Thread: Falling Asleep while WILDing

I'm thinking my problem could be stemming from the WBTB being too short for me to really be awakened before getting back to sleep. I'll try waking myself up a little more, and staying up for at least fifteen minutes, to make sure I'm not going back to bed too soon.

Any other thoughts here?

Actually I just have a little bit of an opposition to a popular belief. Many people say that staying up in light is bad for a WBTB but I find it easier.. I did this one time and had the most vivid and real dream ever.. even though I never really "slept" it was just like a daydream that I was moving in. I don't classify it as a LD though. =/

Originally Posted by Lahzo

Actually I just have a little bit of an opposition to a popular belief. Many people say that staying up in light is bad for a WBTB but I find it easier.. I did this one time and had the most vivid and real dream ever.. even though I never really "slept" it was just like a daydream that I was moving in. I don't classify it as a LD though. =/

I don't understand the distinction... You say it was a dream, but then you say it wasn't...?

Originally Posted by Clyde Machine

I'm thinking my problem could be stemming from the WBTB being too short for me to really be awakened before getting back to sleep. I'll try waking myself up a little more, and staying up for at least fifteen minutes, to make sure I'm not going back to bed too soon.

Any other thoughts here?

Dear Mr. Clyde, there is no wrong way to WILD. I would recommend writing down a list of all the WILD tutorials you like & why. Then give your favorite one a try anywhere from one week to three. Record the conditions of your WILD attempts i.e. time, energy level etc. Then at the end evaluate the results. After that move on to the next one.

You may find you favor a certain technique or maybe just a part of one WILD style. This is okay. Take what you like and leave the rest. It is also good to have backup WILD techs you never know when they will come in handy

Don't be afraid to fail. We can fail but we are not failures. All failure is feed back on what not to do the exact same way. Try everything first hand & remember someone elses experiences will never be your own.

Originally Posted by Hijo de la Luna

Dear Mr. Clyde, there is no wrong way to WILD. I would recommend writing down a list of all the WILD tutorials you like & why. Then give your favorite one a try anywhere from one week to three. Record the conditions of your WILD attempts i.e. time, energy level etc. Then at the end evaluate the results. After that move on to the next one.

You may find you favor a certain technique or maybe just a part of one WILD style. This is okay. Take what you like and leave the rest. It is also good to have backup WILD techs you never know when they will come in handy

Don't be afraid to fail. We can fail but we are not failures. All failure is feed back on what not to do the exact same way. Try everything first hand & remember someone elses experiences will never be your own.

Thanks for the insights; I don't see myself as a failure, but that I have yet to succeed at WILDing. I'll keep your words in mind, as they will prove useful, and I'll look into WILDing methods, keeping track of what ones I like and why, and give them a shot. I can be patient.

However, I think when I tried WILDing last night, I got too impatient waiting to slip into SP, and just rolled over and tried WILDing on my side instead of on my back -- which resulted in me just falling asleep since it was much more difficult to keep my mind awake and alert in that position.

I think I did the WBTB part of it correctly: I got exactly 5 1/2 hours of sleep before my alarm gently woke me up, I went to the bathroom, got a cookie to eat and took a drink of water, was listening to music (maybe techno isn't quite what the doctor ordered - is music generally bad for WBTB?), and did a math problem out of my Algebra book before getting back to bed 20 minutes after my alarm had woken me. I was alert and awake and very conscious, but after between 15 and 20 minutes of watching the backs of my eyelids, I just didn't feel any changes. My arms got that numb feeling, but the rest of my body was the same as it was, no fuzziness or anything. At one point I had an involuntary full-body jerk, but wasn't shaken out of my relaxed state or shocked or anything, I just went back into my relaxed mindset.

So, was I too awake last night? Is that why I didn't WILD then?

If you could do it all over again what would you change to get the result you want? How long do you want to stay up before you should go back to bed? What do you want to be able to WILD? IF you were able to WILD successfully what would you do? Who would you be like? What would be different? Are you okay with your responses? Would you like who you are?

Be honest. No one knows you better than you on how you can do these things. We might inspire you but you must decide.

Follow your bliss-Joseph Campbell
The path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom-William Blake

If at first you don't succeed try again =0D

I've gone through each of your questions, and I am satisfied with my responses. Your questions now have me thinking: is my problem with WILDing one that I have to pinpoint myself? By that I mean, do I have the chosen method (the generic WBTB+WILD) down correctly thus far, I just need to try it again? Is it now that I just need to find out what works for me in terms of WILDing methods, and that I'm doing correctly (according to how the method is laid out) the method I'm currently attempting?

Also, how many WILDs have you had work for you? I don't see it indicated in your signature and am curious about your experiences with WILDs.

Originally Posted by Clyde Machine

I've gone through each of your questions, and I am satisfied with my responses. Your questions now have me thinking: is my problem with WILDing one that I have to pinpoint myself? By that I mean, do I have the chosen method (the generic WBTB+WILD) down correctly thus far, I just need to try it again? Is it now that I just need to find out what works for me in terms of WILDing methods, and that I'm doing correctly (according to how the method is laid out) the method I'm currently attempting?

Also, how many WILDs have you had work for you? I don't see it indicated in your signature and am curious about your experiences with WILDs.

Thats right you will never WILD just like anyone else. You have to find what works for you; everyone does. Round pegs don't fit square holes very well. For me it makes more sense that becuase we all see things differently we all need our own approach. When does a cookie cutter approach work? Only when you are making cookies! he he he

It is helpful to listen to others stories to find inspiration on how we could do it and there will be similarities. However, no one could ever know what works for us but us. Only we know. We can see that this is true when we notice our individuality. If we were the same then there would only be one way but there are many ways and there are many people.

Observe, Explore, Discover & above all else have fun! Right? I mean what else do you want from life?

To answer another questions. I WILD nearly every night. Some WILDs are much wilder than others. Everytime I WILD I look for ways I can improve.

I have never had a WILD experience that was exactly the same as another. I use different approaches depending on what is appropriate for the moment. I WILD sitting up & laying down. I want to be able to WILD anywhere and I am finding new ways to do it the more I do it. =0)

As far as my lucid count I don't. As a matter of fact once I decided to quit keeping count I enjoyed hi level lucid dreams more frequently. I can tell this week I have had over 8 lucid dreams & I have WILDed successfully 5 times.

By the way I have found napping WILDs to be the best as I have a wonkey sleep schedule. It is never the same. Not only that but for me WILDing at night is easier than morning.

Happy Trails ;o)

P.S. I have tried the method you have described and had some success as well. I just find other ways more enjoyable.

More enjoyable you say? I guess there really is more to WILDing experimentation than I originally thought....

Thanks for the insights. I wanted to ask my last question without the predictable "everyone's WILDing experience is different, you can't be doing it 'wrong'" response, but the way that you put it, that seems to be the only response to my questions I've been pondering and asking.

I'll keep some things noted on a notepad before I go to bed tonight, and I'll try several different things before I report back here - unless I'm successful in WILDing before I try other things after tonight.

Thanks for everything thus far, I'll report back here when I've tried more things.

i have that experience when i wild too early in the morning. after i've had 7 or 8 hours of sleep i am much more likely to stay awake.

but it's a tradeoff because it's easier to fall back asleep into WILD mode when it's earlier.

find that "goldilocks" time...

also i read that one is more likely to REM when the room is slightly cold.

and i like the idea of putting in MILD suggestions. That's a win-win. But i learned that it can take a while for MILD to work, so patience is important.

Originally Posted by beachgirl

also i read that one is more likely to REM when the room is slightly cold.

It seems like that would make it harder to fall asleep though.

I know what you mean . I face a similiar thing every time i try to WILD . I stay relaxed for some time , get my body paralised (?) and then some strange feeling rushes through my body and insted of seeing dark background while having my eyes closed i start seeing white . I can also hear some kind of a noise , like the wind rushing through your head on high speed . It feels like its the only chance to breakthrough and have a LD but i ussualy spoil it , and then i fall asleep.

So yea i kinda know what you're saying

Clyde, I think maybe you should try WILDing old style if you fall asleep that quickly! WILD doesn't have to be used with WBTB, you know, and if that doesn't work for you (and apparently it's not) try something different!
Personally I always do it old school (when i'm going to sleep for the FIRST time) and it has worked for me MUCH better than WBTB. Just try it and see what you think.

I just found this thread, but I might as well have participated all the way from the beginning, since it's pretty much what I've gone through (aside from my two rather random successful WILDs).

Originally Posted by SurferonMars

Clyde, I think maybe you should try WILDing old style if you fall asleep that quickly! WILD doesn't have to be used with WBTB, you know, and if that doesn't work for you (and apparently it's not) try something different!
Personally I always do it old school (when i'm going to sleep for the FIRST time) and it has worked for me MUCH better than WBTB. Just try it and see what you think.

Are you kidding me? Well, that could change a lot...everything I've heard thus far has led me to believe that WILD will rarely (as in once in a lifetime) work without WBTB...I definitely think I need to try that a little harder. I either can't stay awake at all, or stay too much awake in order to WBTB a WILD.

Originally Posted by LiveInTheDream

I just found this thread, but I might as well have participated all the way from the beginning, since it's pretty much what I've gone through (aside from my two rather random successful WILDs).



Are you kidding me? Well, that could change a lot...everything I've heard thus far has led me to believe that WILD will rarely (as in once in a lifetime) work without WBTB...I definitely think I need to try that a little harder. I either can't stay awake at all, or stay too much awake in order to WBTB a WILD.

I am also able to WILD when I first go to sleep. I guess it gets easier after you do that for a while.

Originally Posted by Aledrea

I am also able to WILD when I first go to sleep. I guess it gets easier after you do that for a while.

Well interestingly, after reading the five stages of WILD, I believe I have succeeded with WILD at the beginning of sleep multiple times, but I've always assumed that the fading of HI and all that meant that I failed when really it probably was just that I needed to open my 'dream eyes' instead of cut off the attempt and wake myself up. If I can turn all of those times into successful WILDs, I'll already not be half-bad at this

What does TOTM mean? or TOtM?

Originally Posted by Hijo de la Luna

What does TOTM mean? or TOtM?

Task of the Month

Originally Posted by Clyde Machine

I'm thinking my problem could be stemming from the WBTB being too short for me to really be awakened before getting back to sleep. I'll try waking myself up a little more, and staying up for at least fifteen minutes, to make sure I'm not going back to bed too soon.

Any other thoughts here?

This could easily be it. The one time that WBTB worked the best for me, I had gotten up, ridden my bike 2 miles to work, found out I didn't have to work and so rode back 2 miles home. The whole thing took about an hour and I slipped easily into a WILD upon going back to sleep.

If you think this might be a problem, then you should systematically test what amount of time would be best for you. Set a consistent sleep schedule and start at staying up ten minutes, and progress; 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc (feel free to choose a longer interval).

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

This could easily be it. The one time that WBTB worked the best for me, I had gotten up, ridden my bike 2 miles to work, found out I didn't have to work and so rode back 2 miles home. The whole thing took about an hour and I slipped easily into a WILD upon going back to sleep.

If you think this might be a problem, then you should systematically test what amount of time would be best for you. Set a consistent sleep schedule and start at staying up ten minutes, and progress; 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc (feel free to choose a longer interval).

omg dude, if I exercised for an hour I'd never be able to get back to sleep...that's impressive that you were able to do that. Five minutes of mild activity for WBTB is like a maximum for me; any more than that (or intense activity) and I'm wide awake and can't get to sleep again for several hours, if not the next night.

Honestly, the more I try to diagnose my problem with WILDs, the more confused I'm getting. I've seen many others say the same thing as me about WBTB, and yet you can do all that and still WILD! Some people say to WILD in your normal sleeping position, others can only do it if they're in a position very abnormal to them. And yet I've tried just about everything and still I fall sleep 99% of the time

Originally Posted by LiveInTheDream

omg dude, if I exercised for an hour I'd never be able to get back to sleep...that's impressive that you were able to do that. Five minutes of mild activity for WBTB is like a maximum for me; any more than that (or intense activity) and I'm wide awake and can't get to sleep again for several hours, if not the next night.

Honestly, the more I try to diagnose my problem with WILDs, the more confused I'm getting. I've seen many others say the same thing as me about WBTB, and yet you can do all that and still WILD! Some people say to WILD in your normal sleeping position, others can only do it if they're in a position very abnormal to them. And yet I've tried just about everything and still I fall sleep 99% of the time

I might be able to do that. Depends on how tired I was before getting the exercise.

And yeah, I've heard that each person is a bit different when it comes to WILD. You say that you fall asleep, but that you can't get back to sleep if you do something for longer than 5 minutes?

Originally Posted by Hidden

I might be able to do that. Depends on how tired I was before getting the exercise.

And yeah, I've heard that each person is a bit different when it comes to WILD. You say that you fall asleep, but that you can't get back to sleep if you do something for longer than 5 minutes?

Yep. That is my single biggest battle with WILD. If I don't hit the tired/awake ratio just right, I'll end up with nothing. If I do happen to hit it right, then I've got a guaranteed WILD; the rest of the process is no problem for me. But that doesn't happen very often, and only twice has it happened where I'm able to remain undisturbed long enough to make use of the dream.

Originally Posted by LiveInTheDream

Yep. That is my single biggest battle with WILD. If I don't hit the tired/awake ratio just right, I'll end up with nothing. If I do happen to hit it right, then I've got a guaranteed WILD; the rest of the process is no problem for me. But that doesn't happen very often, and only twice has it happened where I'm able to remain undisturbed long enough to make use of the dream.

Well, good luck. At least you've done it before.

Originally Posted by Hidden

Well, good luck. At least you've done it before.

Yep, thanks.

Hopefully sooner or later I'll find a WILD technique that works for me on a more flexible timetable...or I'll just learn how to fall asleep faster after a long WBTB...or some other thing that would help...