Having trouble focusing and staying awake

**Saintzfan** · 10-04-2013 10:03 PM

I can't seem to focus when doing WILD or MILD after 4 attempted nights. I try to let the thoughts just pass, but I'm so used to thinking about so many things before I go to bed that I'm just used to grabbing onto the first thing that pops up and I start thinking about it until I fall asleep. Also, I have trouble after I wake up during the night to stay up. I find I often fall right asleep after 5 or so minutes attempting WILD or WBTB in MILD.

Are there any techniques that can help me?

**Reclypso** · 10-04-2013 10:28 PM

You could try picturing your dream scene that you wish to go in, if you did that you could still think about something instead of the annoying thoughts that keep you up and make you lose focus. Try to make it a relaxing beach or just a place you like to go.

Being in a complete void while trying to WILD takes some practice. Instead of letting the thoughts pass just completely block them out and stop them at the root before they even appear as a full idea. (Sometimes instead of picturing a dream scene I just think of a brick wall, my thoughts just bounce right off)

Are you trying to have a lucid when you first go to bed? I can't quite tell, but it wont work if you do it that way. You have to sleep for at least 3-4 hours before you should even attempt to lucid. It's good that you fall asleep in five minutes after waking up, now you just have to keep some consciousness through sleep paralysis and then you will pretty much just fall into your dream.

**Meskhetyw** · 10-05-2013 01:59 AM

For WILD I would simply choose one thing to focus on. If you read through the many great tutorials here, you will see many suggestions for doing this. When I started out I thought as you did (this was before the internet), so when I realized that I could not simply stop thinking, I focused on the *concept* of nothing; an empty mind so to speak; and was able to enter vibrations very quickly like this, but it requires concentration practice. This is why so many people recommend mantra to keep your conscious mind somewhat alive at least, and remember that you must fall asleep to WILD.

If you have trouble staying up at night, then I HIGHLY recommend that you practice DEILD first. I am sure some would disagree, but you may actually find it easy if you are motivated. Once you understand what it feels like to WILD through DEILD, you now know what to expect, and forever forget the idea of trying to stay awake

As a side note, you mention "letting the thoughts pass". Reclypso is correct. In Yoga there is the concept of letting thoughts fade as soon as you get a signal that something is about to appear (a thought). With practice it will give you an enormous amount of power over your mind. It feels sort of like an impulse forming or a hunch that is vague and lasts but a second. The thought never really forms. Letting thoughts pass, as you say, is in my opinion a more advanced method and as such can be frustrating, as without experience you may have already allowed it to take your full awareness.