WILD Induction specifics

Hey everyone,

Could anyone give me a somewhat detailed example of what it is like attaining lucidity through the WILD technique?

It's just, I've been practicing this technique and I've never (as far as I know) gone from awake to dreaming conciously. It's quite hard to do, is it not? I spent almost two hours lastnight trying to do it (concentrating on breathing, etc).

I get very relaxed, and I start seeing the beginning of the hypogogic imagery - as described in 'Exploring the world of Lucid dreaming' by LaBerge. (Fascinating book by the way).

Anyway, could someone explain to me what it is like going from your awake state to your dreaming state? Like what your body goes through/feels like in the process?

Also, does anyone know of any particularly effective ways of relaxing more thoroughly before attempting? I've gotten quite relaxed but I feel that there could be a better technique than the "61 point technique" (which seems far too complicated).

Thanks everyone your advice is always appreciated.

Ok, now Im going to say now that there is a good chance this post will babble on and on.. as I tend to do so when explaining things :). Feel free to check the bottom for a simple recap though.

I guess first of all, WILDs are different for everyone. There are some striking similarities, but there are so many alterations to all the methods that you really just need to play around to find something that works for you. WILD's are kind of an acquired skill, I used to find them next to impossible.. and now its strange if I dont have several a night :).

If you really believe its going to be hard, it will be. The best thing I can say is really dont over think what your doing for the first few times.. Simply get a feel on how you can get into a very calm, relaxed state without going through a wall of text in your head. (Aka, dont run through 10 different tutorials on how to WILD when you try to fall asleep. Commit to something, do it.. or do nothing.)

Also before I get started on my personal experiences, relaxation is one of those things you just cannot force. Trying to relax contradicts the very thing you are trying to accomplish :p. Best thing you can do is lay as still as possible, and focus on something consistent, or unchanging. I have several methods that I've picked up from all over the boards that seem to work for me, plenty dont though. Usually I do use a 4/3 breathing method.. Focus on nothing but that for a few mins, then begin to contract and relax my muscles during the inhales/exhales.. I'll get into that in a sec though. I cant recall any specific places I picked up all these methods, I sure didnt create em.. but have found em very effective.

1 - Clear my mind: The first thing I do like I said is just take some nice deep breaths, and focus on that alone. Random thoughts from the day are still going nuts in my head when I first lay down, so I always take a few minutes to just let them go away before I get started. The 4/3 Breathing method is just basically inhale for 4 secs, hold it for 3 secs, exhale for 4 secs, hold for 3. You may need to adjust it a bit. but personally I believe the time doesnt matter.. It just takes breathing to a bit higher level, requires slightly more concentration. This will help you stay aware much more then "natural" breathing would.


2 - Relax my body: Once I feel like my mind is beginning to calm down, and my body is already starting to cool down.. I will begin tensing a whole bunch of muscles from the feet up. Its very important to synchronize your breathing during this I find. (Still doing the 4/3). It basically goes like this.

Inhale - Begin tensing my right foot during the 4 seconds, should be fully flexed before you stop inhaling.
3 In - Hold the flex and your breath for 3 secs.
Exhale - As you exhale release your muscle, and really FEEL that part of your body relaxing. Think of it like a liquid, oozing down as you relax.
3 Out - Dont breathe in for a a few secs. Then rinse and repeat.

*Optional* During the few secs after you exhale, feel free to visualize your body reaching down to your foot and turning a light switch or something alike from "On" to "Off". You dont really need to do this, but I find if it only helps further. Its sorta incorporating tactile and motion sensations into relaxation if you can manage doing both at the same time. Btw, when I say visualize.. I dont mean watch. Really feel your "dream body" reaching down and grasping the switch, and moving it. Feel your body sitting up, then laying down. As you lie back down try to will the feeling of sinking to help you even more. Also, if you find yourself moving your real body, dont do this yet.. Relax a bit more and let SP naturally kick in. If you find you are going through multiple "cycles" consistently.. you could imagine a like.. turning knob with different power levels. For example the all of them start at 3; once relaxing that muscle you turn it down to 2. Second time around turn it down to 1, third time turn it off. Its really quite amazing how effective this can be, it sounds silly but I have awesome success with it.. And yes you can easily accomplish this within the 3 secs :P.


Continue this for both feet, calves, hammys, butt, abs, chest, shoulders, biceps, forearms, hands, neck, jaw, forehead. Im sure you can do more or less, do it untill YOU are relaxed. Depending how tired I am and such, this can take anywhere from 1~3 cycles (10-30 mins). If you are physically active in the day shouldnt take more then 1 or 2. After this you should notice an absolutely amazing difference. I do anyways. Sometimes I will slip into a WILD before I even feel SP all the way.. I believe this has to due with me incorporating "induction" techniques during my relaxation. (Tactile sensations/visualizations and such. Same thing as "rolling" out of your body) Some people (Including myself at first) wont be able to do this right away, you will find yourself laying there for hours on end. But, when you CAN manage it.. you dont need to sit there and play the guessing game and risk it all so to speak. When you relax naturally you kinda have to pick the point where you wanna stop relaxing, and start slipping into the dream. To early and your back to square one, to late and you lose consciousness and slip into a normal dream and hope for DILD. On the other hand.. this does it for you.. as long as you can still progressively relax in the process.. your golden.

3 - Post Relaxation Sensations: From time to time I will have the vibrations and such during relaxation, but 9/10 times its soon afterward if I haven't already slipped into a wild. This can vary from person to person, so take this for what you will.. You know how sometimes like just a random muscle will twitch, very slightly but enough to feel it still? I often feel that, but all over the place. Usually a couple of twitches a second, just in random spots. This doesn't last for long, not more then 30 secs at the most. Its all very involuntary, and really doesnt bother me.. I was kinda shocked the first time and got to excited and woke up.. But its really nothing special. I dont see/hear much HI, I get weird light patterns from time to time. The only time I hear a sound is right when Im in the transition stage. Its almost like a saw is running or something, slight buzzing in the background. This phase for me is very brief, sorry I dont have alot to say about it.. Just isnt very vivid for me besides the vibrations.

4 -Transitional Stage: This again can very alot from person to person. I would almost consider some of my WILD transitions to be a mild form of an OBE... but I guess thats personal opinion/belief at the end of the day. Its important that you are completely relaxed at this point or you will concentrate to much on your physical body and wont be able to make it through. I basically start off by willing my arm to a different position. For example, If my right arm is lying by my side, I will attempt to reach up toward the roof very slowly. It really doesnt matter what you do, but the best thing I can say is try to reposition your legs and arms in a spot where you KNOW they are not. (This may sound like it doesn't make sense, in terms of not focusing on body, but it will in a sec). When you have basically repositioned your "dream arm" in a spot you know it isn't in, you really have to focus on what it would feel like in that position.. Everything from the friction between your arm and the bed, how your shoulder feels.. which side of your hand is flipped over.. etc. REALLY feel it. I honestly dont find this difficult, after 2 mins I am basically convinced my physical body has been moved. Sometimes its so believable I think that I actually did move it, and ruined it.. only to find out when I try to really move it back to its original position.. that its already there lol. If that makes sense. Anyhow continue this with your other arm and both legs untill they are simply in a new spot, not really important at this stage. When you've got that down, try moving both legs up in the air at the same time, followed by both arms.. You should find this 10x easier this time around, because your moving your legs from a place they already.. aren't at. What I like to do is position my arms in a spot directly above my head (Maybe 2 feet up in the air), and my legs in a similar spot, only above my knees. Imagine your limbs are tied to something, stuck, whatever.. just make sure they are locked in this position. Then pull yourself up with all your might. Ideally your arms and legs dont move, but your torso comes up from your physical body to join you in the air. You can use one of the classic climbing the rope/ladder technique or whatever you want, this works very well for me though... Because again my limbs have "already moved."

**(Please remember nothing is REALLY moving, this is all happening in your head). You dont need to see anything, you just feel it :))**

Once you do this you should feel incredibly light, and the feeling of SP should have drastically been reduced. I generally only feel slight tingling at this point.

To be completely honest I dont know when I actually make the transition, my awareness really doesnt even blink, it feels like you go from wide awake, 100% sure your lying in bed trying to wild, to a floating "ghost" above your bed. Its absolutely fantastic and I really hope you can achieve similar results. Also, I find I dont need to "open" my eyes, it just kind of happens.. my vision almost blurs into focus. Personally I always find myself floating above by bed... and its almost like theres gravity pulling me back to my body. I think this is more a natural instinct, you just arent sure whats going on and your mind or body just wants you back where you were :P. I realize that sounds dumb, but Im sure im not the only one who experiences this pulling. Usually if I get "away" from my body, and begin to focus on something else (Say flying, whatever you want really), I think I just stop thinking about my body and then that sensation subsides. Its really hard for me to say when it becomes a dream, but you just know. I almost always exit the transition in my room, and often times it feels like im still in the "real world".. Its so hard to even put into words so im not going to bother. But I have had DRASTICALLY different experiences using this method, so just be ready for anything, and no matter what try to have a good time and go into it with an open mind.

I could honestly go on for days and days so I think I'll try to stop here. Maybe I will write up a tutorial of some sort although there is already 50 of them floating around out there, all of which very similar. Feel free to ask any questions you may have though.

*Long story short*
1.Relax your body and mind. Try to just take a breather when you first lay down to relax from the day before even starting.
2.Focus on tensing/relaxing body. Synchronizing with breaths is important for me at least. (See above :P)
3.Try to relax during any form of HI, vibrations, sensations.. Just keep focusing on breathing. (4/3 preferably, or something similar. If i go "1, I'm dreaming.. 2, I'm dreaming" etc, the manta becomes meaningless by the time I fall asleep, and its just so over simple and repetitive that I lose all.. ambition to do so. Autosuggestion may work for you though, hit up the tutorials section :).
4.This is where it gets rough.. All I can say is dont get over distracted/frustrated. Try new things, but not all at once. Really devote yourself to one technique before you give up on it. There are so many possible transition/induction methods that I dont even wanna get started, the above is what I do on a nightly basis.. several times a night. It may look long, but its really rather simple. I am generally wilding 20 minutes after laying down. Please dont expect that when you first start, I have had so many sleepless nights its not funny.

Either way I hope you can pull some sort of usefull information from the wall of text. Feel free to ask any questions, what makes sense to me is probably utter gibberish for others :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shady

Ok, now Im going to say now that there is a good chance this post will babble on and on.. as I tend to do so when explaining things :). Feel free to check the bottom for a simple recap though.

I guess first of all, WILDs are different for everyone. There are some striking similarities, but there are so many alterations to all the methods that you really just need to play around to find something that works for you. WILD's are kind of an acquired skill, I used to find them next to impossible.. and now its strange if I dont have several a night :).

If you really believe its going to be hard, it will be. The best thing I can say is really dont over think what your doing for the first few times.. Simply get a feel on how you can get into a very calm, relaxed state without going through a wall of text in your head. (Aka, dont run through 10 different tutorials on how to WILD when you try to fall asleep. Commit to something, do it.. or do nothing.)

Also before I get started on my personal experiences, relaxation is one of those things you just cannot force. Trying to relax contradicts the very thing you are trying to accomplish :p. Best thing you can do is lay as still as possible, and focus on something consistent, or unchanging. I have several methods that I've picked up from all over the boards that seem to work for me, plenty dont though. Usually I do use a 4/3 breathing method.. Focus on nothing but that for a few mins, then begin to contract and relax my muscles during the inhales/exhales.. I'll get into that in a sec though.

1 - Clear my mind: The first thing I do like I said is just take some nice deep breaths, and focus on that alone. Random thoughts from the day are still going nuts in my head when I first lay down, so I always take a few minutes to just let them go away before I get started. The 4/3 Breathing method is just basically inhale for 4 secs, hold it for 3 secs, exhale for 4 secs, hold for 3. You may need to adjust it a bit. but personally I believe the time doesnt matter.. It just takes breathing to a bit higher level, requires slightly more concentration. This will help you stay aware much more then "natural" breathing would.


2 - Relax my body: Once I feel like my mind is beginning to calm down, and my body is already starting to cool down.. I will begin tensing a whole bunch of muscles from the feet up. Its very important to synchronize your breathing during this I find. (Still doing the 4/3). It basically goes like this.

Inhale - Begin tensing my right foot during the 4 seconds, should be fully flexed before you stop inhaling.
3 In - Hold the flex and your breath for 3 secs.
Exhale - As you exhale release your muscle, and really FEEL that part of your body relaxing. Think of it like a liquid, oozing down as you relax.
3 Out - Dont breathe in for a a few secs. Then rinse and repeat.

*Optional* During the few secs after you exhale, feel free to visualize your body reaching down to your foot and turning a light switch or something alike from "On" to "Off". You dont really need to do this, but I find if it only helps further. Its sorta incorporating tactile and motion sensations into relaxation if you can manage doing both at the same time. Btw, when I say visualize.. I dont mean watch. Really feel your "dream body" reaching down and grasping the switch, and moving it. Feel your body sitting up, then laying down. As you lie back down try to will the feeling of sinking to help you even more.


Continue this for both feel, calves, hammys, butt, abs, chest, shoulders, biceps, forearms, hands, neck, jaw, forehead. Im sure you can do more or less, do it untill YOU are relaxed.

Err, didnt mean to post this yet, still finishing it so check back in a few lol

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thanks man. Could you tell me anything about visualization?

Hey, not sure if you have read the finished post I made above (Namely the transitional stage part) but visualizing for me is a touchy subject.. Its not as vivid as it could be so I really learn toward tactile sensations. If I want to visualize my backyard I start by feeling the textures of all the objects that are really defined, like the deck, grass, siding on house.. etc. Move on to feeling and hearing the wind, listening to birds and cards drive by. Things like that.

There are several tutorials that focus highly on visualization if thats a strong point for you. Alot of people will see basically objects floating around in there vision, I never do.. If anything is just subtle light changes. Some people even claim to see basically movies floating around in there vision during the transition and stuff. I find that to be absolutely astonishing, wish I could see that :P.

The way I see it is vision is only 1 of your senses, dont get caught up with it.. If you had only vision, the world would suck. Take advantage of your other senses :)

An example of this (which will be amazing for people who have bad visualization, and make no sense to people who can do it well)

- Picture a familiar object in your mind.. Try to see an apple. Im pretty sure almost everyone can handle that.. but this is obviously a simple object :P

- Now imagine holding an apple in your hand.. feel the weight, the texture.. can you feel the stem and even the little sticker? Rub it around in your hands... take a nice juicy bite out of it. Take in the fresh... apple smell? (lol) Notice the different of texture inside the apple. Okay now at the same time try NOT to see an apple.

This is because picturing an object draws it up based on what you remember it to look like. The reason so many people struggle with visualization is because they are only incorporating the memory of sight 9/10 times. This will vary from person to person, but certain senses will lead to more vivid memory's. So, what I do is take my weakest (Vision).. and simply paint a picture using all other senses first. Its almost impossible NOT to see something when your brain is focusing on it using every other sense. (At least for me)

Taking this approach to anything will produce a much more vivid image.

You may think the reason this works is just because of the length of the description, and thats exactly true. Do you have any lack of space in your mind? Didn't think so, approach visualization from a different perspective if your having problems :)

Visualisation is often misunderstood. I myself am a pretty bad visualizer. But after some experience i found out, that my visualization is becomming more and more vivid. Visualizing is strongly connected with letting go. ... Now let me describe what i just wrote in more detail.

When you close your eyes. You may not see anything, hear anything, feel anything else than there is in real world. Your senses are fully in real world, so there is no reason why they should concentrate into mental world. And here's where it ends for most people. They simply decide they couldnt visualize. But thats not true. True power of visualization simply lies on belief. You just close your eyes and wait. Even if there is no visual image {and believe me, there would not be a visual image at first}, there is some kind of impression. Something. It does not have to be visual. And you can work on that. How? Its up to you. I would suggest you just to explore it and not await results to come too fast.

I can remember, maybe a year ago. I desperately wanted to learn visualization. I forced myself to see things I wanted. And it didnt work. I simply couldnt see anything, any impression. The change came, when I realized, that when i close my eyes and let them closed, my mind started to show me some really blurry pictures. They were all black {with no color and white was really smoky}. And then it changed. I found out, that there is something i can work with.
NOw I can see images when i close my eyes. Even images, which i would like to see. I know, they are still black and white most of the time, still they are much, much better than nothing.

It often helps me to describe what i "see" with my internal dialogue. this dialogue somehow pulls more images from my head. ANd as i am describing the scene i see with words, it is being constructed with more detail.

For beginners {such as me}. It is hard to keep the scene stable. Becouse its something pretty new. But if it is given attention visualization will improve. Ac tually. Everyithing you spend time on improves..

Enjoy learning.

Adraw

I defiantly agree, I did the same thing. I was just trying to hard to see an image that I would fail constantly. Now the images just come to mind without having to think what they look like.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adraw

Visualisation is often misunderstood. I myself am a pretty bad visualizer. But after some experience i found out, that my visualization is becomming more and more vivid. Visualizing is strongly connected with letting go. ... Now let me describe what i just wrote in more detail.

When you close your eyes. You may not see anything, hear anything, feel anything else than there is in real world. Your senses are fully in real world, so there is no reason why they should concentrate into mental world. And here's where it ends for most people. They simply decide they couldnt visualize. But thats not true. True power of visualization simply lies on belief. You just close your eyes and wait. Even if there is no visual image {and believe me, there would not be a visual image at first}, there is some kind of impression. Something. It does not have to be visual. And you can work on that. How? Its up to you. I would suggest you just to explore it and not await results to come too fast.

I can remember, maybe a year ago. I desperately wanted to learn visualization. I forced myself to see things I wanted. And it didnt work. I simply couldnt see anything, any impression. The change came, when I realized, that when i close my eyes and let them closed, my mind started to show me some really blurry pictures. They were all black {with no color and white was really smoky}. And then it changed. I found out, that there is something i can work with.
NOw I can see images when i close my eyes. Even images, which i would like to see. I know, they are still black and white most of the time, still they are much, much better than nothing.

It often helps me to describe what i "see" with my internal dialogue. this dialogue somehow pulls more images from my head. ANd as i am describing the scene i see with words, it is being constructed with more detail.

For beginners {such as me}. It is hard to keep the scene stable. Becouse its something pretty new. But if it is given attention visualization will improve. Ac tually. Everyithing you spend time on improves..

Enjoy learning.

Adraw

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I'm glad I'm not alone with studying visualisation, I have a whole topic were I have posted alot about visualisations in the private journal thread, I've made false turns so many times it's not even funny, though I've ultimatly seen that visualisation works in odd ways, and your right someone can close their eyes and claim they cannot see a thing, so many people do that, the secret is images come from odd places, sometimes you need to be calm and stop trying so hard for awhile, like just give yourself a day free of trying it, if you think your doing it wrong then your best off trying to visualise diffrent things then you have been lately.

Also there seems to be two things that make up a visualisation, theres the information you put into it (which is what most people try to improve) and there seems to be some kind of stability to the image which can be improved through some kind of abstract will, the image seems to pop out more as a result, where the information you supply seems to only detail it more, it doesn't seem to get anymore 'there' with just information and kind of seems colorless like you said. I think to focus on the stability and 'intuness' you have to keep trying to just let the image 'be there' it may only seem to do it for 1 secound the first time, but after awhile it lasts longer, and it's more improveable, and the better you get the more 'stability' can be added, it's kind of like a snap shot of your very own memory once you get good :D. Also don't try working on stability intill your good with the visualisation information, and when you do it I recommend only trying to see simple things, like an apple, or a wall stabilize, they may only do it well for like 1 secound but keep doing it and you'll find the time increases. If you try with complex things though, it will not beable to handle it though, and it won't accure. But when you get better you can turn almost any memory into an impression.

Still I am not big about talking about my thoery of it because I think it may confuse people, and I'm still not quite sure if you have to visualise as you normaly would before you can get these impressions, as it can be very frusterating to try to see something at that high of a level when you havn't tryed using just normal imagenation it's probably best to work on that for awhile before attempting to get an impression.