Easier way to get to LD or w/out transition?

[BatteryCharged]

So I've been journaling my dreams for a long time now but never had a LD. I have great recall and can have dreams that last for 1-2 pages. Or more depending on how much detail I want to add. But after all this time I decided to try LDs again. I tried before but it always seemed to be a ton of work even though I had some small breakthroughs. This week I've been trying. I get 4-5 hours of sleep. WBTB then lay on my back and try the resting/focusing. I don't sleep on my back well. I need to sleep on my stomach to get to sleep. So this is very uncomfortable as my body wants to rotate. Probably my only LD was this week. As I was on my back I was imagining how to deep fry a bloomin onion. As I was picturing putting it in batter then placing it in a deep fryer, suddenly the deep fryer became an amazingly colorful white sink with rose petals and a silver faucet. And I was placing the onion into a sink full of water. This shocked me to wake up. I've never had a dream in vivid color like that, usually they are grey. I've also had the voices while trying to get there. But it's just really hard work especially in the position on my back. I typically just give up and roll over because I'm too tired. Is it possible to LD w/in a normal dream? Does it suddenly become colorful? Other fun things have happened in my dreams recently. In one dream I actually said to myself "I should live my life like a dream, what do I have to lose??". And then I started to run around and do whatever I wanted. But obviously I thought it was real. Ironic. In another dream, my LD that I wanted was to be lead by a professor to show me secrets of my unconscious. In the dream I came across a professor who passed me but I did not follow him. For some reason I have dreams about university a lot. Is getting to LD as difficult as I feel it is? Also, I'm a bit panicked about SP as I've had some horrible SP in the past that scared the **** out of me. So that has me worried.

[Raswalt]

you dream in grey? im so sorry... at least it should make it easier to know when your dreaming.. whenever you see colour come up- bam! once you become lucid, its not really a normal dream anymore, unless you revert back an normal state right after. try to stay calm during SP, its natural and happens every night weather you're aware or not.

[Patience108]

Keep it up BatteryCharged ~ are you questioning reality enough in WL? I find doing quality RC's during the day helps me a lot to be lucid - wbtb's really help too though like you say and lying on my back does seem tobe an exellent launching pad... I too find the itch/urge to move ...So, When you have been lying on your back for a while and finally need to go into a more comfortable position try your best to focus on mantra or intention so that your self awareness is kept and LDing is still your main focus

[Sageous]

...But it's just really hard work especially in the position on my back. I typically just give up and roll over because I'm too tired. If you can't fall asleep on your back at all, then go ahead and fall asleep on your side or stomach. Though it is generally seen as a good idea to attempt a WILD while on your back (specifically because doing so makes it a bit harder to fall asleep too soon, ironically), there is no hard and fast rule to do so. The most important part of WILD is falling asleep, so succeeding at that is fairly important. Is it possible to LD w/in a normal dream? Yes, it is; that would be a DILD, or Dream initiated Lucid Dream. The best technique for DILD's is MILD (DILD and WILD are not techniques, BTW, but names given to the two ways you can transition to a LD). Does it suddenly become colorful? It can, but still might not. In spite of its name, lucid dreaming is not about vividness, but about the presence of your waking-life self-awareness in a dream. A dream in which you are totally lucid can also be quite dull or gray, just as a dream in which you are not lucid at all can be quite vivid. Once lucid, though, you do have the opportunity to increase the vividness or color of your dream, because, once lucid, you can do pretty much anything you want. Is getting to LD as difficult as I feel it is? Probably not; but you will have to provide some effort to be consistently successful. You might want to browse the excellent classes in the DV Academy forum, or the tutorials in the Induction Methods and Techniques forum, and see what might wok for you. Also, I'm a bit panicked about SP as I've had some horrible SP in the past that scared the **** out of me. So that has me worried. There is really no need to worry about SP, as it is not an integral part of the LD'ing experience. But if you can't help yourself, then you might look into DILD, which should keep you fairly removed from any chance of SP.

[BatteryCharged]

I'm still struggling. I know the key to getting to LD is on my back, imagine myself doing an activity and transition into a dream. But two things are screwing it up, I seem to wake up suddenly when I know I'm dreaming. And I just can't get to sleep, it's like I'm tired enough that if I roll over I'll sleep, but will go right to sleep with no LD. But trying to transition keeps me awake and I just can't sleep. Out of frustration I just roll over and go to sleep.