WILD using pitch/ring/tinnitus

[MikeLucidium]

Ive been trying to WILD for a while now. I read all the guides, did everything "right". The problem is that i just cant get hypnagogia to start. The only thing that i do notice when i relax myself deeply and lay there.. is some kind of high pitch ring in my ears. I usualy dont have it when im awake, only those times i practice WILD and lay there relaxed. I heard there is a way to use it. Someone had anything similiar and actually knows how to use it? Should i just focus on it? Because i tried and its not getting different or leads to something. Although i focused on it for about a minute, should i try to do it longer. Please any help will be good. I just want to WILD at last...

[Sageous]

First, I'm guessing you didn't check out my DVA WILD Class, because you would have noticed that in it I suggest not only that there is no need to "get hypnagogia to start," but, should it start it is usually best to ignore it. I've had thousands of WILD's where hypnagogia (AKA, the noise) never occurred at all, and so can you... to see it as a requirement for WILD is to artificially add another barrier to a successful WILD dive. That all those guides focus on the noise rather than the dream has, I think, truly damaged the chances of many novices to succeed at WILD; try not to let them stall your WILD journey. That said: Since you do not get tinnitus during waking life, then that high-pitched ring may have been the hypnagogia you were looking for! If it happens again, I suggest that you use the sound as a signpost indicating that you are very close to sleep, and your dream, and then move on: focusing on hypnagogia is a distraction, not a technique, no matter what they tell you on the internet. Remember that your dream is your goal, not the noise you experience on the way -- and if you experience no noise at all, well then, all the better!

[MikeLucidium]

Thanks for the insight.. im always amazed at people that had many WILDs, for me even the first one seems so elusive. So what should i do? If hypnagogia is a distraction, what do i focus on to keep my awarness? I know that i ultimatly need to fall asleep, i know that i should not "try" to hard to do something at all, But just falling asleep.. well will lead me into unlucid sleep... How do i keep my awarness up while falling asleep, and yet, not become "too" alert (which will keep me up). It feels like my brain is just "locked" from preforming such a thing...such a shift in awarness..its like i can only be conscious or unconscious.. nothing in between...

[Sageous]

What should you do? Well, I guess the best answer for me to give is to suggest that you take the DVA WILD class I mentioned above. It covers all the stuff you asked, and more. Of course, being me, I have a couple of quick responses anyway: If hypnagogia is a distraction, what do i focus on to keep my awareness? Repeating a mantra is a good start. Also, you could focus on your breathing, or perhaps do a 61 points relaxation exercise, which is basically a focus exercise. Or you can stay focused on your own self-awareness, your presence in the whole process, but that may come later. How do i keep my awarness up while falling asleep, and yet, not become "too" alert (which will keep me up). Three words: practice, practice, practice! You're training yourself to stay awake while you are falling asleep, which is a paradoxical thing in itself, and learning to maintain that balance between wake and sleep is a unique skill that will take some time to master... be patient! It feels like my brain is just "locked" from preforming such a thing...such a shift in awarness..its like i can only be conscious or unconscious.. nothing in between.. It feels like that because that "nothing in between" is our default natural going to sleep process. Nature has spent a lot of time creating a process that gets us to sleep easily and keeps us asleep effectively, and WILD flies right in the face of all that work. It isn't so much that your brain is "locked," as much as it is that it is simply trying to perform a program that runs counter to your WILD wishes. Brains are flexible things, though, and with time and patience you will eventually be able to reprogram it.

[MikeLucidium]

Thank you for the explanation. I now have a better idea of all the elements involved.

[Venryx]

I would suggest against trying to focus on the high-pitched ringing sound -- at least not for too long at a time. I did that a few years back, focusing on it intently for several minutes, and caused myself to gain tinnitus permanently. The first few weeks were agonizing, causing me sleep troubles and issues concentrating, as the sound would keep distracting me and causing anxiety. There are some sites whose main purpose is just helping people with tinnitus look for treatment options, and to cope with the emotional effects. The good news is that, for most people, after a few weeks/months you get used to it, and it no longer causes anxiety. That was true for me thankfully. But it's not worth delving into anyway, as those few weeks really were quite distressing (with it feeling like I'd never be able to get used to it), and I'd rather other people not have to go through it.