Man, what a good thread.

I want to just point out one thing before I start talking. Lucid dreams can last far longer than a measly few minutes. I have had ones as long as forty five minutes.
And as far as hope you are completely correct. You can't rely completely on your dream signs and RCs and such. There is always a flaw in the system (Hehe, Hunger Games quotes)

I truly do hope that lucid dreaming progresses and is researched deeply by the world sometime soon, but at the same time I really don't want it to become mainstream. People would turn it into something I don't want to see it become.

All I can say is effort and persistence will eventually get you wherever you need. Oh, and intention, don't forget intention.

Sorry for such a short post, getting kinda tired Zzzz

-Dezz