what was this?

[chico2316]

so I'm pretty sure that I have been experiencing WILD-ish type things lately. Basically I cant ever WILD when i want to, but lately I think it has been happening to be non-voluntarily. For instance, I fell asleep uncomfortably on my friends sofa so I was waking up every once in a while. I got sleep paralysis one of the times I woke up and started to have one of those hallucination things where I hear screeching/screaming noises. This is a problem because when I dont intend to have a WILD this totally freaks me out and i usually jump up awake. But this time I kind of went with it and eventually an image started to form of a beach but only half of it formed and then it faded away and i went to sleep. Since all of this happened when I wasn't meaning it to I didnt have much control because I didn't know what was going on. This happens to me a lot like randomly when I am trying to fall asleep at night, every time I close my eyes I start to get sleep paralysis and hear the screaming noises but because i am so tired and confused I don't do anything with it. last night when this happened I think I had a false awakening because the numbers on my clock kept moving, but because i didn't know what was going on it faded away and i fell asleep. Why do you think this happens and how would you suggest me gaining better control of it?

[spockman]

Hi Chico! I don't think I need to introduce myself as I have seen you before. Okay. To answer your question. This isn't exactly a WILD. It is called hypnogagic hallucinations. The reason it is not really a WILD is because a WILD is when you go to sleep without a lapse in concioussness and then enter a dream. Effectively what this means is, I could be thinking of counting sheep and my body would drift to unconcioussness somewhere around 234 but my train of thought would be uninterupted. I would continue to count sheep at the same rate. See what I am saying? So, WILD has more to do with how you fall asleep. Inversely, hynogagic hallucinations generally have to do with how you wake up and are accompanied by feelings of paralysis. (SP) Why does it happen involuntarily? Probably because your body makes too much seratonin. If it really bothers you and happens frequently you may want to see a Dr. because you most likely can't prevent it from happening. You could use SP as a gateway to enter a WILD, I would imagine. So you might approach the SP with a scientific curiousity rather than get rid of it. But as it stands these aren't exactly Wake Induced Lucid Dreams. Hope I helped. ~Spockman

[sloth]

Everything you say is true, Spockman, but I disagree about Chico not having WILD-like experiences, which is the claim that he has made. Hearing screaming is a hypnogogic experience, and sleep paralysis is another thing as well. However if he is seeing entire scenes develop before him, then he is entering an actual dream. Something is keeping him from completing them. I recommend that you try WBTB. If you can stay aware when you see a scene being painted before you, stay calm and let it develop on its own. Even though it may be getting cut short, these are definately the beginnings of WILDs.

[spockman]

I'd have to say you are right, Sloth. Yeah. I still don't think that you've entered a full WILD, but you have at least seen the beginings of one. I'm not sure if the beach scene was a WILD at all, though. Because it occured at awakening, so I'm willing to bet it was advanced hypnogagia and was non-interactive. But you are probably right with this... This happens to me a lot like randomly when I am trying to fall asleep at night, every time I close my eyes I start to get sleep paralysis and hear the screaming noises but because i am so tired and confused I don't do anything with it. being the beginings of a WILD since it's when chico was falling asleep. And your last example, chico, I think might have just been a particularly memorable or vivid normal dream since you weren't lucid. How often do you DILD or MILD, chico? I'd say a WILD is going to be hard for most people to get and stabalize if they haven't had good experience with other lucids. Not to say that you haven't, just wondering if you have. {WakeBacktoBeds are a good idea...}

[chico2316]

well I've never actually had a WILD or Lucid Dream...but im working on it! the last example with the clock might have been the beginnings of me being lucid because me looking at the clock to see if the numbers were moving was a conscious decision because i was doing a reality check sort of thing, but then it faded out. But yeah, the problem is that for me it is so hard for me to stick with what is going on instead of jumping right out of it when it surprises me.