Great to be a member here!

[Meditate03]

Wow, I've known about this place for like 5 years and I still didn't bother to join, hehe. Anyways I would like to announce that I am a member here and I can't wait to expand my knowledge on lucid dreaming. I'll tell you about my first lucid dream. I have a dream journal that I started to work on in about '02. I am still currently writing on it. I remember that I was chasing one of my friends (I seemed to be closer to the ground so I assumed I was young in this dream.) Then my friend turned around and I saw my mom's face. I kinda laughed and then realized something, "This can't be real... I must be dreaming". I then realized the world of wonders I could be in. I was new to it so I made myself taller, and it worked. And then uh... some NSFW stuff happened (don't judge, I was 13, lol.) It was great until I suddenly woke up. That was my only lucid dream I ever had and I've been trying to have once up until this day, to no avail. I am deeply afraid of sleep paralysis so this is probably another reason too. Does anyone know great guides to lessen the chance of SP and a better chance of having a LD?

[CNGB]

First off, welcome to DV! I think you're at the right place. This is a fantastic community full of lucid dreamers and the like, and we'd love to welcome you in our virtual family. I certainly know the pains of not being able to obtain lucidity. Well, "not able" are two bad words that are completely illogical, because I am able--and so are you, and you know that, because otherwise you wouldn't have joined this website--but you know what I mean. ^^; Anyway, my point is that if you have a little bit of faith and a bit of dedication, you'll be lucid dreaming in no time at all. When it comes to sleep paralysis, though, I can't really blame you for being scared. I am, too. However, the best way to get rid of any kind of fear is to face it head-on. I think that your fear of SP is probably hindering your chances of lucidity (as in, you may not be wanting to try out certain techniques because you've heard that they can occasionally induce SP), and you'll probably be better off if you end up having it and wake up from it. I doubt that you'll like it, but at the very least you'll know what to expect. Sometimes that helps. But really, I can't say anything on the matter because I've never had one of those frightening sleep paralysis experiences. Anyway, good luck on your lucidity!

[JoannaB]

Welcome to DV! Trust me you can have another lucid dream. It may take some effort, but if you really want one, you can have one. Have you ever had sleep paralysis? If not, lucid dreaming is not any more likely to give you this experience. Sleep paralysis as in the real meaning of the word is a fairly rare medical condition that causes one to become paralyzed before one goes to sleep or stay paralyzed after waking up. See almost always, most people only are paralyzed while they are actually asleep, and this is natural to prevent us from acting out our dreams, and is not something we notice because we are asleep. Sleep paralysis is a sleep disorder where the timing is not quite right. What a lot of people I think mean when they say they are scared of sleep paralysis is being scared of the sensations of falling asleep. If you use the WILD method and stay aware while falling asleep, then you may be aware of your body becoming more numb, perhaps some vibrations or visual and/or auditory hallucinations. However, you will not be paralyzed while that is happening, and since you will not be fully asleep yet, if you do not like it, you can stop it and wake yourself back up. Also unless you expect these sensations to be scary and are scared of them, they are more likely to actually be fun and interesting. WILD sleep onset experiences get scary because of all those people who are scared of them: it's a self fulfilling prophecy, and if you are not scared, you will discover that there is nothing to be scared of, but expectations can change dreams or hypnagogic hallucinations (the hallucinations you experience as you fall asleep) for the worse - so if you expect them to be scary, that's what you will get. Just never try to WILD while you are scared or nervous, only when relaxed and content. Of course, another option is, you can just focus on DILD, dream induced lucid dreaming, so fall asleep normally, and then notice that it is a dream while dreaming already - that is what your first lucid was like. And for that you do not have any worry about the sensations while falling asleep, because for DILD you do not need to stay aware for those. However, personally I love hypnagogic hallucinations, and have never had scary ones: they are fun and interesting and amuzing and bizarre - but in a good way. So if you forget about the idea of being scared of them, trust me, you are more likely to enjoy them. I hope this helps. I look forward to interacting with you more on the forum.

[Meditate03]

I remember one of my buddies telling me if you just sit in your bed, in a "planking" position, and you don't move, your body will start to feel numb from the toes up, you will also experience hallucinations, but sleep paralysis is also common for the first time. Is this what you are talking about?

[JoannaB]

Numbness yes, hallucinations yes (but as long as you know they are not real, no reason to be scared), paralysis - highly unlikely unless you have a sleep disorder, otherwise you should be able to move if you want to. I don't know about the planking position bit. What I was talking about is if you are trying to fall asleep while aware (to WILD). However, there is no particular position that is required, nor does one need to stay absolutely still, one just does what one usually does when falling asleep but try to stay aware. I was only talking about this because you said you are scared of SP, and there are a lot of misconceptions about SP and the worst is that people think SP is a natural part of lucid dreaming and it is not, and they are then afraid of staying aware when falling asleep which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy: if you expect something scary to happen, your mind might oblige and provide you something scary, but that is not normal or usual for LD.