So last night I attempted my first WILD. I slept for about 5 hours, got up for around 30 minutes, and then went back to bed. I was having a lot of trouble relaxing and slipping into a dream because my throat kept clenching involuntarily so after about an hour of counting without moving a muscle or experiencing anything strange, I gave up, did a quick reality check (negative of course), and just went back to sleep the normal way. I thought I would simply resume the normal REM cycle, but actually ended up dreaming (non-lucid to begin with) and getting trapped in a cycle of false awakenings. That is, I kept waking up in my bed, getting up and doing something, and then waking up in my bed again to do something else. I counted a total of six false awakenings (a dream in a dream in a dream in a dream in a dream in a dream?).

As my dreams progressed they became increasingly uncomfortable. Around the fourth dream I realized I was dreaming and entered a lucid state. However, as soon as this occurred I woke up in my bed again and I was unable to control any aspect of the dream, as my vision was spinning and my control over my own body extremely disjointed. By the time I reached the last dream, the subject of the dream was so disturbing that I was trapped and killed before waking up in what I believe to be reality.

I'm kind of scared to attempt this again, but I probably will anyway. I was thinking about what I did wrong during the WILD that made everything completely screw up. What do you usually do during the wake up period of a WILD? I went to the bathroom, got some water, read a book and listened to some music before lying down in my bed. I just don't want to get stuck back in dream hell again.