Mzzkc's Comprehensive WILD Guide

**Mzzkc** · 10-19-2010 04:23 AM

Hello! Welcome to my humble guide. In the paragraphs that follow, I'll be cataloging just about everything you need to know to have a successful WILD. I'm probably going to miss a few points, but that's what peer review is for. XP

Introduction:

Before I can go any further, I need to explain what WILD is all about. BillyBob has an excellent, in depth, tutorial that should be required reading for everyone. When I first read that, the message behind it didn't truly sink in until over a year later, after I had my little revelation. The short of it is, you need to fall asleep. Yes some level of awareness is necessary, but you can pass that chore onto an auxiliary process with the use of an anchor, as BillyBob describes. Really, everything you need to know is covered in those two threads, but it's all buried. The purpose of this thread is digging it all up and putting it on display for everyone to see.

The Building Blocks:

To wild successfully, three things need to happen:

You need to be close to REM.
You need to fall asleep.
You need to retain awareness.

Block 1: Prior Sleep

The first point is incredibly important and shouldn't be overlooked. While yes, it is possible to WILD before getting any sleep whatsoever, WILDs such as this won't last very long and the quality of the LD will be horrendous. Furthermore, it will take more than an hour to pull off, assuming you know what you're doing and won't mess up at all. Compare this to a WILD attempt after six or more hours of sleep, where REM is mere minutes away and may last a very long time.

To compare:

WILD Without Prior Sleep: Poor quality, short, difficulty is next to impossible, takes over an hour to pull off.

WILD With Prior Sleep (Including Naps): Quality is what you make it, length is what you make it, takes no more than 15 minutes to pull off.

That's right, a successful WILD need not take more than 15 minutes to make the transition. If it's taking you longer than that (and you're definitely getting the right amount of prior sleep), you're probably having trouble with the next building block.

Block 2: Falling Asleep

Straightforward, right? Well, you wouldn't know from the number of failed WILDs people are having. This piece is just as crucial as getting prior sleep and is often where people have the most trouble. Here's a checklist to make sure you're going about this sleep thing in the most productive manner possible.

Are you:

□ in an environment with minimal distractions such as light and the occasional sudden noise?
□ physically tired, and feeling the need to sleep?
□ in the “falling asleep” mindset?
□ in your usual sleeping position?
□ comfortable?
□ relaxed?

Environment: If this first one isn't checked off, that's typically an easy fix. Simply invest in ear plugs and/or shades of some kind, maybe a sleeping mask. The sleeping mask and ear plugs can even double as an anchor if you're so inclined.

Being Tired: This one is harder to judge, but it's safe to say that if you're loaded up on caffeine, or some other stimulant, you probably aren't going to feel like sleeping any time soon. Other than that, you don't want your WBTB to be too long. I know of several WILDers who have cut their WBTBs to mere moments. Mine typically consists of emptying my bladder with the lights off before returning back to bed. This way I can capitalize on how tired I am directly after waking up. Keeping your WBTB to a few minutes or less might prove beneficial to you as well.

The Right Mindset: Next is the trickiest, because it's the hardest one for most people to “get.” Put plainly, you shouldn't be waiting for SP, looking for HI, or anything similar. You're trying to fall asleep here, not track your progress through a series of events. Therefore, don't try to “WILD”; go to sleep instead.

Sleeping Position: Building on that is this next box, which is another common misconception about WILDing. You don't have to WILD on your back. In fact, WILDing in the position you normally sleep in may be just what you need to finally take that extra step towards lucidity.

Being Comfortable: Now, if you aren't comfortable, how do you ever expect to get to sleep in a timely fashion? Things that typically fall under this category are swallowing, scratching, and moving. If you absolutely need to do any of these things during your WILD, do it and be done with it. Don't give it a second thought, and continue your attempt unfettered.

Being Relaxed: Many tutorials spend some time going over relaxation techniques like The 61-Point Relaxation Technique. Which is all well and good, but I wouldn't be surprised if most people skip that step. Honestly, that's the only thing most WILD tutorials put towards the actual falling asleep aspect of the WILD. And while it isn't absolutely necessary to do something that in depth, being anxious or excited is counter-productive. If you find yourself getting worked up or scared, at the very least, take a few deep breaths and remember: you're just going to sleep. Nothing special.

Block 3: Retaining Awareness

Here comes the part where you all start to hate me. As it is, there is no “right” way to retain awareness. Before everything is said and done, you're probably going to have to come up with your own solution. The key is understanding how you can maintain awareness without impacting your ability to sleep.

BillyBob suggested the use of anchors. But what is an anchor?

Originally Posted by BillyBob

[An] anchor is something you passively "keep track of" as you let your mind more or less wander. It is the tether that holds your prefrontal cortex just functioning as you drift into the dreamworld.

As it turns out, at their core, every “awareness technique” out there right now is an anchor. Some are easier to use than others, depending on the person, but there remain two distinct types of anchors:

Environmental Anchors
Mental Anchors

Environmental Anchors are anything you can latch onto outside your mind as you work your way through a WILD. These can be anything from background music, temperature variations, wearing clothing you don't normally sleep with, pain, etc.

The most important thing about Environmental Anchors is they shouldn't disturb your ability to sleep. I suggest you practice sleeping normally with your anchor of choice before you attempt to WILD with it. This way, you'll know what to expect.

Theory is easy. Actually using an Environmental Anchor to retain awareness is a different beast entirely. There's a fine line between giving the anchor too much attention and too little. This is something you're going to have to play around with until you get it right, as there's no way for me to relate that balance short of having you experience it for yourself. The best advice I can give is to follow BillyBob's advice and engage the anchor passively as you drift into dreamland.

Mental Anchors are ideally dealt with in the same manner. Common Mental Anchors such as counting, breath tracking, and mantras should be reduced to auxiliary mental processes that work solely in the background of your mind. Visualization, too, should occur with little involvement from your end. The only time you should be actively directing the Mental Anchor is when you're setting it up.

For instance, two Mental Anchors I developed awhile back involve a bit of prep to work properly. In one, I use various MILD techniques to set a “sentinel of intent” to alert me right as I hit the transition stage. After that, it's a simple matter of falling asleep normally and hoping the sentinel kicks in when I need it. Luckily, the other gives me slightly more control over the WILD. That one starts with me playing a game of word, phrase, and image associations with myself, gradually picking up speed until the associations occur automatically, one after another; it has the added benefit of emulating what actually happens to our thoughts as we begin sleeping. But the important thing is they eventually work in an autonomous fashion, which is the overall goal for Mental Anchors.

Of course, the anchors I've listed aren't your only options. In fact, most of these probably won't work for you. Inevitably, you're going to have to find an anchor that does work for you. No one can do that except you.

And that's where I'll leave you.

Conclusion:

Hopefully, this has shed some overdue light on what it takes to WILD. Remember, these building blocks all work in tandem; keep that in mind when you begin design on your own WILD style. As always, if you have questions, comments, concerns, or flames, I'll be sure to address them. But I'm warning you right now, I'll likely ignore any questions that are explicitly answered by bolded portions of the OP.

So, until next time. . .

**mountainape** · 10-19-2010 05:03 AM

Looks great! will follow this tonight! first post!>?

**NrElAx** · 10-19-2010 05:28 AM

Thanks a bunch. There's always so many questions about WILDing and this should clear some things up for many others and myself. One question about your second mental anchor. Can you explain the "game of word" you mentioned? I didn't quit understand that.

**Mzzkc** · 10-19-2010 07:45 AM

"Game of word, phrase, and image associations," was the full quote. Are you familiar with the forum game where one person posts a word, then another person posts a word they associate with the previous word? For instance:

First Poster: Banana
Second Poster: Ice-Cream
Third Poster: Snow
etc.

Well, it's like that, but I do it with myself, and I don't limit the game to words. This allows for a more freewheeled approach that lends itself well to automation.

**ImAsleep** · 10-19-2010 04:12 PM

Thanks!
I've only had 1 successful WILD hopefully this guide will help me achieve more

.

**dreamspinner** · 10-19-2010 04:27 PM

I tend to visualize a scenerio and play it out for a bit then after that random thoughts take over and every once in a while i bring back the original scenerio and it is very effective for me.

**Robot_Butler** · 10-19-2010 05:14 PM

I'm glad you stressed the importance of being comfortable and falling asleep. It sounds so obvious, but many people seem to forget about it. I see too many guides that make it sound like you need to just lie in bed for an hour, in an uncomfortable position, absolutely frozen, and hope something magic will happen.

**Skydreamer707** · 10-20-2010 01:12 AM

Holy crap. you sir, are excellent at explaining the unexplainable!

i LOVE the way you described the mental anchors bit. Ive always been fascinated with how the mind takes over automatically as you fall asleep, and couldnt daydreaming be a mental anchor? You have to set up the intinal day dream but as you fall asleep it takes on a life of its own, plus it seems more natural then counting and a lot more fun.
Just a suggestion

I agree with robot butler, a lot of guides on here can be misleading. glad to see someone posting something that explains more about the Mindset needed.
Man wish you were around posting this stuff when i was a Newbie. Would have saved me a year of wasted effort.

**Romansp** · 10-20-2010 03:45 AM

This guide is excellent and extremely well written!

I wonder if it is possible to use daydreaming as an anchor. It seems possible, but daydreaming might involve concentrating too hard and letting your mind wander is (in my case) a way to completely loose conciousness.

Anyways if I attempt a WILD during the weekend, I'll keep this advice in mind. (or, for the sake of a bad pun: I'll keep this advice out of my mind

)

**Marton** · 10-20-2010 09:08 AM

I had a lucid dream last night after read reeding this thread. Thanks alot! I haven't had a lucid dream in months!

**jimmy2times** · 10-21-2010 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by Romansp

letting your mind wander is (in my case) a way to completely loose conciousness.

I have tried daydreaming before and that's the problem I have. I always end up just falling asleep. I haven't really found an anchor that works for me yet. I think I've gotten close with counting though. I start to feel kind of tingly but then my breathing gets really loud and I feel my heart rate increase and it goes away. I guess I just need to calm down.

By the way, thanks for this guide! It's very informative.

**vmenge** · 10-22-2010 06:36 PM

First of all, thank you Mzzkc for such a wonderful guide. I have read another topic of yours which was also really helpful.
I've been using things I learned from this guide and arby's VILD guide to try and have a WILD/VILD, but I always reach the same impasse: whenever I start reaching SP, and all the sound in the world sounds like it's going through a leslie speaker, numbness starts reaching down and... it goes away. Just simply goes away. Every single freakin' time

Even if I just lay there and try my hardest not to think about it, it comes back aaaaaand goes away. I'm thinking this is because when it starts I can't help but notice it and think about it. My last few tries I tried REALLY REALLY hard NOT to think about it, which I think is what is ruining my attempt

Which sucks, because either I think about it, or I think about NOT thinking about it

Anyways... any tips?

**Mzzkc** · 10-22-2010 11:56 PM

I think what you need is a good distraction. If I ever find myself focusing on those vibrations, I shift all that attention to the anchor I'm using. It's not ideal, but it's better than paying the sensation too much thought.

**vmenge** · 10-23-2010 07:10 AM

Originally Posted by Mzzkc

I think what you need is a good distraction. If I ever find myself focusing on those vibrations, I shift all that attention to the anchor I'm using. It's not ideal, but it's better than paying the sensation too much thought.

Except my thoughts start getting desperate on their own in an uncontrollable way.
For example, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine (in my mind, helps me sleep and keep myself awake at the same time) about peanuts. Then SP came in, and I was like "wooo, what's this trippy-- oh crap SP! can't think about it! PEANUTS PEANUTS PEANUTS OMG SP PEANUTS PEANUTS PEANUTS PEANUTS OMG SP" or something like that. And I feel calm while thinking that, but it gets desperate and somehow calm at the same time.
I guess I just need to hit the start of SP enough times so that it gets banal and doesn't automatically leave an impression on me, amirite?

**Mzzkc** · 10-24-2010 07:25 AM

You are correct; familiarization helps immensely. And that kind of thought pattern isn't the end of the world. I've experienced similar desperation during WILD attempts, but turned that loudly thought, one word/phrase repetition into an impromptu anchor and managed a successful WILD. No one ever said you have to use the same anchor throughout your attempt. ^.^

**Mzzkc** · 11-27-2010 06:23 AM

It was rude of me not to address this sooner, but, yes, I believe daydreaming could be used a viable anchor. I'll take it one step further and suggest daydreaming would be akin to visualization, meaning much of the same tricks (like transitional techniques) apply. As has been said, though, the biggest issue you'll have with daydreaming is losing yourself in it and falling asleep normally,

**elemental135** · 11-28-2010 05:11 AM

Thanks so much for this tutorial!
Never again will I lay motionless in bed for an hour only to fail.
I'm definately trying this tonight, and I have an idea for my anchor. I listen to music when I sleep, so if I tried WILDing with my headphones in, I could visualize images to go along with the lyrics.
I'll report my results tomorrow.

**SKA** · 11-28-2010 01:43 PM

Hi it's an excellent, detailed explanation of WILD.
My problem with WILD has allways been the Anchor. No anchor seems to capture my attention tight enough.
I tried counting, focussing on breaths, visualisation...but whatever I do my attention seems to slip away from the anchor, being distracted by one of my MANY spontanious thoughts and feelings.

I was thinking that it was logical to get distracted if my head is so full and chaotic to begin with. I realised I cannot focus enough to hold on to an anchor, because first I need to significantly empty and calm my Mind.
I desperately need mental space to be freed up. Off course I could do this by frequent meditation uppon "Emptyness". I could also do this by meditating uppon my Chakras and Chanting the Corresponding tone to open them.

My personal Anchoring method:
I am a generally chaotic person and I noticed that saying out loud, litterally and word for word, everything I am doing helped me to be focussed and mindfull about my actions.
If I washed the dishes I would Anchor my focus by saying: "Picking up glass, Washing in hot water, adding soap, scrub scrub scrub, wash off with hot water, allow to dry..."
Litterally I would say what I did word for word. And sure enough I wouldn't get the chance to be distracted off of my tasks anymore.

This method I developped to prevent myself from being constantly distracted from mandatory, boring tasks like washing the dishes and cleaning up the house.
Speaking out my actions forces me to be aware of what I'm doing constantly. At the same time it doesn't give me much time to wander off into distractions.

This method isn't very suitable as a WILD-anchor. Speaking out loud would make it harder to fall asleep. Also while falling asleep you do practically nothing, so there's hardily anything to speak out loud about or to focus on for that matter.
I have noticed that external Anchors, like MP3s, will become ineffective as one gets used to it and at one point will no longer percieve external stimuli of any kind.

I think that instead of trying to focus harder on the anchor, we should try to drastically bring down the frequency of excited, random, distracting thoughts.
I can imagine focussing 1 anchor, without being disturved for an extended period, wouldn't at ALL be so difficult if my internal dialogue was "slowed down" significantly, or better; switched off completely.

I have been trying far too hard focussing harder to achieve WILD, to no avail.
My mind was simply waaay to restless, being flooded with a random, distracting thought every +/- 20 seconds.
So I will have to bring down the hyperactivity of my inner dialogue, before I can hope to focus on 1 thing undisturbed for extended periods of time.

**elemental135** · 11-28-2010 03:29 PM

Okay, wow. I'm not really sure if the WILD was entirely successful, because I didn't get any of the sensations associated with WILDing, but several minutes into my attempt, I suddenly found myself in a dream. It was definately the most vivid lucid dream I've ever had! I woke up immediately after the dream.

WILDing has never worked for me before. Thank you so much, Mzzkc!

Off topic, but, how is your username pronounced?

**Mzzkc** · 11-28-2010 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by SKA

Hi it's an excellent, detailed explanation of WILD.
My problem with WILD has allways been the Anchor. No anchor seems to capture my attention tight enough.
I tried counting, focussing on breaths, visualisation...but whatever I do my attention seems to slip away from the anchor, being distracted by one of my MANY spontanious thoughts and feelings.

I was thinking that it was logical to get distracted if my head is so full and chaotic to begin with. I realised I cannot focus enough to hold on to an anchor, because first I need to significantly empty and calm my Mind.
I desperately need mental space to be freed up. Off course I could do this by frequent meditation uppon "Emptyness". I could also do this by meditating uppon my Chakras and Chanting the Corresponding tone to open them.

My personal Anchoring method:
I am a generally chaotic person and I noticed that saying out loud, litterally and word for word, everything I am doing helped me to be focussed and mindfull about my actions.
If I washed the dishes I would Anchor my focus by saying: "Picking up glass, Washing in hot water, adding soap, scrub scrub scrub, wash off with hot water, allow to dry..."
Litterally I would say what I did word for word. And sure enough I wouldn't get the chance to be distracted off of my tasks anymore.

This method I developped to prevent myself from being constantly distracted from mandatory, boring tasks like washing the dishes and cleaning up the house.
Speaking out my actions forces me to be aware of what I'm doing constantly. At the same time it doesn't give me much time to wander off into distractions.

This method isn't very suitable as a WILD-anchor. Speaking out loud would make it harder to fall asleep. Also while falling asleep you do practically nothing, so there's hardily anything to speak out loud about or to focus on for that matter.
I have noticed that external Anchors, like MP3s, will become ineffective as one gets used to it and at one point will no longer percieve external stimuli of any kind.

I think that instead of trying to focus harder on the anchor, we should try to drastically bring down the frequency of excited, random, distracting thoughts.
I can imagine focussing 1 anchor, without being disturved for an extended period, wouldn't at ALL be so difficult if my internal dialogue was "slowed down" significantly, or better; switched off completely.

I have been trying far too hard focussing harder to achieve WILD, to no avail.
My mind was simply waaay to restless, being flooded with a random, distracting thought every +/- 20 seconds.
So I will have to bring down the hyperactivity of my inner dialogue, before I can hope to focus on 1 thing undisturbed for extended periods of time.

That's what relaxation helps accomplish. I think you owe it to yourself to try some of the more detailed relaxation techniques out there before your attempts, as they are often incredibly good at clearing out inner dialogue. My personal favorite is one Ninja posted awhile back wherein the practitioner takes deep, long breaths, and counts down from 100 on each one. I've always had amazing results with that, typically before I ever hit one.

And I wouldn't worry about Anchors losing their effectiveness, as the easier it is to fall asleep with them, the better. All they're supposed to be is something you can just barely latch onto as you drift to sleep. Too much focus is bad, but not enough will make you lose consciousness.

Originally Posted by elemental135

Okay, wow. I'm not really sure if the WILD was entirely successful, because I didn't get any of the sensations associated with WILDing, but several minutes into my attempt, I suddenly found myself in a dream. It was definately the most vivid lucid dream I've ever had! I woke up immediately after the dream.

WILDing has never worked for me before. Thank you so much, Mzzkc!

Off topic, but, how is your username pronounced?

The fact that you didn't notice anything you'd typically associate with WILD is a good thing, as most of that stuff only happens occasionally, and putting too much attention on it when it does usually ends poorly. It seems to me like you're doing it right. XP

Anyways, I'm glad I could help, and my name is pronounced with two soft i's, one between the M-z, the other between the z-k.

**MatrixMaster92** · 11-29-2010 06:27 AM

Great guide Mzzkc, sooner or later I am gonna learn this because I try it every night.

**Azalin** · 12-02-2010 06:27 AM

Would the sound of my airconditioning be quite good mental external anchor?

**Mzzkc** · 12-02-2010 07:15 AM

There's only one way to find out.

**Ayanizz** · 12-08-2010 11:42 PM

I'm actually thinking of trying some of this out... The "word, phrase, image" association thingy sounds like something that might work for me since I used to use it as a means to keep my mind busy during slower hours of day or moments of extreme boredom

As it stands right now though I know that I'm not trained enough yet, and that I have immense trouble to stay aware. So I guess I'm doing quite the opposite of most people trying to WILD, I focus more on the falling asleep part:p

Anyway, a few questions about your signature... It says 92 as WILD count, and then it goes on about how many LD's in one day, week, month, etc. which leads me to think that most of your LD's are not WILD's. So: what is the method you have most success with, and if you set your mind on WILDing, what's the roughly estimated percentage of it actually working?
And also: I only sleep about 6 hours a night, which seems to be enough for me...Is this sufficient to WILD?

Thanks in advance

**Mzzkc** · 12-09-2010 01:28 AM

Yeah, I have trouble WILDing because of how hard it is for me to fall asleep due to the environment I live in (dorm room with less than considerate roommate) and various health reasons, so my primary means of LDing is through DILDs and MILDs, but I typically use WILDs to chain those together whenever I can remember.

When I do attempt WILDs, it's typically only when I can check off most of the things on the falling asleep check-list (not often); late-morning/afternoon naps tend to be the best time for me. My overall success rate is around 75-80% for straight WILDs, and nearly 100% for the more flavorful DEILD, to which I apply the same method.

In regards to the amount of time you sleep: it depends on what your REM periods are like. A good way find your ideal WILD time is to recognize when, during the the night, you begin having longer, more intense dreams. For me it's usually 3-4 awakenings into the night, but, as a general rule of thumb, your longest REM period will be the one you have before getting up for the day. So, if all else fails, attempt your WILD 4 hours and 30 minutes into the night and hope for the best.