Why am I not transitioning?

**kitty200049** · 01-03-2011 10:24 PM

I just tried to WILD during a nap. It's hard for me to WILD if I concentrate, so I let my concious drift away and then when it went too far I held it back. I was instantly in SP, but the kind you are in when you awake from a dream and don't move. A few seconds later, my body felt numb and I couldn't feel or hear my breathing. I thought it was going well, and I even saw repetitive hypnagogic images. I tried to picture a dream and have my dream body move into it but nothing happened. I tried for about fifteen minutes, but still nothing. I laid there for about another fifteen minutes, trying to let the images take me away. Then my alarm went off and I had to get up.
This is pretty much what happens every time I try to WILD. That or I fall asleep. What am I doing wrong, or not doing, for the transition?

**Jeff777** · 01-08-2011 06:18 AM

Originally Posted by kitty200049

I just tried to WILD during a nap. It's hard for me to WILD if I concentrate, so I let my concious drift away and then when it went too far I held it back. I was instantly in SP, but the kind you are in when you awake from a dream and don't move. A few seconds later, my body felt numb and I couldn't feel or hear my breathing. I thought it was going well, and I even saw repetitive hypnagogic images. I tried to picture a dream and have my dream body move into it but nothing happened. I tried for about fifteen minutes, but still nothing. I laid there for about another fifteen minutes, trying to let the images take me away. Then my alarm went off and I had to get up.
This is pretty much what happens every time I try to WILD. That or I fall asleep. What am I doing wrong, or not doing, for the transition?

If that's what happens "every time you try and WILD", then it's safe to say you're farther ahead than most who have been trying for an unfathomable amount of time. Your issue doesn't seem to be what you're doing wrong but more so an issue of when you're doing wrong. WILD's have been heralded as the holy grail of lucid dreaming, but even so, they're still attainable only in REM. We cycle in REM every 90 minutes and have very sparse REM in the earlier stages of our sleep cycle. The longevity of our REM cycles increase further into sleep.

My advice? Get about 4 - 6 hours of sleep prior to your attempts, then come back to this thread once you've tried that a few times and update me with your results. Remember that perseverance and flexibility in the approach are key.

**dakotahnok** · 01-08-2011 06:21 AM

Completely agree with jeff777

**kitty200049** · 01-14-2011 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by Jeff777

My advice? Get about 4 - 6 hours of sleep prior to your attempts, then come back to this thread once you've tried that a few times and update me with your results. Remember that perseverance and flexibility in the approach are key.

I tried what you have said five times and I got exactly the same results. Sleep paralysis, but these times little to no hypnagogic imagery. Once when I tried to picture the dream the sleep paralysis went away. I thought I was in a dream so I tried a reality check but was still awake. Do I need more practice or a try the technique differently?