I agree that consciously integrating the phenomena associated with falling asleep is helpful in inducing lucid dreams, WILDs in particular. A kind of mind training in itself, by habituating a reaction of observation to these transitional sensations, as opposed to a response of falling asleep, consciousness could then be more easily maintained, if the skill is developed to its peak i imagine it would become wholly automatic and spontaneous. Perhaps part of the reason consciousness is lost during this process is that it has been 'trained' to do so, but that is not necessary 'natural' or proper, in fact to a lucid dreamer that automated reaction is quite bothersome. This kind of conscious change of mechanical responses is not unlike what occurs in meditation. Of course lucid dreaming and meditation are not the same, they are distinct states of experiential and neurological activity, but what their methods have in common is their insistence on the necessity of changing robotic, unconsciously programmed behaviour, and then suggesting practices whose purpose is to interject consciousness and then intentionally programming more desirable patterns or reactions into the situation, the presence of consciousness tends to dissolving pre-programmed behaviour, then only a distinct intention is necessary to bring about the desired result, to create a new more desirable trait.