Introductions and questions.

Hello, I'm Kamus, and I just registered in this website.

It has come to my attention during some of my research about lucid dreaming, and I decided to give it a try. Although I've never wandered in the actual trying, I always try to find more about it, for it seems incredibly useful.

Now, introductions made, I have a question. Today was my first try into a WILD, I tried it once, before sleeping, and in the afternoon nap. Just laying there, motionless in the bed, mind wandering into several different thought processes. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or even more, I don't know, was the time I spent, trying to achieve what others do so effortlessly. It was disappointing, in a way, but such is every experiment that does not goes well in the first try.
I was not discouraged.
I've decided to try and ask, here, some thoughts that wandered my mind while I was laying there.
First one: Is there an actual need of trying the WILD in the 4 or 5 hours after sleep, and if yes, why?
Second one: Do I need to control my thoughts as well as my body? For I find that to be rather difficult.
Third one: From my research, I've separated WILDs and DILDs in two different subsections of the major one, Lucid Dreaming. The question is: Is there an actual need of the Dream Journal for a WILD? From where I stand, a WILD seems to be the most easily remembered, since it begins in an actual state of mental control and lucidity. I could be wrong, such is the need for the question answered.
Thank you for your time.

1) It's not needed. Nobody even knows you can do that kind of thing until they read about it. :| If you worded that wrong, please ask it again in a different wording.

2) I say yes, some others say no. I think you should try to keep your mind as clear as possible because you're trying to get your mind to fall asleep, right? So, if you try to keep it as clear as possible, you will be reducing the amount of activity in your brain, allowing it to fall asleep. It can also be used as an anchor for consciousness, so that way you don't lose it and fall asleep normally.

3) It's your choice, but it isn't necessarily needed. It helps you keep them in your head longer, though. :)

:welcome: Welcome to DV, and I hope I helped!

Thank you for your answers, Snowboy, you did help.
Although you did not quite understand the first question, I may have worded it a bit weird, it seems.
Let me try again.
First First Question: When trying to achieve a WILD, is it necessary for me to try it after 4 or 5 hours of sleep? If so, why?
I never really understood the advice about the hours. Maybe it has something to do with the REM period, or how I've already achieved every other step in my sleep process, but I really want to be sure on this one. Thanks again.

No, you don't have to. You can attempt to find your longest REM period for a WILD to enter directly into by doing this.

1) Note what times you wake up in the middle of the night and if you had just awoken from a dream.

2) Find the closest one to 5:30 where you had woken up from the end of a dream or the middle of it.

3) Set an alarm for 10 minutes before the time if you had woken up in the middle of a dream, or 30 minutes if you had woken up from the end of a dream.

4) Adjust it until you find the approximate beginning time of the longest REM cycle.

5) Set the alarm for 5 minutes after it, then attempt to WILD when it goes off.

You should land immediately in the dream since you are already in it, so you might skip SP and HH (for the most part).

Anyway, that's something I developed for a technique I was making. Never really took off. :| I hope I answered your question!

Thanks again for the answers, however, I do have more questions.
I'm what one might consider a "Heavy sleeper". I seldom wake up in the night, and if allowed, I will sleep through a range of 8 to 12 hours nonstop. The only times I woke up in the middle of the night were those when I was having one a very real nightmare -as mine always seems to be-, or from sheer heat alone. Now that I think, I don't remember any of those "less-vivid" dreams some guides always talked about. Maybe they were just less remarkable than others.
Also, on Dream Recall, is it normal to remember just some dreams, even the non-important ones, and forget others? Sometimes I feel like I've forgotten the most epic dreams I've ever had, being left with the "normal" ones. (Normal for me,anyway, which may be at least a little bit crazy for you.)
On to the questions. Should I try to wake myself up in the middle of the night from now on, and if yes, how can I recognize my REM periods while doing it in a unnatural way?
Tonight I will try the WILD again, and I will begin a DJ tomorrow, hopefully. Hope that helps.
Thanks again.

On the dream recall question: yes, it is normal, but the dreams you usually remember are remembered randomly. You don't have much choice with what you do or do not remember. Unfortunately, the longer the dream is, the harder it will be to remember it, so that's why your epic dreams are so difficult to remember. Don't worry, it happens to almost everybody.

Second question: Well, I think you will just have to guess some times, set an alarm for them, and follow the same steps I provided. I would recommend setting an alarm for 6:00, 5:45, 5:30, and 6:15; obviously you shouldn't do all of these at the same time. With those times you should find your longest REM period. If not, then try some other times you come up with yourself.