Why You Fail at WILDs

When I first learned about LDing, I became immediately drawn toward the phenomena referred to as a Wake Induced Lucid Dream. Wow! I thought, A way to become lucid any time I want? Sign me up! I did my research right here on DV, learning the 'ins and outs' of WILDing from your typical WILD related posts. My early readings did include Jeff's famous "How to Trick Your Body Into Falling Asleep" thread, but the majority of my initial knowledge came from threads similar to this.

Ever an eager noob, I often committed the cardinal sin of attempting a WILD before racking up a decent amount of sleep beforehand. During these attempts, which were doomed to fail from the start, I would utilize my shoddy knowledge of what I believed the 'proper technique' was, keeping track of the 'stages' as I went. All my time and energy would go into performing this super-cool thing called a WILD. Hell, I once spent a good four hours on one attempt. My commitment was met with resounding failure. Obviously, dedication alone wasn't cutting it. Broader research would be needed if I was going to figure out how to pull this off.

Utilizing the search function, I garnered even more information about how others had achieved their WILDs, all the while trying to WILD in my free time by making use of every new tidbit and little known 'fact' I had learned. And still, after months of trying, I was getting nowhere pretty freakin' fast. Then, one fateful school night, I did it. I accomplished, almost effortlessly, a feat that had eluded me all that time. But I was baffled as to how. My first WILD occurred late at night, after I had awoken in the middle of a sleep cycle. As I drifted back to sleep, somehow, someway, I had retained consciousness all the way into the dream state.

Despite that glimpse of success, for well over a year, I would remain oblivious to the most blatantly obvious thing about WILDing. During that time, I would begin development on a number of my own techniques, all based on the findings of others, all of which weren't wildly successful (Har har). It wasn't until I started focusing on my own experiences that real progress commenced.

How about because I could potentially, right here, right now, save you a huge portion of the time and trouble I went through in order to reach that point where WILDing became par for the course. Sound good? Then go back and read the above if you haven't already. . . lazy bum.

Done already?

Good.

Now for the meaty stuff.

I believe my story is an excellent example of a typical fledgling WILDer. Eager to learn, but searching in all the wrong places. WILDing, like just about everything concerning LDs, is a personal experience. You can only get so far on the accomplishments of others. To truly be successful, you have to dig deep and do a crap ton of introspection in order to figure out what works for you and what doesn't. Of course, that's nothing new, everyone who's done decent research and has a fair amount of experience has probably come to the same conclusion a dozen times over.

So what can I possibly offer that's new, unique, and exciting? Unfortunately, as I've said before, what I discovered was so ridiculously obvious that everyone already knows what is. In fact, it lies at the very root of the definition itself.

WILD - To fall asleep, into a dream state, while retaining consciousness.

"To fall asleep,"

Now, before you ZOMG RAGE QUIT! let me explain the implications of these three words. By the generally accepted definition of a WILD, it is impossible to WILD without first falling asleep. Secondary to falling asleep is maintaining awareness of the event. Key word: Secondary.

All this emphasis is being placed on the awareness part, but what's sorely missing is respect for the most basic and fundamental part of WILDing. That, I feel, is the key to successful WILDs. It is, after all, what I've based my current method on. In fact, my very first WILD was a result of this exact concept.

This theory is all well and good, but you're probably wondering about practical applications. Below I will outline the steps I followed to turn this idea into something usable. Hopefully, this will be enough to get some of you jump started on finding your own WILD style.

1. Learn the basics.
   
   At the end of this post I shall provide a list of information every WILDer should know. I insist you do your own research on each one.
2. Figure out the most opportune time to WILD.
   
   This will always be whenever you are closest to a REM period. Typically, six hours after first falling asleep is a good time, but it can vary from person to person. For instance, I generally need eight. However, I've found naps to be an even better time to WILD. The trick here is that the time should be one in which you are not only close to REM, but also one where you are tired enough to fall asleep very easily.
3. Recognize what happens when falling asleep.
   
   This is pretty straightforward. Simply recall moments where you were about to fall asleep, but were suddenly forced into alertness. Those with WILDs already under their belt can use those experiences to help better determine even more of what goes on when falling asleep.
4. Don't WILD.
   
   "Lawl, wut?" What this means is that when making an attempt, the focus should be put on falling asleep, first and foremost. Don't try to recognize SP, don't do anything you wouldn't normally do to help yourself fall asleep. Things like Reverse Blinking, if they work for you, are totally okay, as long as the point of the exercise is to help you sleep.
5. Work on Awareness
   
   Finding something that helps keep you aware, without hindering your ability to sleep is what you're aiming for here. Common sense and experimentation will prove the most beneficial.