Starting to get a hang of it, tips needed!

Hello fellow dreamers!
Let me share what's happening around lately. After I've first had my really confusing first lucid, I had 4 cases of realizing that i'm dreaming, but than it instantly all went blurry of course. In between i had a successful vivid LD for around 5 seconds, and a rather short random one. Both ended up with me looking at my hands, i only saw a glimpse of them. I than accepted the fact that i may just get overexcited and changed my approach to the whole getting lucid part. I kept thinking about getting lucid and than instantly relaxing, taking it easy since i know from the past how excitement ruins everything and went through the process over and over again until i was sure that in my dreams, i will be calm as well. This morning, i had the longest lucid dreams so far. Copy from the journal:

21.08.2010

The longest lucid so far (Non-lucid)

NON-DREAM DREAM LUCID

In the middle of my quite random dream, I was standing infront of a garage. My whole dream was somehow connected to sports, so when i opened the doors, there were 4 or 5 men standing around the table soccer. All good, if they weren't wearing FOOTBALL jerseys and the soccer balls on the table were actualy basketballs. So far i've gotten used to connecting what's going on in the dreams and just recognize that there's something wrong. I was than sure that this is a dream, and told that to myself, when the football guys dared me like oh yea? Prove it. I was like ok fine, even tho i was half lucid at the time already. I told myself to relax, as i will slowly drift into more lucid state, i shouldn't get overexcited and ruin this. I stepped outside the garage and did the nose pinch for the first time in my dream and made sure i was lucid. The feeling was a lot more familiar this time. I was concentrating on getting relaxed and remembered to focus on breathing for a while. So far the problem for me was always the visualizaton, so i was trying to keep the picture steady. When i was breathing for around 10 seconds, maybe less, i decided to touch the garrage wall. It was white and had those bumps of cement. It was particulary bright, as the sun would start shining at that time. Since i thought i stabilized my dreams enough by those 2 acts, i slowly turned around, as i wanted to see the rest of the alley. This is where it ended. It all faded away, just like i wouldn't have enough visualization or not rooted into the dreams enough. When i woke up, i decided to ask about this on DV.

So, any tips on how to move to the surrounding world would be nice. Do i just simply tell myself that it is there? I have a feeling like i won't be able to imagine so many details around me and it will all be blurry, like the brains won't have enough time to process stuff. Next time i'll try to rub my hands as well, but so far when i checked my hands, they always made me loose lucidity. Spinning may not do well here either, or would it?
Thanks for any contribution!

Nav

I'm inexperienced as far as stabilizing a dream because I've only had two very short lucids. But If your dream space is occupied by a familiar place, then visualization of that specific place may help fill in the gaps. Rubbing of the hands doesn't seem to work for me. The last time I did it the dream just faded out and I woke up. I believe I read a post somewhere on here that suggested concentrating on your five senses within the dream is the best thing to do.

My first 3 lucid's were long, like about 5-6 minutes. But the two that I've had lately are kinda short. For some reason I never get exited or have any kind of emotion in my lucid dreams. I just do stuff. I've never actually done those tricks. Maybe I'll try one in my next lucid. Here's some I found on the internet.

1. Spinning around: Spin around in a circle, but while your doing it keep saying "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, etc." Or you may loose lucidity. Also note this changes the scenery too.
2. Rubbing hands together: Rub your hands together.
3. Say "Darn, I hope I don't wake up." To yourself once or twice.

I hope these work for you. If they don't don't blame me. I've never used them before.

Well to be honest those three things you said don't help much at my situation. Specialy the third one imo even has a negative efect. I can't really rub my hands since the dreams ended twice just by looking at my hands. Thanks anyway. Spinning may be the next thing on my list next time i am lucid again. TheSurrealist90, i read about those 5 senses as well. I will especialy focus on hearing and smelling next time. I will also try telling myself that everything exists around me, and that i have no problem controling my dreams. Since everything is possible in dreams, that should calm me down, so if i turn around, the dreams won't end.

focusing or rubbing hands puts more focus on yourself not on the dream so that's probably why your dream fades when you do that.

Well that makes sense, i shall try not to focus on my body too much, thanks

If you get into it enough your mind will create a world for you to explore. The brain; a 3 pound universe, we have yet to unlock all of it's mysteries.. But we know it can render a fully realistic dream world for you..

To get more immersed I suggest...

TOUCH! Touch everything! Feel textures! Weight! Everything!

LOOK! Look around at everything, you wanna be kind of ADD because if you stare at something too long it might start to fade out..

LISTEN! Listen to your environment! Listen to music!

Engage all of your senses! Do reality checks! DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT YOUR REAL WORLD BODY...

Thanks for confirming this, i decided to go with the senses and also trying to put different amount of force into an action, since i think the actions in this LD were a bit too forced. And of course, if one doesn't think about the dream and sustain it, it doesn't exist. Thanks again for the replies, I think i'm good until the next LD :)