Hello / First WILD Attempt

I guess I posted this in the wrong section earlier

First of all I'd like to say hello to the community.

Last night I decided to attempt my first WILD. I have been a member here for a long time but I kind of forgot about the site before receiving a "We Miss You" email.

Anyways, I logged on and read through Clarity's WILD Technique. I ended up falling asleep around 1:30 A.M. and waking up at 5:00 A.M. to attempt my first WILD.

I didn't really have access to another sleeping area so I just laid down in my bed in a position I'm not used to. I laid awake for several minutes, telling myself I was dreaming, that nothing happening was real. I attempted to do the "alphabet method" of staying awake but every time I would get to D or E, I would completely forget and my mind would start to wander.

Since this was my first time, I wasn't sure of what should happen. I started to see something; it reminded me of my eyes losing blood circulation, however with more detail and pattern. If you don't know what that looks like, simply close your eyes and apply pressure to the inner corners of your eyes.

As this happened I felt as though if I was losing consciousness of my body, but I was still awake. I failed the tests and slightly moved my leg, keeping my body awake and the patterns disappeared. This happened two, maybe three times before I fell asleep completely.

Was my method starting to work? Did I almost attain lucidity? What should I change on my next attempt? Thanks for your help and your time reading this ^.^

The community says hello too! Welcome (back) to the forum! :)

It sounds like you were very close to a WILD. The visuals you described are hypnogogic hallucinations (HI for short, also known as hypnogogic imagery), which are pre-dream hallucinations. These should end up becoming a full-fledged dream if the WILD succeeds.

Next time - don't move your leg. Wait until you are completely sure you're in the dream, otherwise your body and mind will completely wake up and the WILD will fail.

You may also want to try staying asleep longer (before getting up), which would make it harder to fall asleep completely.

Hi there, Kakase, and :welcome: back :D

Your WILD was certainly a big step into the right direction. The thinsg you saw with yoru closed eyes is called Hypnagogic Imagery (HI for short), and you experience it daily when you sleep: you're just not aware of it. HI is actually a part of the Hypnagogic Hallucinations (as Webby said), which can also consist of hearing noises/voice, falling sensations, vibrations, and many on.

I think you did actually quite well on that attempt. Losing awareness of your body is normal (and desirable in a WILD), it happens when your body "sleeps" but your mind is still awake. It's like you don't feel things you touch anymore.

You shouldn't have moved your leg - actualy that was your one sin :P But through time and practice I'm sure you'll be able to deal with it and stay still. Remember: WILD is not about forcing yourself to stand still, it's about being relaxed enough not to move.

Best of luck on your future attempts! I see you're not far from a successful WILD at this rate ;)

To both of you,
Thank you for the welcome back ^.^ and for the advice

I will try again in about 6-7 hours and see how it turns out, maybe I will be more successful. Hopefully I will be ^.^

If it turns out better than last night I'll be sure to post and update

Thanks again and Happy LD'ing

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kakase

If it turns out better than last night I'll be sure to post and update

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If you haven't started a Dream Journal here at DV, you might want to think about it. Its a great place to write down/get input on your dreams!

Well, I'm going to bed now. Good luck in 6-7 hours!

I've never been good at attempting the WILD technique, maybe I'll give it another try tonight.