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 I think that the key to LD is less about a method and more about maintaining a kind of state of receptiveness even in waking hours. Not as formal as reality checks but an openness to the possibility that you may be nonphysical if that makes sense. Because the most successful LDs are the ones where your awareness is at waking level, right? And for this the transition should be seamless. It sounds vague but in a way what were dealing with is beyond language : its a state of being and a way of life, even. You just have to believe - genuinely believe that the NPR is not as distant as it can seem to be and that the borders between 'worlds' are rather fluid and malleable, actually. I mean we're there every night.

Aswell as this you should also periodically dissect your lucid experiences. Try and recall the sensation of being nonphysical it should be easy and free-flowing there, like second nature or it will be with time (and if I'm honest I'm still not quite there yet myself). Sometimes you get these little flashes of inspiration whether its something to motivate you or just something new to try out when lucid the latter especially because you're then engaging with the nonphysical space, kind of reinforcing its presence in your psyche.

So in short don't think about LD but do think about it sometimes... Not contradictory at all then!    

Try this...

Next time you find yourself Projecting, just simply stop... focus for a second... then state with the full Intention of wanting to experience and learn something new and beneficial to yourself and say something out loud to that effect. 

The trick is the Intention part... you have to want to really experience something new and beneficial to you.  Then, just remain open to whatever happens. 
Oh and the "beneficial" part is also of great importance... otherwise your subconscious will just throw anything at you that is "new".  LoL 

The system will help you.

Thanks! Will do! 

 
Now that I can project from lucid dreams, I feel I've come full circle in a way. This time last year I was wandering around my dreams only they were a bit lifeless. Now my awareness has improved, my vision once aware is near-perfect and my movement is smoother than its ever been. My non-lucid dreams are also more vivid and memorable. This is all from treating my LDs as APs.

But I don't know what to do next. I know my work isn't complete but I feel a bit directionless and I think I need something to aim for, something to focus my energies on.

Here is a list of things I can't do as a starting point:

AP/LD at will though I can sometimes tell when its going to happen based on my sleep pattern.

Hang around in the void ~ its the best part of any projection for me just floating there but I'm always dropped into a scene even when I protest as I feel the shift and the scene materialises.

Can't taste anything. For some reason I wanna eat in the NPR! My other senses have gotten stronger but not taste or smell, really...

These are what instantly spring to mind so any tips on how to improve in these areas would be appreciated. But really I'm open to anything that'll help me progress.

Also, yeah, lots of sparkly lights for me too. Like I'm in outer (rather than 'inner'!) space. Also I'm generally speeding through like a rocket. I'd like to hang out there a little but a scene always materialises as soon as I say 'I wanna stay here!'  

Recent post summarising my experiential research results on "The Void" (so far):

http://www.astraldynamics.com.au/showthread.php?11852-Sinera-s-Lucidiary&p=130931#post130931

Slightly OT but , you can reach your hands out for help? Why did this never occur to me?!

And, I'm going to try the rubbing hands request thing cos I'm still trying to find the best way to navigate the void. I've been trying to make myself less of a 'physical' presence out there and more of a point of consciousness type of thing. Thing is, I find that I'm more aware of my 'body' ~ its generally kind of contorted and its hard to let go. If I feel I'm 'allowed' to be physical then I think then it'll maybe alleviate a bit of the tension (I've a pretty big fear problem) and maybe help me progress further.

So, thanks for the tips!

I went through a big stage of fear myself when I first started.  I almost quit but somehow realized that 'the only way out was through.'  My fears are gone now and I think it really helped me to always have in mind (especially when I was projecting) that the purpose of everything is our growth in love.  Every fear or neg. I experienced was necessary for me to experience in order to grow.  There's a reason for it all that becomes clearer as we persevere.

You may not feel ready to experience God/Source and that's fine -everything in it's time- but please, if I may say so -never feel unworthy.  One thing I know for sure from my experiences is that you are loved more than you can ever imagine, and you are loved just the way you are -no judgement. 

The thing is, I haven't as yet had any negative projections. The worst was a recent one where I was being dropped over a burning city at night. I started panicking thinking maybe I was in hell (not the hell but a hell) and I chose end it before I landed. I know I have the option to stop if I'm not comfortable and I'm fine once I'm in a scene but from the moment I'm lucid and in the void I'm just a bit of a mess. I tend to bark out instructions just to distract myself from my fears but even then my 'voice' sounds so small out there.

As for the second part of your post, I certainly hope that is the case.

When you'll be used to NPR you'll hear voices. It's not scary, it's impressive, because you know and you're 100% sure that you're not the one who said anything and hear a different voice that your consciousness never heard anywhere. When you hear it, you take it as a proof that there's something out there.
For me it was a feminine voice but she made such an impression on me... I mean you can't ignore that voice when your mind is completely calm and you hear a big: -HEY!
I woke up and I was confused and it changed everything for me.
I hear it once in a while and every time I know I can trust this voice.

I think there's definitely a consciousness out there, I read it so many times.
Even buddhist think that after you are enlightened you become one with everything.
In some way I guess when you become enlightened you are able to see and help everything/everywhere.

Don't worry tho, hearing voices in NPR is not uncommon, once you're used to it and you know your way around you'll hear it.

Well my theory is that one reason I'm not hearing voices is because the void or whatever knows that I'd be too frightened. Actually another reason I asked this question. I'm pretty explicit about not having someone frighten me there. I think that's why I'm maybe being and will be held back from making any kind of progress. For my own wellbeing I'm shielded I think, from anything too 'out there'. I'm fine once I'm dropped into a scene there's usually someone there and i can talk like normal. Just the other night I could here voices in the darkness just before the scene materialised and it was fine.I was still floating about and it didn't phase me. It's the 'Hello' I'm as frightened of as much as the 'BOO!' scary thing and I can't will it away for some reason. It just overwhelms me.

And actually experiencing something outside of myself is actually a big motivation to even continue practicing AP. It would be proof to myself that these things aren't just products of my imagination. So far all I've got go are the amazing visual quality of every scene I've seen (lol) even indoors. But again if I'm such a wimp and whoever's out there knows this ...

My experience is that it's some kind of "in-between" area between realities.  I usually experience it while going into a non-physical experience, but I ALWAYS experience it coming out of one.
So, personally, I view it as a (as Tom Campbell would say) lack of a data-stream.  A lack of a reality.  Nothing.  Void. 

Thats how I see it too as a buffer between more obviously constructed scenes or maybe a kind of launchpad into the astral proper or a more conceivable version of it? Its black with bits in it (like stars usually) when I enter from an LD and white when the projection fades.

But this recent experience got me thinking that maybe I underestimated its true nature..

Yes!  I call it God.  I also don't disagree with Xanth's answer because our consciousness is the God consciousness. It's all connected. (We just don't realize it and know how to access the fullness of it at present)

I've asked to hear music in the void and heard amazing symphonies and other pieces of music that I've never heard before on earth.

I've asked some other questions too and got answers.  2 nights ago I asked to see an 'atom' and a big energy cloud from the void constructed what appeared to be one.  You could see all the moving parts.  It was pretty neat. 

Interesting!  I often wonder about the existense of a god or a higher power. Even when I was nominally an atheist I couldn't quite rid myself of the notion that there is something (or dare I say it, someone - I'm still  not sure) out there that is above and beyond the scope of human understanding or perception at present. Now that I'm projecting semi-regularly, I find  I'm more reluctant to explore this in the astral. I just don't think I'm ready or maybe I'm not worthy enough right now to warrant a glimpse of the Divine or whatever it really is...

I read your atom story in the other thread. I hope one day I'll feel comfortable enough to make proper requests like that rather than just like 'Please don't scare me!'. I'm still too fearful in the NPR. I swear if I heard a voice speaking back to me or something I'd probably die in my sleep even though really I do need some kind of guidance. It's really holding me back and affecting the quality of my projections.

You COULD kind of say it has a personality.  It's a reflection of the nothing within you.  If that even makes any sense.

Through the void, you have access to everything.  As you said... ask what you want and see what happens.  Does that dictate an intelligence?  Well, I think it's YOUR consciousness at work... so if you'd consider yourself intelligent, then yes.    LoL

So I really am Infinite Love, Infinite Conciousness and Infinite Possibility? I thought as much! (That was the opening of an affirmation I used to use).

When I'm in the void (or what I believe to be the void) I tend to automatically talk to it like I'm talking to a person, like there is someone watching or listening out there in the darkness. I experiment with different commands like 'Take me to my higher self', 'Take me where I need to be' etc.

Recently, I tried 'Take me home' and I ended up in an apartment just floating from room to room. When this faded I tried the same command  twice more with similar results. Once there was a corpse that came back to life (not scary - I created and neutralised it as it was being created, I think) and there was a woman in the next. In both I again just floated around each room and even ended up in a pantry rifling through the spice rack!    .It was perplexing and I couldn't understand why I was there. When I awoke I finally realised that I'd gotten exactly what I'd asked for  - to go 'home', literally and I then saw the funny side of it.

This has left me wondering if the void has a personality.It seems like someone out there was having a giggle at my expense (which is fair enough, I guess  ). Or maybe the void is the place where other non-physical beings can tune in to us and there isn't just one 'operator'  on the line, so to speak?  But, at the same time, it also seems like something a computer would do - i mean give a literal answer to a deliberately vague or obtuse instruction?

Or maybe I am just reading too much into these things... Whatever the case I'd like to hear everyone else's opinions on this

I haven't read anything on creating tulpas but I'm wondering if its similar to the 'Body of light' that the Golden Dawn used? I remember reading somewhere that if you gave it too much power it would get a life of its own or something.

 I tried this a few times a while back. It worked the first time. However, it took over an hour for me to get back to sleep but yeah, I had a strong LD. After this, each time I tried it I found I couldn't get back to sleep and no, they weren't false awakenings -I was certainly wide awake and no more LDs. So I don't think its for me.

But... I'll probably try again for the next few nights as I'm going through a bit of a dry patch and I'm out of ideas!

If you can pull yourself out of a lucid dream very slowly, you'll be in this 3D void.
No thoughts of anywhere else, including your body or you'll take off from this launchpad.
It's THE place to do your best in staying as long as you can enjoying is pure tranquility.
The ultimate personal pure conciousness of self can be realised here.

This is the only way I know how to project. I run as fast as I can from LD and everything goes black. It isn't peaceful or still though. It's more like I'm hurtling through space and I can't stop. If I make a request 'take me somewhere' or or whatever I get dropped into a scene but I haven't managed to stay there for too long. I've tried staring into the blackness but to no avail. When I leave a scene by say flyinfg upwards, I get back there but again not for too long. Also it looks mostly like space with twinkling dots of light. Once I saw planets with numbers on them too so maybe it isn't the void after all... I've  only done this like half a dozen times in the last couple of months though so maybe inexperience counts for something.

 Whenever I'm lucid I find a wave of fear washes over me straight away - maybe it's a survival instinct or something? What I do now is try to talk to anyone in the vicinity even the scary ones. I'm polite and tell them I'm lucid and I'm gonna walk away now and if they'd like to join me. They generally decline and even wish me good luck. The fear is self-created and if you change your attitude towards these guys they generally soften up a bit. Try it!

 
The last time I was lucid I decided that rather than 'jump' into darkness I would hang about in the dream for various reasons. I stepped out of the room I'd gained awareness in and started off down the stairs. I'm not sure if it was a place I knew or not  but I felt like it was only supposed to be maybe a short flight or two. It was very dark and gloomy despite it  being light in the room I'd just left. I ran down because I wanted to explore but the staircase just wouldn't end. I started talking to a tiny toy man on one step. I carried on walking and I saw a baby on another step and picked it up (it's not safe there!) and carried on. I went back up the steps and now the toy had turned into a tiny man and we walked out together into daylight. I saw the baby's mother who then handed me another kid to hold. But by the time I was out I felt that my lucidity was lowered and everything was kind of chaotic after that.

Now, I prefer to go into these things with some kind of game-plan. Lately its been to get lucid, run out of the scene as fast as I can until everything goes black and see where it takes me (I'm still working on this technique). This time though, I actually wanted to explore the present dream and planned as much because I wanted to test a few things out. But I couldn't get out of the building! I feel like there's a message or a lesson this - maybe that I should be focusing on moving onward and upwards instead of dawdling and being complacent? Or maybe something more practical like it was testing my navigation skills in the NPR and I should have willed an exit or walked through the walls or something? Or could it just be a case of if 'it ain't broke...' and I should persist with whatever I was doing first and not try to innovate too much?  Maybe all of the above? I'd appreciate anyone's interpretion.

You are really doing fine. I'd stick with this method as it's working. You are still too physical in your mindset though, it's very common and takes years to instinctively know how to react to the fluid nature of the NP.
The skitting around is normal too. Shrinking in size and entering a golf hole pretty much sums it up. With instinct you'd have followed and questioned him further.
It appears you were being shown some of the ropes and general expectations you need to adopt so your solid physical world mindedness can bend into the wider realities available to you.

If it isn't broken, don't try and fix it.
This applies.

That sounds about right. It only occurred to me later that I ought to have followed him and was capable of doing so. I'll bear that in mind next time.

One question and one statement...

Q: How do you define a "dream location/situation" compared to a non-dream location/situation? 

S: Any experience within a reality which, at the time of experiencing, you identify as not being this physical/awake reality (this requirement of identification requires you to have some level of conscious awareness) is a Projection.  Lose the labels... lucid dream, astral projection, obe... these labels hold people back because they try to ram their experiences and categorize them into them.  This is where the problems arise.

Trying to put your experience into one of these labels is like trying to ram a square peg in a round hole.  Sure, with enough force you just might be able to do it, but it's not a neat, clean fit. 

Lose the pegs... lose the holes...

If you're having a non-physical experience and you're consciously aware... you're Projecting.  There's no need to further break it down, because there is no further breaking it down.  You're either aware you're non-physical or you're not aware you're non-physical.  Many years ago, I too, became caught up in the labels... and it held me back.  It took me over 10 years to project and begin to figure this stuff out.  The sooner you can change your perception that this stuff is much easier and less complicated than most people have made it out to be, then the faster you'll be able to do your own math. 

Ok, I apologize... that was one hell of a statement.  ROFL

I knew you would say that! 

No, I am aware that all non-physical experiences are equally valid. I'm just using the existing terminology I guess? I mean that I'm trying to find somewhere neutral and 'purged' of the imagery or whatever of the preceding dream scenario.What I'm looking for is a departure from something that's overtly self-created,  y'know?  Its not that I have any specific expectations, none really, but I feel like there's got to be something more solid, more constant, and just plain different to what I'm currently encountering. I wanna get out of my own headspace, really. I hope that clarifies things a bit.

But again if I'm going about it all wrong I'd like to know.

Hi all!

In my last couple of dreams, when i get lucid, my aim has been to 'break way' from the dream location/situation.This started in a sustained lucid dream where after shifting in and  out of awareness I was 're-awakened' by  a dream character (twice!). I made a firm decision there and then to jump out of the window of the house I was in. I walked briskly on right through the window and into a black hole in the garden. When I usually jump from a height in dreams the overriding thought is about landing safely and on solid ground. This time I just focused on just getting somewhere, anywhere. I was sort of being sucked into blackness and I could feel the wind in my face as I accelerated. I ended up floating in 'outer space' or a dream version of it - a black background with sparkles. I stuck my hand out and it was hazy looking and sort of transparent. For some reason my sleeve was striped (not what I was wearing earlier) and I was relieved I wasn't naked! Other than that I had no bodily awareness.

Fear then arose in me. I thought 'Something nasty will appear because I'm panicking' . I looked around and it felt like I could see all around me at the same time - a weird sensation. I then reasoned that if 'thought = action' here then I probably ought to keep things short and end it straight away. As soon as this was decided I started 'pulling out' of the scene. Right then my rational mind finally turned up and went 'Wait! There's so much I want to do!' or something and instead of waking up I ended up in a false awakening.In it  I tried to record this experience in some busted up notebooks but couldn't find an empty page. When I finally found one I struggled to even get the date down. I guess I woke up after that.

So I basically lasted about 5 seconds in space . Clearly I messed up where it counted right?  I learned (or noticed) however that my rational mind is always one step behind when in the dream-state. Initially I'm more animalistic or something i.e. that my survival or wellbeing is paramount and that's where the fear's coming from, maybe? If I'd waited a little longer I could have made a more sensible decision. Also, that the false awakening at the end was a positive sign because I didn't wake up , I stayed non-physical even if I couldn't capitalise on it. Correct me if I'm wrong on either count, obviously.

Then the other night after attaining lucidity I again power-walked into the abyss . I tried what William Buhlman said : 'Take me to my higher self' and... I ended up in a room with a guy in military fatigues on a sofa who said he was my higher self! I sat on a seat facing him and we made small talk. I kept on asking him 'Are you sure you're my higher self?!' and he seemed unphased and just said 'Yeah' with a smile. But when I tried to talk, to express myself, he started rambling. He then stood up, walked away from me and jumped into a hole in the floor, looked like a golf hole. I tried calling after him but to no avail. Somehow after that I ended up on an empty street. It was sunny but everything looked hazy. I just stood there without a clue. Its the first time in a dream that I didn't feel rushed just clueless and dopey.

I don't remember the rest unfortunately because when I woke up I had the choice of  recording it which would have woken me right up or try again while I was still dozy and opted for the latter. I remember swirly psychedelic colours and 'diving in' and seeing the same bloke now in a shirt and tie sitting behind a desk. We cordially exchanged  greetings  but as I tried to speak to him (just words - nothing deep) my hearing got fuzzy and he shrunk to about and an inch high and ran away.  I presume I woke up eventually.

So, what do you think? Brushes with the astral proper or just overblown lucid dreams? Should I persist with this technique?  I've been thinking that maybe I should instead just focus on conscious-exit projection or something. I feel like my subconscious really clouds things. Also that it takes aspects of my more successful episodes and flimsily reproduces them to dupe me. What am I doing wrong? Feel free to tear into me if you must but I'd really like some answers please!!

Definately good work that's paying off. Your description is familiar to the later stages in phasing. I've posted this in 'the astral blueprint'.
Rather than thinking you're still in bed, try to convince yourself you are in a comfy chair instead. If this is difficult, go to the comfy chair and do your thing from this location. When this experience plays out again, you'll be in your bed. It's crazy but it's how it works. Your subconscious will aid this as its programmed to the fact you sleep in your bed. It also does this in dreams, how many times have you read.." I was in my old house..."
Same thing.
Keep going, you'll be out and about in no time.

On a related note I've found that even when I'm sleeping in the middle of the day, all my lucid dreams take place at night. The one in this post started out sunny when I was indoors but as soon as I was outside it was like nighttime. The subconscious mind can be kind of rigid, I guess...

That's Dream Paralysis, and not an entity I'm sure of it! This IMO is the dream equivalent of sleep paralysis and can be used as a launch pad to OBE from the dream-state.   

The first time it happened to me was a couple of years ago and I thought I was being attacked. I was squeezed so hard I couldn't even breathe and I could hear malicious giggling. I felt a bit traumatized by the end of it. Its happened infrequently since. I've tried different ways to fight it e.g. affirmations, righteous anger, telling 'it' firmly to eff off etc but none made a difference. About 2-3 weeks ago I had a really nasty experience where I thought I was being strangled- I could feel hands around my throat and even someone's knees digging into my chest. It got me thinking. I've never had sleep paralysis and tried to avoid reading too much into it ( I'm very open to suggestion especially when it comes to creepy stuff!) but it seems to be near identical to what was happening to me except I was asleep. I decided that the next time it happened I would face it head on and not resist at all.The other night I very nearly projected from a lucid dream. The paralysis struck and I didn't fight back.It was still unpleasant but didn't last anywhere near as long as normal. I was set for a projection but I totally panicked and blew it .

So my advice would be to face it head on. I like that a poster above called it a fear test, that makes sense. I'm lobbying for this to be discussed more because it seems to be quite common or at least commonly mistaken for something worse than it probably is.

[By the way, I think you were projected and actually in more ways than one]

Great job!

In my opinion, you will look back on this as a breakthrough experience. You were learning many things on several different levels and I think you did great! You should save your post and refer back to it for a couple years to contemplate what was being learned; practically every sentence you wrote has a lesson in it! What a great read!

By the way, I think you were projected and actually in more ways than one, as you will come to learn. You learned a lot about the energy bodies, strengthening them and the Non-Physical mechanics of how they operate...very different from the Physical. You did a great job maintaining your awareness/focus; it sounds like suggestions you affirm with yourself in PR are starting to show up in your thinking in the NPR. Short, simple affirmations can really be helpful starting now, so you might give that a try.

That was a blast, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading! 

Could you explain the bolded or is this another situation where patience is a virtue?

But, yeah its funny but it never occurred to me to let my body acclimate to the dream environment. As soon as I had any awareness I would grab on to it for dear life and rush about flustered. I guess as beginner, the energy body needs to be fortified before it can navigate the dream world and then graduate to higher plane or something.

I took a nap this afternoon and I think I came very close to projecting from a lucid dream.

In the first LD I woke up in my bed. I pulled myself out I started thinking 'How do I convert this?' but didn't get out of my room.It faded out and in the next couple I couldn't even get out of bed.

I also had bouts of defective vision: my bedding was imprinted on my eyes. So I started focusing on the 'awakening' process the 'shift' into LD. usually its a slightly nauseous feeling like a lift going downwards and stopping and I then pull myself out of bed. This time I thought that maybe its actually a longer process and the pulling or rolling out of bed was my being impatient. So I decided to let it run its course (to see if it had one really) and just wait things out. Instead of getting up straight away I waited and it was pretty cool! My body felt like it was being contorted into all sorts of crazy positions, all twisted in on itself  like someone was moving my limbs. From 'waking'  on my back, I ended up on my belly. This then subsided and I got up. I found my movements were swifter and smoother.I felt more in sync with the dream environment and the flash of bad vision disappeared with nothing more than a disgruntled thought!

I reminded myself to engage in my environment. So I left the room, tried to observe and absorb all I could and said 'Hi' to anyone in the area. Usually in LD I'm a little rushed, there's an urgency there. I slowed myself up a bit and took everything in. Nearly got distracted a couple of times, even. Each time the dream faded out I ended up in my dream-bed and would have to go through the same routine again. But I persisted and after a couple of these in-and-out scenarios I think I had my brush with AP...

I recall walking down a flight of stairs and the dream began blacking out. Each time this happened I tried to apply myself. This time it felt different I started getting 'dream paralysis' (I made a thread about this already) where I felt a great weight on my chest and the sensation of being throttled. After reading around I've come to the conclusion that this is the dream version of sleep paralysis and a gateway to or a signifier of AP so I was ready to face it. I could feel hands on my throat and my own (non-physical?) hands on top of those .Its a unpleasant experience but this time it was surprisingly short. I felt this intense throbbing or vibration and I could hear funny noises - popping and snapping, sort of.This then changed and I started to see an bright image or images flashing in the distance heading towards me and there was music like a speeded up pop song I couldn't make out the words except finally 'go to bed ' or 'back to bed' and... I woke up in my bed.

The reason I feel this ended abruptly is because (I'm ashamed to say) i freaked out a bit . My mind started babbling and maybe I lost a little focus in the process. Its understandable because its a new experience but the reason I think I finally reached this stage was through being relatively cool-headed and pragmatic y'know? The first part of this post sounds fairly linear but it was really a mishmash of successes interspersed with a lot of lesser episodes, a lot of trial and error. Also, I didn't really have a destination in mind and maybe it would be a better approach to have?

As well this being the closest to projecting I've gotten, its also the most drawn out (it lasted I think around an hour) and well, lucid of the dreams I've had.It just felt different to the preceding lucid dream which felt more like a dark corner of my mind. This felt like I'd stumbled onto something Outside of my imagination, like I was strapped in and things weren't totally in my control or something I dunno!  So.. I just wanted to share it

Thanks for the tip
I'll try this!

I could be wrong but I'll try to explain...

Usually it happens upon waking from a dream or lucid dream especially the latter.I feel a sort of magnetic pull like being sucked into sleep. Its like when you're exhausted except then you blackout into a dreamless sleep but with added awareness and no loss of consciousness. There's no voices or vibrations or anything like that -just that pull. my eyelids feel very heavy and almost forced shut and it takes a surprising amount of effort to open them or even think of opening them. Once I'm locked in i then see white - not a flash of light or anything. just bright whiteness that takes over my field of vision. This then fades out and I'm then in an LD. I mostly end up in the previous dream or my bedroom as a default.Then its business as usual for me as far as LDs go.When one ends I go through the same process and so on.

A few notes...

I can think aloud in the white. I might even over-think. I still get a result though so maybe I'm only half-wrong.

I have tried to harness this before, to direct my focus with the same outcome. But if I don't think this through I end up in the same place anyway so..
 
I'm naturally wimpy and I'm beginning to suspect that maybe someone wiser knows that I'm not well-equipped to deal with anything more advanced (not religious btw) and that my LD 'box' is actually the safe place for me or something.

Happens mostly when I nap in the middle of the day (around 4-5 pm) and particularly when I oversleep say till 7-9 that night.

There are the semi-rare instances where I enter a dream as soon as I fall asleep. I find myself in my dream-bed. My limbs are heavy and I have to crawl forcefully off my bed onto the floor. Its a funny sensation like slowly peeling a plaster. Then a normal LD follows. Maybe this is closer to a WILD?

Also, the dreams themselves are becoming more vivid and are lasting longer and I'm less fearful. They're still stilted and uneventful but I guess you take the bad with the good.

I'd like to have a full-blown conscious OBE but while that doesn't seem to be something that'll happen anytime soon while these lucid experiences happen regularly. So I'd like to know if there is there anyway of utilising this transitioning process into something more developed or expansive? I've read the stickies on the site and I'm still struggling.
Thanks