Signs - an Introduction

Hello,
My name is Aaron and I am 26 years old.
I've been interested in Lucid dreaming for about a year. For some reason, months ago, I lost interest and quit trying. Until recently.

Recently, I have been stumbling upon and reading articles about Lucid Dreaming. Once I started reading these random articles my interest rose again. This time was different though. My waking life started pointing things out to me. Other people talking about dreams. Podcasts that I listen to regularly all the sudden speaking about Lucid Dreaming. Little quips and offhand comments reminding me of dreams. Some of them feel like signs. Like my brain is trying to tell me something.
So, I've set out to really do it this time.

A few nights ago I attempted to induce a dream. It was working until I panicked. I couldn't feel my body (I've since learned this was sleep paralysis) and I forced myself awake.

I know now (thanks to this site) to just relax and embrace it. I'm going to attempt again tonight and write it out in my journal.

I feel like a part of my mind is trying to speak to me, while another is pushing it away.

My first goal is to achieve lucidity and CALM DOWN, then try and meet my Dream Guide (unless you guys and gals think that's too lofty of a goal).

Either way, it's fascinating stuff and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Well hi there Aaron, welcome to dv.

Meeting your dream guide (dg) is an awesome goal and I wish you the best of luck.

Check out the http://www.dreamviews.com/f20/beginn...eaming-124786/ and that should help you out quite a bit.
Also, I highly suggest using MILD (it's explained in the above given link), here's an awesome tutorial for MILD http://www.dreamviews.com/f12/naiyas...hnique-119050/

HERE is another guide for DILD and WILD

Good luck and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask ^^
Happy dreaming

Those are very good goals to pursue. Achieving lucidity and learning to maintain it are very important in lucid dreaming of course. I think dream guides are usually best to search for later, but that's your choice.

If you haven't already, I suggest you look through the tutorials and the wiki. They have a lot of techniques, tips, and information there that you will find useful. You should also feel free to ask any questions that you have. A lot of people around here are very experienced and can answer just about anything.

Welcome to the forum!

I would say your goals are totally fine. The one thing I would caution is to not lose direction or hope if you fail to find a Dream Guide or have consistency with your attempts. You can achieve your goals, but we all have nights where our attempts are for naught. Never lose hope and maintain confidence. :)

Some good links have been posted above. The only thing I might add is we have an Intro Class for Beginners in our DVA Academy. It can help you get your method down and really help with focus.
I am sharing the link to the DVA section of the forum in case you want to take a look. DV Academy

Happy dreaming! I look forward to hearing progress on your efforts! :)