Ambience - The Ultimate Dream Sign
Last night I attempted to WILD, and made it... twice. I decided to go for it after reading Mzzkc's topic. I gotta say, his "Don't WILD" rule has got to be the most accurate and reliable piece of advice there is on the subject.
I figured that he was right because the only time I had successfully WILDed was by accident, after hours of trying to fall asleep. All my later attempts failed because I was way too cautious and wouldn't allow myself to fall asleep. All that stuff about not moving and not swallowing made it worse.
But last night, I got it. Twice. And it was so simple that it's laughable. What's weird is that I'm not sure if it was a MILD or a WILD (Hell, it could also have been a DILD since I performed a reality check). Maybe a mixture of the two (three), since I suggested to myself that I stay aware and then immediately focused on falling asleep. After falsely awakening in my room I performed a reality check and realized I was dreaming.
The best part about all of this? I worked out my very own technique. Haven't you ever noticed how the atmosphere in the dream, the overall feel, the ambience of it is significntly different than in the waking world? You're in your house and you know it, but it's somehow different, isn't it? As if you're in a house you've never visited before? Usually you notice this after you wake up and not during the actual dream, but then again all sorts of crazy stuff can happen in a dream without you thinking it's strange. That's where awareness comes in.
Normally you’d be aware only when it comes to recognizing dream signs and keep your eyes peeled for anything weird that might happen and perform a reality check. But why not take it a bit further? Why not keep track of the ambience of your environment in general? When you come to think of it, it’s not at all hard to tell the difference between a dream ambience and reality. You’ll find that they are significantly different.
Make it your task to be aware of the ambience every time before you go to sleep, and if you seem to have awakened, be sure to perform a RC. You never know. :P
I hope you guys find this topic useful. The concept sure helped me.