My First Lucids! Finally!

Discovering this site has been the spur to get me to try lucid dreaming, and I finally had my first lucid dreams last week after about 3 months of trying.
They weren't anything like some of the more extensive lucids that some of you experts have been having, but it's a start.

The first was a morning dream that I lapsed back into after waking, where I just suddenly became lucid. It was so shocking to me that I woke instantly after only about 3-5 seconds. I was diving down under water, but I know it was a lucid because it was so real and I was totally aware of it. It really took me by surprise as to how real it was!

The second time was the next night, where I suddenly realised that the dream scene was not quite right, and I thought to myself, "hey, this is a dream!", but again, I woke up immediately after only a few seconds.

The interesting thing about this was that I was on holiday and getting plenty of sleep.
Now that I have returned home I'm not even getting anything like the dream recall I had before, and have not had another lucid, but then my length of sleep has taken a nose-dive.

I now at least get it. Just need to move to the next level.

Congratulations friend, and welcome to the wonderful world of Lucid Dreaming.

As far as I know, everyone starts off having those short Lucids. It seems that when we discover that we are Dreaming, the excitement overwhelms us to the point where we wake up. The more you become Lucid, the longer you will be able to stay in the Dream. Don't give up. Although not getting enough sleep can be a problem, it can also have an unexpected benefit. I am referring to what is called R.E.M. Rebound. You body needs to reach R.E.M. a certain length of time every night and when it is being deprived of it, your body compensates by increasing each R.E.M. cycle. This, in effect, can lengthen your Dream time and increase your chances of becoming Lucid.

Do you perform reality checks? How often? What does your RC consist of? I can help you get better at this, as well as many others on this site too.

Thanks PlanesWalker.
I don't think I do anywhere near enough RC'ing during the day to make it second nature. I plan to do more of that. All I've been doing is the thumb through the hand RC, but only occasionally.

The other thing I think might be a factor in my poor recall since returning from holiday is that during and since I have stopped doing my journal. I plan to re-start that too, as I understnd the very act of doing a DJ helps with recall.

I've had numerous attempts at WILD, in the past, but I realise now how difficult they are. I tend to find I just cannot get to sleep - like I'm maintaining too much awareness, or that I just fall asleep with too little awareness! That balance between getting to sleep and remaining aware is a very fine one to get right in a WILD I think.

Any help with RC's welcome!

Sleeping in late is awesome. I love those short, rapid-fire dreams that happen as you are dozing in bed on a sunday morning. Can you squeeze in some more time to sleep? What about on weekends?

The finger through the palm can be tricky. In Dreams, everything that happens is based on you. Let me explain..

If you do not know you are Dreaming, especially if the Dream is hyper realistic, you may not expect your finger to pass through your hand, therefore it won't. But this presents a problem because you will have missed out on a chance to become Lucid. I've run into problems like this many times, because I use telekinesis as part of my RC. I've found the most efficient way to check is using your memory, try to remember the last few minutes before youve asked yourself if you are Dreaming. If you cannot, or if you remember being somewhere else entirely, then you are Dreaming. It also help to have multiple things involved in your RC. Try memory first, then palm finger, then try to move something without touching it. The moment you become convinced you are Dreaming, anything is possible.

The biggest obstacle with remembering to RC, is remembering to do so when engaged in an activity. Very rarely are you alone with your thoughts in a Dream, giving you time to remember to RC. If you can consistently remember to RC when interacting with the world, your chances of Lucid Dreaming increase dramatically.

Yea that for me is the most difficult part - how do you stop yourself in your dream and question it? I guess just doing a waking RC regularly is not what it's about, it's the stopping to question reality that is the real key.
I like your idea about trying to remeber the last few minutes.
It's a sort of Catch 22, where you appear to need to be aware in order to do an RC to become aware!
In my second very short lucid I distinctly remember thinking "hey, this is not right!" and becoming lucid, but I can't really recall the moments just before that . Was I already slightly more aware for some reason perhaps?

I had better recall of one dream last night, so just thinking about it and coming on here must have re-ignited my dream recall a bit.
I have been using a smart phone app DJ, but it's not very convenient in the middle of the night. I think I may need to scribble a few words down the old fashioned way to enhance my recall.

You're lucky (in some ways, anyway). I got my first lucid within 4 days of trying and I usually have long lucids (my first was the longest until, like, my fourth). The quality is shoddy, though, and I can't think completely straight in one so i'm only half aware.

The one I had last night was easily the best, though. There was SOME quality, though I didn't try to influence anything in the dream. Mostly because the ending was hilarious.

Congratulations, Goldenspark!

The first Lucids a person has are definitely exciting. It's common for the, to only last a few seconds, so don't feel bad about that. :) At least you did it! Whatever you are doing to get lucid, must be working for keep doing it! I hope you have many more soon :) Good luck! Also try to remember to stabilize the dream as soon as you become lucid.

Good for you! Some people take more time than most people does. Congratulations anyways!