Thread: Help with WILD please!

You are right - it can be either the transition into a dream (the hypnagogic stage) or a dream about it caused by day residue. Only you can know which one is that, assuming you have sufficient recall to remember the part between going to bed and having these sensations. If you recall this part, it's likely the actual transition.

About these sensations - they are collectively called hypnagogic hallucinations and they are totally normal, and happen sometimes during the transition. Usually we simply don't remember them due to not being aware while they happen - but with WILD the point is to stay aware thru this process, which is why we recall them. There is also hypnagogic imagery - these are snippets of dreams that also tend to happen during the transition into dreaming. Overall, in most versions of WILD the dreamer is encouraged to remain passive until the real dream starts, and usually ignore hypnagogic hallucinations and let them pass on their own (otherwise you'll likely wake up - just like in this case). The key in WILDing is to be able to sacrifice awareness to get to the real dream, but not too much so you'll be able to stay lucid.

There are some really great tutorials on this site on all WILD variations (normal, FILD, SSILD, VILD, DEILD, etc), but if you have more specific questions don't hesitate to ask!