Mzzkcs Comprehensive WILD Guide

Hello! Welcome to my humble guide. In the paragraphs that follow, I'll be cataloging just about everything you need to know to have a successful WILD. I'm probably going to miss a few points, but that's what peer review is for. XP

Introduction:

Before I can go any further, I need to explain what WILD is all about. BillyBob has an excellent, in depth, tutorial that should be required reading for everyone. When I first read that, the message behind it didn't truly sink in until over a year later, after I had my little revelation. The short of it is, you need to fall asleep. Yes some level of awareness is necessary, but you can pass that chore onto an auxiliary process with the use of an anchor, as BillyBob describes. Really, everything you need to know is covered in those two threads, but it's all buried. The purpose of this article is digging it all up and putting it on display for everyone to see.

The Building Blocks:

To wild successfully, three things need to happen:

1. You need to be close to REM.
   
2. You need to fall asleep.
   
3. You need to retain awareness.
   

Block 1: Prior Sleep

The first point is incredibly important and shouldn't be overlooked. While yes, it is possible to WILD before getting any sleep whatsoever, WILDs such as this won't last very long and the quality of the LD will be horrendous. Furthermore, it will take more than an hour to pull off, assuming you know what you're doing and won't mess up at all. Compare this to a WILD attempt after six or more hours of sleep, where REM is mere minutes away and may last a very long time.

To compare:

WILD Without Prior Sleep: Poor quality, short, difficulty is next to impossible, takes over an hour to pull off.

WILD With Prior Sleep (Including Naps): Quality is what you make it, length is what you make it, takes no more than 15 minutes to pull off.

That's right, a successful WILD need not take more than 15 minutes to make the transition. If it's taking you longer than that (and you're definitely getting the right amount of prior sleep), you're probably having trouble with the next building block.


Block 2: Falling Asleep

Straightforward, right? Well, you wouldn't know from the number of failed WILDs people are having. This piece is just as crucial as getting prior sleep and is often where people have the most trouble. Here's a checklist to make sure you're going about this sleep thing in the most productive manner possible.

Are you:Environment: If this first one isn't checked off, that's typically an easy fix. Simply invest in ear plugs and/or shades of some kind, maybe a sleeping mask. The sleeping mask and ear plugs can even double as an anchor if you're so inclined.

Being Tired: This one is harder to judge, but it's safe to say that if you're loaded up on caffeine, or some other stimulant, you probably aren't going to feel like sleeping any time soon. Other than that, you don't want your WBTB to be too long. I know of several WILDers who have cut their WBTBs to mere moments. Mine typically consists of emptying my bladder with the lights off before returning back to bed. This way I can capitalize on how tired I am directly after waking up. Keeping your WBTB to a few minutes or less might prove beneficial to you as well.

The Right Mindset: Next is the trickiest, because it's the hardest one for most people to “get.” Put plainly, you shouldn't be waiting for SP, looking for HI, or anything similar. You're trying to fall asleep here, not track your progress through a series of events. Therefore, don't try to “WILD”; go to sleep instead.

Sleeping Position: Building on that is this next box, which is another common misconception about WILDing. You don't have to WILD on your back. In fact, WILDing in the position you normally sleep in may be just what you need to finally take that extra step towards lucidity.

Being Comfortable: Now, if you aren't comfortable, how do you ever expect to get to sleep in a timely fashion? Things that typically fall under this category are swallowing, scratching, and moving. If you absolutely need to do any of these things during your WILD, do it and be done with it. Don't give it a second thought, and continue your attempt unfettered.

Being Relaxed: Many tutorials spend some time going over relaxation techniques like The 61-Point Relaxation Technique. Which is all well and good, but I wouldn't be surprised if most people skip that step. Honestly, that's the only thing most WILD tutorials put towards the actual falling asleep aspect of the WILD. And while it isn't absolutely necessary to do something that in depth, being anxious or excited is counter-productive. If you find yourself getting worked up or scared, at the very least, take a few deep breaths and remember: you're just going to sleep. Nothing special.


Block 3: Retaining Awareness

Here comes the part where you all start to hate me. As it is, there is no “right” way to retain awareness. Before everything is said and done, you're probably going to have to come up with your own solution. The key is understanding how you can maintain awareness without impacting your ability to sleep.

BillyBob suggested the use of anchors. But what is an anchor?

As it turns out, at their core, every “awareness technique” out there right now is an anchor. Some are easier to use than others, depending on the person, but there remain two distinct types of anchors:

• Environmental Anchors
  
• Mental Anchors
  

Environmental Anchors are anything you can latch onto outside your mind as you work your way through a WILD. These can be anything from background music, temperature variations, wearing clothing you don't normally sleep with, pain, etc.

The most important thing about Environmental Anchors is they shouldn't disturb your ability to sleep. I suggest you practice sleeping normally with your anchor of choice before you attempt to WILD with it. This way, you'll know what to expect.

Theory is easy. Actually using an Environmental Anchor to retain awareness is a different beast entirely. There's a fine line between giving the anchor too much attention and too little. This is something you're going to have to play around with until you get it right, as there's no way for me to relate that balance short of having you experience it for yourself. The best advice I can give is to follow BillyBob's advice and engage the anchor passively as you drift into dreamland.

Mental Anchors are ideally dealt with in the same manner. Common Mental Anchors such as counting, breath tracking, and mantras should be reduced to auxiliary mental processes that work solely in the background of your mind. Visualization, too, should occur with little involvement from your end. The only time you should be actively directing the Mental Anchor is when you're setting it up.

For instance, two Mental Anchors I developed awhile back involve a bit of prep to work properly. In one, I use various MILD techniques to set a “sentinel of intent” to alert me right as I hit the transition stage. After that, it's a simple matter of falling asleep normally and hoping the sentinel kicks in when I need it. Luckily, the other gives me slightly more control over the WILD. That one starts with me playing a game of word, phrase, and image associations with myself, gradually picking up speed until the associations occur automatically, one after another; it has the added benefit of emulating what actually happens to our thoughts as we begin sleeping. But the important thing is they eventually work in an autonomous fashion, which is the overall goal for Mental Anchors.

Of course, the anchors I've listed aren't your only options. In fact, most of these probably won't work for you. Inevitably, you're going to have to find an anchor that does work for you. As it is, no one can do that except you.

And that's where I'll leave you.

Conclusion:

Hopefully, this has shed some overdue light on what it takes to WILD. Remember, these building blocks all work in tandem; keep that in mind when you begin design on your own WILD style. As always, if you have questions, comments, concerns, or flames, I'll be sure to address them. But I'm warning you right now, I'll likely ignore any questions that are explicitly answered by bolded portions of the OP.

So, until next time. . .