run. I can't. Try harder. Okay, maybe, a bit, there! My leg moves and...

...I'm awake. I'm safely in bed. It's morning.

If you can fly, but you can't run... you're dreaming! world-of-lucid-dreaming.com

And now, 15 minutes later, I'm here in the den writing it down. I don't even have my glasses on yet. I'm squinting at the computer screen with my nose only inches away!

This is an example of lucid and directed dreaming. I realize in my dream that I might be dreaming. Not only that, I initiate a pre-planned course of action designed to wake me up.

Can you believe it? It was only yesterday when thinking about dreams that I came up with the idea: "if you can fly, but you can't run... you're dreaming!" So, somehow, my subconscious mind decided to try it out in my dream the very next night.

Actually, this was my second way I came up with to tell if you're dreaming. The first is this:

If you can read this... you're NOT dreaming!

Like running in your dreams, it's really a struggle to read. The words keep changing!

Okay, it's time to start my dull, routine, flightless day.