New member, first ever induced lucid dream :D

Hi! I've been browsing this forum for a couple of days now and got lots of tips in attaining lucidity, and last night I finally did it! :D

So here's what happened: after browsing a few methods here, I went straight to bed so everything's still fresh in my mind. After 5 minutes of lying down in my normal sleeping position, I began to repeat to myself over and over that I will have a lucid dream, at the same time picturing a beach scenery. After another 5 minutes of this, sleep paralysis started to kick in, and not long after, I was already dreaming!

When I entered the dream, everything was a cartoon, and I floated like there was no gravity at all, and people came to settle me on the ground. When I got my gravity back, I looked around to see I was in a beach (everything is still a cartoon), and I decided to go for a swim. When I entered the water, I swam like a pro (I can't swim IRL) and even breathed normally underwater, and I could see everything underwater clearly. I focused a bit more and everything slowly became real and no longer a cartoon. Then after a few more swimming, I went out of the water into a public shower, and after that I picked up a tuxedo (weird right?) and started changing. Sad thing is, when I put the tux over my head, I kinda lost focus and woke up. The dream lasted about 15 minutes (I went to bed at 4 a.m., fell asleep at 4:15, and woke up at 4:30.)

TL;DR - I had my first lucid dream ever, right after going to bed. It lasted for 15 minutes.

So here are my questions: Can anyone clarify which method was it that I used? It's kinda confusing to me. I followed the WILD method, but the thing is, I didn't have to wake up after sleeping. It happened the first time I fell asleep. Also, can anyone give me tips on how to make my dreams last longer from now on? Any form of help will be much appreciated. Thanks :)

Great job! You actually got very lucky with your first LD! Most first-timers are only a few seconds, much less 15 minutes! You also apparently had very good control, something that everybody wants! You are probably a natural at all of this! :D

You used a combination of MILD and WILD. You used a mantra and visualized your scenery, but you were also following the guidelines for WILD. This makes a good combination for you, apparently. You don't need any help with stabilization at the moment. You will definitely be a great LDer. ;)

It was still a WILD, because you transitioned to the dream from waking.

It you want them to last longer, you have to do the technique after you've been sleeping for a while (5ish hours) and your REM cycles are lasting longer.

Thanks guys! Now it's a bit more clear which parts I need to improve in. Also, I forgot to mention that I never did RCs and DJs ever, so I guess I'll have to work on those from now on.

And another thing, as for dream recall, I usually have trouble remembering my dreams, but this one I could remember EVERYTHING, without even writing it down! Even two days later I could still remember it! :D

And lastly, I have a problem with sleeping for a while though: when I wake up in the middle of the night (or morning, since I sleep at around 3 a.m. XD), I tend to forget that I'm trying to lucid dream, and even if I don't and try to start LDing again, I just fall straight back asleep. Any help there? :)

that's amazing!
I've been at it for over 2 weeks now and still no luck,
in fact my dream recall has gotten even worst, still needs work I guess.

you have amazing control.

Once you pulled the tuxedo over your head and the dream became unstable...you should immediately try to stabilize it right there. If it just got fuzzy or blurry, you can use a passive technique. Like staring in one place and imagining it clearing up, look down at your feet until the dream becomes focused then slowly raising your head back up to the front, perform RCs for stabilization, etc. If the dream seems to be collapsing, you may need a more drastic technique like quickly spinning around in circles (dream spinning). It is also good to perform stabilization techs throughout the dream. Like between activities, take a moment to stabilize (like once you came out of the water, you could have stabilized and then proceed).

Lucids are different the normal dreams in terms of recall as well. During a lucid, you start memorizing the dream while you are in it, as opposed to after it is over. Forgetting a lucid would be like forgetting what you did earlier that day. Details can be easily forgotten in lucids, just as they can in waking life. It is still a good idea to write everything down once you wake. Now if you chain lucids, or have an extremely long one...it gets harder to remember the beginnings of them. It is rare to completely forget that you were lucid though.

If you are falling asleep too quickly, you need to stay awake for a longer period of time before attempting your WILD. If you can't fall asleep, you need to spend a shorter time awake. You will just have to experiment and play around with the times to find out what best suites you. Good Luck and again, Congrats !

Thanks! You're probably right. I think I got too excited about the dream that I just rushed everything. :D

And like I said, I never did RCs before, so that maybe why I couldn't stabilize the dream, so I better start working on it ASAP ;)

Also, does it help if I go to sleep really exhausted or sleepy?