OK, last night was the first time I’ve really tried to LD in a couple of years.
I stayed up until bedtime reading on here about the WILD technique. This technique has always fascinated me because of the descriptions of hypnagogic imagery and the sensations of sleep paralysis, so I decide to give it a try (along with WBTB that night).
I stayed up until just a shade earlier than my regular bedtime (earlier because I can’t afford to lose sleep), then decided to crash out. I set my alarm for 5am (normally get up around 7 or so), lied down, went through my relaxation/meditation exercises, and drifted on to sleep.
My first dream (DJ: A Drive to Shoney’s) was quite non-lucid, yet vivid. I woke up directly after it (approx 3:15am) and, after doing a quick reality check, lied there pretty excited about it because it was such a vivid dream. Then recorded it in my temporary dream journal.
I then decide that since that dream was so vivid, that I’d go ahead and to the Wake portion of my technique then instead of waiting until 5. I got up, used the bathroom, sat at the computer for 30 minutes or so reading on here and recording my dream a little more properly, and went back to sleep at about 4 am. All the while I did a few RC’s while I was up.
I was excited because I was going to try WILD now. I’ve never before acheived WILD because I always lose consciousness before I go to sleep. This time I was determined to keep my mind in the right state as I drifted off.
I laid down, went through my routine exercises, and began to let myself go to sleep. I tried to tell myself that if I experienced any hypnogogic imagery or sleep paralysis that I would just go with the sensation and not try to get too excited.
After a few minutes, I do begin to see a few flashes of light (and once, even, a small face that tripped me out). I accept this as normal and try to continue. Then I hear a few tapping sounds that I attribute to falling asleep too, as there was nothing going on that could have made such tapping sounds. A few minutes after that, I feel what I can only best describe as a slight vibration/twitching of my legs, followed by my calf muscles tightening. I don’t think the muscles themselves were tigtening, but that this was the onset of SP. Do any of you experience SP from the legs up, or is it more of a body-wide sensation?
At this point I believe I was almost asleep, when suddenly my body (seemingly involuntarily) flops over and I roll over on my side, waking myself up completely. I do a couple of RC’s and realize that I’m awake. Frustrated (extremely mad is more like it lol), I decide to just go to sleep and shoot for a DILD.
The dream came (DJ: Bald Friends and Flat Tires). To make a long story short, I’m in a truck and we have a blow out on one of the tires. I try to buckle up but can’t because there are 3 buckles and only one of them fit into the latch.
At this point, the thought suddenly goes through my mind that I’ve GOT to wake up, and I do, quite suddenly even. One of those instances where you literally sit up in bed.
Never in the dream did I seem anywhere close to becoming lucid until one second before I woke myself up.
My questions are: 1) Do you think that I was close to achieving lucidity? and 2) What are some tips yall can give me on my WILD technique that yall think would help. Never before have I ever achieved imagery or paralysis, but I think I was close this time.
P.S. Sorry about the novel. 
