First Attempt at Becoming Lucid

**Jarame** · 11-02-2012 05:41 AM

So, two nights ago I tried my first attempt at becoming lucid. I know it's something difficult to attain in the first go, but it's not impossible. The technique I chose was the WILD card (see what I did there??)

I lied down on my back on my bed, closed my eyes, relaxed, and slowed my breathing to that of a sleeping person. I'm not sure how long I was doing this, but the whole time I tried counting on every exhale to the highest number i could get, and in between counting I'd tell myself "you're going to dream. everything you're about to see and experience will be a dream." After a while (I don't think I counted past 11, lol) I started seeing flashes of light, similar to a lightning storm but in different colors. A little freaky, I thought, but I kept on with the technique. Then my whole body went numb, it felt like I was being lifted and then dropped...then in a hammock...then spinning around...crazy feelings, but I continued.

My heart started pounding at this point, but I tried to keep as calm as I could whilst repeating the aforementioned phrases to myself, and keeping my breath the same. The freakiest part about all of this is that I have a small tower-styled fan in my room since I have no AC. The fan makes a low whiiiirrrrrrr sound even on the High setting. During the weird numb/falling feeling and the lightning storm of imaginary lights, the sound of my fan got louder and sped up to something like a Dirt Devil handheld vacuum cleaner..WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I opened my eyes and immediately the sound of my fan went back to normal!!!

I shut my eyes right after, tried the technique again but this time I lied on my right side, and it felt as if only a few minutes rolled by and my alarm clock woke me up for work :[

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their efforts of attaining lucidity? Or any suggestions?

**gab** · 11-02-2012 06:54 AM

The sounds and sensations you experienced are signs of falling asleep. It's best just to observe them passively. Sensations and types of entry to WILD

**Jarame** · 11-02-2012 07:30 AM

Alrighty, thank you very much. Also, I know the guides I've read say it's best to attempt this with at least 7-10 hours of sleep the night before, but let's say it's a Friday night and I'm going to sleep. I wake up Saturday morning with about 8 hours of sleep and decide to try to enter a lucid dream first thing.

Would that even work out correctly?

**dms111** · 11-02-2012 05:10 PM

8 hours is fine. My sweet spot is around 10 hours.

**Killgore** · 11-03-2012 02:19 AM

When I start to fall asleep, normal ambient sounds will turn to music. Really catchy toons, too. They stay in my head forever.

**Buhl** · 11-03-2012 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by Jarame

So, two nights ago I tried my first attempt at becoming lucid. I know it's something difficult to attain in the first go, but it's not impossible. The technique I chose was the WILD card (see what I did there??)

I lied down on my back on my bed, closed my eyes, relaxed, and slowed my breathing to that of a sleeping person. I'm not sure how long I was doing this, but the whole time I tried counting on every exhale to the highest number i could get, and in between counting I'd tell myself "you're going to dream. everything you're about to see and experience will be a dream." After a while (I don't think I counted past 11, lol) I started seeing flashes of light, similar to a lightning storm but in different colors. A little freaky, I thought, but I kept on with the technique. Then my whole body went numb, it felt like I was being lifted and then dropped...then in a hammock...then spinning around...crazy feelings, but I continued.

My heart started pounding at this point, but I tried to keep as calm as I could whilst repeating the aforementioned phrases to myself, and keeping my breath the same. The freakiest part about all of this is that I have a small tower-styled fan in my room since I have no AC. The fan makes a low whiiiirrrrrrr sound even on the High setting. During the weird numb/falling feeling and the lightning storm of imaginary lights, the sound of my fan got louder and sped up to something like a Dirt Devil handheld vacuum cleaner..WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I opened my eyes and immediately the sound of my fan went back to normal!!!

I shut my eyes right after, tried the technique again but this time I lied on my right side, and it felt as if only a few minutes rolled by and my alarm clock woke me up for work :[

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their efforts of attaining lucidity? Or any suggestions?

I experienced something similar today.

My brother was dusting off something in the garage using an air compressor, while i was WILD'ing on the second floor with open windows. Seconds after i fell asleep, i was woken up by a MASSIVE roar and immediately opened my eyes.
Still hearing the sound, i decided to move and just as i twitched a muscle the sound turned into a tiny "shhhhhhh" sound comming from the compressor. So it was kinda like the sound was amplified x10.

**faceonmars** · 11-03-2012 03:41 AM

Your hypnagogic sounds and sights were an indication that you were almost asleep. I like to think of these odd hallucinations as the stuff dreams are made of. Try visualizing when you get to this stage as we humans visualize and we dream in the same area of our big human brain.

**Jarame** · 11-03-2012 04:38 AM

Originally Posted by Buhl

I experienced something similar today.

My brother was dusting off something in the garage using an air compressor, while i was WILD'ing on the second floor with open windows. Seconds after i fell asleep, i was woken up by a MASSIVE roar and immediately opened my eyes.
Still hearing the sound, i decided to move and just as i twitched a muscle the sound turned into a tiny "shhhhhhh" sound comming from the compressor. So it was kinda like the sound was amplified x10.

It's so weird isn't it? Last night I tried WILDing again, but every single time I reached the part where the lightning storm of different colored lights appeared my eyes kept slowing opening. I used a bandana to cover my eyes for the lack of a sleeping mask, which worked for a little bit, but my eyes still opened and finally I noticed I was actually wide awake. BUT I did have some strange dreams, which I'm going to put into the Dream Journal on this site pretty soon

Originally Posted by faceonmars

Your hypnagogic sounds and sights were an indication that you were almost asleep. I like to think of these odd hallucinations as the stuff dreams are made of. Try visualizing when you get to this stage as we humans visualize and we dream in the same area of our big human brain.

That's a good way of looking at it. Next time I get to this part I'll try to just ride it through. However, getting to the full body numbing sensation is the easiest part about this process that I've noticed. But I shant give up!