Thread: WILD frustrations

Originally Posted by Orangejuice

Lately ive been having trouble gaining lucidity with the WILD technique,
This is what i have been doing:

I go to bed at my usual bedtime, get in a comfortable position, and let my body fall asleep, while gazing at the ceiling and focusing my conscience on lucid dreaming. After many minutes my heart rate goes crazy, and my whole body begins to shake. I stay very calm and focused and let my eyes close. i see colourless colours and swirls, explosions, tunnels. it feels like i am spinning into a shapeshifting black hole; its quite a ride. After a while, these sensations stop and i am back to the still blackness. I open my eyes and try the same thing again but it takes hours for the next one to hit me, so I decide to just go to sleep.

Can anyone tell me what i am doing wrong and what i should be doing instead? Does anybody else have these problems as well? Please share, we'll discuss and clear some things up.

-Jessica

WILDs are best done in the morning, in the midst of your REM cycles for best effect.
Doing it right at bedtime is basically conscious to a non-REM sleep period.

Originally Posted by DreamChaser

WILDs are best done in the morning, in the midst of your REM cycles for best effect.
Doing it right at bedtime is basically conscious to a non-REM sleep period.

I completely agree with you, that's when i had my first wild. But why does your body shake and your heart goes crazy when you wild?

Originally Posted by topten35

I completely agree with you, that's when i had my first wild. But why does your body shake and your heart goes crazy when you wild?

As a natural defense mechanism, sleep paralysis takes place in order to keep your limbs from flaying about during your nightly dream activities.
In most cases, you would never know that your body is paralyzed from your head down to your toes unless of course you become conscious of
yourself being in your paralyzed body during this condition of sleep paralysis.
You are just witnessing what you would otherwise be asleep for.

Originally Posted by DreamChaser

As a natural defense mechanism, sleep paralysis takes place in order to keep your limbs from flaying about during your nightly dream activities.
In most cases, you would never know that your body is paralyzed from your head down to your toes unless of course you become conscious of
yourself being in your paralyzed body during this condition of sleep paralysis.
You are just witnessing what you would otherwise be asleep for.

Well, that does not answer the question posed by topten35.

Can anyone tell me what i am doing wrong and what i should be doing instead? Does anybody else have these problems as well? Please share, we'll discuss and clear some things up.

Long time ago I had similar problem. I was aiming at OOBE. I was very efficient at relaxation. Much better that I am now I could loose the sense of body in a couple of minutes. Surely had some experiences like pulsating vibrations, SP and also crazy heart beat in addition to REM like eye movement. It felt like fake REM.
Anyhow, I could never go further. No OOBE, no LD. Now after about 10 years with more accessible knowledge I take different approach and realised one fundamental mistake I made: I was too intensive - yes relaxed but never allowed myself for kind of mental release and loose a bit of focus in favour of deeper states. I was either Switched On or OFF.
Another reason was timing. I always tried to OOBE before bed, did not even know about 4+1 technique. Now I agree with DreamChaser - it might be crucial for you.
I would mention about some supplements that I am trying but in long run surely it's better to be independent. Recently I found Melatonin and L-Theanine combo as allowing to loose into deeper states easily. I am trying to combine them with Galantamine and Choline but it might be step too far for you. All of them are natural and apart from Galantamine overdose or addiction is not an issue.

Originally Posted by Nihao

Well, that does not answer the question posed by topten35.

"As a natural defense mechanism..." I think I wrote.
A general statement which is true. To go a little further,
we have those specific effects mentioned because its the body defending against movement during REM. Its just how it does it.
Shocks us and it's thought that hormones are released to create the SP, so it's prob the rush of hormones into the body at SP.

Nihao...please keep you primadonna statements to yourself.

See this thread for more info on WILD problems/solutions.

Originally Posted by WolfeDreamer531

That's a very tough question.
Like I said before everyone is different, so I think the delay between wakefulness and dreaming depends on the person. As you may have read already, it will be "blatantly" obvious that you are dreaming. First, you will have vibrations (feels something like painless, electrical currents running through your body) and Hypnagogic Hallucinations. They will become more intense and apparent as you get farther into falling asleep. Then, they will continue to intensify until you feel that surge of energy (for lack of better words) rushing through you as the completion of the onset of SP begins (it feels something like falling through your bed). You cant possibly confuse this surging rush with anything else.

*I should note that this is the point where most new WILDers wake up from excitement/expectancy. Your heart rate might increase from the intensity of SP and from the realization that you're finally about to WILD (and a increased heart rate lets our bodies know that we are not unconscious). I cant stress the importance of focusing on your breathing when going through this enough. That's why its better for you to practice and feel what its like for yourself*

At that point, you will either already be dreaming or will be moments from it. If you're in a state of darkness, that's when you either rub your hands together and/or spin around to get into a dream scene. For me, I usually find myself back in my bed the majority of the time.
Whether one is dreaming or not, I believe, usually depends on what he/she is thinking about at the time they go into SP.

But dont rely on my information, keep on with the practicing until you get more accustomed to it, then my post will make a lot more sense to you.

After a while, these sensations stop and i am back to the still blackness.

Turn over and try to stick your thumb into the floor - you may be dreaming already.

"As a natural defense mechanism..." I think I wrote.

Well, again I am seriously curious where is the logic. I don't deny the purpose of SP to avoid any harm while following your moves in the dream. However that does not explain crazy heart beat and shakes, does it?
As to primadonna - whatever experience with primadonnas you may have had they must have questioned your statements right

Can anyone tell me what i am doing wrong and what i should be doing instead? Does anybody else have these problems as well? Please share, we'll discuss and clear some things up.

I forgot about the position. I found laying on my back making me too intense. Realised after a long, long time When changed into side position I had my first OOBE and LD.

I think the images and colors you are seeing are Hypnagogic Hallucinations and the bed shking you're experiencing are vibrations, which means you are getting pretty close.

Originally Posted by Orangejuice

I go to bed at my usual bedtime, get in a comfortable position, and let my body fall asleep, while gazing at the ceiling and focusing my conscience on lucid dreaming. After many minutes my heart rate goes crazy, and my whole body begins to shake. I stay very calm and focused and let my eyes close. i see colourless colours and swirls, explosions, tunnels. it feels like i am spinning into a shapeshifting black hole; its quite a ride. After a while, these sensations stop and i am back to the still blackness. I open my eyes and try the same thing again but it takes hours for the next one to hit me, so I decide to just go to sleep.

Can anyone tell me what i am doing wrong and what i should be doing instead? Does anybody else have these problems as well? Please share, we'll discuss and clear some things up.

I thinks its pretty obvious that you are waking yourself up from excitement/expectancy. Its not rare that new WILDers wake up from getting too excited, that's why its important to try to control your breathing when going through this. If you control your breathing, you have better control over your heart rate. And your heart rate is what we want to keep under control in order for you to successfully WILD. But the best piece of information that I can give is practice. You have to become accustomed to those feelings of consciously falling asleep and learn how to react to them w/o getting excited, increasing your heart rate, and most importantly, waking up. You'll see by what I mean by controlling your excitement levels after you practice more often. But you want to get to the point where you acknowledge these feelings/sensations-

Originally Posted by Orangejuice

After many minutes my heart rate goes crazy, and my whole body begins to shake. I stay very calm and focused and let my eyes close. i see colourless colours and swirls, explosions, tunnels. it feels like i am spinning into a shapeshifting black hole; its quite a ride.

-w/o reacting to them. If you're not accustomed to these feelings and sensations, then you might be unknowingly exciting yourself. All I suggest is taking slow, deep breaths for the duration of the WILD. This way, you have a better chance of not increasing your heart rate from excitement and expectancy.