Questions about my first LD last night?

[Calidreamer]

So last night I decided to seriously try to lucid dream. I went to sleep at 11, and set my alarm for 3:30. I wanted to try the technique where you wake up and then go back to sleep an hour later, so I stayed up reading until 4:30 and then went back to bed. I stayed perfectly still and imagined myself climbing a rope out of my bed. Sure enough, within 15 minutes I had induced myself into some sort of sleep paralysis. I drifted off and was awoken by a vibrating sensation throughout my body and I think I kind of felt as if I was lifting off my bed, somewhat lucid but there was no dream. But I snapped out of it and was awake once again. It was slightly terrifying so I laid in bed for a bit before trying again. This time I sat perfectly still again and slowly drifted to sleep without the strange sleep paralysis. I found myself dreaming a scenario where I was in a room with other people setting up a bath tub. I ran to the other room to get a towel, where I saw my friend sleeping in a bed. When I walked back into the hallway it dawned on me that I was in my friends house and then I realized I was dreaming!!! I was conscious of this for about 10 seconds until I tried to walk back through the door without opening it and then woke up. But I made the conscious Effort to walk through the door so that's lucid dreaming right?? 1. What was the first thing I experienced? Was that just self induced sleep paralysis without a dream? 2. If obtaining sleep paralysis is the first step to LD, how do I transition from sleep paralysis to dreaming? 3. If sleep paralysis isn't the first step, then what other methods can I try tonight to induce lucid dreaming? 4. Were these two events different kinds of LD? Because one I forced myself to sleep paralysis while the other, (since I had been so focused on LD the last few hours) I triggered myself during the dream. 5. In those 10 or so seconds when I was able to control my dream, what could I have done differently in order to stay in the dream? I probably sound like a fool, but any clarification would be helpful!!

[Calidreamer]

I just found this link: w ww.lifeevolver.co m/wake-initiated-wild-lucid-dream-expect-transition-dream-world/ It seems I experienced both DILD and WILD. Does this mean that I don't need to wake up in the middle of the night to get a DILD? If that's true, what caused them to happen both during the same night? Was it cause my mind was so focused on it? Thanks!

[Mellanhavande]

1. What was the first thing I experienced? Was that just self induced sleep paralysis without a dream? It doesn't sound like a paralysis, because actual sleep paralysis is very terrifying, you can't move at all even if your eyes are open and often there are scary hallucinations. I think you just had pre-sleep state. 2. If obtaining sleep paralysis is the first step to LD, how do I transition from sleep paralysis to dreaming? There is one technique that is based on sleep paralysis, but it is recommended only if you are really experienced with lucid dreaming. 3. If sleep paralysis isn't the first step, then what other methods can I try tonight to induce lucid dreaming? There are over 50 different techniques of inducting lucid dreaming, you can choose whatever you think is the best for you. 4. Were these two events different kinds of LD? Because one I forced myself to sleep paralysis while the other, (since I had been so focused on LD the last few hours) I triggered myself during the dream. No, there is nothing that can be compared to LD, and it wasn't a sleep paralysis. 5. In those 10 or so seconds when I was able to control my dream, what could I have done differently in order to stay in the dream? You had to stabilize your dream and lucidity, and then slowly start to explore the dream.

[Mellanhavande]

I just found this link: w ww.lifeevolver.co m/wake-initiated-wild-lucid-dream-expect-transition-dream-world/ It seems I experienced both DILD and WILD. Does this mean that I don't need to wake up in the middle of the night to get a DILD? If that's true, what caused them to happen both during the same night? Was it cause my mind was so focused on it? Thanks! Erh, I don't know exactly what are you trying to say, but DILD and WILD are lucid dreaming techniques, which you can do to induct LD, you can't just experience them.

[Wolfdog]

A WILD (Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream) is a method for inducing lucidity in dreams by maintaining awareness from the waking state to the dream state. Basically, you go to sleep and during the transition to the dream world you retain that awareness with you; it's like you see the creation of the dream as it happens. Then, once the dream is fully rendered, you transition from wakefulness to the dream world, maintaining awareness at all times. Once in the dream you're automatically lucid being that awareness or consciousness was never lost. In a DILD (Dream-Induced Lucid Dream) one is asleep as usual, and no awareness is retained. Then, somewhere along the dream one acquires or triggers that awareness, thus becoming lucid. The distinction between a WILD and a DILD lies in awareness. The first method requires constant awareness from the moment you go to sleep to the moment the dream begins. The latter does not require awareness at the beginning, it's attained somewhere along the dream. Now, to your questions: 1) It could have been SP what you were experiencing, where you may have been caught up between wakefulness and sleep. You could have been right in the transition between the waking state and the dream world. Usually, people experience SP as a terrifying event with auditory and/or visual hallucinations or feelings, but, that's not always the case. One can have SP without it being a terrifying experience. For example, whenever I find myself in it, I do not see nor hear anything out of the ordinary. I do feel however, some deep vibrations around my body. So, it depends on the specific person. 2) SP is not necessary for the success of any method to induce lucidity. One can attempt WILD without ever being aware of it. Still, it can be of use when attempting to induce a lucid dream, as it often serves as a helpful transition phase between wakefulness and the dream world. 3) See previous answer. Also, if you feel comfortable with WILD, and don't fear SP whenever it happens, then continue with what you're doing as it is clearly working for you. Otherwise, you can look into the many different techniques to induce DILDs. There are a myriad number of techniques and methods out there to take you to your goal. Ultimately, it all depends on the dreamer, that is you. 4) A lucid dream occurs when one's aware he/she is dreaming while in a dream. I'll say the first time you were caught up in the transition phase that leads to the dream world, but, you woke up. The second is most definitely a lucid dream. Congratulations! 5) Once lucid you'll want to stabilize yourself inside the dream so that you don't lose lucidity or the dream entirely. Modulating your emotions, a continuous interaction with the dream world (through your senses), and a mindful awareness of the whole situation are some of the many ways you can stabilize yourself inside the dream world.