Rapid induction of the hypnogogic state

I offer no money back guarantee's or "100%" promises with this technique, its something that works and has always worked very well for me and im hoping others find it useful also.

The origional idea of this technique was the rapid induction of sleep, and for the longest time ive used it as such, infact it solved the mild insomnia i was experiencing at the time i came up with it (think years ago).

The technique
So one night while trying to get to sleep i found something strange, I found that i could start hypnogogia manually by simply mimicking it instead of laying for ages waiting for it to kick in on its own.

What ive found is that if I mimic hypnogogia the mind seems to take control of it, sometimes after only a few minutes, and when this handover occurs Ill find myself in full blown HI on the border of sleep. Ive taken to calling this "leading the mind", and i think it may have potential in other area's of mind too.

Leading/coaxing the mind to hypnogogia
This is by no means easy to describe so i apologise in advance to all confused. Ive decided not to try and list definitive steps but instead to describe what i experience in hopes those who want to can follow it :).

1) I'll first relax and empty/blank my mind for a few seconds to clear out thoughts from the day. Usually this relaxation includes 3 deep and slow breaths holding my breath on the last one for around 8 seconds and then slowly releasing it (Thanks hypnotist1).

2) Once my mind is clear i begin mimicking hypnogogia, auditory hypnogogia to be precise. If you've ever experienced auditory hypnogogia you'll know that you sometimes hear a jumble of voices, like being in a room with a few people talking over the top of each other, very few words of which you can make out.
What i usually do is imagine a friend or 2 talking and mumbling, interrupting each others sentences as they go, just cutting each other up and talking over the top of each other. Im not too specific with voices, ill have other random friends voices, voices i dont know etc randomly cutting in and speaking. Now the things they say are chaotic too, i may catch or even passively control the first few words such as "why do you even need to..." or "no because..." but then it degenerates into unintelligible mumbling almost like the game sims heh.

Theres no subject, no direction the talkings going in... After maybe the first few sentences Im not actually taking in the words but am passively making sure the speaking continues, alot of it will be almost randomness, just a random collection of words and noise but with the voices of my friends. After so long, which is usually only a few minutes for me, the mind will takeover completely, im nearly always aware when this is happening and its interesting to observe. With the hypnogogic state set in i can usually predict within seconds of when ill lose consciousness, alot like when you're waking up from a lucid dream and watch yourself losing dream consciousness, although the lines a little more blurry than that.

Why Attaining Lucidity?
I think this has the potential (at least for me) of being a supplement for some WILD'ing techniques. If at the moment of the handover you can re-focus and keep a degree of awareness, there may be a good chance of entering sleep consciously and quickly. Although i will add it would be like pulling a parachute at the last possible second.. if you miss time it theres probably not alot you can do about it.

I just wanted to stress:

Dont try to control every aspect of the process, this isnt a controlled process, you're passively making sure the voices continue with minimum input and focus.
Also I think the worst thing you can do is try to understand what's being said. The main strength of this technique (as far as falling asleep is concerned) is that you not only lose the connection to the outside world, you also lose connection to your conscious and controlled thinking processes. Essentially once the voices start and the mind begins to take over very little conscious involvment is needed, unlike maintaining a clear mind or imagining a scene... and with such a low amount of conscious involvement it seems the unconscious mind begins to fill in the void.

So... Imagining the voices in a mumbling and sometimes overlapping way firstly stops you from trying to understand the voices, its just garbled talking therefore you cant really pick out many of the words anyway.. you'll hear some but you wont be actively trying to understand them like you tend to with whole sentences.
Secondly it seems, at least to me, to put me in a very detached state. My minds occupied by the voices but im not really paying them too much attention, just like hypnogogia, my consciousness sinks back as the voices flood my mind and then the handover occurs.

This actually sounds like it might work for me, i usually have that auditory hypnogogia when im falling asleep before any visual starts. Sometimes i actually find myself answering back questions almost as if i think that there is someone there. The conversations are kind of like when you are at a friend's house and you are lying in the dark ready to fall asleep and are having a convo about something and you eventually lose consciousness. Im going to try this tonight then i'll post about it tomorrow. Thanks

I'm definetely going to try this tonight!
I have a bit of trouble falling to sleep when trying to WILD, or with other things on the mind.
I'll report back tomorrow I guess.

This sounds like an interesting technique. I don't have much visual hypnogognia, so this might work well. When is this most effective for you? I assume, like most WILD techniques, it is best done in the morning...?

I usally use visualization to bring on the HI, but it's usually quiet. I'm going to try the auditory technique because sometimes I am so excited, it takes me a while to fall asleep.

I'll report soon!

Maybe a good way to keep thoughts that keep you awake from running through your head.
Correct RooJ, if you just keep it to chatter and no real sense it would work best.
Enough to focus on but not get too focussed on it.

(sorta would remind me of those horror movies though, with the ghosts voices whispering in the background)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tearadox

The conversations are kind of like when you are at a friend's house and you are lying in the dark ready to fall asleep and are having a convo about something and you eventually lose consciousness.

---

Yeah, except for me its like everyone else is having a conversation, and im just allowing myself to drift off while they're talking around me. Nice comparison though, i like it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheCosmicOctopus

When is this most effective for you? I assume, like most WILD techniques, it is best done in the morning...?

---

Yeah, if it was to be used for WILD then its best to use it at a time when you're going to be entering directly into REM sleep. Thus far i havn't used it to WILD, it just occured to me lately that if i know within around 20 seconds that im going to fall asleep then surely that gives me a good chance to hold onto some awareness as it happens.

I intend to experiment a little with trying to ride this into sleep, or at least to the border of, both on a night and on a morning, im inspired by what ive read on yoga nidra... that maybe you can maintain consciousness even without WBTB and REM.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DreamChaser

Enough to focus on but not get too focussed on it.

---

Thats the big thing, i suppose im worried people will approach it as a big task they have to throw themselves into, or think they have to focus on and question it as its happening. Theres very little conscious involvement in this process for me, i always have a thread of awareness throughout but dont really control the voices as such.. And as its mostly mumbling noise theres no reason to need to control or understand whats being said anyway, just let the noise carry you to HI.

Quote:

---

(sorta would remind me of those horror movies though, with the ghosts voices whispering in the background)

---

Heh, well not to worry, i find the voices very hypnotic and relaxing actually :)

Thanks for the replies all, another thing im toying with is the idea that this could be used for better visualisation. Imagery doesnt seem to be inhibited during HI and so if i can nose dive into HI and then keep myself there, in theory i should be able to really explore some amazing visuals. Im thinking maybe rapid HI induction while using the perpendicular arm trick from Laberges exploring the world of lucid dreaming as a parachute... Anyway just throwing that out there.

(This is the same user as TheCosmicOctopus)

I gave this a try early this morning, but I simply slipped into a non-dream faster! I don't usually get much visual hypnogognia, so maybe that is why I have a harder time realizing when I'm about to fall asleep. But then again, I'm pretty awful right now at any WILD or WILD-like technique, so my experience isn't good to go off of.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ellipsis

I gave this a try early this morning, but I simply slipped into a non-dream faster!

---

As i said earlier the origional goal of this technique was the rapid induction of sleep, its not a WILD technique, just a technique to get hypnogogia and to the border of sleep very quickly... Keeping awareness once you get there is a different topic altogether, and one which ill be investigating heh.

I do something similar. I relax to the point where the sound starts then I observe and encourage it. I never thought to start it myself. Thanks for posting this. Although in my case the sounds include less talking and more music.

This technique reminds me on one topic i recently wrote... I usually induce tactile imagery when falling asleep, to keep me detached from body.

For more information, take a look at:

http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=61525

This brings me to an idea.

Everyone uses one sense as a primary sense, so for someone, inducing sound can be really easy but tactile imagery is harder to induce. Some people have problems with visuals, some not...

If we only found which channel is the best for us, and which method type should we practice, we would simplify our efforts on WILDs.

So, last night I tried this last night, and I guess I just fell asleep pretty quickly, I can't remember much else.
I'll have to try it again tonight :D

Yeah, I fell asleep fast as well and dreamed many little happy, non-lucid dreams although I barely recall them right now. :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jamesplague

So, last night I tried this last night, and I guess I just fell asleep pretty quickly, I can't remember much else.
I'll have to try it again tonight :D

---

I'll try this in a few minutes when I go to sleep. it's 11:30 pm over here...
when would this do we need any preparations like in WILD where we have to wake up after certain time?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jamesplague

I guess I just fell asleep pretty quickly

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by onyxdreamer

Yeah, I fell asleep fast as well

---

heh, maybe i underestimated the amount of control i have leading up to hypnogogia. For me i always have some awareness due to the fact that im passively making sure the speaking continues, the point at which i usually lose consciousness is after the mind takes over, which as i said before, i can usually predict.
I might need to rename it back to "Rapid induction of sleep" until i build in an awareness anchor :).

@adraw: i couldnt agree more, i find trying to mimic visual hypnogogia as much more of a challenge, more forced, were as auditory hypnogogia seems much easier and natural for me. I guess this goes one step further to prove that theres no one technique fits all solution to LD, at least at the moment. We can certainly go along way to help ourselves by understanding the way we work as individuals.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gangsterwu

I'll try this in a few minutes when I go to sleep. it's 11:30 pm over here...
when would this do we need any preparations like in WILD where we have to wake up after certain time?

---

If you intend to use it to WILD then sure, get some sleep before hand so you have a better chance of hitting REM when you re-enter. If you've read all the posts you'll know its not an LD technique in itself though, its a fast track way to hypnogogia and as others have found out, sleep. in order to use it for WILD you'd need to add an element of awareness in, something to keep you focussed as you nose dive into sleep.

I appreciate the feedback all and thanks for trying it :thumbup:

i KNOW A GOOD ANCHOR!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by A dreamer168

i KNOW A GOOD ANCHOR!!!!

---

then say it

Focus awareness on the body

Just apply FILD with this and should do the trick.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by A dreamer168

Focus awareness on the body

---

People already do that with breathing and
concerning FILDs they use their fingers.

EDIT:
Snap..Malac

Yes, they perform FILDS "with their fingers" when they're on the brink of sleeping, which this experience causes. Also to consciously know when the brink is, when using auditory hyp, makes this a valuable thing to research.
2nd, many people do many things, doesn't matter because there is some other way that this should be refuted.

EDIT:
Snap..DreamChaser

Uh oh, the boogy monster is here giving suggestions? right, guess I'm cool too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by adraw

Everyone uses one sense as a primary sense, so for someone, inducing sound can be really easy but tactile imagery is harder to induce. Some people have problems with visuals, some not...

---

So far I've heard of hypnogogic states involving visuals, sounds, and sensations. Does anyone know if you can have hypnogogic tastes or smells?

So I've been trying this out and it seems to work in altering my state of consciousness toward sleep. I've been doing a variation where I imagine music instead and then my mind takes over and adds voices and does the music without my continued conscious control.

So far I haven't been able to WILD with it but I think that's because I'm observing what's happening with too much excitement. So once I've been practicing this for a while I should be able to WILD with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Schmaven

So far I've heard of hypnogogic states involving visuals, sounds, and sensations. Does anyone know if you can have hypnogogic tastes or smells?

---

I personally havnt experienced them, i think for me its because taste and smell arn't primary senses. In day to day life most people are focussed more on seeing and hearing, and this may play a part in hypnogogia.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AlexLou

So I've been trying this out and it seems to work in altering my state of consciousness toward sleep. I've been doing a variation where I imagine music instead and then my mind takes over and adds voices and does the music without my continued conscious control.

---

Sounds good, what type of music do you imagine out of interest? Is it music you know or random musical sounds?

Quote:

---

So far I haven't been able to WILD with it but I think that's because I'm observing what's happening with too much excitement. So once I've been practicing this for a while I should be able to WILD with it.

---

Yeah, as far as wilding goes there's a fine balance to achieve between letting your consciousness slip away from its focus on the mind and body, and keeping a thread of awareness as this transition happens. Still, im happy to see that other people's minds take the bait when imagining hypnogogia :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RooJ

Sounds good, what type of music do you imagine out of interest? Is it music you know or random musical sounds?

---

Music I know. I'm not very strict with it, that is, I don't try to go through a song from beginning to end but instead take the path of least resistance and do whatever seems like it takes less conscious effort. This can mean random repeating and variation, or transitioning to another song.

i find having dim lights help hypnogogia. You know when you look at something bright adn then close your eyes you can see the outline of that. I usually just have a dim light and look at my room and close my eyes really fast. I can still see outlines of the corners in my room. I unfocus and try to look past the lines as if it were 3d. sometimes it fades but quite often i get a hypnogogic image of being in a 3 dimensional room. I once had a very short WILD this way.

That's a pretty interesting approach.

I experienced audio hypnogogia a few nights ago and found it easy to concentrate on the sounds and voices as they occurred. The only problem is that I equate hearing voices to being crazy, and although I knew I was just falling asleep it still felt uncomfortable and a little frightening.

I'm going to give this a shot tonight though, because I was using visual hypnogogia techniques at the time but it seemed to be the audio and sounds that really pulled me in.