Hello Hello… I am Brand Spanking New Lucid Dreamer! (New Forum user of any kind, actually) Thanks to an afternoon spent reading this site; I discovered what I’ve been on the verge of doing all my life!
I’m a 29 year old Structural Engineer and I’ve always had very clear, vivid dreams that I could recall, but I had never heard of Lucid Dreaming. I have an insanely good memory, which drives friends/boyfriend/co-workers nuts.
I need very little sleep and wake up seven or eight times a night. Oddly, I almost always wake up refreshed (and early)! Lately, I’ve been having dreams right after I’ve gone to bed, where before they were always during the night. I didn’t mind the new early night dreams except that many of them would have me trying to scream to wake up (I would realize it was a dream) and then having multiple false awakenings. I had never thought to try and control the dream rather than exit it.
I decided to see what this new development in my sleep pattern was about and came across this site and realized I’ve been on the verge of Lucid Dreams my whole life.
Yesterday I pinched my hand four or five times during the day and focused on the fact that it hurt. I went to bed around 11:00 and relaxed every part of my body. Before I knew it I was laying in bed and my fiancé was hitting me across the face with a Whiffle Bat (odd I know, but the implications of this dream are not as nefarious as they seem… It has to do with a conversation we had earlier in the day). My first reaction was to scream; then I thought about the fact that getting hit in the face with a whiffle bat again and again might start to hurt, no matter how soft might be. So I decided to pinch my hand to see if THAT hurt. I can remember thinking, “Please don’t hurt, Please don’t hurt! If it doesn’t, you’ve just had your first lucid dream!!!”
Sure enough, it didn’t hurt. I was thrilled, but before I could do much with the dream one of my dogs jumped off the bed and woke me up. I pinched my hand again to check that it wasn’t a false awakening, and I was actually awake. I was a little bummed that my first experience was over already, so I decided to try and go back in. I managed to re-enter my dream directly from being awake, with great success. I drifted back and forth a few times over the next half hour.
I wasn’t able to do much (I could sculpt crazy gargoyles out of the drywall on my ceiling) but I was impressed, for my first try! It was exhilarating to know I could even do it!!! I had a great sleep after that (I finished Lucid Dreaming at ~12:00). I’ll no doubt try again tonight! Wish me luck…
As a side note I seem to be able to enter LD with WILD. Now that I think about it, I’ve been able to do that all my life. Not that this is a good idea or recommendation, but allergy medication (Reactin for example) seems to make it WILD just happen for me. I’m assuming it’s the whole Non-Drowsy thing.
So, just wanted to say hello, and let everyone know I'm out here. Sorry if my first message is a little long... I'm a little bit excited about all this.
