Hi all!

I'm new to this site and to lucid dreaming in general. If I may, I'd like to provide a brief background.

When I was younger, I used to have a recurring night terror and it really caused a lot of anxiety. I couldn't even tell you what it was about - it was just this bizarre abstract essence that brought on a feeling more devastating than anything I've felt in real life, even to this day. But one night I started having it and I happened to be sleeping in the living room, and my dad tried talking to me- somehow I heard him and I realized I was dreaming, and I was able to do away with this "essence". That night terror never happened again.

I learned the term "lucid dream" in my psychology class in college and I was instantly fascinated, but it never occurred to me that it could be a trainable skill until a few days ago when I happened upon a Youtube video for lucid dream training.

After a ton of research, I'm pretty knowledgeable in the subject now and, because I've always had decent dream recall, I tried a WILD last night just for the heck of it. I immediately identified my biggest obstacle - every night (specifically in the early morning) one of our cats crawls onto my pillow. It startles me awake and I get so frustrated I shout every time. I've tried telling my wife that it disrupts my sleep and I want her locked out of the bedroom, and she tells me I'm selfish and mean (she spoils that stupid thing). But I won't give up.

So that's my story as it stands right now. I'm eager to start reading through the various experiences on this forum. Maybe I'll be able to share my own within a month or two?