Thread: sleep cycles

A bit of background and then a question or two. I’ve had many lucid dreams during my life but always I was a passive participant. I knew it was a dream and would just let it play out, safe in the knowledge that it wasn’t real and I couldn’t be hurt. Only since lurking here have I tried (with some success) to actively take control. I’ve had several lucids in the past month or so in which I made a conscious effort to fly when I became aware. They only last a minute or two before I start to lose control. As I lose altitude, I know I’m going to wake up. About a week ago I had one in which I didn’t just spontaneously start to descend. I flew for a much longer period and only when I decided that I would land (to try something else) did I start to wake up. Last night I had a long controlled flight and knew I couldn’t land because that would be the end of it. I thought “If there was some sort of floating island I could get back on land without actually descending.” There it was, off in the distance (looking like Gilligan’s island) I headed towards it (at some point I wasn’t flying but swimming) and got on shore. There was an old factory there (that I had worked at many years ago). I went inside and there were all my old co-workers. One of them said ”You finally made it. Come downstairs we want to show you something.” I thought “I’m not falling for that. If I go down there,I’ll wake up.” They all headed downstairs and wondered to myself why it didn’t wake them up and a voice beside me said “Because they’re not dreaming” I was instantly awake.
Sorry for the long-winded novel but I’m wondering if it’s not a case of me losing control but just the natural end of the dream. I can’t recall any parts of these dreams before I become lucid but maybe it is a long dream and I am only becoming aware towards the very end of the sleep cycle.