Thread: Trouble performing the WILD technique

First, Ocelot, Listen to Dolphin, because he nailed it.

Also, as sort of an aside:

Originally Posted by Ocelot512

Now I'm a little confused. Isn't the point to trick my body that my mind is asleep?

If you read this in a book, then I suggest throw that book away. If you read it on the internet, then I suggest you don't ever go on that page again. If you were told this by a person, then I suggest you smack that person upside the head. This is the kind of bad information out there that ruins the hopes of so many beginning LD'ers; save yourself from it.

You cannot trick your body that your mind is asleep, and even if you could, your body really wouldn't care, as the falling asleep process is a physiological function that normally has enough power to eventually pull you into sleep no matter what your mind is doing. Also, your mind is part of your body, especially in this process, so tricking your body is akin to tricking your mind as well, which can't bode well for a successful WILD (mostly because your trickery will probably lead to your mind actually going into sleep mode as well).

If you can come to understand that all of the facets of a WILD -- body going to sleep, mind staying aware and focused, all that noise, the dream itself -- all of them, are You, with no opposing forces or things to be tricked, you will probably have a much easier time learning to WILD. WILD isn't about tricks or techniques; it is about you learning to maintain your waking-life self-awareness, your presence in the moment, as you fall asleep. This runs in defiance of our nature (we're not supposed to be awake while we're asleep), so it will take time and practice to train your mind and body to flout those rules consistently... there really are no shortcuts.

[EDIT] I missed your post above while I was writing, and now I feel compelled to add this: there is no need to "get to the hypnagogic stage." Indeed, I'm pretty sure there is no hypnagogic stage, as it is just the stuff that happens every night during the falling asleep stage of sleep. I have had many a successful WILD without any hypnagogia at all, and so can you. The same goes for SP as well; it's all just a bunch of distracting noise that is best left ignored, or just casually acknowledged as markers on the way to sleep, and your dream (the only thing you should be trying to get to).