Thread: Wild And Relaxation State Of The Mind

lately I've been attempting to WILD, and have made progress towards success (actually my first attempt was the closest to success) but I've noticed something that may be either inconsequential, or a roadblock to my success at WILDing. I've been practicing physical relaxation for years and am getting good enough at it to begin entering sleep paralysis part of the time, but often times I find myself "holding on" with my mind, as if my mind was working a little too hard. It's only a slight difference, the difference between thinking lightly and letting yourself drift to sleep, but I do feel a difference. When I just decide to let myself drift off to sleep, my conscious mind feels a little bit more relaxed. I hope some of you know what I'm referring to, and my question is this. Is this feeling of "holding on" and feeling a little bit of tension because of it preventing me from successfully WILDing, or should I not worry about it? Is it necessary, or do I need to find a new frame of mind that takes the middle road, being relaxed like the mind going to sleep while still focusing enough to keep me aware? Any help would be appreciated.

Dear John,

Actually that slight tension in your mind that is holding you back from sleep is the essential fruit of all that you have been practicing. You see, you ARE actually falling asleep, but you are remaining conscious at the same time because of tha tension you mentioned.

At that point, all you need is to be patient. The first REM Cycle will come right on schedule after about 90 minutes, and each subsequent REM cycle a bit sooner, until at the end of the night the REM Cycles are occurring on the half hour or every 20 minutes.

So, Waking Induced Lucid Dreaming is essentially a waiting game, the trick being to retain consciousness while one is in effect 'sleeping'.

So, I should have no concern over this slight tense sensation of mental activity, like doing easy math problems or reading a simple book, because it's what I need? Thanks for advising me on this, I was concerned that perhaps it was preventing me from relaxing fully and entering the transitional phase of WILDing, but now that's one less uncertainty.