I must relate an experience of just about 30 min ago, encouraging and showing wonderful potential. yet SO frustrating.

I dreampt I was running through a prison compound and I was with a group of kids from my school. They were all desperate to get out but they, went so fast, that I lost them and was stuck in this prison place (strangely resembling a high class mall). The next thing that happened was that I began to get pulled into the air away from where I wanted to go. (You may have experienced this getting pulled toward a scary thing in the past, I know I have), I realized, "Dude this is a dream, your lucid man" Meanwhile I was not controlling a thing and I said to myself, "hey wait I'm dreaming so i can fly back just as easily" and proceeded to do aerobatics plunging toward the floor.

-My main concern over this is that, It felt very detached and lacking vividness. I did remember to look at my hands, but It felt exhausting to try and keep the dream going, and didnt feel real, I even began second guessing myself if I really was lucid, but I believe I was. During this dream, I heard the music I was playing beside my bed very clearly. (Does anyone experience such a shallow LD?) It almost feels like I need to be deeper for a real experience.

Also last night I dreampt I was talking to my dad and just knew for no apparent reason that I was dreaming and proceeded to control what he did (quite entertaining actually), this felt much more real and in depth.

-I also am frusrated at the missed opportunity that came next and how very close I came. This felt MUCH deeper and still a dream, so I know its in me somewhere. I had an FA apparently, (after "waking from a lucid dream") yet, as usual, I could have sworn it was real, yet something told me, this is not right, something feels off, (meanwhile, why would I have woken to lights on in my room and feeling this feeling) I decided to do some RC's (the first time in a dream I've ever done them) and the nose pinch failed (I somehow was sceptical of the result) (it failed) and then decided to do the clock RC. As soon as I looked at the clock and looked back before I had time for another thought, my real alarm clock woke me for real. ( I have never been in such a vivid dream and honestly if I just thought the tiniest bit more, I probably would have had an incredible experience O well, there's always next time.

Do any other poor souls experience this

-near miss with FA's
-second guessing yourself,
-"shallow" dreams
-LD's with no effort on your part, totally unexpected.

you don't have to answer all, any ideas are appreciated

P.s - strangely enough I had been slacking off on my dream journal a little lately, but when I became lucid I wondered why I wasn't always lucid, it seemed a given. Perhaps I am close and just need to focus a little more Well, At least my L'd's went from 4 to 6.