Waking-to-dream transition

Until last year, I have never actually remembered a definite transition between waking and dream. It had always seemed very strange to me, because since I went to sleep just about every night, I was bound to remember at least once. Well, I didn’t, and I know that I as well as most people are not concious during that time. Well, then I found this site, and found out about the WILD technique to lucid dream. I tried it several nights, but I didn’t have any success. I ended up always getting lucid within the dream, either with reality checks, or spontaniously.

Well, a few months later, I began to have a few limited success falling asleep conciously, however, I didn’t get lucid as a result. Most of them, I don’t really remember to well, but there was one night I have a rather good memory of.

I woke up in the middle of the night. I think I may have gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom, as well. When I returned to bed, I layed there for several minutes, and then I felt a strange tingling sensation go through my whole body for a second. I suddenly grew excited. I thought that that must have been sleep paralisis taking hold, so I began to focus on the HI. For a few seconds, I saw a computer monitor with a mouth on it, but that quickly dissapeared. I then realized I could move my body, and was still in bed. I thought I had failed, and the SP had passed. Oh, if only I knew the truth. It was not long until I began to hear two men yelling at eachother in dutch outside my window. I soon left my room out of irritation, and when I came back, the lights were on and there were people in my room on exercise machines. I looked across the hall into my parents bedroom and there was a squirrel in there. I called it over to me and brought it into my bed and began to stroke it as nice music began to play… And then I woke up. It had all been a dream after all…

I have heard that there have been many different types of transitions. I have read about the HI gradually becoming more and more real and soon the dreamer enters it completely. While my experience was simply a tingling sensation, and some go from waking to dreaming without even noticing it at all, I’m sure there are many interesting experiences people have had with the transition from waking to dreaming. If you have had one, post it here.

For me transitions that were actually completed were quite smooth so. If there was ever a clear line between the two states i wouldn’t be able to discern exactly where without guessing. I guess this one time where I was watching HI. the beginning of it I don’t remember, but i watched it like a movie first. Cartoony funny. Then I seemed to be a camera within it and could move where I wanted. So I fly into the castle there and in a corridor there was a very distict change. I knew it was going to happen and even tried to do it, how I’m not sure. I just entered the scene completely, And then I felt my body there with all the senses. That’s the time I guess I entered it. I don’t exactly remember losing awareness of my body that time.
When chaining dreams the transition is really inconspicious, for me at least. I wake up, I might feel some tingly sensation in my body. Then I imagine that I am rubbing my hands until the sensation feels real and I just wait. If all goes well the darkness just becomes the dream scene. Quickly. Like I opened my eyes and that’s it. Maybe I need to spin aroudn a bit to activate the tactile sense.