Difficulty holding on to lucidity.

[MRH92]

Hey everyone. Im new here so Im sorry if the questions I ask have already been answered in another thread. Since september last year i've been trying to lucid dream but I havent really kept up with my dream journel and state testing due to lots of college work getting in the way. I've been having a few lucid dreams recently but I'm literally lucid for a about a second. The dream doesnt get more vivid either. If anything whenever I go lucid colour seems to drain from the world and everything starts filling with this light. The dream I had last night I was in a library and I noticed they sold Jones Soda which is one of my favourite brands of drink that unfortunately does not sell in the UK anymore. I frantically raided the fridge trying to find my favourite flavour but was having no luck. I then said to myself "It doesnt matter anyway. I cant enjoy it when I'm awake." Upon hearing "awake" I knew I was dreaming and then all the colours started to fade. I started to panic because I knew I had to battle to keep myself lucid. I tried rubbing my hands together and spinning around but within about 3 seconds that was it. I didnt wake up but I feel back into a normal dream. I have these mini lucid moments maybe twice a week these days and its frustrating to not move forward and enjoy the experience. I just wanted to see if other people felt like this when starting out and if the vividness actually decreased when becoming lucid. Also how long roughly will it take for this stage to pass and for me to have a much more meaningful lucid dream? Cheers guys

[Burke]

You did everything right in that lucid dream except for one thing, " I started to panic..." That's really all there is to it. Remain calm and, like you did, rub your hands together and focus on the warmness you feel, don't just rub your hands thinking it will magically fix everything, you have to put some work into it. Also, focus on your surroundings. If the colors start to literally drain out of you dream then you could shout, and i mean shout, "Stop!" while focusing on the colors. That should make the colors stop draining and then you can fill them in as you like. This will take a bit more dream control then most first lucids but it will be worth it in the long run, and saying things out lout helps a lot. As for how long it takes to get rid of this, it was about my 3rd LD that I was able to stay in the dream for more than 5 seconds, and they only grow from there. My longest so far was about 15 minutes (or at least it felt like that). My dream control has always been decent so I can't really help you on how to get better, sorry but all I really have to say is this (and I know you've heard it before): Don't give up. Persistance is key and you will get no where without it. Good luck and happy dreaming!