WILD questions

[-Blakren-]

ok, I've been around for a while, but I'm still not too clear about WILD. Do you have to be in an uncomfortable position, keep alert, and not move a muscle, not even your eyes? Also, do you have to not think about falling asleep, or WILDing, or else it won't work? I ask these questions, because I had WILD experiences when I wasn't trying for a WILD. it would be in the evening when I would be taking a nap on the couch. The TV would be on, and my family would be talking, also, I would move around a bit. I just want to know if I am still able to move around to have a WILD.

[VnCist00]

WILD is the hardest, but the best if you can get it down, because you start understanding the development of how you become lucid. What I do is try and keep my conscious awareness while I sit in an almost completely dark room, dark enough so your eyes are covered at least. I sit still and relax until I reach sleep paralysis. You have to relax and accept your body going into sleep paralysis because if your mentally not ready to feel physical paralysis (except maybe your eyes) you'll keep scaring yourself out of it and restarting the time consuming vicious cycle. Also WILD's usually work better for me when I'm taking a power nap in the middle of the day. Just make sure you relax enough to let go of yourself and to still be consciously aware of your induction.

[CloudOFmichael]

can you do a WILD at any part of the day? no matter how not-tired you are?

[spaceexplorer]

There seems to be a lot of odd ideas floating around about WILDs. I'll try my best to explain the basics... A WILD is a Wake Initiated Lucid Dream. What this means is that unlike a DILD (dream initiated lucid dream) you maintain awareness whilst falling asleep. a DILD is essentially: adding awareness to a dream. a WILD is basically: adding dreaming to awareness. With a WILD there are no "special positions" needed, nor any need to "stay completely still", All you are trying to achieve is to fall asleep, whilst keeping the conscious part of your brain active. There are various methods for inducing a WILD, many of them giving quite different advice. This is not to say that any one method is wrong, all this points out is that each individual is different, and what works for some people may not work for others. I've had hundreds of WILDs in my time, I was lucky enough to discover lucid dreaming at a young age, and am now in my 30s. For me, the best advice I can give is the following: WILDs are most likely to occur in the early hours of the morning after a short awakening. This method is called WBTB (wake back to bed). When you return to sleep, all you are trying to achive is maintaining your awareness whilst your mind slips back into REM and dreaming sleep. Sleep Paralysis is by no means a vital aspect to a WILD, in my many WILDs only the smallest percentage (maybe 3 or 4 out of hundreds) has ever included the onset of sleep paralysis before the dream kicked in. This of course is an entirely subjective matter, and may not be the case for everyone. As for sleeping position, just do whatever you would do naturally. Get comfortable, let your thoughts drift towards your imagination, try to relax mentally enough so that your mind can fall asleep, but no so much that you loose awareness. It's basically a balancing act. Don't pay too much attention to your body, or your senses. To fall asleep, what you are trying to do is to shut off from the outside world and let your internal world take over. So any obsessing about your bodys position, outside noises etc. etc. is going to keep you awake. (this is why I am not a big fan of methods that require you to "stay completely still" because in doing so, you focus your attention on your body... and your body is an anchor to the waking world... so by paying it too much attention, you are essentially stopping the shift between waking and sleeping) If you get uncomfortable, shift position just enough so that it dosn't bother you too much. Try not to move too much, as that too will also keep your focus on the external waking world. Again, it's a balancing act... don't obsess about staying still, but also don't fidget too much. Do whatever it takes to RELAX. Your goal is to fall asleep remember. For me the easiest technique to shift awareness away from the outside world, and towards the internal world, is to use my imagination... I'll imagine the sensation of walking or running, touching objects in an environment.... this helps shift awareness away from the body. I'll imagine sounds, music, noises... anything to shift my awareness away from external waking noises. I'll imagine (as best i can) visual scenes to try and give my mind something to work with to form a dream. Without wanting to sound too Zen about it, the key I find is "trying without trying". Think of it like this: imagine trying to float in a pool of water... the way to do it is not to "try", but to relax... the more you struggle, the harder it becomes. As for when to do a WILD, well that is going to depend on your sleep cycle and how much sleep you've been getting recently. Often a long nap during the day (over 90 minutes) will be sufficent time for REM to occur, so this is possible. However, most people will have most success waking up early, then returning to sleep. So say, get up after around 5 or 6 hours sleep, stay awake for 15-20 minutes, then return to bed. This way you are most likely to enter REM directly. All you can really do is experiment for yourself. Keep a log of the things you try, what works, what dosn't work so well. Find out how your own mind-body works. Remember, everyones different, a nobody is going to be an expert on your sleep cycle, or how your brain works. Your life, your psychology, your biology is going to have a lot in common with other humans, but it will also have it's own quirks and variations. You need to experiment to find out what is best for you. A few things I have found helpful for myself are: In the waking period of a WBTB, I will have a sweet snack and a weak cup of tea. I'll also open the curtains and get a bit of light to stimulate my mind (i find WBTBs after the sun has risen tend to be more succesful). Obviously close the curtains and put on a sleep mask when you return for your WILD attempt. Also move away from the bed, do something that requires your mind to activate a bit. Also, try and do a few reality tests... just to prime your mind for awareness. I'm sure there is more I could write, but it's getting late here and i should go to bed soon. Either way, I hope this is of some help.

[CloudOFmichael]

k, thx

[Lolasaurus]

for WBTB: write in your dream journal. knocks 2 birds with one imaginary stone. And not to just wind up disputing with spaceexplorer for the millionth time, but I have seen many people say eating/drinking in a WBTB situation is very counter-productive. Just do what you need to do though.

[spaceexplorer]

for WBTB: write in your dream journal. knocks 2 birds with one imaginary stone. And not to just wind up disputing with spaceexplorer for the millionth time, but I have seen many people say eating/drinking in a WBTB situation is very counter-productive. Just do what you need to do though. Different strokes for different folks. Personally I find the raise in blood sugar levels really helps keep the mind active. Also to agree wil Lolasaurus, the dream journal is a good option.