1st time lucid dreaming help

Hello everyone,

I first learned of lucid dreaming a few days ago, and thought that alot of hog wash, but last night I had 2 lucid dreams. The first was very brief and solely consisted of my flying through space and lasted a few seconds after which I woke up (I think). In my second lucid dream I realized I was dreaming after my sister who lives 5 hours away from me, appeared unannounced in my apartment and offered no explanation how she had gotten past my locked door. I suspected I was dreaming and grabbed a book and found that the title made no sense and changed each time I looked at it. I was sure I was dreaming and got very excited. I thought of what wild adventures and impossible feats I might want to do, but then I thought I could be wrong and my mind was playing a trick on me, so I should focus on doing something mundane. Indeed, throughout my dream I would control myself out of fear I might be wrong about dreaming. So I decided to make my girlfriend appear, but I was unable to do so (I have since read I should have looked around the corner, or called her on the phone), so I decided I would drive to her apartment. It usually takes me an hour to get to her apartment, and I realized that my dream would not last that long, but I thought that driving to her apartment in my dream would only take 5 minutes as I thought my mind wouldn't be able to recreate that long drive (Is this a correct assumption?) As I walked out to my car I realized how realistic everything seemed, and I was really amazed as I had never had a dream that seemed this real (is this normal?). However, I soon ran into a number of barricades of which the the first three I was able to drive through or around, but I finally came to a gaping hole leading to Hell (I think...could have been purgatory). I thought of driving over the hole, but beacme conerned that I would ruin the car (I have had a lot of car trouble lately!), so instead I decided I would fly over the hole and reach my girlfriend's apartment more quickly. I thought about what if I was wrong bout dreaming...I would die...and in a really dumb way, but I quickly decided that the evidence was overwelming that I was dreaming. So I jumped into the the hole and brought my right arm up and pointed to the sky...and fell into the abyss! And so I found myself in Hell, which turns out to be a long Queue Area deigned in Baroke architecture (like a line for an amusment park ride) that takes an eternity to go through. In Hell I was unable to fly out, and got stuck there even though I contined to realize I was dreaming.

So I guess my questions are:

1. Are the barriers that I encountered that prevented me from leaving my neighborhood normal? How do I get past them (can I?) and what do I do if I get trapped in an area of no escape?

2. Is trying to drive to locations in a dream a mistake? Should I just spin around and wish to be in a new location (note: I dont want to lose lucidity).

3. I have found it really easy to remember this dream as it was so vivid. Will all lucid dreams be so easy to remember?

4. Is my fear that I might not actually be dreaming when lucid dreaming preventing me from doing fantastic feats like flying, or is it helping me stay lucid as it reminds me that I'm dreaming?

Whats up, man. Welcome to DV. :cooler:

Congrats on your first Lucid Dream. It's nice to be proven wrong, every now and then, isn't it? :wink: Haha.
Anyway: First off; it's cool that you were able to stay lucid for so long on your first attempt. A lot of people wake up from sheer excitement and anticipation, but you handled yourself rather well.
To answer your first question: It's hard to define the barriers as "normal," but I wouldn't call them Unusual, really. If you ask me, they are simply there because of your uncertainty of what you can and can't do while lucid. The mind has a crazy way of confronting you with your doubts and leaving it to you to figure out a way of desolving them. I think it's best for you, when faced with something that you're unsure of how to get around, to stop and focus on the fact that this is Your dream. The only thing limiting you is being confronted with your own doubtful expectations (whether you know you're creating them or not.) When you see those barriers, or any other thing holding you back, steady your thoughts, and simply will them out of your way. ....Or you can always go all Anime and destroy them with an energy blast or something. :mrgreen:
#2) I've never been able to stay lucid for too long while driving. Something about feeling the need to concentrate on the road draws me back into 'going with the flow' of the dream scenario and I usually loose lucidity. (Though I do remember once climbing into my rear view mirror and winding up in another dream, but that's not quite the same. lol. For me, flying is the best mode of transportation, and spinning/teleporting is a close second.
3)My lucid dreams are usually the easiest to remember, but my really vivid non-lucid dreams are often just as potent.
4) That's actually a very good question. For me, reminding myself that I'm dreaming and I can do as I please, constantly, is enough for me to stretch out my lucidity. Doing fantastic things usually help me maintain lucidity because I know I couldn't be doing them unless I was dreaming. Doubting my lucidity usually gets me more worried about danger, and being as cautious of things as if they were real usually gets me "going with the flow" of the dream and, if it is a pretty intense scenario, I'll lose my lucidity.

But..we're all different. I'd say experiment with both tactics and see which one works best for you.

Good luck! :goodjob2: