SP trouble again... :(

[DC111]

I've had about 3 nights in the past month where I was able to actually feel SP and KNOW for SURE it was SP although there were other nights where I could tell I was almost there, but not quite. I had no sucess LDing any of those three nights. I've read all the tutorials I can find and I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. 1) Why have I only become aware of it 3 times in the past month? Am I losing consciousness too early or something? 2) I still can't figure out how to LD from this...?

[Rainman]

Well first off, how long have you been trying to LD? By the looks of it, only since mid July. You've been at this less than a month...it takes time at first I figure. It's possible that you're losing consciousness too early, but not likely. You aren't always aware of SP. Personally for me, SP almost never sets in until I'm already asleep, if it sets in at all. I can always choose to move or not. I am never in a paralyzed state. 2) LDing from this state is a WILD. You sort of just let yourself go. You may or may not get hypnagogic imagery, but you will be in the hypnagogic state eventually. At some point you will just experience a shift in your consciousness. When this happens there will be a window of time when you should be able to try and move, and when you move you will trigger movment in your dream/astral body instead of your physical body. When that happens, it will trigger a full on lucid dream state. If you move too soon, you will move your physical body and wake up, and if you move too late, you will do the same. It's pretty difficult at first, but after you do it the first time, you understand how it works. Trust me, give it time you'll do it before you know it

[DC111]

Okay, thanks! I know that WILDing is how you get to a LD from being awake, guess I shoulda mentioned that. Sounds like that 'window' of time where you can dream is pretty narrow. Hope I can figure that one out.

[Rainman]

Yeah, it may take a few tries to get it right, but you should be able to feel it. During the process, you may find your mind wandering in random thoughts, but not necesssarily seeing any imagery or impressions. That's the start of the dreamstate. Every once and a while your conscious mind will sort of "click out" of those mind-wanderings, and you'll remember that you need to be semi-aware. Usually after a few of those (for me) I feel the shift and know when to move. Pretty much no one can get an LD 100% of the time they try, so don't expect to, but you'll get there.

[Wavefunction]

I can get to the mind-wandering part, and sometimes colors, but I always fall asleep after that too

[Rainman]

Well when are you trying to do it? It works differently for different people. For some people, it's best to do it after 5-6 hours of sleep, for others, right before bed is best. For me, right when I wake up in the morning after 8 hours of sleep, or just before bed is best. Or even sometimes during a nap. I suspect you fall asleep quickly because you are either not focusing hard enough, or you're just too tired :p