Lucid Dream fail...why?

Hello,

I am a complete newbie and have signed up particularly just to ask you about this. :D

This happened when I was a kid, but I think it is worth revisiting.

I'm playing the game "Populous: The Beginning" (any of you know this game?), in the level where the Armageddon spell is available (not the Head Hunter level). Suddenly I realize I am dreaming, and I remember my dad telling me I could learn to control my dreams, so I tried.

Unfortunately, it immediately became a nightmare, and I had a horrible vision of a black mass of...something terrible. Kind of like the Amadeus cover of Salieri's ghost costume...

I wake up, screaming in my head, to find out that that "black mass" was my mother. She was wearing dark clothes and was right in front of me when I woke up.

Why did my attempt fail? Why did it become a nightmare? What caused this? How can I prevent it again?

Thank you for reading,
best of regards. :)

Hey populous, I remember that. WOw hat game was awesome lol.
It had no meaning, it only turned into a nightmare becuase you made it one (well kinda). Unless you have frequent nightmares there should be problem. Also you say it failed but it didn't, if you were lucid it doesn't matter how long it lasted ;).

Yeah, I remember populous. Awesome game :cheeky: Children tend to have more nightmares than adults. It just was a nightmare. There usually isn't any specific cause for them. It can vary from stress to a bad sleeping position. Your attempt didn't fail, these kind of things happen. Don't be discouraged, just keep trying.

It also happens with us. But the main point is you have a lucid dream whether it is for a min or for 30 seconds. So, congrats for your first lucid dream.