Transition Problems (WILD)

Ok, so this is my first post, and I barely signed up, but I've been searching and reading on this site for a couple months or so. It's very helpful, and I can't tell you how thankful I am to have it as a resource. :)

I'm not new to the world of lucid dreaming, but I've only had one successful LD. And, it was about 15 seconds long. It wasn't because I got excited that I woke up, I just had some basic troubles. Anyway, it was actually on the first time I tried MILD as the technique. I usually do WBTB method along with whatever else.

I've been learning how to do WILDs for a while now, and I'm really good at getting into sleep paralysis. I'm not afraid of it, I actually rather like it. Haha. But my problem, is that I can never transition from full paralysis into a dream. I've read a lot of things about it, yet nothing seemed personal, there was no advice that I read saying 'This is how I do it:' etc. I was hoping maybe some people could share some techniques on how to go from paralysis to a LD. Thanks in advance, and let me know if there's anything other info I can provide. :D

Ok, once I get into sleep paralysis, I stay as calm as possible and relax. I lay there and enjoy the vibrations and let my mind wonder. As I think about random things, my thoughts begin to turn into images, objects, and dream scenes. I passively watch these scenes/images/objects and let myself become immersed by them. Shortly after, I am able to see my room "through closed eyelids." At this point I know I am close to fully transitioning. My body often begins to slide/float around the room and once it stops moving and the vibrations from SP die down, I literally stand up in my room and I am know within my dream.

If you are having trouble finishing out your transition, I suggest the following. Once you have gotten into SP, try imagining a dream scene all around you. Imagine yourself lying in your room/a field/etc. Slowly build up the dream scene around you until you are immersed within it. Then simply stand up and you should be good to go.

Hope I could help. Good Luck in your future efforts!

Awesome. Thanks Yoshi. I'll give it a shot. :D

Also, what is the connection between REM cycles and WILDing? I don't quite understand how they intertwine. I practice WILDs every night before I go to sleep, yet I read a lot about how they shouldn't be done at this time, supposedly because you have to wait until your REM cycle kicks in or something. But if that's the case, why do they work during naps in random day time?

When you are sleeping your body continues to hit REM periods throughout the whole night. Towards the end of your sleep period, the REM cycles are longer and much closer together. Your body gets into this sleeping pattern during the night and it attempts to continue this even after you awake. Of course you are awake so you aren't getting REM sleep. Throughout the early part of the day your body continues the pattern. It attempts to enter REM, so if you nap attempt to nap during this time, your body will succeed in entering REM sleep. As the day wears on the body gets used to missing the REM cycle and it starts to make attempts further and further apart. That is why the REM cycle at the beginning of a nights sleep is much further apart then during naps and toward the end of a sleep cycle. Generally, try to nap 1-6 hours after waking for best results with nap WILDing. Remember, it is possible to WILD at the beginning of sleep, but it can take hours to accomplish it. Good luck and I hope I helped.