WILD Weekend (and the age factor)
I have decided to go all in on WILDing for a bit and I am realizing at the same time that age really is a factor in trying to master these techniques.
Why WILD? Going into my sixth week of this incredible journey and I have had a number of very lucid events using the various forms of DILD. But......they have all been brief and I have yet to achieve any real control. I am okay with that...I have learned patience in my years. I have decided to take a shot at jump starting things through WILD.
The real problem though is that my failed DILD attempts......and there have been many....leave me feeling a bit groggy in the morning. I get up at 4:00 AM every morning. I have for many years. I exercise a bit and work in the studio before getting to my office at 6:00 AM. I go to bed very early, of course, and that puts my prime LD hours from 2:00 to 4:00.
I have found that if I attempt a SSILD or a MILD and I am unable to get back to sleep or I stumble into a non-LD....I have lost those hours of sleep. My few serious WILD attempts, however, have been very rewarding even without resulting in a LD. I have found that the hypnagogic state is, in and of itself, a very rejuvenating experience. I feel like I have slept a full and restful night after an hour of deep hypnagogia. These periods have also rewarded me with brief amazing OBE-like experiences and very strong feelings of peace and spirituality. In hynagogia I feel as though I have a foot in each dream world.
What is the age factor? Well....I need to get good sleep. I don't have the ability to get by with 5 or 6 hours of sleep as I did when I was young. I believe that getting good restorative sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our bodies, especially as we start to get older. During my WILD attempts this weekend I got SO close.....but I could not stay fully awake for long enough to make the transition. It was a good show though....lots of colored fractals, faces.....sheets of white light....even another glimpse of the opaque window that blasted me fully awake this morning.
I know that I must establish a pattern that allows me to incorporate LD into my life completely without negatively affecting my health. I intend to do just that. :nodyes:
Anyway....just sharing. :)
Enter The Stream......Breathe In The Water
Six weeks in now........
During my first week I had my only real full LDs. On back to back nights I entered the dream flying down onto a stream....both nights exactly the same place. The second night I was able to walk up and immerse myself in the pool.
So yesterday I decided to set the intention of going back there. I spent the entire day setting the intention to fly down on that stream and walk up to the little shore on the left where I would sit and watch the stream while grabbing a handful of sand. As I fell asleep I set the intention more and when I awoke during the night at the perfect REM spot I set it even harder. I was certain in my mind that this was going to be a major breakthrough in lucidity.
Instead I fell asleep into a fairly conscious but not lucid dream where I was wandering from one scene to the next, ignoring obvious dream signs, and feeling decidedly frustrated.
But as I slowly woke from that dream I consciously went to that stream. Instead of climbing up onto the shore as I had in the countless scenarios I had practiced, I turned the other way and immersed myself in the pool. I looked up at the surface, and took a huge breath of the water........and woke up.
I had only 15 minutes or so left until I had to get up so I rolled onto my back and put myself into deeper hypnagogia. Before I had finished my first cleansing breath I was absolutely FLOODED with imagery....faces, images....sounds......fractals...all at once. It was overwhelming and exhilarating.
I think I actually did have a major breakthrough....just not the one I was expecting. :)
Once again....just sharing.