*Shady strikes again with another whopping thread, Have fun!*
Everything in this guide is pretty much a compilation of a bunch of useful information for beginners. I realize it may be a little bit intimidating due to the size but just read what you want to. Hopefully you can learn something. Keep in mind everyone is different and not all techniques will work for you. Also there are plenty of other tutorials out there, be sure to check them out as I cannot put all the info I would like to in here.
- All of the above links are anchored to their section for easy use. Just click on the subject you want and your there.
- I have collapsed everything into spoilers for the simple fact that its just going to look to long if I leave it all out in the open. I don't want to scare you away.
Don't get to crazy about all this information, just stick to the basics and work on your dream recall and dream journal. DILD's occur very naturally and are very easy to 'learn'. Below are the basics you need to know.
Acronym List - by Howie. This is useful to read if you are new to Lucid Dreaming so you will know what everything means.
Have a positive and ambitious mindset - The simple desire to succeed will fuel your subconscious.
Do reality checks! Becoming more aware in real life helps greatly. Learn to take a minute and just observe your surroundings.
Keep a dream journal (DJ). This is very crucial especially early on. It will help you identify your dream signs cause your recall to absolutely skyrocket. With that comes more frequent and clear lucid dreams.
Every step forward is a success. This is a skill and takes time to learn.
Visit the tutorials section! There are so many good posts in there that will do nothing but help you.
It it a very important process in everyday life and has a great effect on your success in lucid dreaming. Stress seems to be a killer for LD's as it causes a unsettled mind and a lack of concentration on what you really want to achieve. Will and belief is everything when it comes down to it, and when you just don't care anymore your chances of reaching lucidity are next to nil.
I believe a relaxed and calm mind outshines a relaxed body tenfold, so find a method that works for you.
Regulated and slow breathing also seems quite significant. Breathe deep but do not strain or make yourself uncomfortable. Below is what I do during relaxation methods.
1. Lie on your back on a flat surface or in bed with your head supported.
2. Lightly Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage on your stomach. This will allow you to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe.
3. Quietly concentrate on your breathing. It may help to turn out the lights, close your eyes, or loosen any constrictive clothing.
4. Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out against your hand. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.
5. Briefly pause (1 second).
6. Slightly tighten your stomach muscles, letting them fall inward as you exhale, blowing the air out of your mouth. Again, try to keep the hand on your upper chest as still as possible.
7. Briefly pause before inhaling again.
If there's a general guideline I can give you it is to be consistent. I find that once I reach a certain stage of relaxation my body takes over. Even when I am fully conscious of my breathing, it almost feels like I have a slightly delayed or just offset breathing tempo happening behind the scenes. I feel it happening, cant explain it. Its just slightly out of sync with my conscious efforts, and when I align the two my body relaxes much faster.
Spoiler for Calming/Quieting Your Mind:
*Chatter, chatter chatter*
When you first lay down at night your mind has the tendency to go over everything you did the previous day and everything you need to do tomorrow. Anything your excited about usually sits around up there bothering you all night. This can be very annoying and distracting while trying to either focus or relax. Don't try to kill the thoughts in your head but simply passively observe them for what they are; thoughts.
Some basic tips are as follows:
Focus on your breathing - This can often calm your mind in itself.
Literally tell yourself nothing going on in your head matters right now; remind yourself what your true intentions are.
Sing a favorite song, I find this just distracts me and gets my mind off the day temporarily.
Try taking 5-10 minutes and just let the thoughts flow. Often trying to fight your thoughts just makes things worse.
I read the following have tried it a few times and it actually works pretty well. It is from an article from eHow.
Click me - eHow
(I commonly use this during the later phases of a WILD attempt as a form of motion while relaxing. Instead of placing 'her' on my lap, I shift my perception to the baby's view. Imagine yourself rocking back and forth and the pressure from the arm under you. Your bed turns into the arm, and your pillow is the hand supporting your head. Its just nice for a seamless transition so to speak.)
Spoiler for 61 Point Relaxation:
*Memorize the points found in the picture below. It follows a very basic pattern so this shouldn't be to hard.*
Below is a basic guideline and there is no perfect way to do it. The goal of this is to have a gradual relaxation with a common focus on your body. You should feel relaxed before moving on to the next point.
You don't need to rush through it at first and if you only get to point 15-20 your first time that is perfectly fine. Eventually you will be able to relax extremely fast. Speed comes naturally after conditioning.
If the mind is restless and you tell it to sit still, it fights. But if you let in move at a comfortable pace; it will be happy. Moving your attention from one point to another (shoulder, arm, wrist, etc.) can be too slow for the restless mind. Temporarily speeding up the rate of surveying can have a comfortable and calming effect on the mind.
61 Point Relaxation Focus your attention on each of the points one by one.
Visualize the spot on your body
Focus your awareness here
Feel the tension soothing itself
Imagine a ball of light
Concentrate on the task at hand.
It can be very hard to focus sometimes and you may let your mind wander. This usually means you forget your even doing the exercise and may fall asleep.
Speed plays a great role in the level of concentration needed to finish. Be sure to go at a comfortable speed. To fast and you wont be able to relax, to slow and its very possible that you will lose your place.
If you do notice you stopped doing it; start at the last number you remember doing or right from the beginning if you feel so inclined.
Gradually your body should naturally relax. I like to imagine the tension in my body as a fluid and as I breathe out it all slides away.
Point Locations in Order
* Forehead, throat
* Right shoulder, right elbow, right wrist, tip of right thumb, tip of right index finger, tip of right middle finger, tip of right ring finger, tip of right little finger, right wrist, right elbow, right shoulder, throat
* Left shoulder, left elbow, left wrist, tip of left thumb, tip of left index finger, tip of left middle finger, tip of left ring finger, tip of left little finger, left wrist, left elbow, left shoulder
* Throat, space between the breasts, right breast, space between the breasts, left breast, space between the breasts, navel, lower abdomen
* Right hip, right knee, right ankle, tip of the right big toe, tip of the right second toe, tip of the right middle toe, tip of the right fourth toe, tip of the right little toe, right ankle, right knee, right hip, lower abdomen
* Left hip, left knee, left ankle, tip of the left big toe, tip of the left second toe, tip of the left middle toe, tip of the left fourth toe, tip of the left little toe, left ankle, left knee, left hip
* Lower abdomen, navel, space between the breasts, throat, forehead
Spoiler for Muscle Tension Release:
*The basic idea is simply to tense muscle groups individually and then release them.*
*You may find it comfortable to go through the sequence only one time or to go through it several times.*
Tense all of the muscles of the face, including forehead, cheeks, mouth, and upper neck. Then release with full awareness. You will notice the relaxation.
Gently roll the head from side to side, with awareness of the tightening muscles, and the feeling of release.
Tighten the shoulders, pulling them upwards and forwards. Then release.
Tense the entire right arm, from the shoulder down through the fingers. Do this without making a fist or lifting your arm off of the floor. Allow your attention to be deep inside the arm, not just on the surface. Then release slowly, with awareness.
Tense the left arm in the same way, and observe the release.
Gently tense the muscles of the chest and the abdomen, while continuing to breathe without holding the breath. Then release.
Tense and release the right hips and the buttocks.
Tense and release the right leg, down through the feet and toes in the same way that the right arm was tensed and released.
Tense and release the left hips and buttocks.
Tense and release the left leg.
While no longer tensing any muscles, allow your attention to drift back up through the legs, through the abdomen and chest, through the arms, and back to the face.
*The absolute first thing I want to mention is that you do not need to feel or be consciously aware of sleep paralysis at any time to successfully become lucid.*
Sleep paralysis usually occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the bodily paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. The severity of the paralysis varies a lot and many factors can affect it. (Position in sleep cycle, state of mind/level of consciousness, amount of external stimuli, etc.) Really I have experienced all levels of SP so be ready for it. No matter the situation no harm will or can be done to you.
Common 'Symptoms'
Muscle/Body Numbness (This can range from slight tingling to complete paralysis)
Vibrations and Waves of Energy
Hypnagogic Hallucinations (Be ready for anything)
Visual (Auras, Lights, Objects, Walls)
Audio (Cracking, Buzzing, Ringing, Exploding)
Motion (Flying, Falling, Floating, Rolling in on yourself)
Tactile (Textural, Something Touching You , Ants on Skin)
Unsettling sensation, you just don't feel comfortable. Not in the physical sense; more like you feel as though you are being watched.
Sleep Paralysis happens at the onset of sleep. If at anytime you experience it just relax and know that sleep will soon come. It can all happen very gradually or be over in an instant.
Some people simply don't experience SP and like I said you do not need it in any way. If you fall asleep you can lucid dream.
Spoiler for Overcoming the fear of SP:
The only thing you can do to overcome the fear of sleep paralysis is to face it head on. I could sit here all day and try to explain how safe it is but you would still be faced with the same feeling of anxiety when the time arrived.
*The best thing you can do is willingly try to experience it on a night to night basis. Do not go into it afraid or overconfident; simply go to learn and explore. Take an open mind to the whole experience and you will come out of it that much more satisfied.*
Relax Your Mind and Body
Focus on Breathing
Remain Aware and Conscious as your Body Relaxes
Below is a good relaxation technique to achieve sleep paralysis. You should feel your body gradually slip into SP as you progress.
Muscle Tension Release
Good visualization skills are not essential for lucid dreaming but it can be a very useful assistant. I have personally found that reading is the best assistant. Sci-fi or adventure books are great and really cause some vivid mental stimulation. It also has a quite significant on the quality of your dreams so its really a win-win situation.
Below is a method I use commonly. I find the sense of motion or change of perspective while visualizing just stimulates something in my head.. It feels like I'm focusing really hard but the images are produced very naturally; hard to explain.
Dim the lighting; don't be in pitch black or a super bright room.
Sit down on a comfortable chair (Lay in bed if you wish)
Look around your room and pick an object out that you are somewhat familiar with. (Clock on wall for example)
Close your eyes, and try to 'see' that object just as you saw it a second ago. Try to remember the shape, size, colors and all that.
Open your eyes and see if you correctly identified the object.
--When you can hold the object in your mind for at least 5 seconds move on, until then repeat the above--
Now comes the tricky part; Imagine the object from another familiar perspective - Maybe what you would see as you walk through the door.
Hopefully you have at least a basic idea of what it looks like from that perspective.
(I'm sure 9/10 of you noticed that when you tried to think of the clock the whole room was at least briefly 'painted' around the object, its not like you just see the clock bent or positioned differently - it has to be placed in the scene for you to be able to see it. If your having trouble getting a view of that different perspective try imagine yourself walking down the hallway, opening the door then looking around.)
When you think you have a firm grasp on what that object looks like from this new position really try to keep it as vivid as possible.
Now switch back and forth between this view and your real view. Feel free to open your eyes if you 'lose your place' (although this can be a good thing).
When you feel comfortable doing that try panning your view back and forth keeping your focus on the object. Imagine your perspective floating up in the air and moving to the new position (I realize that makes no sense)
Think about it like this; if you were to walk in your room look up at your clock, then keep your eyes on it as you move over to the chair that your sitting in to finish. (The start and finish is the two different perspectives of the object you were looking at to begin with).
Panning back and forth like this can be really hard or really easy. Take it step by step and don't stress yourself out. It may get blurry or you might just go black and see nothing. Personally my mind creates the new (accurate) view and I have complete control over the 'camera' when I'm in the right state of mind - more later in WILD section.
You can also simply look at a basic shape like a triangle for 10 seconds and then close your eyes and try to the shape again. After you can do that move on to 3D shapes and structures. When you can pan your vision around an object to see all sides you are 10 steps ahead of the game.
Unfortunately my visualization is not all that great so I do not want to dive into detail telling you what is or isn't possible. I will however supply some useful links that helped me out.
Also when your brain is producing predominantly Theta brainwaves your visualizations should be much more vivid. There are many ways to reach this state both naturally and willfully.
Generally there is alot of theta activity in between sleep and wakefulness, so a WBTB is a great time to try to focus on your visualization.
When you first wake up in the morning take the time to replay your dreams backwards. You should be able to have quite vivid recall at that time. (This will both help visualization and dream recall).
Meditation or Self-Relaxation Methods can also bring you to a perfect stage in between wakefulness and sleep.
Binaural Beats can be extremely helpful. The only time I experience and real vivid imagery is when I am in the theta state and these seem to have a substantial effect. Check the the audio section for more.
*The list would basically go on forever but some of the main reasons are as follows*
Identifies your dream signs which helps trigger DILD's automatically.
Increase the amount of dreams you remember and also how much of each you remember.
Most of the dreams I used to remember were just simple fragments of incoherent randomness.. after working at it I cannot even begin to explain the difference. We're talking several pages a dream every night, with multiple dreams of course.
Forgetting lucid dreams suck! No explanation needed but what the hell. Yes LD's are usually easier to remember but they can be just as easy to forget.
Gradually you will get to the point where you will be running out to buy a new journal every week because of all the fully detailed, vivid dreams that are cluttering your old one.
Spoiler for How to Improve Recall:
Keep a dream journal! Write in it every night even if you have no recall for that night. The dream journal is probably one of the most important tools at your disposal to help with lucid dreaming. Write anything and everything in it associated with dreaming and before you know it your recall will skyrocket. It reinforces the idea that you are consciously putting an effort into remembering your dreams. Also it works as a great stimulant to help you work on your visualization considering every last bit of that dream is happening in your head.
Some basic outlines to improve your recall:
Relax - Stress is a killer and distracts you and will often take your attention away the second you wake up.
Want it! The subconscious desire to want to remember your dreams will fuel your memory.
Wake up peacefully. Jolting awake to an alarm clock panicking so you wont be late for work isn't going to get you anywhere.
Get plenty of sleep. A regular and consistent sleep schedule will do wonders so your sleep cycle isn't out of whack.
Be persistent. It will not happen overnight; but it will happen.
Also some tips for filling out your dream journal:
Work Backwards. Don't just wake up and jot down notes. Try to play the dream backwards in your head as far as you can before getting up. After that play it forward and then go write stuff down.
Jot notes down if its going to be long; get the basic plot down so you can touch it up later.
For example; Park with big playground - saw Jeff on swing - at airport - etc etc
Write down emotions, length colors and anything that stands out to you.
A trick I like to do is fill out a 'Pregame Preview'. A brief description about what my intent is and maybe what I want to dream about. I usually just write the same types of things that people using autosuggestion are saying to themselves.
'I will remember all my dreams with perfect clarity tonight; I'll be sure to tell you all about them soon' for example.
The overall goal of this is to tell yourself or genuinely believe something; and in turn this will 'come true' so to speak. Try out some simple suggestions at night before you fall asleep. You don't need to repeat it over and over; as the old saying goes "Quality > Quantity"
Autosuggestion can potentially be a very powerful tool and no matter the case is worth giving a try. It can apply to almost anything, below is a few examples.
I will remember my dreams immediately after waking.
I will become aware during my dreams,
I will wake up tonight after experiencing a vivid dream and remember it in full detail.
I will not be afraid of sleep paralysis.
I will not let my minds random thoughts consume my conciousness.
My body will be twice as relaxed after the count of 10.
The list can go on and on and you can use third person suggestion if you feel like it. Be creative find something that works for you.
It has been shown that binaural beats can alter the dominant brainwave frequency of the mind this practice is called brainwave entrainment. By altering ones brainwave frequencies (entraining one's brainwave frequencies) one may go into what researchers call the alpha, theta, or delta brain state. Each brain state has been associated with a different state of consciousness, for example; the alpha state is associated with being at peace or serenity and delta is associated with healing and deep sleep.
Binaural beats are produced when you listen to two slightly different tones with stereo headphones. Your brain quickly aligns to the difference of these two tones, thus changing its dominant frequency and effectively altering your state of consciousness.
It is fairly well known that these can work; but many companies have over commercialized these into "drug inducing audio files" which just isn't the case. They can however be a great assistant in meditation. They can certainly tip your brain in the favor of a chosen frequency.
When we go to bed and read for a few minutes before attempting sleep, we are likely to be in low beta. When we put the book down, turn off the lights and close our eyes, our brainwaves will descend from beta, to alpha, to theta and finally, when we fall asleep, to delta.
Beta (15-40) - Alert/Working
Alpha (9-14 Hz) - Relaxed/Reflecting
Theta (5-8) - Daydreaming, Vivid Imagery
Delta (1.5-4) - Deep Sleep
There are plenty of free audio files out there where the owners go very in depth about how and why these work. I'll leave that to them but I find that through achieving the theta state I can greatly increase my chance during a WILD.
Spoiler for Links:
There is a good chunk of pay-to-use and freeware programs out there. Keep in mind that an expensive program doesn't mean guaranteed results. I will only post links to free ones for now. Also please don't ask me how all the programs work, there is plenty of support on their websites. I may be able to lend a hand from time to time but I am not experienced enough in all of them.
There are so many possible methods out there that could potentially work; I can't even begin to explain all the possible changes and variables. I have listed below the main sources to most LD's though. There will always be a difference of opinion of the quality of each method but keep in mind that all of them are simply tools to assist you. You are creating the dream.
WBTB - Wake Back to bed
DILD - Dream Induced Lucid Dream
DEILD - Dream Exit Initiated Lucid Dream
MILD - Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dream
WILD - Wake Initiated Lucid Dream
Be sure to whore yourself in the tutorial section and just absorb everything you can. There is no best way to Lucid Dream.
The wake-back-to-bed technique is often the easiest way to encourage a lucid dream. The method involves going to sleep tired and waking up five to six hours later. Then, focusing all thoughts on lucid dreaming, staying awake for an hour and going back to sleep while practicing the MILD method.
The overall idea is to wake up in the later section of your sleep cycle so the time frame you have to gain lucidity is greatly increased. This is because the REM cycles get longer as the night goes on, and this technique takes advantage of the best REM cycle of the night. If you do manage to become lucid odds are you will have a much longer and more vivid dream then you would have if you had the dream right after you went asleep.
Go to bed regularly and wake up around 5-6 hours later.
The amount of sleep needed varies alot; just be sure to get at least a few hours sleep.
You need to be in the state of mind where you would just love to roll over and go back to bed; but at the same time getting up won't kill you.
A Sunday morning sleep in is a good example of this; you wake up but realize there's no work to go to so instead you go back to bed.
Stay awake for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.
You need to awaken your mind. The best thing you can do is think about lucid dreaming and your goal to reach lucidity.
This is a good time to read over your dream journal for some inspiration or to remind yourself of your common dream signs.
I also like to think about what I want to do when I become lucid and be sure to preform a bunch of reality checks as I move about the scene.
Go back to bed focusing on your intent to lucid dream.
Try not to over think during this phase. Just relax and drift off to sleep.
You can use some basic autosuggestion or other familiar MILD techniques to assist you.
I will be dreaming soon.
My mind will remain calm and be completely aware at all times.
I will remember all that I will experience during the following rest.
The below is a tutorial with some nice information. Most of what I would write hear would just be paraphrasing that along with many other tutorials. Useful WBTB Tutorial.
Dream Induced Lucid Dreams (DILD's) is probably the most commonly used method to get lucid. It is not always the most reliable technique although with very good recall you can really stack up the amount of lucids you have.
In a DILD you realize you are dreaming as you progress through the scenario. Generally you spot something our of the ordinary or one of your dream signs which causes you to do a Reality check. The check fails which basically lets you know your dreaming.
When your always aware of your consciousness in the ever changing moment of now; you will always be lucid.
Alot of DILD's happen naturally so the best way to improve on this is subconscious conditioning. As your recall and DS library increases you should gradually be able to achieve lucidity on a near night to night basis.
Keep a dream journal updated at all times.
Helps you recall more dreams (Including lucids)
Helps you remember the dream 'feeling'.
Recognize and memorize your dream signs.
Dream Signs are basically lucid gateways. They make you ask whether or not your dreaming which can lead to lucidity.
Test reality frequently and really question it.. Don't blindly answer.
Don't randomly go "No im not dreaming" throughout the day. Think about what you did a few hours ago; preform multiple reality checks and be sure to provide plenty of supporting arguments in your favor.
Relax before going to bed and focus on your intent to be constantly aware.
Another potentially very powerful technique. I believe this is not the best technique to start with; but once you have DILD or WILD down.. this can do wonders.
Wake up from a dream.
This will take conditioning to do properly; but you want to try to remain as still as possible and keep your eyes shut as you wake up.
Hopefully you remember what you just dreamed about; this technique relies on it.
Relax as much as possible.
Try not to wake yourself up to much as you want to drift off to sleep again almost immediately.
Gently remind yourself of the intention to become lucid soon.
Do not to get to excited or overworked; just remember that is your goal.
Playback the dream you just had in your head.
You should find yourself back in the dream or very close to before you know it.
More often then not if you are in the right frame of mind you will slip into a dream almost instantly. No more then a few minutes.
If you are familiar with WILDing or LDing in general I'm sure you have been aware of when you were about to wake up. If this is the case be sure to relax and prepare to preform a DILD. When your ready for it waking up can be a very peaceful experience that leaves you ready to drift off right to sleep.
Its possible to chain lucid after lucid by consciously waking up and drifting back into a dream immediately after.
The MILD technique is a common technique developed by Dr. Stephen LaBerge used to induce a lucid dream at will by setting an intention while falling asleep, to remember to recognize that one is dreaming or to remember to look for dream signs when one is in a dream.
Relax! The number one most important thing to this technique is to be able to focus on the task at hand.
Clear your mind. If your mind is moving a mile a minute you will not be able to focus.
Refer to the relaxation section for help.
Focus on your intent prior to falling asleep.
Belief is everything and you need to really confirm your intentions. There can be no doubt in your mind.
I believe its pretty self explanatory. Just remember; belief is everything. Its almost impossible to lie to yourself. Below is a list of some common phrases or ideas I try to incorporate as needed.
I will remember all my dreams with crystal clear quality.
I will be lucid in my dreams very soon.
My mind is capable of controlling my consciousness.
I will remember all that I experience.
I will have numerous lucid experiences tonight.
I will wake up immediately after all dreams with full conscious memories of what happened.
Be creative and don't limit yourself to what works for other people.
The wake-initiated lucid dream occurs when the sleeper enters REM sleep with unbroken self-awareness directly from the waking state. There are many techniques aimed at entering a WILD. The key to these techniques is recognizing the hypnagogic stage, which is within the border of being awake and being asleep. If a person is successful in staying aware while this stage occurs, he or she will eventually enter the dream state while being fully aware that it is a dream.
There are key times at which this state is best entered; while success at normal bedtime after having been awake all day is very difficult, it is relatively easy after sleeping for 3–7 hours or in the afternoon during a nap. Combining a WBTB and WILD will greatly increase your chances.
WILDs are a very complicated skill to learn at first. At the bottom of this section I will post some links to some useful tutorials.
Basic Outline
Relaxation. I cannot stress how important this is. If your mind is filled with 50 thoughts or you cannot get comfortable you may have some problems.
I recommend doing the Muscle Tension Release relaxation method.
Transition - Everyone experiences this differently on a night to night basis. All I can say is be ready for anything.
As your body makes the transition from awake to asleep you may experience a wide range of sensations.
Common Symptoms - These are just a few things to look for during your transition.
Vibrations/Waves of Energy
Numbing/Sleep Paralysis
Hypnagogic Hallucinations
Sense of motion/spinning.
Vivid Imagery
Loud Sounds
Like I said be ready for anything really. There are so many things that come into play during a WILD transition. You may not feel anything or you may as though your smashing through walls going backwards on a roller coaster.
I will most definitely be updating this section with an in depth WILD guide fairly soon but one step at a time for now. I have linked several great tutorials below if you are interested.
Spoiler for How to fail a WILD by Allinyourhead:
Below is a quote from a post with some very nice information made by another member named Allinyourhead. Be sure to visit his tutorial by Clicking Here
How to Fail a WILD
From all the information I have read in the past about WILDs, I've been told countless amounts of times about 'How to do it'. I've taken a different approach in this tutorial, rather than telling you how to do it, I'm going to tell you how not to do it as I feel it would be more beneficial. Well, here we go:
Barrier No.1: Not being relaxed/Being stressed.
If you've had a hard days work or just have something on your mind, nagging at you, then its probably a good idea to try solve the problem, or if not possible, try spend more time in the relaxation stage before attempting a WILD. Reason is: your not going to be able to get a good or constant level of concentration, which, of course, is needed to enter the later stages of a WILD.
Barrier No.2: Talking to yourself(Inner dialog).
Again this falls under the category of concentrating; the mind needs to be almost blank to enter the deep stages. To achieve this, use techniques like concentrating on your breathing or an object in your head. You'll find that concentrating on one thing for a period of time is actually much harder than it sounds. Having said you should concentrate, try not to over-concentrate(ie. Putting all your efforts and mindpower into the task) as this can prohibit you from falling asleep. From all the resources on WILDs I have read on the internet, not one has ever specifically mentioned this, resulting in me staying awake for up to 60-80 minutes before without any end product(Well done me). Do try concentrate but also try to relax on the effort if that makes sense.
Barrier No.3: Fear.
Fear is probably the most common cause of a failed WILD attempt. Even though you've probably heard people telling newer members that there's no reason to be afraid, they too were probably afraid at first. I was startled and afraid the first time too. It's a new experience and you have to get used to it. But trust me, if you can shake away that fear(which will shake itself away anyway after a few times anyway) it should be a fun ride through the vibrations. Theres absoloutely nothing solid behind the fear, its just a fear of the unknown.
Barrier No.4: Using a technique that doesn't suit you.
When I was starting WILDs I made the mistake of using techniques that weren't suited towards me. For example I tried to use a technique involving focusing on hypnagogic imagery when I could rarely ever see hypnagogic imagery. I used to also try intense visualisation methods, though I'm not very good at it. I know it's harder than it sounds, but try to find a technique that suits you.
Barrier No.5: Having a distracting environment.
I don't remember how many times I've been trying to WILD when my little brother or sister run into my room and start pounding me silly(I know they love me) or when a football suddenly bangs off my window and jolts me awake. Try to choose a time where you wont be disturbed during your attempt, and maybe don't attempt if there is a good chance you will be distracted or woken as it may just frustrate you. Also as a sub-note, make sure your not hungry, thirsty or need to go to the toilet before you attempt.
Hope this has been beneficial to you, and good luck with your WILD attempts - Allinyourhead
Hopefully you have learned something from all this. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments. Remember that Lucid Dreaming isn't an exact science at the moment, so experiment.
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