On the other hand, it could have just been a coincidence. By the way, I think it is better to have a plan of action in lucid dreams as it can prolong them and avoid an undesirable exit from the state via hesitation.

Techniques that help you with sensory amplification are a great help too. The dark void is quite common but we can always turn vision, sound and everything else on...

We must also remember that expectation plays a major role when we are lucid dreaming. If we think that an unusual event heralds the beginning of something happening in the physical world and that we might wake up, then this is what is likely to happen.

I do agree with programming of the mind. The brain is very much computerised so...perhaps on many occasions it is not all "coincidence".