Best WILD FAIL Ever, LOL

This might get confusing... I'll color coordinate a more streamlined version on my blog, but for now, I want people's opinions on what happened and what I can do better next time, etc.

I took my Melatonin (3mg) and B-Complex 100 at around 11:30pm, went to bed at around 12:00am, and woke up at about 4:30am. Took Mugwort, ate a chocolate bar, took Galantamine (4mg), Ginkgo Biloba, and a new treat, Acetyl-L-Carnitine (400mg) with Lipoic Acid (200mg), and went into my "Sleep Chamber" (ie. The Closet) to attempt a WILD.

I listened to a 10 minute Isochronic Tone (Alpha 10Hz) Ambient MP3 to get relaxed, and the Lucid Spike IsoTone MP3 which doesn't start playing for 15 minutes or so, and I'm uncertain how long it lasts (40 minutes?).

After the ambient track, I felt the fuzzy/numbness, but I was by NO means in SP (I'm beginning to think I can't induce this state). All was quiet, as I had my ears plugged with the headphones over top. I started with the silly thoughts, "These are the doldrums, crew! Focus on the lights...," but none really seemed to come. I waited and waited. I never moved (this time didn't even swallow or cough after I got comfortable).

I started to drift just as the Lucid Spike MP3 came on, but I hadn't seen anything or heard anything (that I was aware of). The tones lulled me back to semi-alert, heart-rate and breathing always jumps when something jolts me (whether vibrations, sounds, etc.), but I've been real good about NOT moving a muscle.

The lights come when I get these little jolts, but weren't very impressive. I didn't really have much of an anchor. I think I screwed up by using a MILD mantra, "I'm going to dream lucid, I'm going to dream lucid." And suddenly, my imagination is having a conversation for a second with a co-worker, but it's not a dream, it's active imagination. It's IN my head, not before my EYES. Back to the dark. Then I'm imagining lifting a flowing sheet and letting it fall slowly down, as it does it's creating a vibration sound. Back to the dark. Then I'm out. I hear or imagine a kid crying, and I'm annoyed. "How am I going to concentrate with that racket?" I'm sitting in a McDonalds, and I imagine walking over to this kid, who's mother is doing nothing to shut it up, and slapping it in the back of the head.

I'm eating my cheeseburger, and the radio is playing Bon Jovi's "Who Says You Can't Go Home". I guess my mind figured that was something bland they'd play at McDonalds. Soon back to blackness. I have a FALSE AWAKENING that I'm in the closet. I've somehow gotten entangled in my wife's lingerie that was hanging up, my arm's intertwined in the spaghetti-straps. The clothes hanger it's attached to is PLAYING MUSIC, and it's Green Day's "Basketcase" to boot!

"Sometimes I give myself the creeps, sometimes my mind plays tricks on me!"

I turn the switch off on the hanger that's playing music. "Darn it, I fell asleep!", I think to myself, not realizing I'm dreaming, just mad because I thought I woke up and missed the WILD. I don't question why I can see in the dark closet. I return to concentrating on the WILD. I have Royksopp's "Remind Me" in my head, in what mostly sounds like the left side of my "ears". I suddenly goes silent like someone turned off the power. I feel several "blasts" of vibration and lights. It's like I'm going into hyperspace. They'd start, stop, start, stop.

Finally, blackness.

Then a light, seemingly too bright to be hypnagogic imagery. Slowly, I open my eyes. The closet's dark this time, except on the door, partially projecting onto my feet which are up against the door, is a technicolor 1950's film I'm unfamiliar with. Just a 12" x 12" movie projection in my sleep chamber. I got so excited! "I did it, I crossed over! I'm dreaming!"

And at that, my alarm went off... IN ANOTHER FALSE AWAKENING! I shut off my alarm. "Darn it!", I thought. "I had JUST done it!"

I walked out of the closet, and it was a little too bright out to be 7:50am, but I didn't think about it. My wife was already up and the bed made. This freaked me out, because she didn't go into work until 2:00pm. "Honey? Um... honey?" I couldn't find her at first, but then walked towards the bathroom, as I could hear her doing her hair.

And AGAIN I wake up. For real this time, and I can tell (reality has that heaviness, that when it's missing in a dream you don't question for some reason). OMG! How many awakenings within awakenings, dreams within dreams was that?! What should I try next time? What do the more experienced WILDers suggest? It was a crazy experience, but I think I FAILED COLOSSALLY, rofl.


~oneironeer

PS: Should I count that brief "movie projection" moment as a Lucid Dream? Or too short? What do you think?

wow im all for a bit of supplement use, and have had good results from mugwort, which i love because it grows absolutely everywhere, but don't you think you are going a little over the top there? a little more faith in your own ability may go a long way but each to their own :)

cheers for the story, false awakenings really suck/are awesome arent they :D rc rc rc etc. only you can classify it but it does sound like a little lucid, good effort

No, you're probably right. See, I was all natural at first, just using a DJ and some Apple Juice, and a quick Day Journal highlights before bed, and that worked for a little, but I grew impatient when I got sick for two weeks straight and wasn't hardly remembering my dreams (or having the will/desire to get up and record them when their quality was so poor). So, I'd try this, get the initial placebo effect at best, then nothing, and I'd add that and get nothing. The Acetyl-Acid has surprised me the most. The Galantamine hasn't had a chance, and I'm cutting all of it out for probably a week and removing the mugwort (the extract I got just doesn't seem to really do much), and giving the heavy hitters time to leave my system (the Acetyl and Galantamine).

I've GOT to set an alarm to remind myself to RC thru out the day, cause I'm not always given a strange event or reminder to do it on my own. You're right, and it's a little upsetting, but out of 6 Lucids, only 1 came from an RC, so I take them for granted. Thanks for the advice!

Funny that the basket case song was playing since the beginning of the lyrics sort of describe a FA...

Yeah, I later that day had it in my head, "I went to a shrink, to analyze my dreams...," my dreams LOVE to mock me.