Thread: Eyelids will not "seal" and Mouth becomes dry

Hey dreamers!

I have been lucid dreaming successfully with the DILD method (started with a dream journal, practiced reality checks for months, finally gained consciousness!) for awhile now, but I am having some problems with the WILD approach.

I have no problem reaching the parasomnias, and what I believe is sleep paralysis (body is extremely heavy, requires total 'waking' to actually move limbs, etc). My problem is that once all of the flashing/visual hallucinations begin to "die down" and my mind begins to "focus", I have one of two symptoms:

1. Dry mouth from breathing (I'm a mouth-breather while i sleep, apparently)
2. I have an uncontrollable urge to keep my eyelids slightly open

With regards to the second, I am not sure if this is what people describe as "superimposing their mind on their body", or if it is just a physical phenomenon. To give more detail, it feels like my eyes MUST remain closed, but they will not "seal" properly.

What should I do from this point? Generally, my approach has been to focus on the weight of my body and visualize myself walking up an infinite flight of stairs, but this does not seem to be working. Also, RC's at this stage are not effective, and pull me from the SP.

Please advise!
Thanks!

--edit: I should also note that I take .5mg to 1mg of clonazepam before bed, so I do not believe that "calming" is an issue--