New To Lucid Dreaming

[burgerking]

So I recently found out about this subject and tried WILD a few times. I have the app Brainwaveream INducer on the ipod, and I have used it a few times. The first time i did it I was lying on my back for about 45 mins being completly still, I went into SP but I couldnt fall asleep no matter what. And At around an hour my feet started to cramp up and I since I couldnt fall asleep I just took the headphones out rolled over and feel asleep (no dreams) I tried the app again yesterday except I fell asleep on my stomach (didnt try to stay awake, I just went to sleep), but the I woke up about 6 hours later at which point I should have tried WILD again but I didnt even think of it. (still no dreams) THen today I tried the same technique as yesterday(just going to sleep normally) thinking that once IM asleep my brain would hear the noises and I would become lucid. But I woke up like 15 mins after the app stopped, and took the headphones out and went back to bed. At which point I had a fuzzy dream, not lucid and not really clear. SO my question is should I use this app and lay on my back stay awake and try to enter SP , or should I go to sleep normally without trying to enter SP and hope something happens while Im asleep? Also Sometimes right when I start or about 20 mins. into WILD my eyes start twitching rapidly, and I read somewhere that when one is in REM the eyes twitch rapidly. SO does that mean I was asleep at the time, because i didnt have any dreams or become lucid. Thanks any help is appreciated!

[sloth]

Both. Not sure what the eye twitching is about.

[zellster]

Go to sleep normally...you don't need any fancy apps. The most important thing is your intent and focus. Go to sleep with the intent of realizing when you're dreaming. That's all you need to do.

[ReaLiTy_DReaM]

I've experienced the same eye-twitching on a few occasions. When it happened to me it was right at the beginning of the night, not after a WBTB or anything. All i remember about it was that before it happened I was in a state of extreme relaxation. Oh yeah, and my heart started beating rapidly and my entire body felt restless (maybe from excitement? I don't think it was SP because I was nowhere near REM). The whole experience has actually been bugging me for a while. When it happened to you was it before going to sleep or after a few hours? Was the eye-twitching the only thing you noticed or were there other things?

[burgerking]

it happened right when i went to bed, and it really was the only thing that happened to me that night. I think i did remember seeing some geometrical shapes in my head but no dreams or anything

[ReaLiTy_DReaM]

I've heard that it's possible to remain conscious while entering deep sleep through a practice called yoga-nidra. I don't think you will get a lucid dream this way simply because at the beginning of the night you are so far away from REM (although it is possible, I've heard of it being done). I haven't looked into this enough to be able to tell you anything useful about it, but hopefully someone else has heard of this and knows more about it that me. I will say this though: if you're attempting to WILD, try it after a few hours of sleep rather than right when you go to bed. The trick with WILD is to wake up right before or at the beginning of your next REM cycle. This way, when you fall back asleep you naturally begin dreaming right away. Setting an alarm for 5 or 6 hours after you go to get usually works, and as you get to figure out how your sleep cycle works, you can adjust accordingly. Just keep in mind that this is generally one of the more difficult techniques for beginners. Hope this helps.

[Hwen]

i dont think the eye twitching has anything to do with REM, i read somewhere that the Rapid Eye Movement that the stage gets its name for is actually caused by you looking at things in dreams