Me saying hi, and a question about WILDs

[Remoh]

Well hi everyone! I have read about lucid dreaming before and thought that it was something only a few people could do, and they didn't actually teach themselves to do it, it happened just randomly. After finding this site I am a lot more confident that I could have a LD myself. Ive read through a couple guides and will try the different techniques to see how I do. After reading over some guides I have a question about WILDs. In one guide it said that you lay there and try to focus on something other than having an LD (ie- your breathing). Then I've also read that people will lay in bed and imagine a scene, and after a little while they will actually be there. I'm not sure if im understanding it all yet, and I know there are different things that work for different people... but when you first started doing WILDs did any of you find that thinking about LDing will mess things up? Thanks in advanced, and I hope to someday have my own LD! Edit- I forgot another question I had. I have tried searching on it but couldn't really find something answering my question. It's about SP while trying to WILD. I am pretty sure I have started to enter SP before, like my legs were tingly + I couldn't move them and it started to crawl up them until I shook my legs with my hand to get them to come back. If I just let the feeling crawl up my body is that SP? From what I have read you wake up from a normal dream, enter SP, and then try to WILD? I have heard some weird things about sleep paralysis and am not sure If I want to try and make myself go into it.

[C911]

Hey welcome to DV! Yeah, i have heard that thinking about LD will actually make you not have one. When i WILD, all i do is imagine a scene and pretend im there doing something. Normally i am pedalling a bike, and then after a while i am shipped to that scene. There are many great tutorials on here and many people to answer your questions. Have fun and make it a long stay at DV!

[Remoh]

Well I had an attempt at a WILD last night, here's what happened. I went to bed around 12 and woke up on my own at 4:55 (my alarm was set for 5 anyways). I got up for like 7 minutes and then laid back down on my back. I tried to focus on my breathing and keeping my mind clear. I felt the lightness of starting to drift off into sleep, and i told myself to stay awake. I had read in another thread that the person imagined sand bags tied to his feet and hands to counteract the lightness feeling. I tried really had to do this but it didn't exactly work. I felt the lightness go away and I just laid there for another few minutes. Again, here comes the feeling of drifting off into sleep. I just thought to myself, "ok, stay awake stay awake". Then the feeling went away again. I guess I'm putting too much thought into it and trying too hard to stay awake that I never went to sleep. I eventually fell asleep because I had to get up for school in an hour and a half. Should I just let my body go with the feeling of getting lighter while trying to keep my mind awake? Does this lead to SP or some sort of vibrations / noises?

[Fly_by_Night]

Small useful tip from Erin Pavlinga blog: Gently leave your eyes open; let them close as you fall asleep; then open them; let them close on their own again; then open them again, etc. etc. Everytime you do it's like you bring some of your awareness back into the sleep stae.

[Robot_Butler]

I use reverse blinking, which sounds similar. As I am counting my breaths with my eyes closed, I will blink my eyes open quickly as I exhale. I do this when I have trouble falling asleep, or when my mind is racing. I agree, it totally clears your mind of thoughts, and keeps a part of you aware.

[Remoh]

Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I read through the tutorial linked, and i'll try the 61 point relaxation method. I will most likely try the blinking method too. This community is so helpful!

[mongreloctopus]

heres how i do it: http://dreamviews.com/community/showthread.php?t=59810

[shrimpster]

I know SP may seem scary but it'll probably become rather exhilarating. I'm yet to WILD but from what I've heard the usual things that will happen are(in order): Light sleepy feeling(what you got to,) Sleep paralysis(loss of the ability to move body parts,if you want to get out of this try moving your toes or fingers as sleep paralysis works from biggest muscles to smallest) Hypnogogic Imagery( It'll start off as random colors flashing underneath your eyelids and may eventually become actual images then finally a dreamscape, also sound MAY accompany this) Also just to add to the Hypnogogic imagery you may feel a presence like someone else is in the room with you, also lastly you may feel some rather odd physical effects like feeling like your being spun around...don't fear this can't do you any physical harm and you may actually grow to enjoy it in time Anyways your doing pretty well, just concentrate on one thing that ISN'T LUCID DREAMING!@##@!@ Anyways try doing some maths problems, on my first attempt at WILDing I used maths problems to keep me mentally awake and i had some pretty thrilling Hypnogogic Imagery. Anyways hope my mindless banter has helped you in some way.

[Robot_Butler]

You need to let yourself fall alseep without losing consciousness. This means you will actually fall asleep. Think of it in three steps. 1) Relax your body to an insane degree. Lots of people skip this, but its real important 2) Keep your brain active with some sort of task while you wait for your next REM period to begin. 3) Visualize yourself in a dream so you can detatch your consciousness from your body. Its all about finding triks that work for you at each stage. You need a good relaxation technique, a good technique to keep your brain active, and a good dream entry technique. If you try a couple people's tutorials, you should find a few tricks that work for you. It sounds like your WBTB was not quite long enough. If you were struggling to stay awake, you need to extend your WBTB time. Make sure you turn a light on, and do something like easy math problems or reading about lucid dreaming. You should not be groggy, but you should be tired.

[Toledous]

WILD is usually the hardest tech for some people to adapt, but for me it is relatively simple for some reason. The tutorials on this site are a useful stepping stone to getting where you want on your journey to LD'ing. But when I WILD, I just lay there and listen to the sound of my breaths. Next thing I know my body is tingling and starting to go numb with loud noises in my ear then I "wake up" inside a Lucid Dream. Oddly my LD's start with me in bed and im always tired, I need to learn how to "wake up" and gain stability before I play around more.