Environment Sounds...how to deal?

Quest for Lucidity
1

Ok so I tried WILD, yet again last night.

I went to bed at about 10:30 and set my alarm for 4:00. I woke up, wrote down what I could remember of my dreams, stretched, read about lucid dreaming, and then did some relaxation exercises. Then I tried to WILD, I was getting pretty deep into it thinking this might be the time since I was really numb and I hadn’t even reached a few hundred counting. At one point I even heard my sister say something in my ear…which I think means I was on my way to HI. I also noticed my thoughts making less sense. Then it happened…

Sounds, from everywhere. Here are the ones I noticed - Diesel trash trucks in back alley, creaking in apartment above, cars passing the road outside, banging on the pipes, the heater kicking in, my roommate occasionally sighing/breathing, and eventually…birds singing outside my window. They were intermittent so that just when I think I’m sinking into SP, a sound jolts my concentration.

My question is…how does one deal with blocking out these sounds? I just don’t have the willpower and they are soo distracting, especially because they are irregular. I judge that the sounds started around 5am so maybe I should just try to goto bed earlier and start WILD earlier?

I probably should have gotten up at 3 because as it was, I never got back to sleep or WILD. Strangely though, I was so relaxed during my WILD attempt that I didn’t get up tired. Any advice from veterans?

Thanks in advance.

2

This video should show you how to substitute concentration with awareness, so that noises would become no more a disturbance, but rather a way to keep your awareness high. Be sure to watch the part after that too, and the whole thing if you’re interested :wink:

3

I use earplugs :wink:

4

Thanks tosxy, I got to where sounds aren’t as distracting before but still I just sink in and out of sleep while my body is numb without ever HI, WILD or SP. I will watch that video and see if it answers my questions.

UPDATE:

I just watched the video and it goes along with what I’ve been doing lately, Observing the sounds and thoughts rather than being so focused on any particular one.

Aside from the noise issue: I just haven’t been able to get my body to SP? I’m just unsure if I should keep practicing or try something new. maybe my body is just not relaxed enough.

5

Like you previously suggested, you may just not be relaxed enough. Do a few relaxation techniques and try to “let go” of your body. That’s the best way I can describe it. Don’t focus so much on attaining SP, some people don’t even notice that it’s happening. Instead, they notice the HH that happen alongside it. If you find that this method isn’t working for you, you can try a variation on WILD or even MILD. You can also try MILD or another method and come back to this one to attempt it again. :content:

Good Luck!