I think I WILD-ed; and questions.

Last night I woke up about 2:00, I had eaten too much for supper I think and I wasn't sleeping well. I couldn't get back to sleep for a long time, and I thought it would be a good time to try to induce an LD. I was really wide awake tho, so I got up and took a sublingual melatonin/B6 tablet, and I went back to bed and tried to do MILD but it wasn't working. Then T. got up and went to the bathroom and talked to me a little and then I was REALLY wide awake. So I was laying on my back, which is not my natural sleeping position, and I was finally getting sleepy. I wasn't really thinking about anything, but suddenly I thought I was dreaming. It was dark and it was like a mental dream with no sensational component, so I tried spinning and rubbing my hands together, but since I wasn't really aware of my body it was just like imagining it and it didn't bring me into a real dream. Then all of a sudden I realized my eyes were open, and I could see, but that didn't make sense because the room would have been too dark to see anyway, and things didn't look quite right, and it seemed like I was sitting up instead of lying down. I tried to really open my eyes but I couldn't; I tried to close them but I couldn't. Then I thought T was up moving around, getting dressed, then he was back in bed chewing gum. I realized that was probably not happening, then it sounded like a lot of people chewing gum really loud. I was getting annoyed because I knew I was dreaming but I couldn't see anything. Then I kind of forced like a little spotlight, and in it I saw like a little movie. Then T moved for real (&@#$%*!) and I snapped out of it. I couldn't get back to sleep after that.

Anyway, after that long description--I read the WILD tutorial just now, so I think that was one even tho I wasn't trying to do it. Here are my questions:
1. I thought I remembered reading something about weird noises when you do WILD; is that what the loud gum-chewing noise was, do you think?
2. How do you get from WILD into a real dream? I couldn't really ever feel my body, so I couldn't do things to bring any clarity.
3. I have another general question - do things that slightly disturb your sleep do more to help or hinder LD? Like I usually wear earplugs, because my pets wake me up, but I quit wearing them so maybe I would wake up a little throughout the night and hopefully remember to try to LD, but lately I am getting a lot less sleep. I am getting so tired I am sleeping a lot more soundly, and now I can't even remember my dreams anymore and my journal is not going well. I am not sure which way is best.

Thanks for your help!

it sounds to me like that was definitely a WILD. the sound people talk about is associated with sleep-paralysis. from your description it sounds like you didn't experience that part, but regained consciousness immediately thereafter. usually when you experience all the stages, you feel sleep paralysis come on, sometimes with noises or feeling like your body is vibrating or buzzing, and then, for me at least, i end up feeling like i'm floating, disembodied. every time i have transitioned into a real dream i have just relaxed completely and just enjoyed the feeling of non-existence, and then all of sudden i would feel myself literally thrown into a dream and fall onto a floor, etc.

getting enough sleep is vital to dream recall. also it seems like having a regular sleep schedule is important as well. i try to get at least 9 of sleep a night, but i have a very relaxed schedule. as for being woken up in the middle of the night--thats the easiest way to WILD. if you get woken up, don't move a muscle or wonder about the sound, just try to fall back asleep immediately, and you'll usually feel sleep paralysis.

good luck!

Yep... you did it.

My first couple were real anti-climatic... just a bit of moving around the room I thought I was in.

1) You might have experienced hypnogogic sounds - but it seems to have happened in your dream rather than on your way there. Hyphogogic sounds happen as you are passing into sleep, so the sounds may just have been a weird part of your dream.

2) That's the hard part. My first couple WILDS were very like false awakenings. The first one, I literally got up out of my body and just floated around the room, experiencing my dream body a bit. Another time I just floated upstairs and puttered around the dining room... didn't DO anything, really. "Getting into the dream" isn't it... you were dreaming. Keep trying the spinning technique. Do it with a definate location or setting in mind, close your eyes and spin hard. When you hear people describe the difficulties of passing into a dream, they are referring to going from intense hypnogogic imagery to the full dream experience. That transition can be challenging sometimes.

3) For me, things that slightly disturb my sleep really really hinder my ability to WILD. I liken WILDing to trying to turn my consciousness inside out... to bring all of my outer awareness inside withouth interrupting it. Even the slightest outside distractions tend to pull me out of the process, resulting in either awakening or losing the "thread" and falling asleep.

Congratulations! Isn't it a rush?

My friend had basically did the same thing! He managed to enter the dream though, so I'll just leave him to find this topic and describe the rest XD

Thanks for the tips guys. And I am figuring out you are right about longer and better sleep being much more conducive. Back to earplugs.