Hi & has anybody had this happen?

[DharmaBum]

First off, hello to everyone I've been interested in lucid dreaming for a while but only really started making an effort to learn it in the last few weeks. I've been keeping a journal & making an effort to remember as much detail as possible from my dreams. Last night i think i had my first 'small' breakthrough. A situation came up that just struck me as being a bit bizarre & i can remember saying "im dreaming, this is all a dream" Here's the problem, i didnt seem to hold on to that realisation & i slipped back into a normal dream state without getting that lucidity back. Has that happened to anyone else? I always assumed the difficult part was getting lucidity, i didnt expect it to be difficult to maintain it.

[Riff]

Yeah it has. Just reassure yourself its a dream. YELL " IM DREAMING!"

[DrTechnical]

As you progress you will likley encounter two problems: 1) Losing lucidity while in your dream 2) Waking up almost immediately upon realizing you're dreaming. Before going to bed, try to define a small numnber of scenarios and things you will try once your lucid. When you get lucid - first do nothing. Look around - understand your environment and scenario (insure stability within the dream). The crucial point here is don't get over excited! Then, map that scenario to one of the pre-thought out goals and give it a try. For example, you might say "If I have a false awakening, I'll go to the kitchen grab a spoon and bend it with my mind". This process should yield two things. One, a stabilization of the situation up front. Then a specific goal and conscious train of thought to insure you don't get distracted by miscellaneous nonsensical events and lose lucidity.

[Goldney]

I recommend MILD for you, there are several Tutorials on the site. Espescially when combined with WBTB. The reason I think this is because you have already shown some promise with realising that you are dreaming, MILD is basically the next step up from the that. Alternatively you could just do lots and lots of reality checks ever day. These will all help you become lucid more frequently. When you become lucid there are a number of techniques that you can do to stay in the dream. One of them is to stay calm, or you could spin. There's a wealth of information out there. Good luck.

[DharmaBum]

Thanks for the encouragment & the advice on keeping lucid. I have to admit i was pretty dissapointed when i woke up & realised that i'd let myself just slip back into the dream. I'll try out all the things you've suggested & hopefully i'll have better luck next time. cheers people

[Clairity]

First.. welcome to Dream Views! Once you become lucid, you might try touching things (I mean really "feeling" them) to stabilize your dream. Get into how they feel.. are they hot, cold, smooth, rough, etc.. this often helps me remain in a dream longer. .