Something strange happened - Was this my first DEILD???

Around 4:45am I woke up from a memorable dream (a little scary and violent) and was reviewing it in my mind so that I would remember it an hour and a half later when I expected to get up out of bed. Evidently while reviewing the matter in my head I fell asleep again...and dreamed I was standing with the late, great musician Prince in what appeared to be a well-lit back-stage stairwell. I realized he was dead and this couldn't be anything but a dream, and even said to myself with some excitement - "I'm dreaming, this is a dream!"

However...I couldn't engage in any activity, no matter how hard I tried. I could only observe. It seemed to me I couldn't willfully walk or talk. I could only witness the dream scene. This lasted for about 2 - 3 minutes, at which time I woke up. So...I have 2 questions:

1) Was this my first DEILD??? I read the DEILD tutorial and it seems to be the "category/methodology" of the lucidity based upon what I've read.

2) Why couldn't I engage in any willful activity once I attained lucidity? That was a first as well!!

Sorry if this has been asked and answered a thousand times before. This phenomena (lack of affirmative control) is new to me.

Does sound like a DEILD. Falling asleep into a dream while reviewing a prior dream (lightly) is generally the way to do DEILD.

I wouldn't worry about not being able to talk/walk. I've had speech issues a few times in dreams, and being physically stuck a few times (but was able to eventually get moving). could have been a rare in-between state where you're visuals were in the dream but your movement/speech functions were trying to go through the physical and REM atonia prevented the muscle movements...just a theory. It happened so infrequently with me that I just haven't thought about it or worried about it. Best not to keep it on your mind or you might end up creating a negative schema.

I feel bad because (for me) attaining lucidity is a relatively rare event. It feels like a sin to get frustrated and think "Well, if this is how it's going to be (no control or ability to engage the dream although lucid) I might as well wake up" - and then intentionally wake up.

Lately if I were to count the 2 - 3 minute long lucid dreams (which I don't) I'd be well above my 1 per month average, so affirmatively aborting this otherwise potentially interesting LD for "lack of control" kind of rankled. :whyme: I'd have stuck with it if it weren't for the fact I felt as if I were a disembodied "camera" on the wall.

I'd definitely count 2-3 minute LDs! I'm a bit picky myself (I generally only count dreams where I affirm acknowledging "I'm dreaming"), but full lucidity doesn't (to me) have anything to do with duration. 2-3 minutes is a pretty decent time, too! And it may help with motivation and confidence to acknowledge getting lucid more.

I think working with what you do experience and having a more inquisitive outlook, rather than saying "well this doesn't match my ideal experience, so I might as well wake up", might be a more productive mindset. You could try different things, teleporting for instance, and summoning, perhaps some dream yoga exercises, and of course, meditation: examining this notion that you were "stuck" with mindfulness, examining it and trying to trace it to its roots, and realizing that this stuck feeling is itself just a dream and a product of your mind ... maybe thinking along those lines would have broken through the barrier, or even if not, still would result in a positive experience. Think of it as just acquiring more data about sleeping and dreaming.

And from a practical standpoint, note that a lot of successful LDers have a positive outlook, especially towards dreaming. Avoiding any sort of negative thoughts about dreaming can be important for sustaining progress, so stay positive!