Hi,

I have been reading into lucid dreaming for the past week or so and have learned quite a bit. I've started working on my dream recall and can already remember 2 or 3 dreams each night.

I really want to start lucid dreaming, and have studied various methods. The WILD method is intriguing for me. I have a question, however -

I have heard that it is possible to consciously fall asleep and enter a dream without having to wake up beforehand (with an alarm clock, or whatever). I was very interested in this, so I gave it a try last night.

I was in bed, and I tried to use self hypnosis to relax. Eventually, I got to the point where I told myself that I would count down from 10 to 1, and when I reached 1, I would be completely relaxed and would start my transition into a dream.

I noticed around 4 that I was starting to get a strange feeling in my body (which felt almost orgasmic). When I reached 1, everything suddenly became much darker, and I started to see vivid flashing purple lights and shapes. Aha! I then felt a strange feeling come over my entire body, which was a bit alarming, but I tried to keep myself completely relaxed.

However, I started to feel my heart beating incredibly fast, so I had trouble keeping myself relaxed. The odd sensation I was feeling was too much for me, and the images and such all disappeared, and I found myself awake in bed.

So, is it possible that if I were to remain relaxed, I could have transitioned into a dream? Is self hypnosis and relaxation a good method? Is it possible to accomplish all of this in the early stages of sleep?

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your replies.