one for the WILD veterans...

[james-25:22pm]

all those of you who can WILD at will...or who've even had ANY success...

IS IT A MATTER OF PRACTICE? or a matter of "you got it or you don't"

there are so many WILD variations round here....I never know where to start....

but If i pick one...and stick at it through failure....just stay confident...do i stand a good chance of success?

or is it a matter of fail and move on?

also, how long did it take you from your first try to stick a WILD?

[BillyBob]

Hello James,

I've seen your problem many times, people try and try to WILD, they go from method to method, from tutorial to tutorial, and never succeed.


The base of your problem (and many other's) is how your going about achieving your WILDs.
There's no one way to WILD, all those techniques you've read? They're just variations of the central and original WILD.

_____

WILD is simple, so simple that it can seem impossibly hard.
To WILD, you wake up after sleeping a little while and focus on your breath until you enter a dream.

I could tell you that before you WILD you should drink a little bit of coke, or that during your WILD if you have to swallow then theres a certain way to do it, but if I did, I'd be lying.
I can't tell you the details of how to WILD, no one can. You have to figure out all the dark spots on your own.


Anyway about your questions:

Yeah its nearly all practice. The more you do it, the more you find out about what works for you and what doesn't.
Only through experimenting can you find out your personal needs for WILDs. No tutorial will ever teach you EXACTLY how to WILD :(

The only reason you should try to find a new method of WILDing is if you've been at it for over a month with absolutely no change in progress (Then you would try something new like a visual WILD -one where you focus on a mental image rather than your breathing- instead of a breathing one)




Your other question:
Me, I got lucky. I had been meditating for about a year prior to learning about lucid dreaming (this (http://www.meditationcenter.com/connect/mind.html) type of meditation).
That meditation is basically just WILDing while sitting up, so I succeeded my first try.

My second wasn't so easy though, I failed many times after that first, but by then I was hooked.

[roguext22]

billybob - it is good that you meditate.. :)
yes, you can experience what you are not - find that you are not the body through meditation... but it must be an experience.. else, information never gives anything...

i also have a feeling meditation is the key to sucess - go beyond dreaming, starting ld, wild, then oobe, then finding you are not the body.. and so on...
now.. this is only a feeling that it could be like this..
i didnt experienced it myself.. so i dont have proves...

[Robot_Butler]

I agree with Billybob.

It is not a matter of practicing one technique, it is a matter of changing little things every time you try, until you have success/ progress. There are so many little things that can make or break a WILD attempt. Try to learn something each time you make an attempt, and none of them will be failures. They will just be steps getting you closer to your perfect technique.

Another thing to consider is that the more you practice any concentration/ visualization/ meditation technique, the better your brain will become with it. In that aspect, the practice is like excercising.

[Swank]

billybob - it is good that you meditate.. :)
yes, you can experience what you are not - find that you are not the body through meditation... but it must be an experience.. else, information never gives anything...

i also have a feeling meditation is the key to sucess - go beyond dreaming, starting ld, wild, then oobe, then finding you are not the body.. and so on...
now.. this is only a feeling that it could be like this..
i didnt experienced it myself.. so i dont have proves...

Rogue: IMO, lucid dreaming is a part of the bigger picture of moving beyond the body and realising the impermanence of life. Astral travel is good evidence that there is a whole lot more to life on earth than most people would commonly think. And yes, meditation is essentially training yourself to clear the mind, the first step to becoming free of the ego and our physical limitations. So yes, meditation helps greatly, well it has for me :)

[MisterHyde]

I agree with TheFinalCut on his opinion. LDing is something bigger. I've hundreds of pages of information about Astral Travel before learning about Lucid Dreaming. And I've come to the conclusion that they're more or less the same thing.

[james-25:22pm]

thanks to everyone for your help. It seems like it its the practice, combined with tuning...

When I tried to WILD last, I had no problem focussing...despite my WBTB only being a bathroom break. So i would assume I should start practicing with short WBTBs and just different focus techniques?

also...the reason that WILD failed was i was soo hell bent on NOT SWALLOWING...but i noticed something last night...that if I allow myself to swallow when needs be...i simply never have to....so I shall try a short WILD tonight...

would the simplest focus method be breathing? what's the advantage in counting too?

and there have been some tutorials I've read (not vild) that focus on images etc...is that just simply for those better at visualising?

anyway...thanks all again!

[Keurslager]

Well, for me it took the realisation that you need a lot of time, and just remember not to stick a goal on it.

Also, try the WBTB, combine with reverse blinking if you don't have any success, those things are what makes it work for me.

Also, meditate a lot, it'll make relaxing that much easier.