Thread: Some questions on how far along I am in the process and what the best way to continue is

Hello, everyone. I just signed up after seeing your site. I actually stumbled across it as an accident while looking for info on Christopher Nolan's new movie "Inception" (Looks great, by the way) and slowly this site answered some questions I've had for a long time. If any of you could help clear up how they all fit together, it would be great.

I have had many lucid dreams in my life, although they are never intentional. Most of the time, though, within 5 or so minutes of realizing it is a dream I wake up. I usually realize it is a dream if I can't move in a dangerous situation or wake up in a different spot than where I fell asleep. I don't get LDs nearly as much as I did when I was younger. I have had a couple supposed "out of body experiences", although I never controlled them and the layout of my room was different on one occassion.

Sometimes when I wake up and then go back to sleep again I get the weird feeling that I fell onto my matress from 5 or so feet above it, even though I don't feel floating up. I can also hear sounds like people I know saying things like "wake up" and noises like thuds but when I look up I don't see anything and I don't remember them sounding as real as they did when I heard them. If my eyes are closed I sometimes see colors floating by in a panning motion. From what I've read, this could be the beginning of sleep paralysis, although I've never activley tried to remain conscious so I don't know how far this might go. I am usually able to move very quickly after feeling, seeing, or hearing something, so it is probably only the beginning.

I usually remember 1 dream a night, although this is usually when I get a full 6 or so hours of sleep without waking up. I do not record my dreams but I am starting as of tonight after reading how important it is in order to achieve a LD. Usually the dreams I remember are the ones that are very vivid of emotional, and they usually hint at a problem I have in real life.

considering I've had many LDs in which I realize it's a dream in the middle of it, is there a certain method that I should use to get LDs? While the WILD technique seems quite popular, I am a little scared as to the hallucinations I could get during the process. (If I crash into beds while letting myself go to sleep, just imagine what would happen if I tried to stay awake ) While the DILD technique seems easy and "safe", it also seems to mean shorter LDs. Are there any other techniques besides WILD that can help get long, vivd LDs? And this info is all preperation, as I don't think I'll try very hard until after I record my dreams for a while.

Thanks for your help guys, and thanks for all the info on the site. If what I've experienced is sleep paralysis, that means you guys solved a question I'd had for years!

P.S. One more question: Since LD (specifically WILD) is keeping the mind at work while it should be resting with the body, can this be damaging or stressfull to the mind or body? Will I feel like I didn't go to sleep and need more afterwards?