I’ve been trying to dream lucidly with some of the basic techniques, but one problem is that I can’t exactly focus on the hypnagogic state - I transition abruptly from being very much awake to unaware very quickly, without any kind of change in imagery. What does happen, however, is that I get a kind of vertigo, where I feel like my bed is gently spinning, and it signals that I’m going to sleep in a few minutes. I’ve had this every night since I was very young, except on nights (which get to be more and more frequent as I get older and more stressed out) when I’m very tired. is this my substitute for imagery?
I would think that feelings of spinning, falling, flying, pulling and whooshing are pretty regular in the SP/Hypnagogic state
I have the same problem… Whenever I try to WILD I just get sit there until I get really tired and just fall right asleep. There’s never any clear imagery.
Have you guys tried willing the imagery to appear? Imagine a scene
Hi limegreen, welcome to the forum!
You should try to use the vertigo/spinning for inducing LD’s. What you can do is spin around and use the momentum to spin yourself out of your sleeping position. This way it kind of resembles an OBE, if all goes well you’re lucid in your bedroom.
Im new to the world of lucidity. Ive had a lucid dream before, but
havent been able to since then (3 years ago). anyway, sometimes
before i fall asleep (half awake half asleep) it feels like my body is moving up and down really erratically, is this what your talking about? And will it help me to have an LD if i concentrate on it???
Hi limegreen! Welcome to the forum! 
When practising WILD, some people have visual HH, some people have auditive HH and some have kinesthetic HH (what you have). So everybody has not imagery. By the way, Xetrov gave you good tips to enter a LD from your own Hypnagogic Hallucinations.
Hi Taipan ! 
Yes I think you’re talking about the same phenomenon.
Welcome to the forum!!!
This vertigo could be a sign you are more aware of going into dream, and awareness is thing you need for lding.
Still this is perfectly normal this is not so common as all the people here would think or say, people just go into sleep and don’t think about it; that is how it is, but here on this forum sleeping is more then loss of waking life. It is going into giving the meaning of life.