[altruios]

The way I lucid dream is to 'stay awake' through the process of falling asleep.

There are a few tricks I use... but I don't recommend the experience (It can be... uncomfortable {there is a reason you don't remember the point you loose consciousness}).

I don't know if these are universally applicable tricks either. But focusing on a point (visualizing it as actively as you can) seems to be important to staying awake through the process of falling asleep...

[cgriswald]

I’ve been taking magnesium for a couple months now and one thing a I’ve noticed is that the line between wakefulness and asleep has blurred. I will sometimes watch some TV and I’ll be sitting there watching an episode and don’t realize I’ve fallen asleep and this is a dream until weird things start happening in the show. I often imagine floating outside my house (similar to what the article describes) as a method to fall asleep and since starting magnesium my thoughts softly blend into full blown dreams. My dreams in general have been far more lucid.

I’ve only noticed one other side effect. I normally experience hypnogogic jerk and since starting magnesium, a few times the jerk itself has pulled me out of the descent into sleep.

[smusamashah]

Yesterday I was a having a very visual trip down the memory lane (2 decade old) while in the process of sleeping. And this memory was triggered by a smell. I was enjoying the memory (an old house and streets I was trying to remember in detail). This didn't make me lucid though, wasn't even trying to be anyway.

But having actually followed the process, I can now understand how it can help with lucidity.

[bibelo]

What are your tricks?

Usually Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream involves remaining completely static, to make your body believe it's sleeping. Never worked for me.

[altruios]

Yep. During the first parts of sleep your body locks to prevent you from acting out your dreams. Here are a few:

When your body locks up, test it. try to use as much force as you can without 'breaking' that lock... it keeps you in the present moment and 'close to being able to move'...

The standard: focus on your breathing is also applicable.

What has helped the most is imagining a dot, and moving that dot around, changing its color, moving it along the z-direction (closer). Focusing your mind on that keeps it active.

[wruza]

Feels like you found yourself some states similar to sleep paralysis.

[altruios]

I mean, yes... Everything I've read about sleep paralysis says it happens on waking (and is caused more often by sleeping on your back). Before you fall asleep the dark entity people sometimes feel/see isn't there (yet...).