Overcoming SP initial stage

[Sirius23]

Hello everyone, i've tried WILD for the second time and i was almost there.After 40 minutes of patience suddenly i felt like floating and by a relaxing state my breathing got heavy and my heart was beating like crazy.I paniked ,thought i was gonna have a heart attack haha,cause that was my first SP experience.Anyway i ruined the moment by trying to regulate my breathing to normal thinking i was sufficating.How can i pass that state of "terror"?And if i make it what is the next best action i should attempt to transist into the dream state?I've heard trying to get out of bed by imagination works or just imagining a place with senses and stuff.Note im a begginer ,but im very commited to this.I know WILD is not for begginers but all the other techniques got reality checks wich really affects my daily life(OCD).Thanks in regards

[jzinser]

Hello Sirius, It seems like you were closer to an OBE that a LD haha, even though these states of mind seem to be pretty similar... The heart thing is common, it has happened to me before and it is very scary. Don't worry though, it is not your real heart that is pumping like crazy... it is the heart chakra . Apparently we need to draw lots of energy to have an OBE and this is the chakra trying to draw the energy that is required. Just to be clear, this is not SP. SP is when you try to move your physical body and you can't... and this is definitely not necessary for LD or OBE, it is just a symptom that may happen or not. Don't try to get SP as this is only a side effect and not the goal. So... how to overcome the fear? Just know that you can't get hurt, all you are feeling are energy sensations that WON'T HURT YOU, learn to enjoy them instead of running away from them. Let them flow through you, they become lesser and lesser with time. Once you feel very relaxed and 'tingly' or 'floating' start picturing any dreamscape you want, a forest, the sea... start picturing it and feeling everything around it, just make it as real as possible. When this works you will stop seeing in your mind's eye and you will appear there (or somewhere else) and this indicates that the dream has begun. Good luck!

[Spock]

What you're describing sounds like hypnagogic hallucinations (HH), which means you were pretty close! This is the part where most people struggle at first (and me to, since I until recently took a break from LDing). Anyway, the key is not to focus on these sensations. I know it sounds impossible, but they only intensify because you focus on them (because they're new to you). At that point of the WILD, there should be fragments of dreams forming - you should "watch" them (like a movie, passively), without focusing on the HH. If there are no such fragments, just let yourself be "sleepy" until there are. Basically, at some point you'll see dream fragments in between and/or "on top" of the HH - ignore the HH, and watch passively the fragments. When the real dream starts to form, you'll feel it, it's going to be like you're present there and not just watching... By that point the HH will be gone. Sleep paralysis is slightly different, and feels like not being able to move at least most of your body for a short duration of time. Sleep paralysis happens during REM sleep (the main dream stage) and thus HH may accompany SP, which is what freaks most people out... SP is useful for OBEs, but lucid dreams require no SP to be created - you can skip it just by ignoring the HH, while "falling asleep". Of course, while "watching" the dream fragments and ignoring the HH remind yourself that you're lucid to stay aware. About reality checks - all wake induced methods (WILD, SSILD, FILD, DEILD...) tend to create false awakenings. It's not uncommon even to think that you can't fall asleep while in fact you already fell asleep at a certain point during the WILD and now in a dream. So just to be on the safe side of things I would really suggest to do reality checks, at least at awakenings, to catch these sneaky FAs. Hope this help!

[Sirius23]

Thanks guys,that was helpufull.I had no idea that was the heart chakra,incredible.Ok so i had some buzzing sounds,then by thought transisted into my room and i made it(Tried FILD this time).But my consiousness was not so high,logic was kinda stupid and although i remember it was too real when i woke up 20 seconds later i couldnt remember the vividness of the dream.Would ADA help for this?Im not aware during my day,and i always had this problem with memory.Its a pitty having a lucid dream and not being able to remember it clearly or at all.

[jzinser]

It is amazing how "physical" the energy body can feel... sometimes while meditating I've felt like bees stinging me in the face lol. These are fun and they change a lot, you might start feeling more of these symptoms as you develop a better energy flow. ADA could help certainly, but I think you need to work on recall. Get a diary and write on it everyday if you can, write full dreams if you can or any fragments you remember. Even if you can't remember anything write exactly that, this helps to develop a habit. You will be surprised of how much progress can be achieved with recall by having a DJ, it is probably the most essential and useful tip for lucid dreaming and AP. When you get deeper into LD you will learn how to wake yourself up after a dream you want to remember so you can remember it more clearly , many people don't need to do this anymore but in my case it still helps a lot.