Surfing The Wave Between Asleep And Awake.

Hi Everyone,


Longish post ahead.


I just wanted to put a post up to share something I've found very helpful in getting LD's.

How I get Lucid is from MILD/WILD, I'll use a MILD mantra with WBTB but sometimes slip into a WILD whilst doing it.
After WBTB I'll lay on my back (very important as if I lay or turn on my side I can't guarantee a Lucid and rarely get them!) and repeat with conviction "I'll remember the next time I'm Dreaming", I'll clear my mind the best I can apart from repeating that mantra, then repeat it less and less as I drift off.



Now with WBTB a lot of people say you don't need or really want to be wide awake.
Whilst it's true you can WILD or MILD without being wide awake and some people might find it better that way as we're all different, what I've found is that getting wide awake is very beneficial for LDing!

I don't mean you have to do Algebra or something to get really wired, all I used to do is get up, have a cup of tea (I'm English) and stay up for about half hour or so, (I don't really need to do it now but at first it was vital if I wanted to all but guarantee a Lucid).

When you go back to bed, lay on your back!
If you naturally lay on your back to sleep then you could try turning on your side, but I'm not sure if it's the different sleeping position you're used to, or if it's just something about being on your back that makes a difference.
For me though that small act of lying on my back is night and day, I can't emphasise that enough!


What happens to me is after a little time repeating the mantra I'll drift off and then come back round again, 10 minutes or so have past and usually unless I'm lucky I won't have had a Dream.
I'll then know and think to myself "I haven't hit a REM period yet".
I'll then move position slightly if I'm uncomfortable but remain on my back, use my mantra again and very quickly drift back off.
I'll do this normally only once or twice before hitting a REM period and I suppose it's a bit like I'm surfing a wave between being asleep and awake.


If I hadn't woken myself up enough for WBTB I'd fall back to sleep way to easily, falling into a much to deep of a sleep and wouldn't be able to get into this surfing state.
If I wasn't awake enough once I drifted off the first time, I wouldn't wake again around 10 minutes later and by the time I hit REM (unless of course I was lucky and bang on it) 20, 30, maybe 40 minutes to an hour could have past before I hit REM and the chances of remembering the MILD intent would be slim.

By being wide awake after WBTB, lying on my back and getting in this very light sleeping state, at most it will be around only 10 minutes between your MILD intent and REM, making it much more likely you will become Lucid as the intent is much more fresh.

This is what then usually happens when I do hit a REM period.
I'll see a vivid scene but won't be part of it, more like I'm watching it.
I'll look at my hands but again it's not not like I'm in my body yet, I'll then try to move them a little.
After a very short time I'll try to reach out with them, grab/touch something or clap them together, I'll then sort of click into my Lucid body and the scene will snap into 3D all around me and I'm in!


This works perfectly for me and over time it gets even easier to do.
At first you may find it takes a long time to fall back to sleep but it will get quicker, don't get frustrated if it's hard drifting back off at first!
Sometimes you can lie there for a while and feel wide awake, feeling as if it's going to take ages to fall to sleep but you're actually only seconds away from entering a LD.


If you read all this then I hope it helps.

Thanks for sharing that. I'll have to give it a try sometime. What sort of success rate are you getting from this?

Yeah mate I hope it works for you.

You watching the Ashes?


I've been able to get Lucid using this every time I try for about the last 2 years.
There might be the odd occasion where it fails but it's literally once in a blue moon, I can really guarantee I'll get at least one Lucid from it every morning I try.

A couple of good things about this technique are 1, you don't need to know when your REM is as you'll just find by drifting on and off and 2, because you're in such a light state you can easily accidentally WILD from it as well, giving you two different ways to get in.

I know the tips are simple, wake yourself completely up, lye on your back and repeat a mantra but it's the simple things that make a world of difference.
I mean, had nobody ever heard of the five finger reality check and someone came in here saying "yeah just look at your hand and count you've got five fingers, that'll get you Lucid"
People would think there's no way lol, and yet it's now a corner stone of Reality Checking.

Hi MrOBlonde,
Thanks for sharing this.
I like to hear about anything that gives a high success rate for people.
The issue is, how long did you have to try this untill your success rate became solid.
I mean, the classic MILD is also reputed to have a high success rate, PROVIDED you stick with it for one-two months....and I am always prone to changing techniques...

Hey Searcher,


Yeah I was using MILD for a while and it was giving me a nice bit of success but it was a little hit and miss.
I'd get Lucid maybe, 3 or 4 nights in a row but then not for 2 or 3 nights, I couldn't bank on them and every time I thought I'd cracked it, I'd not get Lucid again for a few days.

I soon figured out that the times I wasn't getting Lucid were the times where, after WBTB when I was doing my "I'll remember the next time I'm Dreaming", I was trying to keep myself awake enough for it to stick as I could feel I'd drift off easily.

The times that I was getting Lucid though was after having to try much harder to fall back to sleep!
So I started making sure I woke myself up fully when doing WBTB and as soon as I started doing that, I started getting into this very light in and out of consciousness state and was getting Lucid every time I tried!


This morning I drifted on and off using this technique 4 times before I hit a REM and got lucid.
Had I not been in this state and just drifted off after WBTB, it would have been a whole hour between my mantra and hitting REM, making it very unlikely the intent would still have been there.
As I was drifting in and out though it was only around 10 minutes or so between my last mantra and REM, making me already Lucid as the Dream formed around me.


That's what makes it so effective and reliable as you're sort of fishing for a REM period and also keeping your intent from your mantra fresh until you hit one.

Try it out mate and let me know how it works for you.

Out of curiosity, what brand of tea do you use? I've gotta have Typhoon, in Norfolk we have really bad hard water so it's the only tea I know that tastes nice.

Also, if you smoke it's good to have a fag (ciggy for those who aren't British) because it helps relax your body, I find it increases my chances of getting Sleep Paralysis by a fair amount.

Obviously it would be idiotic to start smoking just to do this but if you already do it then I'd give it a shot. It aids WBTB quite well.

Another question, when you talk about the "surfing" is that when you feel a rising/euphoric feeling before you start to WILD? I'm wondering as I'll do a WBTB without realizing (light sleeper here) and suddenly I'll feel as if I'm floating or leaving my body. Is this a good sign?

Hi MrOBlonde,
Basically, what your thread reminded me of, is the importance of lying on your back.
It's something I knew but I forgot (not chosen to forget alla inception...):cheeky:.
I am wondering if many of my fails were due to me lying on my side.
As for waking for good at WBTB, that's something I always do.
So, yes, I will try again some techniques of mine (WILD, DEILD etch) while lying only on my back and let you know.
Thanks for reminding me!;-)

Thanks Mr0Blond ;) I really like your post coz i am a newbie but your technique reminds me of what happens to me when I am able to do proper wbtb and lie on back etc - So it gives me more trust in what I am doing:)

I am still having small adjustmentoes to do with entering the dream so am also interested in your explanation of how it can sometimes be at that point ... This morning for example on one almost entry I was clearly in both worlds and was unable to get fully in to dream although I started to converse with a girl close by when I asked If she could see me - she said yes - I tried to turn my head very gently and at that moment my physical body started to win the race for Lucidity so I awoke in bed...I am happy with progress tho and trust next time i will move closer to my dream body more often :alien:

- looks like you have had some experience with this sort of floating in and out etc?

Hi AjnaFX,

I used to drink Lions but mainly Yorkshire tea or sometimes Tetley's now.


When I say surfing I mean, more like on a balance between being asleep and awake, drifting off then coming round again, surfing probably wasn't the best word to describe it.


If you feel like you're floating though while trying to WILD that's a great sign!
Don't you get Lucid after these sensations? If not what happens?

When I WILD I'll get a massive humming noise accompanied by whispering in my ears, I'll then usually feel like I'm flying, end over end up into the air.
I just wait until it stops and feel like I'm lying in bed again (or sometimes under it), then get up and I'm Lucid.



Searcher,

Yeah It is strange that something so simple can make such a huge difference but if I do everything the same but lie on my side, I won't get Lucid half the time.
There's just something about being on my back that's a game changer.



Hey Patience, nice name.

Yeah quite often when I'm seeing the vivid scene but am not really part of it yet, I try to move my fingers but can feel my real fingers moving also.
When that happens I stop right away and just try to keep focus on the scene, then slowly try again after a few moments until it snaps me in.
Once properly snapped in, you won't have to worry about your real body moving so it's just that little hurdle you have to overcome and you'll be laughing.

If you feel you're not completely in the Dream yet, try only moving a small part of yourself first like your fingers or something.
Then if you feel your real ones move it might not pull you completely out like it would say, moving your head or whole arm.


This is also something you could try though....
If the scene goes away after I move my real body, or if I just lose it for some reason I'll stay lying still with my eyes closed, then imagine myself falling (often falling forward onto my face).
Because you're still close to Dreaming, when you imagine falling you can often get a very strong sensation of actually falling for some reason, and it usually sends me straight into the sensations associated with WILD.

I'm pretty sure that the falling thing is some sort of meditation technique I read about once, it's really strong when it happens and is very effective so definitely give it a try.


You sound like you're doing really well already though but if there's anything else I can help with, just let me know.

Cannot go wrong with Yorkshire Tea or Tetley!

Ah, that's the thing. You see whenever I feel this floating sensation I always wake myself up because of the intense fear. But now that I know it's a good sign, I will have to get back to you!

I suppose I'd just experience a series of hypnagogic imagery and my senses will build the dream from there, that's what I've heard performing a wild is like. I've done 'Astral Projection' through Sleep Paralysis many times, and because I'm so used and experienced to sleep paralysis it's always terrifiying.

How important is lying on your back? Also, could you give me some pointers on what I should do once I start seeing images. Like how to build the dream around you and get rooted into the dream?

Cheers mate!!

AjnaFX,


Instead of fearing it just try to get excited about it as you know you're right on the verge of a Lucid Dream.


I only see the Dream forming around me when I MILD or sometimes when I DILD.
When I WILD and go through the flying sensations I just stay with my eyes closed and don't see any hypnagogic images or anything, so don't worry if you don't see anything.


It's only when these sensations stop, after about 30 seconds to a minute or so that I open my eyes and about 99% of the time I'm laying in bed in my bedroom.
If I didn't know any better I'd be sure I'd woken up and the WILD had failed, but now after so many times I just know I'm Lucid.
I suppose it's more like what people call an Out of body experience but I see them and LD's as the same thing.

Make sure that when the floating sensations you have stop, you RC as you might think you've woken up and it's failed, then just go back to sleep, when actually you're already in a LD.


What happens when you Astral Project?

Sounds like a classic WBTB. Don't remember which LD researcher used to wake up, have a cup of coffee and go back to sleep for an hour, but it's in Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. I also have had goo experiences with longer WBTBs. Glad it's working for you!

Basically while in sleep paralysis I imagine moving my arms up and down, then rubbing my hands together. I do it until I can actually see my hands move up and down and it feels like I'm really doing it. You don't have to picture it you just imagine moving your arms.

Once I've done that I'll roll out of my body like a log as an exit technique. I fly out into my room, sometimes it will
be dark and gloomy, with a red tint outline around everything. Other times it will be crisp sharp and clean as if some professional cleaner like that guy from Black Books has cleaned my room. Other times I'll be 3 feet tall and they'll be rolls of toliet paper everywhere... only had that once.

The closest I've come to meeting a demon (if you believe in that kind of thing) is when I saw my iphone on my computer desk, pressed the home button and as I pressed it thought what if there's a demon on the home screen, and there was. Apart from that it's all good.

I've had something similar to what you're talking about. Many a time, last dream I had in fact, I've became semi-lucid and have just tried to wake myself up as something tragic happens in the dream. It's weird when you think your dreaming, but you don't fully realize it if that makes sense. I woke up on my bed but it was a dream bed. Fail.

So just wait for all sensations to stop then pinch your nose to see if you can breath? Cool will give it a shot.

Nice one.