Serious Time Dilation Problem

[ShroudWalker]

Hello everyone! I'm new here so i'm not sure what to write or how much i will be on but I wanted to ask about my problem with time dilation. So I have been actively trying to dream on and off for awhile, and I seem to be doing okay with having dreams (though with many of them lately I can't remember much), and attaining lucidity in them. However, I have always had a huge problem with the amount of time I have in the dream after I notice i'm in it. Normally in my dreams after I hit lucidity, I have less than 30 seconds in it before it fades. The longest one I had was where I let the dream take most of the control of my body while I just observed, and this one still only lasted a couple minutes. I wasn't too concerned at this point because I figured that the more I dremt the longer they would last. However, lately, the last 4 or 5 times i have noticed that i was in a dream, the moment I became lucid was the moment I woke up. There is no time for me to do anything because by the time I fully comprehend the thought the dream has completely faded. So I am wondering how to stop this and if it is normal or has happened to anyone else. Would it have to do with the way I induce my dreams? I have never really been too into doing a specific strategy, I simply blank out my mind at some point before I go to sleep and tell myself that I will dream, and that the next time I am conscious I will be dreaming. Usually this works and I end up with a dream that lasts a little more than half the night, with varying levels of recollection and lucidity. Then i would wake up and simply go back to sleep again. Ordinarily, the dreams on the second run through are more vivid and have a higher chance of lucidity. Sorry if any of this is confusing, if you have questions just ask and I will try to answer them as soon as I can. Any and all help is appreciated!

[Puffin]

Hi ShroudWalker, and welcome to Dreamviews! You've joined a pretty chill forum so feel free to post whatever you want! Well, as long as it's within the rules. The method in which you're inducing your LDs probably won't be a factor in the short time you have before waking up. Are you possibly thinking of your physical body, the fact that you're actually asleep in bed, or even maybe just thinking of what you'll do when you wake up? If so, that may be contributing to the premature awakenings. Another possibility is that you've simply had the misfortune of becoming aware when you're near the end of your REM cycles. Sometimes I become lucid right before my dreams end; this might be because I'm starting to become conscious as the dream is still dissolving.

[ShroudWalker]

Thanks for the quick reply! I don't think that the problem isn't my thinking of the real world because there is no time for me to think of anything in the dream. It is the second the notion that I am in a dream comes into my head that I wake up. I will try to see tonight if I dream if the scene seems to be dissolving in the seconds preceding my awakening.

[Puffin]

Yeah, no problem.~ Since you're not thinking of waking life, I'm not sure as to what the problem is. But definitely look and see if the dream has already started fading. If you're lucid as the dream ends, it might also help to try a DEILD; if you end up back in a dream, it will disprove the notion that you may be at the end of your REM cycle. If you DEILD, be completely still but don't focus on your body, and try not to think "don't move don't move don't move". Imagine a dream scenario too, using visual, tactile and auditory sensations. It's best if you imagine the same dream you just exited from.

[cytotoxicT]

You should definitely look into DEILD like Puffin said. Whenever I have a crappy lucid dream that never fully stabilizes, it gives me another shot at it. The problem now is that because it has happened a few times in a row, you subconsciously EXPECT to wake right up. One idea to fix this could be to imagine yourself becoming lucid before sleep. So visualize some dream scenario where you question reality, RC, and stabilize. As this process becomes engrained in your head, you will become more accustomed to the mental state of LDing (which is strange and something your brain isn't used to) and expect yourself to stay in the dream. Hopefully, this will help you endure that initial realization. Good Luck!

[Moto]

How long can you hold the feeling of "Its a dream" in waking life? I used to have this problem, dreams would instantly end, and it didnt get better, not even after 30 lucids. It would get like marginally better, by seconds, but then, now that I've started focusing on the This is a dream sensation in real life for a long time( 10-15), now my lucids last for 10-15 minutes. So, if you were to focus, and re-initiate that lucid sensation, how long could you hold it for, without losing it? That may answer your question as well, on how to maintain it. Just may need practice.