Sup. I had my first truly lucid dreams when I was 15, about 8 years ago. They started because I was having horrible nightmares every night and after months of this, I found I could wake myself up. I didn't know about sleep paralysis then, but it was scary because I would have to fight EXTREMELY hard to move my limbs (actual, not dream) and sometimes I wouldn't wake up enough and fall right back into the nightmare. I actually wished I could just forget that I had any power at all because this ripping myself out of the dreams was so distressing. Anyway, I discovered that instead of waking up, I could actually change the dream from the inside. With this newfound power, I started changing my non-nightmares as well. It became my absolute favorite pasttime. I had been taking 2-4 hour midday naps every day for a while, but now I especially loved them because I was dreaming every time (really, I was just remembering my dream every time) and I was having some level of control.

I've never had complete control, but enough to make me pretty happy, though my anxieties about whatever I want to happen not happening frequently interferes.

I lucid dream the best when I immediately start to dream upon falling asleep, which happens a lot during the day, and more rarely at night. The best is when I'm having a lucid dream, wake up to find it's light out, but fall back asleep after just a few seconds. Then it's like BAM, the dreamworld is my oyster!

Since I got my depression treated and things have picked up in my waking life, I don't lucid dream much because I don't much care anymore. I'm lucid in probably 80 percent of the dreams I remember, but I'd say I consciously wield 5-10 percent control.

Also, I had my first WILD, as described in the tutorial, within the first week of discovering I could control my dreams. It was absolutely terrifying because I felt I was being physically pulled into blackness, and at this time I was almost always having nightmares. Sometimes, WILD feels like I am falling at terminal velocity. I hate it actually. But I do have a tendency to start dreaming before I even think I'm asleep, without the sounds or sensations described in the tutorial. Is that also WILD?

I'm definitely finding all of these tutorials fascinating. It's fun to be able to put a name to phenomena I wasn't sure anyone else experienced.