Thread: Connection between WILD and dream control?

Hey Guys,

Technically this isn't my first posting as I had an account here many years ago but have been inactive in the lucid dreaming community for quite some time. Recently, in my effort to quit smoking, I have been wearing a 24 hour nicotine patch. As has been discussed on these forums before, the patch, if worn while sleeping, gives extremely vivid dreams all night long; Not a bad motivation for quitting smoking. Anyhow, over the last two weeks this has greatly rejuvenated my dreaming interest and a few days ago I had my first successful WILD, and have had a few very vivid and prolonged DILD's as well.

But the way my WILD played out and the subsequent DILDs gave me some insight into what I think may be important for WILDing and lucid controlling. Here's my thought: When WILDing it seems to be very important to transition focus from the physical body to the mental body. What I mean by this is that in the first stage of WILD I allow my physical body to become relaxed and sedated or what not. Then to evoke the WILD, I begin to imagine sensations of all sorts. I imagine the feel of riding a rollercoaster, or of climbing a rope, or of being on a boat, etc. The important part here is that I focus on all the sensations involved in whatever I'm imagining IE if on a boat, the sounds of the water and boat, the smells, the feeling of movement or vertigo, the sight. This really, really helps me to lose consciousness of my physical body and thus the WILD progresses.

But I feel like by the same logic a dream can be made even more lucid. When the dream begins, what if one were to not do anything but consciously feel, smell, taste, the surroundings. Not just by going through the motions, but doing so with the conscious intent of realizing that what you are experiencing is a dream and how insane (as in amazing) that really is!

I don't know, I really am an LDing amateur so I'm not at all trying to give advise, but it just seems like the processes used to help initiate a WILD also would help to secure the clarity and strength of the actual LD. Any thoughts?