Been too scared for almost 2 years.

Okay, so for about 2 years now I've know about lucid dreaming, but I've never actually had one. Three days ago I finally decided to give it a try. I would pinch myself, question myself if I'm dreaming, and hold my nose and breathe every 20 minutes or so. At daytime I'm perfectly happy and fearless of lucid dreaming, but when I get into bed, turn the lights off and try to get to sleep, my heart suddenly starts beating much faster. All I can think about is having a scary SP or end up having a nightmare.

I'm going to give it another try tonight, but I know as soon as it gets quiet and dark I'll freak out again. Has anyone else had this? I really would like stop having this.

try for DILD instead of WILD

with DILD there is no SP

and also, SP can not hurt you and i only your imagination

I'm trying for a DILD. I'm going to sleep like normal then hoping I'll notice I'm dreaming because of all the RC's I've been doing lately.

So you really can't SP through DILDS? If so I'll feel much better.

You get SP every time you sleep, but no, you don't feel it in a DILD.

Wow. I feel so much better knowing that now. Thanks a lot, SP was the only thing stopping me from trying a LD :)

No worries, and good luck!

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Originally Posted by mattbrox

Okay, so for about 2 years now I've know about lucid dreaming, but I've never actually had one. Three days ago I finally decided to give it a try. I would pinch myself, question myself if I'm dreaming, and hold my nose and breathe every 20 minutes or so. At daytime I'm perfectly happy and fearless of lucid dreaming, but when I get into bed, turn the lights off and try to get to sleep, my heart suddenly starts beating much faster. All I can think about is having a scary SP or end up having a nightmare.

I'm going to give it another try tonight, but I know as soon as it gets quiet and dark I'll freak out again. Has anyone else had this? I really would like stop having this.

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Holding your nose and trying to breathe - GOOD
Pinch yourself - DESPITE POPULAR BELIEF, DOES NOT WORK, YOU FEEL PAIN IN DREAMS TOO

Mattbrox, the others have given very good suggestions. However, I think you need a little bit more encouragement because I was just like you a while a go.

It's all in your head Mattbrox, if you are the type of person who can shrug a thought away easily, then tell yourself that instead of being scared, you will have a wild ride on SP that amuses you and not scares you. SP does get very enjoyable and you have to understand nothing can harm you.
Whenever I go into SP I sometimes see different sets of eyes, serious eyes, frowning eyes, all kinds of eyes. Whenever I see these eyes I make them into faces, and I treat my mind as it were my friend. I would make fun of those faces with my mind, as if me and my mind were walking down the street and making fun of people.

Thats just an example, and you have to understand you cannot be scared. There is nothing to be scared of. If you have any questions feel free to PM me, or hop on in the chat room.

-CV

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Originally Posted by Zezarict

Holding your nose and trying to breathe - GOOD
Pinch yourself - DESPITE POPULAR BELIEF, DOES NOT WORK, YOU FEEL PAIN IN DREAMS TOO

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I thought pinching was a very popular and successful RC, can anyone tell me if they've had success with it?

Pinching is one of those urban legends, like alligators in the sewers. Trust me, it doesn't work. Try looking at your hands or breathing through your nose while it's plugged. Those work.

pinching does not work in the slightest.

And no you dont feel SP at all with DILD because you are already asleep by the time you go to realize you are dreaming. its only with WILD that you go through SP

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Originally Posted by yumester

pinching does not work in the slightest.

And no you dont feel SP at all with DILD because you are already asleep by the time you go to realize you are dreaming. its only with WILD that you go through SP

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WILDing is not the only time you feel SP. Occasionally if you wake up from sleep you will feel SP, and especially during a DEILD. If you train yourself to wake up with your eyes closed you can successfuly DEILD and go into SP, also resulting in a Lucid Dream. Read more about it ;)

-CV

This is exactly what happens to me if I try a WILD at night.
I just do reality checks throughout the day, and hope for a DILD.

SP isn't something to be afraid of. First of all, these "scary SP experiences" aren't as common as you might think, they just get most of the discussion because they stand out the most. I've been at it since July '09 and I've never experienced anything that was the least bit frightening. Secondly, it's all in your head, so you just need to try to shrug it off and take it in stride.

To someone new to all this, it can seem like it's all scary and weird. But after learning a lot about it, it begins to seem very normal, and you don't care about any possible scary parts. (It is unlikely that you will have scary experiences, and if you do, it is very unlikely that it will continue)

I myself have only ever experienced SP once, and it was amazing. But only because I knew what it was. Had I experienced this 2 years ago, I would have totally freaked out. So my advice to you is, if the thought of it seems scary still, then read more about it, so you know what it is, and how to deal with the situation.

And, just remember, not all lucid dream induction techniques involve SP. In fact, you don't even need SP to WILD.
However, if you still really want to stay away from SP, then play it safe and go with DILD. Besides, your Reality Checking that you have been doing is already preparing for DILD. SP is very unlikely to occur, unless you have a disorder.

As for nightmares. Nightmares are not directly connected with Lucid Dreaming. However, should you have a nightmare in a Lucid Dream, you can either solve the situation in the dream, make whatever is happening stop. Or you could teleport to a new dream scene. Or you could wake yourself up. But in saying that, if you are lucid, and something really scary happens, what can happen is you automatically wake up (This happened to me once).

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Originally Posted by mattbrox

I thought pinching was a very popular and successful RC, can anyone tell me if they've had success with it?

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Somehow I think you mean the "pinching your nose" RC. If so, tons of members have had great success with that RC. If not, then everyone is correct in saying pinching yourself does not work. :)

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Originally Posted by Snowy Egypt

Somehow I think you mean the "pinching your nose" RC. If so, tons of members have had great success with that RC. If not, then everyone is correct in saying pinching yourself does not work. :)

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I meant pinching yourself to feel pain. But not to worry, I also pinch my nose and try to breathe, look at my watch and hands at least twice every hour :)

Oh and I'll no longer pinch myself if it's not affective.