Hello [dream] World! So glad I found you :)
Hi everyone!
I am very excited to have found this website. I started lucid dreaming 10-15 years ago when I was in high school, but I really didn't know what it was. During my undergrad years, I got very interested in lucid dreaming and read lots of books and papers on the phenomenon. As you all know, this caused my lucid dreaming to increase exponentially!
After a phase of not spending much thought/energy on lucid dreaming, I broke the orbital bone in my face while in law school. Because of this, I spent alot of time just laying on the couch with my eyes closed. My meds took care of the pain, but my face just felt fatigued all the time. I discovered (by accident) what I later found out to be Body Awareness Meditation. This led me to try various techniques for something called Astral Projection, and I did a lot of experimentation with inducing sleep paralysis (tho I didn't know it by that term at the time).
Anyway, a few days ago, I had a lucid dream that was unremarkable for its lucidity, but VERY remarkable in the impact it had on me upon waking. This dream is detailed in my dream log on this site (tried to link to it, but says I must be a member for 7 days to post links).
It was this dream that caused me to google "lucid dreaming forum" in hopes of digging a little deeper, and finding others that were into lucid dreaming as much (and also much more) than I.
I am very glad I found this site. In just an hour or so of browsing the forums, I have found guides and techniques that accurately describe and clarify sensations and experiences I have already had, as well as going further. What I was really trying to do as "astral projection" is clearly just WILD (I don't mean to say they are the same thing, simply that what I was really trying to accomplish was nothing more than WILD), and the materials I have seen here in a brief time have given me motivation and confidence that I can take my lucid dreaming to a new level. With my body awareness experience, I am very good at remaining still for long periods of time. Now that I have read a little about WILD in terms more applicable to my experiences, I am fully confident that I will be able to WILD rather frequently with practice.
Further, I have recently began noticing hypnagogic imagery much more frequently during my relaxation before afternoon naps. I also have a habit (for various reasons) of setting 3 alarms in the morning, the first starting several hours before I actually must get up. I have read posts here that explain why this has increased my morning lucid dreaming, and this info will help me to fine-tune my alarms for lucid dreaming purposes. By becoming a part of this community, I also expect my attention to both the imagery and other aspects associated with lucid dreaming will increase greatly.
I also look forward to joining the Dream World Academy project. When I was really into lucid dreaming before, I made a list of some objectives to achieve when lucid, and had some substantial success in remembering those goals when lucid, so I believe I will be able to contribute to the project! In fact, this belief makes it certain that I can :)
Thanks to anyone who actually took the time to finish this long, boring intro :shadewink: In the coming days, I plan to familiarize myself with the guides and forums on the site, so that I can be active and helpful. I very much look forward to it!
