Lucid dreaming?

Today's quote: It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.

Ever since I can remember, I have had vivid dreams every night. I usually have about 4-5 dreams a night. When I was young I used to sleepwalk. This frightened my parents no end, especially since my habit was to sleepwalk into their room and just stand by their bedside. They thought I would have to have an exorcism done on me. As I got older the sleepwalking stopped, but I know I still talk in my sleep. I have still been known to occasionally do or say things asleep that I have no recollection of.

The dream world is altogether too vivid and real to me. Does anyone else dream in color? I do. Most mornings I wake up feeling tired, as if I'd been working all night. That's because at least one of the 4-5 dreams is usually a nightmare of some sorts, anywhere from something stupid as having a giant pimple on my nose and discovering it at school to being trapped in a burning water tower and being burned alive to death. Has anyone else ever died in a dream? I've been told that no person should ever dream that, and that there is a strong chance that heart failure can occur from dreaming such a thing. I have actually died in my dreams twice now. I have to admit, it's a very eerie thing.

I would like to be able to control my dreams better. Sleep time should be something pleasant and restful, not something to be dreaded. Does lucid dreaming work? I've never been able to master it yet.