How did I become lucid this time?

Hi everyone,

I am the kind of person who, through his whole life, has believed anything in a dream, no matter how weird. I could even see crabs flying in the sky and believe it. Also, I have the annoying habit of waking up whenever I get a hint that i'm dreaming.

But today I think I made a partial breakthrough!? I only got 6 hours of sleep last night because I woke up and took a final exam in the morning, then went back to bed at 9 a.m., which is something I never do. (I think this will come in handy later for my questions.) :)

So, my dream was 3 transitions. I was in a very weird James Bond movie in the first transition, then I was in a courtyard in the next transition with a raccoon, and then in my third and final transition, I was on a hiking trail back home where I live, still standing next to that raccoon, and then I saw a car full of the people from the James Bond movie drive by. After this I ran and jumped off of a cliff. (Hehe, a bit hasty to jump! :P)

When I jumped off the cliff, I experienced only 1 second of fear of falling, but then I must have realized I was dreaming because the rest of the fall I was so excited and happy, loving every second of falling towards the ground. That's never happened before and seems totally counter-intuitive.
I even remember the fall being very detailed. I could see myself falling through the foggy morning air, the feeling of falling through the air, and I could clearly see the bushes and the trails on the ground, just like back home. Then when I hit the ground, instead of the usual waking up, for the first time ever I was still in my dream and I did not wake up. I then had one final transition to a new location after that and then my dream ended.

So I just have a few questions regarding this dream:

1. While I was falling, I felt like my brain was trying to pull the "wake-me-up" trick. However, I think I remember fighting that urge and telling my body to just stay in the dream and enjoy the fall. Would this be considered exerting control in my dream?

2. I usually believe anything in a dream and I always think i'm in real life. Was it perhaps the fact that I saw both the raccoon and the James Bond men and it was too much for me to think it was real?

3. Last question: I always get my 8 hours of sleep, wake up, and I am active the rest of the day. But since I only got 6 hours, woke up for my test and was still tired, and went back to bed, was that maybe a reason that I was able to dream so well? Does sleep pattern or habit have anything to do with the awareness or frequency of dreams, or the success in attaining lucidity?

I would really appreciate if experienced lucid dreamers could help me answer these questions. :)

Hi and congratulations on your progress!

I suggest you go to the tutorials section and look up "MILD"

yeah it's amazing the stuff we can perceive as normal in dreams since the logic center of our brain is turned off :)

As for the knee-jerk reaction of waking up once you become lucid- it will take practice but in time I'm sure you'll overcome it. Just as astronauts rehearse there spacewalks in swimming pools before going into space, I believe aspiring oneironaughts would benefit from the same. move around your room, then imagine you've just realized you are in a dream and everything around you is an illusion created by your own mind. what are your thoughts and emotions at that time, what goes through your head? try this several times until you are satisfied then when you will truly become lucid this "training" will kick in.

Getting little sleep helps me getting lucid. Even though it is not intentially. I just like to stay awake and think of what ever i like. Kind of like lucid thinking :P. This tends to end of with my dreams being lucid.

The best trick. To get the most weird dreams... is to wake up after sleep. Like go to bed at 11-12. Wake up at 6-7. Then go in another room. Fall asleep there. Your dreams will be increadibly weird, it will feel like you have slept / dreamt for ages. And chance of lucid dreaming is extremely high. Probably because you are so close to being semi-awake