If you are seeking help about WILD, that means you already know what Lucid Dreams are about.
WILD (Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream) is one of the hardest inductions to have success with, as well as to master. However, it certainly does have the biggest pay-off. Unlike other induction methods which give the dreamer lucidity at any point in the dream, WILD gives it at the very beginning, meaning you get full use of your dreaming abilities rather then just a segment.
First and foremost, here is a general summarization of your sleep stages and cycles:
CHART: (I cant add image links? wtf? stupid access/privileges)
img824.imageshack.us/img824/4645/sleepgraph300.jpg
Stage 1 (Transition to sleep) – Stage 1 lasts about five minutes. Eyes move slowly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down, and you are easily awakened.
Stage 2 (Light sleep) – This is the first stage of true sleep, lasting from 10 to 25 minutes. Eye movement stops, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.
Stage 3 (Deep sleep) – You’re difficult to awaken, and if you are awakened, you do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes.
Stage 4 (More intense deep sleep) – The deepest stage of sleep. Brain waves are extremely slow. Blood flow is directed away from the brain and towards the muscles, restoring physical energy.
Q: When is the best time to WILD?
A: You want to aim to WILD during a REM stage (see chart above). A popular method for doing this is by means WBTB (Wake Back To Bed). This means you go do sleep as you normally would, but you wake up generally about 4-1/2hrs into your sleep cycle to attempt a WILD. A person would wake up for about 30minutes or so, then lay back down and WILD. As your sleep continues to progress, so does the length of the REM. They usually last 15min then gradually work up to 50min or longer. Another popular time time to WILD is in the morning, or during a nap, after you have gotten your sleep for the night.
Q: How long does it take to learn to WILD?
A: It changes from person to person. There have been people who were able to WILD their first attempts and there after. ..and on the other hand, it has taken people months to successfully WILD. Personally, I did my first WILD in about 6days. The key is practice practice practice. The more you learn about WILD and sleep stages, the easier it so accomplish. The closer you get to successfully doing a WILD the easier it is to get to that stage/point again. With that said, once you do your first WILD, each one following that will be SOOOO much easier, you will also know what to do and what to expect.
Q: What should I do about; Itches, Twitching, and the Urge To Move?
A: These are all signs of your body giving you "tests" to see if you are still awake. Since your mind and your body dont have any one means of communicating with each other, they go off of actions.
Pretend you have no idea what Lucid Dreaming, Sleep Cycles, or Sleep Paralysis is. Imagine you get home from work or school one day and lay on your bed. You are wide awake yet tired. Five minutes later your entire body goes numb, you can move, cant talk, cant twitch. Nothing. - [For those who have experienced SP without knowing what it is, it is the most frightening thing ever. Something between your mind and body went wrong. You have no more control. How can you call for help? How will people know you are actually awake and alive? What are you going to do?]
To prevent unwanted paralyzing, shock, and panic, your body keeps doing a series of "tests". These involve; twitching, the urge to scratch an itch, and the urge to move part of your body and/or roll-over. By reacting to these signals or tests, you tell your body that you(your mind) are still awake. - Here is an example:
01: Body does a test by means of an itch.
02: You scratch.
03: Body knows you(your mind) is still awake and resets to Stage-1
04. Body does a test by means of another itch.
05: You DONT scratch.
06: Body isnt sure if you are awake or asleep.
07: Body does a test by means of an urge to cross your feet, or roll over.
08: You move your hand onto your stomach.
09: Body knows you(your mind) is still awake and resets to Stage-1
10: Body does a test by means of an urge to cross your feet, or roll over.
11: You ignore the urge and remain still.
12: Body is convinced you(your mind) is asleep and moves to the next stages.
These "tests" can become many, or just a few. They can vary greatly on frequency and intensity. The key is to ignore them as best as you can, and remain perfectly still. - A trick that helps is to start counting, see how long this test lasts, outplay it in a sense.
Q: I sometimes hear sounds, how come?
A: There are two(2) different groups of sounds you will hear. The first are a type are "test" sounds your body will do. They are meant make you jump, make you look, startle you. They are supposed to get your attention, and like the other tests, signal to your body that you are awake. The second group are sounds that your body produce to "configure" you internal sfx. To prepare your dream noises, make sure frequencies are tuned, in a manner of sense.
Hearing the sounds is completely normal. At times you may hear just a simple thump in what seems to be the the corner of you room, or what many people say as "the house is just settling". Other times you may experience the most intense distinct sounds. Maybe the sound of a penny dropping on a table, wind passing through a tunnel, twisting of metal, birds chirping, ringing of bells, whispers, etc.
Remember, it is ALL inside your head. You are 100% safe! I say this because at night, it is extremely easy to get startled and scared when you starting hearing things. Just try not to pay attention to them. Learn to expect them. When they come, you may feel frightened for a few moments, but the feeling will soon pass, as-well will the sounds. - Soon enough whenever you attempt to WILD, you wont even give attention to them, you will automatically know what they are, know whats going on, all without giving a second thought at them. ...Try not to move, or get worked up (heart/breathing included).
Q: Is it okay for me to swallow or move my tongue?
A: Yes! Between Stages 1-3 you will begin to stop giving attention to your body as it is becoming more and more relaxed. This makes your mind put attention elsewhere, to the areas you still have direct control over (eg. Your mouth, tongue, spit, jaw, and head). Again, YES it is okay to swallow. As you get deeper into Stage-3 and closer to Stage-4, your mouth will begin to get dry, and you will lose that urge. Just try not to move your head or body when swallowing.
Q: How long does it take to reach Sleep Paralysis?
A: First, you must become familiar with the different stages of sleep (See chart). Sleep Paralysis occurs during Stage-4. Stage-4 occurs when you mind reaches a low enough frequency, which happens when there is either no activity, or you are on the borderline of falling asleep. If one knows what to do, reaching Stage-4 usually takes about 15min.
Q: I've been laying down for 30+min, I'm in SP, but nothing is happening, why?
A: Okay, Stage-3 and Stage-4 are VERY similar. Stage-3 gives the illusion of Sleep Paralysis(SP), but is actually very different. MANY people mistake these feelings/stages. At Stage-3 you will feel extreme heaviness, numbness, loss of limbs or location. An easy way to test whether or not you are in SP: see if you are able to wiggle your finger or your toe, try wiggling your jaw. If you had to, would you be able to quickly get up and run if your room caught fire? If Yes to any of those questions, you are NOT in Sleep Paralysis.
Q: I am in Stage-3. How do I get into Stage-4 + Sleep Paralysis
A: A HUGE misunderstanding with the WILD technique is on the topic of staying awake and alert. In order to reach Stage-4 and SP, you have to actually begin to make your mind go to sleep. You do not want to remain as awake alert as you can, that is a common mistake.
Once you are positive you are in Stage-3, and have been there for a minute or two, get your mind as awake and alert as possible. Do some of most complex math problems you can (these will get your logic part of your mind active). Recite the lyrics of a song. Make a challenge. The goal is to feel as wide awake as possible.
Now, start your simple counting+breathing routine. Start at 1. With each inhale and exhale you make, increase your number by one. Do this for about a minute. Let it become second nature to you. Once you have a good rhythm, slowly let yourself fall asleep. This is the most delicate part of the WILD process. Once you become paralyzed it is important to stay focused, while having a clear and logical mind, AND not getting to excited.
You want to be on the brink of unconsciousness. (The feeling you are at when you are sitting in a dark room at 4am watching the TV. You are memorized. Not a thought or idea in your head. A zombie.)
If you have done all of this correctly, you will begin to see images, slide shows, movies, or you might be right in the center of the dream. You will soon hear sounds or voices. You "view" will move from dark and fuzzy to bright and panorama. - When your subconscious has had enough time to render your dream, it will be 3D and life-like. Now is when you wake your mind up. (Doing so to early will cause you to return to Stage-3)
Q: My body and/or limbs are getting hot. How come?
A: As you reach the deeper stages, your body begins to make changes. Your breathing, heart-rate and blood-flow will all be affected. As blood begins to move from different parts of your body with a change of o2 levels from your breathing, it will affect your core temperature... Generally, this only lasts a very short period of time, unless you have been between Stages-3and4 for an excess period with no progress.
Q: What are some things I will notice as I progress through the stages?
A: Here is a general idea:
Stage-1: You will begin to feel very slightly relaxed. [Body tests will occur]
Stage-2: You will notice a change in heart-rate and breathing. [Body tests will occur]
Stage-3: Here is where you will feel the most changes. You will hear small or loud noises even voices, feel little sensations or your skin and body. Your body will be extremely heavy or dead. You may feel nothing(numbness) or not quite be sure where your limbs are or how they are positioned.
Stage-4: A rapid change of heart-beat and breathing. Both will become apparent. Your body will fade out, you will have no motor control over your body. You may not even feel your body or know where it is. You will be paralyzed. You will feel as if you live inside your mind.
Q: Somewhere between Stages-3and4 I get adrenaline rushes and muscle contractions.
A: This is usually caused by you not being completely relaxed, or being startled. This is a HUGE problem with people who WILD. Sometimes they will hear a noise, get alarmed, and their body will give an adrenaline rush. You may also feel like someone or something is in the room with you. All this will cause you to become tense, and your breathing and heart-rate to change. This will signal that you are actually awake, and will reset your progress/stages.
Q: How can I get out of Sleep Paralysis or a Dream?
A: There are many methods to do so. The one I have found to be most effective is to simply hold your breath as long as your possibly can. You may have to do it a few times. When your body recognizes a drastic change in breathing, it will wake you up as a means to "investigate" the problem. You will now have full motor control and be completely out of the dream. Awake.
Q: How real is a Lucid Dream?
A: If you have a good level of lucidity and vividness, it will be intense. Your dream world and view will have a higher "resolution" and more "pixels per inch" then the real world. Everything will be much brighter, sharper, crisp. Colors, schemes, tones, shades, and brightness have a much greater scale then the real world.
Q: How easy/hard is it to remember Lucid Dreams?
A: The term Lucid basically means being fully aware, and conscious. as-well as conscious that you are dreaming. You will have 100% unaffected memory, as if it were happening for real, or in real life. Let me ask you this. Do you remember what you did an hour ago? For the most part can you go into detal about your suroundings and event, things that were discussed, etc? That is how much memory you will have about lucid dream.
