Problems with MILD and FILD (Hypnagogic Hallucinations)

Hey guys, just like to point out this is my first thread on dreamviews :)

anyway, im relatively new to LD'ing, only had one so far. I've been trying to induce them through the WILD and more recently, FILD technique. But in both of these technique's, I find myself with a similar problem.

As I attempt these technique's, I see vague HI and I believe my actual technique is good, and I believe Im performing them right. But, as I get to my Hypnagogic Hallucinations which are: 'head spinning', vivid HI, and eye's going haywire, I can never get past this stage. I feel like im on the fringes of entering the dream, but can never quite get there. I never see images of the dream, I just get these hallucinations which will eventually subside.

Any ideas what im doing wrong?

First off, welcome to DV :)

Now with regards to your problem, I'll start out by saying that I don't have any experience with FILD, but that I do MILD. I think what you are trying to do is isn't exactly MILD but somewhat closer to a WILD where you'll go from being awake into your dream. When I started out, I found WILD fairly hard to do, so I started out with MILD. MILD is simpler and works well if you combine it with reality checks and perhaps ADA (All day Awareness).

An example of practicing MILD would be to go to bed as you would normally and repeat a mantra in your head, for instance "I have many lucid dreams" or whatever works for you - its a hit and miss thing really, you need to find out what works best for you. Now the idea is that this mantra will be the last thing on your mind as you fall asleep, triggering a lucid dream sometime through the night. It's fairly simple once you get the hang of it, and is a really powerful induction method when mastered. I'd recommend starting out with MILD until you get the hang of it and have a few LD's. After having a few, WILD became much easier for me :)

Argh, I accidentally put MILD instead of WILD, for some reason why did I do that? anyways, yeah I was talking about WILD but I agree, thank you.
I have tried MILD but the mantra didn't appear to be working, I think it slips out of my mind when i'm falling asleep

*Moved to WILD, since OP clarified that it's WILD and FILD questions he has.

Haha I just realised how time I wasted writing then! :D

Anyway, I'll start off by asking: When do you attempt to WILD?

Sorry about that hahaa
Whenever I attempt a WILD, i always try it through WBTB, so I have the optimum chance of re-entering REM while conscious. I usually wake up naturally after dreams between 3-4 AM and then, again between 5-6 AM, so I'll usually try it around then.

Your timing and technique seem about right, you just need to be sleepier to make the transition. It's a balancing act between staying conscious and letting yourself sleep. Your WBTB might be too long or too short. Or you might be doing something too stimulating during the WBTB (like bright light). You should feel a strong sleepy feeling when going back to bed, but there's no one-size-fits-all solution. You'll have to experiment to find the right timing and activity level for that.

Another thing that helps is to visualize the transition as you are getting close. For me, the transition is usually that I fall through the bed into a starry night sky. So I focus on what that feels like, replaying in my head until it happens. For others, the transition feels like being lifted out of bed, or rolling out of their body, or travelling through a tunnel, or things like that. This is where it helps to have experienced a variety of LDs before, especially a DEILD. I didn't succeed with conventional WILD until after I'd experienced a DEILD. So while WILD techniques are effective, it's even better to complement them with some DILD practice too.