Can't do FILD

**Iriba** · 03-02-2020 12:34 AM

i tried to do FILD, i set up my alarm for 4 hours later.

when my alarm rang, i woke up and felt no urge to sleep again instantly

i took maybe 15 mins to fall asleep.

i set it up only to ring once for 1 minute, but as long as i hear it i can't fall asleep anymore. what should i do?

sometimes i do wake up naturally in middle of night and can almost fall asleep instantly

but i never know when that happen

Do FILD only work between REM cycles and I have to test what time I'll be the most sleepy and that I can fall asleep instantly?

**zelcrow** · 03-02-2020 04:50 AM

Hey Iriba, waking up naturally for a moment would be a good way to work with FILD. You can make the waking up between REM cyles or dreams more consistent by using autosuggestion and willing it to happen. When I fall asleep with the intent to wake up after each dream or REM cycle, it happens consistently. It's a strange thing to be able to will these things to happen, but it works. I usually repeat to myself with as much meaning as possible that I'll wake up at these times and I do.

Oh, maybe I should add that we all awake briefly between or at the end of each REM phase. That we don't usually remember is the hurdle. But you can teach and will yourself to start remembering.

FILD will work if you wake between REM cycles in the latter half of your sleep night because the REM cycles happen closer together. It can work earlier, but your chances will be significantly slimmer. I think it also will work if you wake up during an REM phase and are able to fall back to sleep quickly enough.

If you use alarms still or want to (which you can and is okay if it works for you), I would recommend finding some kind of alarm that only goes off for ten seconds - enough to arouse you but not enough to keep you awake. Listening to something for an alarm for a whole 60 seconds may be too extended of a stimulus for you in this situation.

I have limited experience with this induction method so maybe some other members can provide some good insight and advice.

Best of luck to you!

**AstronomyDomine** · 03-07-2020 02:57 PM

I remember the morning after first time I was able to FILD, I thought I'd found the Holy Grail of lucid dreaming. That following evening, however, I discovered that what worked the night before in giving me an LD was now only giving me insomnia. I understand how it works, because I've done it a few times since then. The premise of the technique is quite simple: you are micro-waking between REM stages and while in the "gap" activating your mind via a miniscule motor-sensory exercise to re-enter the next cycle with lucidity. When it works it's magical. For me, it lends to an AP/OBE-style lucid dream; originating in my bedroom, bereft of any kind of esoteric dream imagery. The point being is it doesn't lend itself to DILDlike dream scenarios. So it can be easy to think the technique didn't work, when in fact you could already be in the dream and not even know it. Every time it worked for me I went through some sort of hypnagogic indicator that alerted me to the passing over. But it may be different for you.

The FILD only works when you're in the "gap". As soon as you surface from a REM you need to begin the movement and try to keep your mind in that intermediary stage between sleep and wakefulness. If you think too much about what you're doing -- if you engage in any kind of anticipation or analysis -- you run the risk of surfacing too far and the technique won't work. Keeping the balance in the gap mentally is the fulcrum point of the technique. I say balance because if you go to far to the other extreme and fail to keep a sliver of focus, you'll fall back to sleep and won't remember to perform the RC. The best I think you can do, in preparation of FILD, is to seek to instill a strong intention throughout the day and before you go to bed. Visualize yourself performing the technique when you micro-surface between REM stages tonight. Visualization is a powerful tool and goal-implementation exercise we all possess yet often discount. I've found I can achieve anything if I can picture myself doing it. If you have the visual, all it takes now is belief, dedication and persistence.