My First Lucid Dream

[sp83]

Hi everybody. I am brand new to the world of lucid dreaming, but I find the subject extremely intriguing. I had my very fist LD this afternoon while napping, but the experience wasn't completely satisfying. Hopefully I can find some advice to make my next LD more complete. Here's how it went down: I was extremely exhausted and fell asleep immediately, and while doing so I was sucessful in remaining conscious of the fact that I was quickly falling asleep. Next I found myself in a dream that I have experienced before and have recorded in my dream journal. However, this time, I "took control" of the events and made sure to examine my hands. They appeared normal from both sides (palms and backs), but when I went to touch my fingers they shrunk into stubs. I had a friend in the dream check it out and the same thing happened to him when he tried to touch my fingers - they retreated and subsequently re-generated. At this point I was convinced that I was dreaming, and tried to change the course of the dream from the way it had originally happened. In the original, my friend and I opened the door to an office, where we had an interview with an older man. In the lucid version, I said that I wanted something different to be behind the door, but I was disappointed to find that the dream carried on the same way it had originally. I feel that I had lost control of the dream, I was disappointed that the result wasn't different, and that's about the last thing I remember about it. I'm wondering if there is anything I could have done differently or "better" to fully take control of the dream. For example, instead of "commanding" that there be something different behind the door, should I have instead left the scene or something. I felt that I was definitely aware that I was dreaming, but I had trouble taking the next step and doing what I wanted to do. Any advice, suggestions, resources, etc that you guys may have I would greatly appreciate. Kindest regards.

[KingYoshi]

Welcome to DreamViews and congrats on becoming lucid! Control just takes some practice and experience. For changing things behind a door, I suggest imagining whatever it is before opening the door. When you go to open it...open it very slowly and imagine what you will see as you open it. If you see it isn't working, close the door and repeat. Just slowly open the door, imagining the desired outcome, and be confident in your approach. Don't worry, control will come. If you struggle with something, don't be afraid to ask questions, and just keep practicing. Control is very flexible in dreams and what works for some may not work well for others. Get creative with it and try out many different things to see what works best for you. Good luck and again, congrats!