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So basically to fild, I set my alarm for about 4-5 hours after I fall asleep. When I wake up, I turn my alarm off and immedietaly go back to sleep while filding. Basically what happens everytime is I either fall asleep without dreaming at all or I can't sleep. I've been doing this for about two weeks now. Any pointers?
FILD is a kind of WILD, where you are trying to go directly from waking to dreaming. The problem is that unless you wake at just the right time, in or near the REM part of the sleep cycle, it can be difficult to get back to dreaming and hence LD.
WILD and FILD are a delicate balance where you are trying to just hold a line between wake and sleep as you start to dream. Too much wakefulness and you don't go to sleep, too little and you go straight to sleep and probably non-lucid dreaming. FILD works by trying to keep a very subtle waking "crutch" as you go to sleep, but I have found it very difficult to do.
The only idea I can suggest is what I have been trying to do, which is not to expect immediate success, but to learn what falling asleep feels like. Basically, don't worry about falling asleep, but when you do the WBTB, try and be very relaxed and just drift off, but pay attention to what goes on as you do so.
Treat it as a mission to try and follow the drift down to sleep. Notice the hypnogogic imagery that signals the start of a dream, but don't attempt to hold on to it in the beginning, just casually watch it. Same with the sounds or vibrations that you might feel.
What usually happens to me is these indicators tend to snap me back out to being fully awake - mainy because I get excited about nearly being there.
Each time you do this, try and make a small incremental advancement. Allow yourself to concentrate a little more on the imagery, and try to keep it going for longer. Try to be as nonchalant as possible, and passively observe it all.
The key here is to get used to the signs so that you don't bounce out to fully awake.
If you do find yourself wide awake again, don't be afraid to move a bit, but then once settled, try and relax totally and drift off again.
The key is to drift of each time, but pause or slow a bit longer each time in that twilight zone just before sleep.
Of course, one very important factor is to ignore any itches or urges to move. In some people they are the mind's way of testing to see if you are ready for sleep.
You have to just ignore it and eventually it will pass, or accept that if you scratch or move it will just set you back a couple of minutes.
If you keep moving or scratching that itch you will just stay awake!
HTH.
Everyone wakes up during the night. It's also at the end of your rem cycle. You won't have any trouble falling asleep this way if you just get up naturally.
When performing FILD, should I immediately start moving my fingers, ( that is of course after hitting the snooze button on my phone) or wait for a minute or so, in order to be a bit more aware and thus avoid falling asleep without consciousness?