Difficulty Falling Asleep into LD

[DougD720]

Hey Everyone, So I've been working at LDing for quite some time and have had some success. I need to force myself to RC more often and record my dreams in my dream journal more often (tough with work early in the AM). But I have been able to go from consciousness directly into the dream world without any lapse. Usually just by lying down after waking up at night and focusing on hypnogogic images until I find myself in the dream world. This has been my most successful means of achieving lucidity (and by noticing difficulty reading in the dreamworld and digital clocks and such). I actually had a great string of 3 lucid dreams the other day where I accomplished three of the things I really wanted to accomplish: full on flight (normally I could just jump very high), having a conversation with myself/my subconscious, and changing my surroundings through the power of thought. But I'm getting off point... My issue is normally if I try to stay conscious and slip into an LD this way (going from awake to dream world) I have difficulty actually falling asleep. I can lay still for hours but not fall asleep until I become so exhausted that I just lose consciousness and pass-out. I know I need to stay calm and not focus too hard, so I've done some of the meditation techniques I remember from reading Stephen LaBerge's book: Exploring the World of Lucid Dreams. But it doesn't help, I still can't seem to fall asleep. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! This latest string of LDs has me really trying to get back into a rigid schedule/habits to attain LDs more often. Thanks! -Doug

[Playlaughdream]

Hi, it seems you master the WILD method which in my opinion is the most dificult exactly because it takes a long time to relax to the point of sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallicinations and possibly a false awakining or a LD in the OBE style. I am unexperienced but if you are trying the WILD method in the middle of the night, maybe if you try it a little earlier, as you haven´t rested enough, maybe you can go faster through the stages.

[saltyseedog]

You must be tired enough to WILD. If you are not tired enough it will be difficult to just slip into a dream. You want to be not so tired that you don't fall asleep conscious and also tired enough so you don't just lay in bed not being able to sleep. Just lay down and let yourself pass out. You need to hold onto awareness a little bit just to get to hold onto while you are in the dream.

[DougD720]

Yeah I usually set an alarm before bed to wake me up after around 4-5 hours of sleep. I go to bed at 11PM so I set it for around 3-4AM. I've been tweaking the times to try to coincide with the start of my REM cycles as I think what was happening before was I was just coming out of a REM cycle when I woke up, so the next cycle would be a little while away. But even still, I can lay there, completely relaxed and all for hours on end without moving a muscle. I do think I began to experience the beginnings of SP the other night but it seems like I can't fall asleep. What winds up happening is I lie there awake for about 1.5-2 hours and then just pass out from exhaustion. I tried reverse blinking to make me more tired but it didn't really do much, I tried to focus more on my body and what I could feel instead of hypnagogic imagery, etc. Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. I was lucid the other night via DILD, but I'd really like to get the WILD technique down as I've done it before, a while back, and it would be nice to be able to enjoy an LD from dream-start to end.

[Robot_Butler]

It sounds like you are doing everything right from a timing standpoint. Compare what you do during a WILD to what you traditionally do to fall asleep normally. Falling asleep is not something you force yourself into. You have to let go and let your mind wander a little. Body position is also important. If you are having too much trouble falling asleep, try to WILD in the same position you normally sleep.