Thread: How to WILD

i think im going to use swallow as my anchor, i seem to do that alot as im falling back asleep anyways but always ignore it. so i guess now i will just periodically keep it in my awareness as i drift to sleep.

Originally Posted by jerheimer

i think im going to use swallow as my anchor, i seem to do that alot as im falling back asleep anyways but always ignore it. so i guess now i will just periodically keep it in my awareness as i drift to sleep.

Does anyone have a simplified way/trick to keep something in your awareness as you're drifting off to sleep? Sorry to sound stupid, I just don't understand how you can keep conscious AND drift off to sleep at the same time.

Originally Posted by venusflesh

Does anyone have a simplified way/trick to keep something in your awareness as you're drifting off to sleep? Sorry to sound stupid, I just don't understand how you can keep conscious AND drift off to sleep at the same time.

The idea isn't to actually fall asleep, but rather, keep your body relaxed enough that it goes through the sleep stages into REM without you falling asleep. The description of the technique is kind of misleading: "Falling asleep consciously".

One technique I use, is to lay in a comfortable position, and focus on my breathing as I relax, as if I'm falling asleep. But instead of falling asleep, I remind myself that I'm going to remember that I'm dreaming.

A WILD works best after waking up from 5 or so hours of sleep. Attempt it at that point, and see what happens. If you can stay relaxed, and keep your mind sufficiently active, you should start to feel a few different sensations. Its hard to say for sure what you'll experience, as everyone does it differently, but it should be Sleep Paralysis, Vibrations, Hypnogogic Imagery, and then the transition into the dream. Each of those stages can vary though.

Thats the basics of the WILD technique. The idea is to just make sure your MIND is awake, as your body transitions through the sleep stages.

Originally Posted by Kreature

The idea isn't to actually fall asleep, but rather, keep your body relaxed enough that it goes through the sleep stages into REM without you falling asleep. The description of the technique is kind of misleading: "Falling asleep consciously".

One technique I use, is to lay in a comfortable position, and focus on my breathing as I relax, as if I'm falling asleep. But instead of falling asleep, I remind myself that I'm going to remember that I'm dreaming.

A WILD works best after waking up from 5 or so hours of sleep. Attempt it at that point, and see what happens. If you can stay relaxed, and keep your mind sufficiently active, you should start to feel a few different sensations. Its hard to say for sure what you'll experience, as everyone does it differently, but it should be Sleep Paralysis, Vibrations, Hypnogogic Imagery, and then the transition into the dream. Each of those stages can vary though.

Thats the basics of the WILD technique. The idea is to just make sure your MIND is awake, as your body transitions through the sleep stages.

Ok thank you for that explanation... I forgot that I've read before, that it's like you're tricking your body into thinking that you are sleeping, but your mind stays conscious.

I am going to try this again tomorrow morning, as I don't have to work, and I'll report back here. *crosses fingers*

Thanks!

Your welcome. If you need more help, let me know.

Yeah, that's my point... the OP and his technique calls for falling asleep and not trying to stay conscious, but letting an anchor bring you back to awareness once you're into the dream.
That's not WILD then. WILD as a technique (as opposed to a category) is about staying conscious through the entire process, to my knowledge anyway.

Originally Posted by Placebo

Yeah, that's my point... the OP and his technique calls for falling asleep and not trying to stay conscious, but letting an anchor bring you back to awareness once you're into the dream.
That's not WILD then. WILD as a technique (as opposed to a category) is about staying conscious through the entire process, to my knowledge anyway.

I interpreted it as, you use an anchor that can keep you aware passively, with the littlest amount of effort, so that you have something to keep your mind on as you fall asleep without intentionally saying "I MUST BE AWARE OF X." because that would make it take long to WILD.

Unfortunately he is apparently gone again But that's what I got out of this post. I mean, Billybob knows his stuff, he knows what a WILD is and isn't. This is one of his WILD tutorials...

If you're drifting to sleep and losing consciousness, I don't think you're utilizing his technique properly.

Originally Posted by venusflesh

..., I just don't understand how you can keep conscious AND drift off to sleep at the same time.

That's because it's not YOU who falls asleep, but your body. That is the whole thing about WILD, the body sleeps while the mind is awake.

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

That's because it's not YOU who falls asleep, but your body. That is the whole thing about WILD, the body sleeps while the mind is awake.

Yeah, that makes more sense...

I just read this tutorial last night before going to bed so I would have it in my head as I fell asleep. I woke up after 5.5 hours which is prefect for me and had 4 consecutive lucid dreams. I've had less than 5 lucid dreams in my life.

This was weird though. As I went into the dream it felt like I was floating up to the ceiling feet first and then only when I got to the ceiling could I open my eyes and when I did I was in my bed in an old house of ours in a different city. I needed to check my hands the whole time as a RC but why I didn't realize I was in that house I don't know.

I find the anchor tool so usefull because I used to count my breaths to stay awake but it kept me too awake. Now I drift off just making sure that I come back to the noise of cars in the street every now and then. Then the actual entering of the dream catches me after a while if I fall asleep.

Thanks for this one.

Tried it with a clothespin on my finger. Didn't work.

yeah me neither, but we must practice. i think its just lucky that some people can try a new technique and become lucid, it seems that most people have to work at it with some diligence for success. thats just how i feel about it, bcoz i have yet to find one thats easy for me grrr

Originally Posted by gigaschatten

That's because it's not YOU who falls asleep, but your body. That is the whole thing about WILD, the body sleeps while the mind is awake.

Not sure about that.
Your brain does fall "asleep" in as much that it switches from an external perception mode to an internal "dream" mode.

I would say you can't dream without entering that mode. Which is not the same as just staying conscious.

It seems to me that the best and quickest way to empty that mode is to empty your head as much as possible. Just focus on something passively - like breathing.

For what its worth this passive method seems good.

I was even flying south in a plane the other day. I wanted to get a little shut eye so I simple tried to switch off. Sure enough a couple of minutes later I was seeing HI mini-dreams. Next, lights out zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.