hypnagogia is the bomb

hi all,

i have been actively LDing for a year now. I have gotten really good at it (not bragging, just saying) - I LD a couple times a week, and if I get a morning of sleeping in, I can usually reliably do it for what feels like a 15-30 minute long stretch. I don't have to tell folks here how incredible and fun and surprising and fill-in-adjective-of-choice LDing can be.

But that's not what I want to talk about here.

What I want to talk about now is hypnagogia - all of the hallucinatory-ish stuff that happens as one shifts from being awake to being asleep/dreaming.

Most of my LDing has been WBTB-driven WILDs. While learning, I followed advice here: not moving my body, concentrating on hypnagogic imagery, wait until sleep paralysis (SP) sets in, the viola - lucid dreams!

At first, I was always very "teleological" about it - i.e., I focused on the LDing, and saw everything else as simply steps to reach the ultimate goal of LDing. But as time passed, I became interested in the so-called intermediate steps. SP, in and of itself, is a pretty amazing experience. Most times that I SP I end up in an LD. But sometimes I don't. Since I LD quite often, I don't view these as "failed attempts". I just appreciate the SP for the experience that it is.

And that brings me to the main subject of this post: hypnagogia. I once saw this as a stepping stone. But now I realize how amazing that space is, when you are partially conscious and "sober", and partially tripped out - making weird connections, and seeing things and hearing things that are neither full-on dream nor reality.

A long time ago (over 10 years) I did mushrooms a handful of times, and it kinda sorta reminds me of those experiences - where you are conscious that you are "tripping," seeing things you don't normally see, and making mental connections between things that you wouldn't normally associate, but you can also appreciate them for their uniqueness, and sometimes brilliance.

For the record, I am not trying to say that hypnagogia is a hallucinogen, or that it is better than LDing. I'm just saying that, on it's own, it is amazing and potentially insightful! I think a lot of people dismiss it as the "foreplay" of LDing. But there is a ton to appreciate and enjoy there. I know I do. Sometimes, whether I LD or not, I can spend an hour or more in that liminal phase between wake and sleep. And my experiences there are almost as rewarding as, and sometimes equal to, those I experience in LDs.

Curious to see if others have similar experiences...

I would agree. I have been able to successfully WILD before, but in those I did not experience much sleep paralysis. I have had some SP, but mostly I went directly into the LD somehow. Even though I have succeeded at lucid dreaming, I would one day like to be able to be in sleep paralysis, with that "trippy" hypnogogia.

I agree, but usally I find HH disturbing/distracting.

I've also done psychs, but to me, hypnagogia seems more similar to a very strong THC trip. Psychs seem to have a 'mind shattering' effect, whereas cannabis seems to preserve a single (albeit tripped out) stream of consciousness, just like HH. Also, the imagery is pretty much identical between HH and cannabis, for me.

I dont think i ever have experienced SP, but I'm trying!:)

It is pretty awesome. And another thing that is really cool. Before entering SP turn on your iPod or something next to your bed where you can hear it. When you enter SP listen to the music. Its awesome. For me at least.
The lyrics get changed but it actually makes sense, and its interesting to see how your mind can just change the song like that and actually make sense out of it.
Give it a go! Its worth it. :D

Yeah CW, same thing if you fall asleep listening to the TV. Your mind creates an entirely different plot line but it still fits the words somehow, it's funny. A couple of years ago one morning I was like half asleep and some people outside my room were watching that newest Rambo movie. Anyway, in my dream the movie was about a giant alien baby from space coming to kill everyone!

i fully agree! I have seen some of the most intense visions in my life in this period. I often have wondered if the imagery we see here is in someway linked or hyper alerted during fevers and fever (dreams) .... do you have any thoughts on that? as i find fever points to be some of the most intense imagery wise i have ever expereinced.
sam :)