Hello! Excited to figure this all out!

[Josh77]

Hello all, I've always been fascinated by the idea of lucid dreaming and being able to control my dreams, but I always assumed this was something you could either do or couldn't do, or was something that happened by chance. It has just been recently that I have discovered that it is a skill that can be learned and practiced. I have always had pretty vivid dreams, and can often recall them when I wake, though often I know I had an interesting or exciting dream, but can't quite remember it, like it was just barely out of the grasp of my memory. I think I'll be able to catch on to all this somewhat quickly... I'm just impatient to get started! Anyways, I'll be looking for all the helpful advice I can get here, and am looking forward to getting to know all of you and hear of your experiences. Talk to you all soon!

[TamiDoll]

Hello and welcome to DV.

[Josh77]

Thanks Tamidoll! So, how long does it take to get to the point of being able to control your dreams? Reading around it seems like a month or two is about average. How long did it take you? Or have you reached that point? Last night I became lucid for a split second, where I suddenly new for sure I was dreaming, and I was instantly awake. Frustrating. Lol. But still, I guess it's a start. Then a few nights before that I was semi lucid, I guess you could call it. I dreamt my front teeth were falling out, and I was horrified, lol... But when I pulled the same tooth out a couple of times, I was thinking something is not quite right, but I didn't really realize I was dreaming until after I woke up. I've started keeping a dream journal... This will be my second night keeping one. I'm hoping it helps me remember what I was dreaming, and helps me realize when I'm dreaming while I'm still in the dream, so I can start to play around with dream control. Anyways, it's nice to meet you! Thanks for the welcome!

[TamiDoll]

Cool @ your experience and progress. Unfortunately I'm not a very good lucid dreamer. I've tried practicing it but quit after a terrible mishap. (Made a mistake and my body shut down while I was still awake with my eyes opened so everything blacked out and I couldn't move). Also cause it's too tiring for me to practice it (I have trouble falling asleep as it is).

[Josh77]

Whoah, I've never heard of that happening before... How did you get out of it? Was it like a trance or something? So what is it you look for here? Ways to avoid having that happen again? Just curious.

[TamiDoll]

After a few seconds I just snapped out of it and my body woke up I suppose. So I guess you could say it was somewhat of a trance. I was suppose to have my eyes closed while I tried it (and eventually my body would fall asleep but my mind would be awake), but my eyes were open, hence the mishap lol. Ah, I joined this forum when I wanted to learn more about lucid dreaming. It was cause of this forum and my lack of knowledge and impatience that made me experience that. I actually just returned and started posting again after months of absence lol. No harm in posting in threads that have nothing to do with LD.

[Josh77]

Woohoo! Sounds like me! Impatient and little knowledge... Trainwreck here I come! Was there a certain technique that you used that caused your mishap? Something I should avoid? I remember one time I was dreaming, but I swore I woke up, and there was this black shape over me, and it felt like it was looking down on me. I was completely paralyzed. It was scary as hell, but then the fear turned to rage I guess. I began struggling hard, still completely immobilized, until I roared and shot straight up in bed. The thing was gone and I was awake. Scared the crap out of me but fascinated me at the same time... What the hell was that thing? Just a dream? Something else? A ghost of some sort? It seemed incredibly real whatever it was.

[TamiDoll]

That sounds scary. x.x Yeah, I tried the technique where you lay there, very still (and avoid moving cause that's a way for your brain to test to see if you're awake). Eventually your body's suppose to drift off into sleep mode cause it thinks you're really sleeping but you're fully conscious. You're suppose to do that with your eyes closed, but stupid me tried it with them opened lol.

[Conzo]

Woohoo! Sounds like me! Impatient and little knowledge... Trainwreck here I come! Was there a certain technique that you used that caused your mishap? Something I should avoid? I remember one time I was dreaming, but I swore I woke up, and there was this black shape over me, and it felt like it was looking down on me. I was completely paralyzed. It was scary as hell, but then the fear turned to rage I guess. I began struggling hard, still completely immobilized, until I roared and shot straight up in bed. The thing was gone and I was awake. Scared the crap out of me but fascinated me at the same time... What the hell was that thing? Just a dream? Something else? A ghost of some sort? It seemed incredibly real whatever it was. That would be SP. Your body is completly paralyzed and the black thing you saw was part of an extreme HI. This happens to many people who don't know anything about Sleep Paralysis and it freaks them out. And as a beginner I suggest going for a MILD or DILD first as these are the easiest to accomplish. You can find a tutorial Here for DILD and Here for MILD. Eventually you can move on to WILD or you may wish to try WILD at any time you like, there is nothing wrong with trying techniques to see what works for you.

[Josh77]

That would be SP. Your body is completly paralyzed and the black thing you saw was part of an extreme HI. This happens to many people who don't know anything about Sleep Paralysis and it freaks them out. And as a beginner I suggest going for a MILD or DILD first as these are the easiest to accomplish. You can find a tutorial Here for DILD and Here for MILD. Eventually you can move on to WILD or you may wish to try WILD at any time you like, there is nothing wrong with trying techniques to see what works for you. What is an extreme HI? I don't know that acronym. Thanks for the advice. I havnt had too much success with going lucid yet, but I'm getting quite a bit better at recalling my dreams. Dream journals definitely help. It's wierd how you completely forget dreams sometimes if you don't write them down. The brain is a crazy thing!

[Conzo]

Hypnogogic Imagery. It's what you experience as your mind is going to sleep, but you are still aware of it. When you hit Sleep Paralysis, the HI is usually more vivid and intense. This actually occurs every single time you go to sleep, but you are usually not aware of it since your mind is totally asleep before you actually notice it.

[louie54]

Welcome to the Community Yeah sleep paralysis is really nothing to be scared about. I get it occasionally and I get excited because it's like a free pass for lucid dreaming. Sadly the whole topic is commonly misunderstood and is often linked to demons and alien abductions. I would definetly look into the links Conzo provided then maybe give WILD a try when you feel like trying something new. For dream control itself I highly recommend this: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=66753 Acronym list: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ead.php?t=2954 My advice to writing a dream journal is to make sure after each entry, to point out what was dream like about it. Something that could of told you that you were dreaming. "I was walking to class when all of a sudden a flying elephant started talking to me". This can help you recognize things like that in the future then become lucid. Good luck to ya

[matt1039lp]

I am new here also and basically in the same boat you are. I read that you should write the dream journal in the first person immediately after waking. I also heard that going backwards helps, as well as not moving at all and keeping your eyes closed. Obviously, a little difficult if you prefer to write instead of using a voice recorder. I'm using a voice recorder and I memorized the button layout. I get to be lazy and keep my eyes closed (what could be better?). I had my first intentional LD this morning, and I'm stoked about trying again! I used the timer technique described on lucidology.com. I'm not trying to sell you on lucidology.com...that's just some of the information I used, and it ended up working!