Finally, my first lucid experience. Help clarify some things?

[Reagan]

Last night I had my first lucid experience, but I had a few questions about future experiences I will have. This is very newbish of me and I can understand how many users may be annoyed by this so I apologize in advance. So basically I fell asleep at a decent hour and had random dreams throughout the night which I cannot remember because I haven't been keeping a DJ. After a while of non-lucid dreaming, I spontaneously spawned into a brand new dream. I ended up in a department store esque setting (I had been to Walmart earlier this week so perhaps this was just my subconscious spewing this information back at me). Lately I've picked up the habit of doing the nose pinching thing every time I practice the awareness technique in real life. As soon as I spawned into this new dream, for some reason I pinched my nose and inhaled without thinking, as if it were a reflex. I felt air rush through my nostrils, and suddenly I felt a more realistic dream environment. Within a minute or two the dream ended and I went into a blank state without dreaming. Why did my dream end so suddenly? Was it lack of stabilization? Or does it just take practice to maintain the lucid state? Any tips relevant to this are appreciated.

[AscendedSleeper]

Or does it just take practice to maintain the lucid state? I would say this. Some people obviously have easier times than others at remaining in lucid dreams, but generally experience is all it takes for lucid dreams to become more lengthy. A minute or two is actually not bad at all for a first lucid dream. Many people wake up within five seconds of lucidity just from initial excitement. When it comes to stabilization, the key is to engage your senses actively in the dream environment. While different methods work best for different people, here are some useful techniques to know and try: -Rub your hands together, focusing on the tactile sensation. -Feel and look at the ground. -Look down and see what you are wearing. Take your clothes off. Sounds weird, but this can help you engage in the dream more actively. Also, excessive excitement in an unstable dream will almost always wake you up. Try to just relax and think as clearly as possible. Many people use spinning as a stabilization technique, but some claim it actually destabilize their dreams. If you find your vision fading, though, spinning had been demonstrated (in the research of Stephen Laberge), to increase your chances of remaining in the dream. Spin around at a moderate speed if you feel the dream ending, and there is a good chance that you will just end up in a new dream scene. I hope my comments are of use to you. Good luck!

[Elias0returned]

Why did my dream end so suddenly? Because God can speak to us in our dreams, it is best that we listen to the best of our ability. It is dangerous to treat dreaming without Him.

[fOrceez]

Congratulations, dude! Why did my dream end so suddenly? This can be due to over-excitement or any sudden strong feelings that you might experience when you initially got lucid. To combat this, you could try a mindset during every day life similiar to "If this is a dream.." try not to get overly emotional. As well as this, your lucids will progressively get longer with experience. As stated above, once you get lucid in a dream, you should use stabilization techniques. Stabilization involves grounding your 5 dream senses into the dream. Good luck!

[Reagan]

I would say this. Some people obviously have easier times than others at remaining in lucid dreams, but generally experience is all it takes for lucid dreams to become more lengthy. A minute or two is actually not bad at all for a first lucid dream. Many people wake up within five seconds of lucidity just from initial excitement. When it comes to stabilization, the key is to engage your senses actively in the dream environment. While different methods work best for different people, here are some useful techniques to know and try: -Rub your hands together, focusing on the tactile sensation. -Feel and look at the ground. -Look down and see what you are wearing. Take your clothes off. Sounds weird, but this can help you engage in the dream more actively. Thank you, this post was very enlightening. I will rub my hands together next time and try touching the floor etc. Congratulations, dude! This can be due to over-excitement or any sudden strong feelings that you might experience when you initially got lucid.! This actually makes a lot of sense, I was a little over-intrigued by the realness of the dream and the different sensations I experienced. I'll try to be more mellow next time! You guys have helped a lot! It's good to know I can always come here for good answers.

[Elias0returned]

A minute or two is actually not bad at all for a first lucid dream. How would you know?

[LabRat]

How would you know? Because even a split-second of being lucid is progress

[Elias0returned]

Because even a split-second of being lucid is progress So one spends time preparing with methods and techniques when all one needs is to rest the body. God speaks to us in this simple bodily concern from Scripture, "Wait on the Lord, and He shall renew your strength." I didn't read an advisory for lucid dreaming along the lines of "Make sure you have gotten your rest first." The whole concept of lucid dreaming plays upon the bodily necessity of rest. Without such an advisory to be rested, the indulgence into undo strain is anything but progress.

[Enjyu]

Congratulations on your first lucid dream! Usually the first lucid dream is the most difficult to attain. Now that you've had your first one they will come more frequently. So one spends time preparing with methods and techniques when all one needs is to rest the body. Unless you are a natural lucid dreamer, you will need practise in order to get lucid dreams. You won't get them by simply resting your body. Those are non-lucid dreams you are talking about. Please read the articles on the DreamViews homepage. Judging from the posts you've made so far, it seems you haven't got a clue what lucid dreaming is about.

[LabRat]

So one spends time preparing with methods and techniques when all one needs is to rest the body. God speaks to us in this simple bodily concern from Scripture, "Wait on the Lord, and He shall renew your strength." I didn't read an advisory for lucid dreaming along the lines of "Make sure you have gotten your rest first." The whole concept of lucid dreaming plays upon the bodily necessity of rest. Without such an advisory to be rested, the indulgence into undo strain is anything but progress. Sorry, I tend to switch off once things get even remotely preachy.. But no, unless you can LD naturally, "resting the body" just doesnt cut it Im afraid..

[lawilahd]

To Elias, I really have no idea what you're talking about, care to elaborate? Also, to OP, if your first lucid only lasted that long, don't get discouraged, all my lucids in the beginning were extremely short. In fact, there was a period of time where they got even shorter because I would become to anxious to stabilize and that combined with the excitement of becoming lucid in the first place is no help at all. Most of the time, getting very emotionally riled up or excited can wake you up, so you need to learn to remain calm, continue doing what you have been doing, and also practice awareness techniques like SAT ADA etc. and you will soon find that you are able to stay in the lucid state for longer, and will actually be able to get shit done. But remember, patience is required.

[fOrceez]

I think Elias is just here to preach.

[Darkmatters]

I think Elias is just here to preach Mayflow. Fixed