The weekend tends to be my time to experiment with WILDs. Alas, we got to bed pretty late (10:45, though I didn't mind too much since we got to see a handbell choir). I woke up at 4:20 (not quite 4 cycles later - a little odd) and recorded my dream. I decided to be responsible and not try to WILD, but I did spend a few minutes reading over old dreams. Sleep didn't come easily, so I SSILD'd some and got back to sleep. When my wife's alarm went off at 6:30, I felt really groggy and didn't remember anything else.

On Saturday we got to bed just before 10. I woke up a couple of times and went right back to bed (my "water alarm" wasn't well calibrated). I finally woke up around 3:30 and decided it was time to try for a WILD. I did some relaxation exercises, put on some isotones (descending from 10.5Hz to 4.5Hz over 20 minutes), and started in on my mantra. I got some good wandering thoughts, but nothing ever became truly visual, and I never felt anything out of the ordinary. After about 45 minutes, I decided it was time to sleep for real. I did a few SSILD cycles and slept. I had my best lucid ever. I guess realizing I was in a false awakening was enough to give me that awareness boost that's usually so lacking. Finding out that my most common RC doesn't actually work was disappointing, but at least now I know. My new short-term goal is to try every RC and see how they work in my own dreams.

For my Sunday nap, I decided to try a WILD, but to try it a little differently. I've noticed that laying still seems to be a great way for me *not* to fall asleep. Since the whole point of a WILD is to fall asleep (yet retain awareness), I decided to try mimicking what I do when I'm normally falling asleep: to scratch, shift, fidget, etc. It's not that I have the urge to do these things while WILDing and have to suppress them; I can easily lay totally still for 45 minutes. But, I've noticed that I do them when falling asleep normally. I tried to focus on the sound of the air filter but to keep my normal movements. Next thing I know, nap time is over (and I have no recall; boo). That's the first time ever that I've fallen asleep while trying to WILD. I'm going to have to play with this more, to see if I can strengthen my awareness but still fall asleep.

Last night, I think I did something similar, though my memory is fuzzy and I have no written record of it. My recall was good, though.