Slow, but steady wins the race, right?

Hey guys.
I've been a member for almost two months now and I still seem to be having some troubles with lucid dreaming. I've tried a lot of techniques and none of them seem to be working for me. And I'm starting to think I need some outside help.
I think I had one lucid dream, but it lasted only seconds and when I tried spinning the dream just blacked out and I woke up. I'm counting it as one anyway.
I'm pretty good at recalling dreams, as I've said in previous posts asking for help. I've recalled up to six different dreams in a night and it's only a matter of how lazy I am in writing them down when I wake up.
So really, it's not the problem of not being able to dream. It's more like, I can't seem to realize that I'm dreaming when I do.
I do reality checks and stuff like that, but for some reason if something weird happens or if a dream sign comes up it doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me.
I'd really like it if someone could help me.
Or even better, adopt me.
For like, longer term help, you know?

I don't really know how this whole post thing works, so if I'm posting this in the wrong area or something, then sorry. :roll:
Thanks!

how exactly do you do reality checks?
how often?

care to recount how your probable first lucid happened?
have you tried WBTB (wake back to bed) technique?

I don't do RCs as much as I probably should. I mean, I do them as often as I remember to and when I see my dream signs in real life.
I usually do the finger through your hand, the hold your nose and sometimes the look at the clock and then look away RCs. But again, only when I remember to.

And as for my first lucid dream, it wasn't really intentional.
It was during a nap I took after a big lunch and a long drive to my Grandma's house on Mother's Day. I remember having a few dreams and then my brother coming into the room and waking me up to tell me that we were leaving in a few hours. He left, and I fell back asleep and had a dream that I was under a table because all I saw was carpet and the underside to a table. I suddenly realized that I was dreaming and tried not to get too excited. I tried to spin, but the dream slowly blacked out anyway.

Yeah so there it is.
And for the WBTB technique, I've looked into it, but I've never really tried it. I think I will now.

in my experience, it is best to do 1-3 quality reality checks a day than many half-assed ones.

by that i mean...

1. stop everything, so that you have your undivided attention.
2. think back over the past 5-10 minutes...what were you just doing? are there any gaps? if so, you are likely dreaming.
3. survey your surroundings carefully, accepting and believing that it COULD be a dream, no matter how real it seems. this true skepticism is the key to reality checks, and the difference between a quality one, and a half-assed one.

if one gets in the habit of just hastily looking around and going "yeah, things look normal and real", and tap their finger on the opposing palm expecting nothing, they will do the same thing while dreaming.

4. do a reality check. the holding your nose and trying to breath is an excellent one. three deep attempts should do.

all said, a good RC should take at least two minutes. the main purpose is to train you mind to TRULY and COMPLETELY question your reality at any given time, regardless of how real it may appear. just think...one time you will do a RC in the most likelike environment, and it truly will be a dream :wink:

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your experience was definitely a lucid dream, albeit a short one..but don't worry, some people have short ones at first (i was one of them). just a matter of getting used to the feeling and learning how to prolong it.

and basically, the conditions for it were exactly what a WBTB seeks to reproduce...waking up after 5+ hours of sleep to re-engage your waking mind, and then going back to sleep.

later in the night, the REM (dreaming) periods get longer, which means often one re-enters dreaming sleep as soon as they fall asleep again. at the beginning of the night, this is not the case.

try waking up after 5-6 hours, and staying up for ten minutes. maybe read about lucid dreaming, or think about becoming lucid, and how you will stay calm and build on your first success....as you drift off to sleep say to yourself "the next thing i see will be a lucid dream", or whatever you feel is good.

congrats on your first success...it's only the beginning.

sweet dreams :)