Thread: Mixed up jumble of WILDing methods (to stay aware).. not sure which one to use

I've learned about a ton of methods to stay aware while WILDing in in these two years I've been lucid dreaming. Everyone says that it's different for every person on which WILD technique works good for you. It's really hard to determine that, though.

Not saying that some methods are bad, I'm just saying some might not work as well as others. Is there a really reliable method (to stay aware) to try?

Whenever I wake up for my WBTB, and lay back down to WILD. I end up just laying there, thinking about which technique I should use, and eventually fall asleep from lack of believing in the method I've chosen. There's just so many! I need some help on this.

The only one I've ever had success with is Yoshi's WILD technique, but I usually attempt to combine all of the techniques I read by taking bits and pieces from each. I'm not sure if that made sense...

I'd honestly advise trying to make up your own WILD method. Don't plan anything out, just go for it. That's how I've gotten most of my WILDs. You'll notice that all guides and similar but have slightly different twists to make it their own method. You'd also need to do this for your own method.
Start with the basis of
Prior sleep (recommended)
Relaxing to the point where you're able to fall asleep. It's EXTREMELY important that you don't try to "WILD" but to aim to sleep. For example, when I WILD, I sleep while inhaling and exhaling deeply but not so aggressively that I can hear the breath itself, while doing this, I just let myself relax and then I'd go into a trance-like state and then the next thing I know, i'm in a dream.

Newbies make the common mistake of staying up for a long amount of time trying to just get into sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis though necessary for a WILD, isn't always noticeable, that's why I don't bother with it and go straight for the dream. In the end, the newbie may possibly get lucid due to their intent or just because they get so tired from being up for so long, they accidentally fall asleep but also keep that small amount of awareness up. This also applies to V-WILDS, just visualise once you feel relaxed enough

Well, the other night I couldn't sleep at all (was just going to sleep for the first time in the night) so I tried breathing deeply and counting my breaths. Oddly, I fell asleep shortly after! I guess it's because I didn't have the intent to get to a dream. It's weird how that method gets me to fall asleep while not WILDing, but leaves me too awake while WILDing.

So using that, maybe I just need more awareness?

Ok. I'll figure something out today

Perhaps you don't need more awareness from that at all. Keep in mind that when trying to do it without prior sleep, you're not going straight into REM. This can lead to a non-REM WILD but a very poor clarity one. Another thing to keep in mind, find your REM periods. You usually wake up right after a dream which would most likely have occurred in REM, so maybe take away 30 minutes from when you first wake up and that's part of your REM cycle.

Good luck!

Oh yeah, I know all about that I was just saying I tried that to help me fall asleep, and it worked somehow
Ok! Tonight I'll try to repeat mantras to wake me up after my dreams, and record those times minus the 30 minutes. I'll post the results tomorrow.

For me all I do is try to keep my mind active in any way be it thinking about work, school or the day ahead and if there isn't anything important just count to three over and over again and before I know it I'm paralyzed. But it's different for everyone and as stated above don't try to WILD just stay conscious

Thanks Tkindle!

Well, last night I totally forgot to say my mantras.. ugh.. but somehow I managed to wake up after about 3 hours and 30 minutes of sleeping. I don't think I dreamt, though.
I also woke up about 2 hours and 15 minutes after that. I decided I was going to WILD, so I got up and went to the bathroom. I got back in bed, and just lay still on my back. (in my previous WILDing attempts, I found that if I lay on my back, I can't fall asleep as fast, but I guess it gives me enough time to snap back into awareness before I fall asleep completely) Well, about 5 minutes into focusing on my breathing and still laying on my back, I got extremely uncomfortable. Like so uncomfortable it was almost painful. I guess I need to just ignore that. But I didn't.
I wound up on my side, focusing on my breathing. About 5 minutes into this, there was a time here where I was completely focusing on how my breathing was going on inside my body, and the coolest thing happened. I felt very very tiny vibrations throughout my body (I don't know if this was the onset of SP or not..), and my hearing deafened just a little bit. (Like it was trying to switch from external to internal) It also felt like I was floating on water for a few seconds. (This feeling was almost like how when you hold your breath, and then let go, you feel kinda light headed and relaxed)
But then that sensation went on for a few more seconds and then I fell asleep.

So, anything on what happened last night?

That's definitely the beginning of SP, most noticeable when you described your hearing shifting focus from external to internal. Hold on to that sensation of feeling light headed and you're well on your way to a WILD! We have progress, Captain!

Sweet! Thanks. I'm getting closer! Let's see what happens tonight.

Woohoo! More progress!
So I got up at the same time as I did yesterday for my WBTB. (5 hours and 45 minutes after sleeping) I got up, used the restroom, and even went downstairs for a bottle of water. I got back in bed and laid on my back, focusing on my breathing. I got uncomfortable and switched to my side. Whilst focusing on my breathing, I daydreamed as well (I didn't force it). I can't explain it, but I had a really vivid daydream, and I was still conscious. Once I realized that I wasn't focusing on my breathing, I snapped out of the daydream, and ended up in the start of SP! Once again, I felt tiny vibrations going throughout my body. But this time, I had some audio hallucinations as well! I heard wind, but it wasn't very loud. I knew that it wasn't a windy night though. (when it's windy at my house, I can hear the force blowing on my windw) I also heard something else that I cant place. Once I realized what was happening and got scared, the sounds faded away, but the tiny vibrations stayed. I got up.

(actually, typing this in bed, I do hear some wind out my window, but it wasn't as loud as it was in the SP)

I think I may have found my technique
Oh yea, any tips on how to make it to the dream from SP? I've never really been in SP before so I don't really know. Also any tips on how I can not be scared of SP?

One more thing. I notice that I can't reach SP just by focusing on my breathing. The only way I've really entered it was by having my mind wander and having a pretty vivid daydream first, then once I realized what I was doing, I would snap out of it and be in SP. But at the same time I would focus on my breathing, I guess as an anchor. I'm kind of afraid to force it though, because I don't want to wander away in my thoughts entirely and fall asleep. But I guess that's what the anchor's there for!

How do you know if you are in sleep paralysis?

Because I have pracctised DEILD techniques for a while now and everytime I feel sensations that people usually describe as sleep paralysis (hallucinations and so on).
It is usually already a dream! I used to look for signs that would make me realise that I was close to dreaming or that I could transition.
But one night I just felt different and I got out of bed already knowing that I was dreaming and I confirmed it by chagning the shape of my hands.

But what I am trying to say is to not look for sleep paralysis look for signs of the non-physical or the dream.

I also use the breath as my anchor, but if you are trying to WILD you have to let go of your hope, expectations and fear!

Try to not expect too much just be in the meditative state of mind and focus on your breathing, perhaps set your intention to be aware of your dreams if you would end up falling asleep unconsciously.
When it comes to fear, well you just have to get used to see scary things. I never see scary things anymore because I just don't expect it to happen, but if it do happen I just observe it like it was a movie or something. I know that it can't hurt me so why actually be afraid of it?

I usually fall asleep just by focusing on my breathing, so I need intention and a second anchor like positioning my eyesight in the center of my forehead. But you have to find what works for you.

But don't look for sleep paralysis, because either you just feel your body getting relaxed or you are already in the dream.

Good luck with your WILDing

Thanks for your reply Choi! Thanks for the tips.
Good luck to you too!

I got up as usual last night, did my WBTB, got back in bed, but fell asleep. I wasn't as aware as I thought I was. It was like I fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.

So last night I had a BIG lucid. It wasn't because I succeeded in my WILD though. It was after I fell asleep that I got a DILD

But anyways, whenever I get to the tiny vibrations, I think about them too much, and freak out, and then they eventually go away. And then there's nothing.
Any tips?

Congrats to your lucid dream!

Tiny vibrations can occur anytime, even just in the start of the attempt.

The sensation I feel right before my body fall asleep "completely" and I start to dream and THEN hit sleep paralysis,
is that my mind is perfectly clear and tranquil, I can't feel my body anymore and there is just this emptiness of darkness and heaviness. Then I either hear a beeping noise or the yawning sound I hear when I yawn.
Then I am in a dreamscenario or have a feeling of a different awareness and I am laying in my dreamroom.

I wrote about how WILD, DILD and DEILD comes together in another thread, you can read about it here: http://www.dreamviews.org/f79/lookin...stions-128971/

Okay, thanks! I'll read up on that.

My attempts are starting to go downhill. I don't reach the tiny vibrations anymore. It's like I'm focusing too much on visualizing and my breathing.
For the past few nights, this is how my attempts went:

Woke up for my WBTB. Got up, went to the restroom, and maybe typed my dreams onto my phone.
Then I got back in bed, and layed on my back. I started to force breathing through my mouth, and focus on that.
I would try to visualize something, but I never snap back into reality and encounter the vibrations anymore.
I just end up falling asleep 10 minutes later.
I'm afraid that if I focus too much on my breathing, that it will keep my awake.

In my previous attempts when I had the vibrations, I would be focusing on my breathing, and somehow I would fall into a vivid daydream, on which I would "wake up" and encounter the vibrations.
What do you think I'm doing wrong?

Sydney you are doing well Just focus on what you are doing RIGHT. And keep your attention on that instead of worrying, because otherwise that can actually work against you.
I live with the mindset that there is allways a new night. So don't try, DO, or do not.. there is no try - Yoda Still be aware of your misstakes of course, but don't focus on them.

But for me anyway it is easier to WILD/DEILD if you don't get out of bed. It's harder and takes a little longer time to get the vivid daydreams if you get out of bed.

So take that into consideration and good luck. Keep us updated

Make sure you're engaging your anchor passively enough that your mind wanders, any sort of activity to hold on to consciousness should be an auxiliary process

Thanks, I never thought of that!
I definetly will. Stay tuned.

I had a bad night last night. I woke up like 2 hours after I first fell asleep (woke up at 11:45), and couldn't fall back asleep until about 12:30. I just couldn't get comfortable. The same thing happened again at my WBTB. My alarm went off, I turned it off, and just layed there. For 15 minutes after my alarm went off, I forgot about the WILDing (I hadn't even started in the first place) and was just daydreaming about something. I finally got out of that and focused on my breathing for what seemed like 30 minutes. I tried to passively control it, but my mind kept spinning around focusing on my breathing and daydreaming. I wasn't able to fall asleep like normal like I once was earlier, I was just awake. I thought I would be able to fall back asleep if I never got up.

I guess the daylight savings time mixed me up somehow.
Oh well, there's always tonight!

You know what I do when I can't fall asleep? Haha I make a WILD attempt. Make all your problems an advatange

Either you succeed the WILD or atleast feel some new sensations to learn about. Or you fall asleep which was the goal from the beggining and it's easier to get aware of a dream since you have been awake for a little while. The only problem is that you need to have patience and want to do it, but that's just another oppurtunity to pracctise WILD so.
And it's better to have pracctised the WILD techniques and not being able to fall asleep than to not have pracctised the WILD technique and still not be able to fall asleep. ^^

Keep up the good work!

So last night I tried Mancon's Visualization WILD technique. It didn't really work for me, although I do need practice. This is how it went:

Woke up for WBTB. Went to the bathroom and got back in bed. I relaxed for a minute or two. Then I started imagining that I was on a beach. I imagined the breeze on the face, the smell of salt in the air, the seagulls. But for some reason, I kept checking to see where I was in relaxation. Which messed me up, and soon I awoke for the next day. Darn it.

Not sure if I should try that technique again tonight, or the tech that I used earlier.

Originally Posted by Sydney

Not sure if I should try that technique again tonight, or the tech that I used earlier.

Honestly just do the technique you feel the most comfortable with and feel you will have the most success with. For some people, visualization just isnt their thing. Keep consistent though! Good luck...keep us updated

You're using strong visualisation techniques (incorporating as many senses as possible) but don't over-do it. You seem to be making good progress though, keep it up