A month after my first lucid dream, I had 3 more

It seems like I can be a potential lucid dreamer like you guys. I can realize I'm dreaming every once in a while without a need of a reality check, though my lucid dreams are probably pathetic when compared to the stories here, and don't last long.

the 2nd,3rd,4th, I had the same objective for the lucid dream. There's a big friend, a sweetheart, who unfortunately lives far and I wanted to meet her in person just to see what my imagination can bring forth.
#2_ I realized I was dreaming (saying 'this is a dream' out loud and seeing everything more vivid), but for some reason I began waking up immediately after.
#3_ i realized I was dreaming (same process) and I flew Superman (or Matrix) style at around 10000 km/h towards the location. It felt great, but I woke up before reaching it.
#4_ "This is a dream", then I flew upwards and instead of flying physically, I really made it be closer and reached the destination in a few seconds. I rubbed my hands and I attempted to summon her but it wasn't her and my conscious mind/confidence was very diminished as if I was non-lucid again, and that made me wake up.

My main problem seems to be lack of confidence and control. Probably I should rub my hands more often or the spinning the body technique. What would make me stay lucid if this is the issue?

with flying I hear its when you fly too high or fast, you lose vivd awareness and you wake up.
You could try spinning around, that apparantly works. I tried it in a dream where I was stuck in some wierd offices, problem being I was shouted awake pretty soon into it

I normally don't have to use any technique, just stay calm and don't think about your RL body or that your sleeping or about waking up. If you want to stay lucid though try using as many of your senses as you can, rubbing your hands, smelling something nice, etc. There are other techniques but that is what works for me.

beginners and flying don't mix too well. Try simple summoning her without flying. Summon her out of your view and turn to see her.

Interesting replies. I never thought that flying fast could be a problem. I surely have a problem in thinking that I do not want to wake up, and that can be a factor of why I do wake up.

I'll try summoning her from my dreaming location, and then I'll move on into other lucid objectives.

Excitement will make you wake up, and traveling at 10,000 KM/h will excite you...
Anyway, like someone else said, you have to use your senses to prolong. Dream spinning is also supposed to stimulate REM (which would prolong your dream).

Heya there,

Remember its your dreams. What works or does not work for you is entirely subjective and personal. For some people flying is difficult, for others, its one of the easiest to do. For some people rubbing your hands together works to prolong lucid dreams, for some it does not. There's no set of definitives here.

I think things are going well for you. You've started becoming aware of dreaming in your dreams. However, lucidity doesn't stop there. You constantly have to work on it. You've learned how to become aware in dreams, now you have to learn how to sharpen that awareness, become more conscious, learn how to set lucid dream goals and actually act on them during your dreams, and how to prolong dreams. Its an exciting new world of possibilities :)

As for prolonging your dreams. Personally I believe that the best way to prolong dreams is simply to pay attention to them. Feel the things around you, smell the area you're in, listen to the sounds you can hear. That tends to extend and solidify a dream for me real quickly. The alternative, cutting myself off from dreamsensations (by for instance closing my eyes, sitting down and thinking of waking up) will instantly wake me. That's why hand rubbing works for many as a technique, I think, because it creates dreamsensations to focus on. That's why I think flying would actually be a good way to prolong dreams too.

And as for control in dreams. That one is trickier. Its mostly about belief, I think. If you believe it can and will happen, it will. But to truly believe something is hard. For instance if you try to summon someone out of the blue, your believe in that it can happen 'cause its a dream' will be at odds with your lifelong indoctrination that 'such things can't happen' (at least not in waking life). That's why such tricks like 'imaging the person is in the next room and going there' often have more succes, as they require less suspension of disbelief to make them work.

But in the end though, like I said, its always a matter of finding out what works (and does not work) for you.

Just my 2 dreamcents,

-Redrivertears-