Mental mode shift from awake to dreaming and back?

[Polaris]

I tried a WBTB today but decided to stay in bed instead of getting up (always a bad idea as you go right back to sleep.) I did end up falling asleep, then realizing I was dreaming, and snapped back out of it. Here is where it gets weird. I mentally said to myself, hey, that was really quick transition from awake to dreaming, like a light switch. Immediately after I said that to myself, I entered a dream where I was standing in a blank dream world, all white, and no body sensations whatsoever. Then I was booted OUT of the dream immediately afterwards, like ~1-2 seconds, and back in bed with body sensations in bed. Like a mental light switch had been flipped off and on.. from conscious to dreaming and then back to conscious again. All happened in the span of ~5 seconds subjectively. Was this some sort of weird instant WILD? Anyone else ever had an experience of instantly being in a dream from being semi-awake in WBTB? So far it's only been ~2 weeks since I started, had two DILDs that lasted ~4 seconds after realizing it was a dream. And now this. Not sure what to make of it.

[Zoth]

All happened in the span of ~5 seconds subjectively. Remember that the trip around the threshold of consciousness is accompanied by impairment to your memory: during some stages of sleep, you might dive in and out several times and don't even recall what happened. Imo, you should mark it as progress regarding your ability to monitor yourself when falling asleep, and keep trying to maintain this awareness while you drift, which is the main idea of a WILD. Remember that you'll experience a lot of difference scenarios, some weirder than others, but falling asleep can always feel for a familiar yet unique event every night.

[Polaris]

Thanks for the interpretation, Zoth! What's odd is that I wasn't even trying to WILD at the time. I just made that mental observation and had the experience unintentionally.

[Rothgar]

I have had similar experiences in the morning. Have not decided if it is a dream or H.I. These dreams don't last long. You are there for a few seconds then back awake again. I think it is a good thing...you are aware of both states and switch quickly. Good brain training in my opinion, but I am not a WILD person so not sure it is the same as WILD...more like DEILD from my experience.

[TravisE]

You might have experienced brief “flashes” of hypnagogic imagery right on the edge of falling back asleep, or you might have perhaps indeed bounced out of and back into a dream. The latter seems to naturally happen occasionally even during NLDs (I've had several in which I suspect I had woken up briefly and then gone straight back into the dream, without consciously realizing it) and is a key component in DEILD, which is essentially an abbreviated form of WILD.