n00b seeks assistance...

Hey everyone. I've been looking over posts on this site for a few days and decided it was about time that I set up an account. Just so you know, I've had five lucid dreams that I remember, and for the last few days I've been working on having a WILD.
After looking over previous posts, I haven't been able to figure out how close I've been coming to having a WILD. The last three days, I've laid down, closed my eyes, and breathed deeply for a while. After a few minutes I suddenly feel a wave of warmth and a tingling sensation pass over my body. My body starts to feel numb, but I can still move if I need to. It doesn't seem like it's sleep paralysis, but its certainly an unfamiliar feeling. I'll lay there relaxing even deeper and trying to focus on any images going through my mind, but it seems like they don't keep getting more vivid. Sometimes I get this weird feeling as if my focus is moving back into my head. Its sort of like being in a very dark room with your eyes wide open. :shock:
But it only lasts for a minute or two before my focus shifts back to normal. I'll generally maintain my focus really well even though I'm relaxed, but it just seems as if the HI doesn't get a whole lot better than if I were just visualizing these things while completely awake. I'll wait for as long as an hour and a half or so, and nothing really happens so I give up.
I guess my question is whether anyone thinks I'm getting close to having a WILD and, if so, what I might be able to do to get more convincing imagery and actually be able to enter a dream. In the past I've never had trouble with getting good HI, but then again, I wasn't trying to have a WILD. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing your wisdom :bowdown:

I hope I get to know you all soon.

Welcome!!!

I wish I could help you with the WILD, but it seems that everything I do in my sleep I do by accident, I even did MILD twice before I even knew it was a MILD. I'm getting good at it, and I almost have total control in my dreams, still needs some fine tuning though. Right now WILD is incredibly hard for me. Just like a WILD I did it a few times before I even knew it was WILD. Now that I'm actually trying it's hard. :(

Yeah, welcome to dream views...pull up a chair and grab a beer.

Light Bearer,

Yes, it does sound like you are at least CLOSE to progressing into a WILD. The tingling sensations are a tell-tale sign. And don't worry about the fact that you can still move during this period; I've had literally hundreds of WILD's, and I can always still move in my bed or even cancel the whole thing by opening my eyes. The paralysis doesn't happen to me until a little later (the part that you aren't getting to, for some reason). Do you hear any noises while this is happening to you? If you do, you are definitely on the right track.
If you have the will and the time to try the following, it will maximize your chances for WILDing, or at least a regular lucid dream:

If you have the weekends off, stay up all night Friday night; don't go to sleep at all. Stay awake all of Saturday and then when you go bed on Saturday night, set your alarm for 1 or 2 am (assuming your're not still out partying at that time! :D ). Your mind, having been starved of REM sleep for a full day, will go to REM a lot sooner (perhaps right away when you go to bed) than normal, and you'll be in REM for longer periods during the night. When you first lay down, just do what you've been doing - relaxed breathing etc, but since you'll be physically and mentally exhausted, you must be VERY careful to not lose consciousness. Most likely, you'll either a) fall asleep quickly and lose consciousness, or B) will quickly go into a WILD. The point here is that whatever happens, it will happen FAST. Just try hard to stay alert while your eyes are closed.

The reason you set your alarm for a few hours later, is to give yourself another chance, in case you don't score a WILD the first time around, or to go back for a second helping if it did work. Wake up and read for a half-hour when your alarm goes off. Again, set it for a couple hours later, turn the light off, go to bed and repeat the process.

This is a somewhat grueling method, and requires a lot of effort and forethought, but I really believe it maximizes your chances! And hey, if it doesn't work, don't beat yourself up about it; try it again the next weekend. It's tough to learn to tap into your brain this way, and it can take time. Sorry this message went on for so long. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me. Good luck! :okbyenow:

Wow, that seems like it is a really good idea, although staying up that long is a very difficult task. If you have the possiblility and the desire to WILD then it does seem like it would work real well. I'll see if I can try it myself sometime.

Anyway I generally am able to WILD just by getting up after 6 hours sleep and staying up for half an hour. When I am getting the HI I just try to get carried away by them, which generally furthers my sleep paralysis, but keep repeating to myself "I am awake" or "I am aware", just so I won't loose consciousness. Try that out and see if it works for you...

I think I'll skip sleeping tonight so I can try that tomorrow.

When you focus on the hypnagogic imagery, does it gradually get more vivid? It seems like when I start out, the imagery isn't very strong. It gradually morphs into scenes and things like that, and I usually become a part of what's going on in those scenes. But it's as if I maintain awareness of my body and can't quite shift over to the dream world. The other thing is, how realistic should the imagery be? I've never been very great at visualizing, so I'm not used to seeing realistic scenes in my mind. Should I expect the imagery to be quite realistic when I get close to dreaming? It seems like I start hearing some sounds after a while, but they generally aren't very loud and I can definitely tell that they aren't "real."

I'm going to keep trying until I figure this out. By the way, thanks a lot to all the people who reply. It's great to have some knowledgeable people to talk to. :biggrin:

Welcome to the forum Light Bearer! :)

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Originally posted by Light Bearer
I think I'll skip sleeping tonight so I can try that tomorrow

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:shock: Skip sleeping?

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Originally posted by Aphius+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Aphius)</div>

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Welcome to the forum Light Bearer! :)

<!--QuoteBegin-Light Bearer

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I think I'll skip sleeping tonight so I can try that tomorrow

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:shock: Skip sleeping?[/b]

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NO!!! Why would anyone do this?! :P

Didn't you read Tjhands post???

By the way LC, that seems like my kind of pink bunny....

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Originally posted by Truthbearer
Didn't you read Tjhands post???

By the way LC, that seems like my kind of pink bunny....

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Fuck you, thats my girlfriend.

I already PM'd you about it, but I meant it as a compliment

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Originally posted by Truthbearer
I already PM'd you about it, but I meant it as a compliment

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I know man, thanks! :goodjob2:

WILD is pretty damn hard... I tried it again this morning after having about 4 hours of sleep, but it didnt work, and I recognize the "focus shifting" feeling you get...

At some point I fell asleep but I woke up a while after, but I was still half in a dream or something, I felt the sleep paralisis but I was still trying to do stuff in my dream, which I dont remember now... so I sort of wiggled myself awake, trying to escape the paralysis. Argh, I wasnt lucid :(