My first lucid dream!

[JosephJayKay]

Hi everyone. My name is Joseph. So a couple weeks ago, I had my first lucid dream, or at least I think it was a lucid dream. Before I had the LD, I was studying dreams in psychology and the teacher asked everyone to try and remember a dream for an activity. So for about an hour before I fell asleep I kept telling myself, "I need to remember my dream." over and over repeatedly. Then once I was asleep, I dont exactly remember everything, but I was walking with a friend then I stopped and said, "Hey! I'm dreaming right now!!" I was super excited because I've heard of lucid dreams, but never had one. And my friend who was with me in the dream asked me, "How do you know this is a dream?" and I told him, "Look at this spot on my hand! Every time I look at it, it changes into a different shape so this has to be a dream!" But then after that, I got really excited and said, "I can do anything I want in my dreams!" but I lost control after that. And the last thing I can remember is my friend and I were running somewhere... when I woke up I was excited, but sad because I didnt actually get to do anything. Ever since then I've been trying to have another lucid dream, but havent had any luck. First of all, was this really a lucid dream? And if it was, could I get some tips on how to have another, and remain in control of it? Thanks in advance for anyone who helps

[Mancon]

Welcome to the forums, JosephJayKay! Yes, it was a lucid dream. Congrats! If you realized you were dreaming while in the dream for even a second, it was lucid. The first step towards lucid dreaming is to work on your dream recall. There is a great dream recall tutorial here on the site you should read. Once you can remember at least one dream a night, it is time to pick a technique in order to become lucid again. You can find a list of techniques right here. Pick one that appeals the most to you, and would fit your lifestyle better. Different techniques work differently for different people. Don't give up right away if the technique isn't working! You should be trying it for at least a month (preferably longer) and then change your technique if you feel it isn't working. There are tons of guides here on the site for each technique you can find and read. I good place to look for these guides is in the wiki or in the 'Attaining Lucidity' section. When you first realize you are dreaming you need to stabilize it, so it lasts longer and is more vivid. Read this Stabilization Tutorial for more info. As for the control, being confident is the main thing. Believe you can do it and you can. There are also several dream control tutorials on the site I recommend you read. This is the official one. I have also written a guide to flying in lucid dreams if you find you are struggling with that. The link to my guide is in my signature. Lastly, you should read Puffin's Beginner's Guide to Lucid Dreaming. It is full of tons of helpful tips in order to lucid dream for new people. Good luck, and if you have any questions you are welcome to send me a PM or ask on the forums!

[BlackRain]

Congrats on your first lucid Joseph, Persistence is Key, You'll get better dream control with time and lucky for us LD'ers we get every night to practice Im sure soon ill be reading your post for your second LD. Good Luck

[BobbyLance]

Hi there my friend, congratulations on your very first LD. You've just attained an LD through the method "DILD" . It's when you realize that something is amiss or strange and you start to question reality. Just like what Mancon said, be sure to read the Dream Stabilization Tutorial so that you'll be able to prolong your Lucid Dream and make out the most of it. I'm sure that with proper practice and patience, you'll be lucid dreaming in no time. Hope this helps Other useful Links: DILD Tutorial - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

[JosephJayKay]

So I read a tutorial on dream recall before I went to bed last night. I chose to do a dream journal. When I woke up from my alarm this morning, I tried to relax and remember my dream. But... I accidentally fell back asleep. Then my brother woke me up and said we were late for church so I had to get up in a rush. So no luck with the dream journal today. I'm going to try not to fall back sleep tomorrow

[Mancon]

Awww, sucks you fell back asleep. Good luck tomorrow!

[JosephJayKay]

Okay time for bed again. I'm working on my dream recall before I try and lucid dreaming again because I think my first lucid dream was a complete accident. I'm going to try and repeat the mantra "I need to remember my dream" like I did when I had my first lucid dream. Then I'm going to relax, try to stay awake this time, and record anything I remember in my dream journal. Good night everyone, wish me luck and hopefully I'll have a nice and exciting dream to share with everyone. I'll also try and post all my dreams that I remember here on this thread as well as my dream journal.

[Neymares]

congratz man, nice dreams

[JosephJayKay]

So no luck with dream recalling, I think the dream journal isnt the best option since I need to wake up and get ready for school and all..

[JosephJayKay]

Sorry if this is considered spam, but I meant to ask if anyone has a good dream recall method that doesnt involve a lot of time since I have school and dont have much time to get ready in the morning (I couldnt find the edit button for my last post X.X)

[bb316]

I too have to get up early for school. I still keep a dream journal through my ipod touch. It is very fast and easy if you own an iphone or ipod touch. Just keep it under a note. What I also do is writing them down while I get driven to school. -hope it helps!

[Quantiq]

A tip is to write out your dream journal in just key points, instead of full stories. It requires little effort and still has a major impact on your recall. So if you have little time to write out a full DJ entry, just write out some key points. You could also write out your DJ electronically. I find I type faster than I write. Just some ideas.