I’ve just learned about lucid dreaming about 6 months ago, and since then I’ve tried so hard to have a lucid dream. I’m trying to have a dream journal, but I only remember one dream (if I’m lucky) a week. Any extra weird or unusual tips that you’ve found to be helpful in your quest to lucidity?
I am a friend of NerdPantsWithButtons who has known about LDs for a few years and has also had much trouble. Any weird tips would be very helpful! 
Yes, I was lucid once for about 3 seconds after about 3 weeks of learning about lucid dreaming. I tried the spinning technique to stay lucid after realizing that I was dreaming and woke up right away. I’m guessing that means that the spinning technique doesn’t work for me.
I also was lucid for a few seconds before waking up from excitement. Any tips on how to not let this happen are also appreciated.
Also one more question to add on to my post : How long does it take before someone has there first lucid dream?
I would also like to know this.
AndyWarholsSilverWig, have you had any difficulties with a dream journal?
It can be okay, but sometimes I go through long periods of time without writing and I remember few dreams.
I’ve also been going though a dry period, and whenever I do seem to remember a dream it seems to be quite nightmarish and gory. Which is strange because I can’t even watch horror movies when I’m awake so to have such strange dreams… It would be cool if I could figure out why. Is it a dream sign? goriness?
Two posts edited together; if you want to add to what you’ve said, there’s an edit button in the upper-right corner of your post 
Take to note this would also be a reason for why I would like to control my dreams, because I would make more pleasant to be in 
I’m also having trouble having my first Lucid dream… Does it usually take a lot of practice?
Hi and welcome!
I think that if you guys know each other IWL and hang out a lot you could talk about your dreams as much as possible (but I’m guessing you already do that! 
).
The most important thing is raising awareness, be that through a DJ and recording as much as poissible about your dreams (even if that is just a “I have a vague feeling I dreamed about X”), through constant RC’ing, specially when strange things happen, meditation, … there are probably many other ways.
@NerdPantsWithButtons: yes, the goriness is a dream sign for you! So try to remember and keep in your head that you don’t watch movies like that and that if you see these things it must be a dream. On it’s own this may not seem to help since you might not remember to think about it in the dream in the first place. But this together with the increasing awareness should slowly make you start questioning things. It will probably start out as a feeling that something’s not right, so if that happens and you don’t get lucid, count it as a success anyway!
Other than that, try to be curious and really interested in your dreams (ND’s too!), that will help motivate you and get you emotionally involved. It comes down to practice too, so take it lightly and have fun!
It takes determination and passion.
If you look forward to having a lucid dream, have a concrete plan on what you want to experience or do in that dream and practice your awareness and critical thinking during the days, you should get them quite easily.
Becoming lucid simply means that you become aware enough to be able to realize that you are in a dream, so one great way to practice lucid dreaming is to frequently and honestly ask yourself where you are, what you are doing, why you are doing it etc during waking life - and take the time to actually try to answer those questions.
This kind of critical thinking will eventually become a habit, and you start thinking like that in your dreams as well.
Also, make sure that you practice your dream recall.
If your dream recall is poor then chances are you have already had a lucid dream but simply don’t remember it;
so you can see that dream recall is extremely important for any lucid dreamer.
I appreciate your help. What I was astounded at was how I told myself before I went to bed last night " I will wake up at 4am". I said that less than 10 times. I woke up at 4:04am. I guess telling yourself these things really does mean something. It gave me a lot more hope!
Thank you all for the advice! We’ll keep talking about it to each other, and working on it and reading other forum threads with tips and help.
Yes, it’s the same when you fall asleep during a bus ride and know you need to get off somewhere - you will very often wake up right before arriving at that place.
This is because you are still conscious of your environment even when you sleep, and this also means that you are conscious during dreams.
So with some practice you can definitely become skilled at bringing those mantras with you into the dream.
This is known as Mnemonic-Induced Lucid Dreaming (MILD) by the way, and I highly recommend that you check out this site for detailed instructions by Stephen LaBerge, the creator of the technique - he is a lucid dreaming pioneer and considered the foremost expert on lucid dreaming.
Interesting. I always wake up five minutes to an hour before my alarm during the school year. I never really put much thought into it. 
I do that too!
I’ve done that as well! Goes to show, I suppose, the power we have that many don’t think to expand on and really use to their advantage.
This link is already helping me! Thank you so much for your help and for all of the great tips mattias and Laurelindo! I am a little upset that my dream sign has to be gorriness, but at least I know what to look out for. Do dream signs change over time, or do they always stay the same? I am getting a little sick of seeing blood in my dreams, and again, I find it very strange that this is my dream sign knowing that I can’t even stand the sight of blood im my waking life… bizare. All the same, I will try to get better at writing every night in my dream journal (even if it’s just a very hazy idea of what my dream was). Also Catt, good luck! I hope you have a lucid dream soon!