Thank you guys! CanisLucidus, thank you for your input.. Visualization is such a subjective experience, so it's tough for me to know where I stand compared to others, but I can only assume that I'm less skilled than most. Still though, I'm convinced that the gateway to the imagination is through the eyes.. I find that more and more, as I practice being aware of what my eyes are seeing, watching visual scenes unfold as I move in and through them, paying close attention to space and time, I notice the feeling I get from any particular experience - even mundane tasks. Also, I have had mild astigmatism all my life but never wore glasses, I wonder if that kind of visual disturbance could contribute to the sensation being overlooked in the imagination..

Anyway, on another note, I had my first full Lucid dream last night!!

Got into bed at around 12:30am... was not so sleepy, but relaxed my entire body by focusing on each part.. Already, the visuals started coming to me which is unusual for me... As I relaxed each body part, I could faintly imagine that part in my mind, wrapped in a blue-ish energy.. by the time I get to my neck, a visual scene has formed, and I can see two other people, as well as several blue energy beings with bright yellow eyes.. they appear to be approaching my 'comrades', and pulling them into a void, a portal of sorts... It is my turn, I focus on relaxing my neck and head, the spirit pulls me backward, and my whole body is covered in a numb energy.. at this point, i've come to realize that i've just entered a hypnagogic state. My visual field becomes covered in dancing shapes and patterns, mostly yellowish brown, and this continues all the way through to my peripherals.. I kindof went blank, not sure If i should try to imagine something or just watch, and eventually my eyes got super dry, and felt the hypnagogia fade.. eventually I gave up since it didn't seem to be going anywhere (can anyone comment on this experience?). I change positions and fall asleep.

Later in the night, I am dreaming about camping.. I wake up, realize the opportunity, and lay still to perform a WBTB. within seconds, I feel numbness creeping up my body, a static sound in my ears, and in my visual field it looks like i being teleported through a staticky portal. I submit to the growing sounds and distorted visuals, and I am thrust into a dream...

Everything is wobbling, but takes a few seconds to stabilize.. I quickly realize I am in the same dream as before! I look down at my hands, and... success! two of my fingers are missing and things just don't look right. I remained entirely calm, so as not to wake up form excitement, but still, I was taken by surprise by having gone lucid so I wasn't sure what to do.. I just wandered around the dream scene, performing a bunch of reality checks just to see how it would feel.. Pinched by nose, jumped up, checked my watch, everything confirmed that I was dreaming. I explored a little more before deciding to try to fly. I made my way outside, trying to stay calm, rubbing my hands together to try to keep the dream going. I guess I either got excited, or my dream time was simply up, but I awoke after what felt like 4-5 minutes of lucid dreaming.

I went back to bed, and had a long, vivid non-lucid to follow.

What a night! can't wait to try again tonight.