I finally had one!!

Hey guys this is my first time posting but I have been observing for a while. I had My first Lucid dream two days ago!:D :D It was amazing. I have a question about it though. Here's the dream:
I am on a play ground in the summer somewhere with a friend. He says some thing strange and I tried to look at him but couldn't see his face..Then I said to him that this is a dream. He said prove it. Then for some reason I tried to squeeze my hand to make flames shoot out but only smoke came out. Then I guess I just forgot I was dreaming because I don't remember the rest.

The question is why couldn't I shoot fire? If there are any experienced Lucid Dreamers can you tell me what happened?

Congratulations on your first lucid dream, and welcome to Dream Views!

Just because you realize it is a dream does not mean you can instantly do whatever you want. Lucidity=/=Dream Control, though that is the goal. I suggest focusing on stabilization techniques and staying lucid rather than trying to manipulate your surroundings just yet. Once you've had a few dreams in which you were lucid for most of the dream, then you should try doing these cool things. It's not that you can't do them before, it's just that you have a higher chance of success, and you'll get a more satisfying experience.

Even in the most stable lucid dreams, things don't go as planned (in your case, you couldn't shoot fire. But hey, getting smoke is a start!). There are a variety of remedies to make things happen. Try looking away, and then looking back, telling yourself what will happen when you look back. Try covering your hand with something, and then uncovering it to see if the flames come out. Try shouting out some spell (even if it is one that you made up yourself). You'd be amazed at the results that such simple (and a bit random) actions can bring.

Hope this helps!

You didn't honestly believe that you could do it. Tell yourself over and over and over again that the entire world is just a result of your imagination, even though it looks real.

A child is sitting on the floor with a spoon that is bending. She gives it to Neo and he starts to concentrate on it. She tells him not to try and bend the spoon because it's impossible, instead just try to realize the truth. He asked her for the truth and she says: "There is no spoon."

You have to start small: minor telekenisis, breathing underwater, stuff like that. Take a look at the tutorials sections for more on dream control. I've never been able to shoot anything either.

Congratulations man on the lucid :greatjob2:

Like the others have said lucidity doesn't mean control. Well not always, although most of the time the lucids have control.

welcome and congrats!
dont worry about the fire thing. Like Ninja said "start out small"


... besides shooting fire from your fingers is cool and all, but it kind of hurt when i did it. My fingers got way too hot, and after i was done shooting the flames, The tree i was shooting at didnt even get burnt :mad: lol oh well. It looked cool though :)

Yup - congrats from me too.
I had the same problem a few times previously, only involving electricity.

The reason is that you have some doubt, deep down. Often this happens in situations when you're put on the spot (by a DC for example).
It'll take a little practice (not that much) before you'll be naturally confident, but there are some tricks to help you right now:

Shortcuts: Instead of expecting the impossible (fire from your fingers), justify it in some way. For example, perhaps put on some expensive gloves that have flamethrowers on the fingertips. This rationalises it for your subconscious. If you find that the gloves malfunction, then avoid mech/machine shortcuts.
Other examples of shortcuts: a levitation pill, a jetpack in a box.

IMPORTANT: Once you've gotten the shortcut to help you, remind yourself that it's all in your head and THROW IT AWAY. This prevents you from becoming dependent on it.

Expectations: The reason you're having problems is because you have doubts, and kind of expect it not to work for some reason. Take some time to think about why that is, and convince yourself why it's rubbish.
You can combat those doubts in your dream, but it's a bit of a tricky thing. The natural thing to do is to focus on the problem and try to make it work. That usually doesn't work, because you're fueling the reason for the doubt.
Rather, you need to practice *not* thinking about it too much. Just expect it to work. Visualise it working before you even do it, and be confident that it will just work.

Don't think too much. Just do it.

At first these two tricks sound like opposites (one is to rationalise it, and one is to not rationalise too much)
The difference is that the shortcut trick places your confidence in something else (temporarily) while the 'just do it' trick relies on yourself.