WBTB help please!

**Talgoran** · 07-18-2010 07:26 PM

Hey, been lurking this site a long time and reading guides and such. But I've finally reached the last straw in my attempts, and decided to post here for some assistance from the masters.

Now then, I'm interested in the WILD / WBTB method. I've been really trying for a a couple of months with almost ZERO success. I've been keeping a .txt journal of my attempts, and it's pretty deflating to read.

All the entries are "lost count, fell asleep" pretty much.
So my problem is this. I cannot reach sleep paralysis consistently! I've tried WBTB about 5 times. Every freaking time, no matter how long I sleep before I wake up or how long I stay up before hitting the sack again, I lose count and drift off. (I do the technique where I don't move at all, slowly breathe in and out and say "One, I'm dreaming, etc.") I've tried waking up after 5 hours, 5.5 hours, 6. I've tried staying up for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes. Each time I begin counting, I find myself after a few minutes to be losing count more and more often, and then I'm gone. My body is just fighting a losing battle to keep concentration when I'm so tired in the middle of the night.
I've managed to reach SP a couple of times, fortunately. It's pretty much the only thing that prevents me from giving up.

Each time, this was just a WILD attempt at the time I normally go to bed. Not WBTB. Each time, I pulled it off when I was exhausted. Looking back though, I don't know how I did it. I can't do it anymore, even when really tired. My concentration just slips. I've tried so many times. Almost every night, regardless of the LDing part, I just try and practice getting to SP. But nothing comes of it.
Some facts you should know...
I've been keeping a dream journal for the last few years, and have written down dreams for about 540 nights. I've had one lucid dream a long time ago that ended immediately from excitement. I've read pretty much every WILD guide on this site.

Please, share with me any advice you have for this technique! What am I doing wrong/right? Should I try WBTB after staying up longer? Are there any good ways to practice getting to SP?

**Raspberry** · 07-18-2010 07:30 PM

It's gonna be pretty hard to WILD if you've never had a (decent) LD before. Maybe you should focus on DILDing first

**Rathez** · 07-21-2010 05:13 PM

WILD is quite difficult if you are not used to being in a trance state. It is a very thin line between consciousness and sleep, which takes practice to maintain.

I've been advised by the 'masters' that meditation is a good way to practice this trance state. You could give that a try?

**SteadyState** · 07-21-2010 05:17 PM

Yeah, work on getting a solid DILD before you try WILDing.

Also, try meditating a lot (10 - 20 minutes every day). That will help you get used to putting yourself in a trance and relaxing yourself. It sounds like your main problem is you're not able to reach trance/SP easily, so the meditation will definitely help.

**Talgoran** · 07-22-2010 12:29 AM

Hmm...I always thought I would start with WILD, since it seems easier than RCing in my dreams. Alright I guess I was mistaken. I'll work on the meditation or DILD technique then. Thanks!

**Cairus** · 07-22-2010 02:02 PM

Hey. My first LD was the result of trying the WILD technique. Thing is, like a poster above mentioned, you may want to get into the habit of doing RC's anyways, because WILDs are notorious for false awakenings. Several times I've WILD'ed and 'woken up in my own bed' (dream), and only an RC at that point will reveal that I haven't actually woken up. Some people like to reserve WILDing for naps- since you've been putting a lot of effort into different time setups, could be worthwhile to give it a go. From the sound of it, some of your trouble is coming from being too tired, and just falling completely asleep. Try making sure you're totally rested up, 'not tired', and then sometime during the day, maybe the afternoon, go somewhere other than your bed(maybe the sofa) to 'take a nap', and begin your WILD attempt there. If you aren't tired, you could be less likely to 'lose it'.

Don't worry too much about keeping exact count, either.

The goal isn't to get to 452, but just to have a tether that helps you remain somewhat focused. Hell, you could probably be repeating something like 'blue macaroni' over and over and it would serve just about the same function.

**brettWp** · 07-25-2010 06:09 AM

A lot of people have WILD'ed and gotten their first LD. It might be the technique.

I ALWAYS fall asleep WILDing. What I started doing is using a Lucidology timer to wake me up after my WBTB. I'll get up and stay awake for 20 minutes, then start the timer. The timer wakes me up at 10-20 minute intervals with a beep and shuts off automatically. In between these intervals I get lucid dreams, and have even heard the timer go off while still dreaming.