(I’m sorry if this isn’t in the right forum. I checked everywhere and it seems as though this is the best place to submit this story, so here goes…)
Alright, so last night I went to bed like normal, except I decided to imagine a scenario in a world that me and a couple of friends have been working on for quite some time. After a while, I could feel that my legs and arms were somewhat paralyzed. I was pretty sure it was sleep paralysis acting up, so I let it be. But the weird thing is that it kind of hurt Anyways, after a good 30 mins, I decided to stop acting out the story in my head and concentrated on looking at potential shapes that I expected would form (during the process of a WILD). Again, over 30 minutes passed and nothing happened. It was then that I decided to just fall asleep normally.
I don’t get it. I was able to get to the sleep paralysis stage but I wasn’t able to go any farther. Why is that? I just don’t get it.
Don’t be too eager.
If you lie and actively wait for all sorts of WILD signs then you will just press yourself.
Simply decide that you will be passively observant for forming images, then lie and relax until you fall asleep.
Even if you don’t succeed with the actual WILD, your extra awareness while falling asleep can actually affect the dream you do get and make it easier for you to become lucid during that dream instead!
The pain you felt could be because you blocked the blood flow in some way.
Also, trying to WILD when you first go to bed at night is probably going to end in failure, because you aren’t going to go into REM right away. It’s best to try it when you’ve already slept some.
Exactly, do that and then try imagine a place and go with the flow… But it’s good that you tried WILD as first thing at night, now you know that’s not good idea.
Agree with DB and el…best to try after about 5 hours of sleep or so. At that point, you’ll begin to cycle through REM more frequently and, as mentioned, more likely to initiate REM as you fall asleep. I typically start to look for hynagogic imagery as I’m drifting off to sleep…gently, though…as if to say “yeah, it’d be nice if a WILD opportunity shows up but it’s ok if it doesn’t”…sort of a pleasant, easy sense of expectation, without craving or desperation or frustration. Easy peasy! If I begin to see that fragmented dream imagery, I let my self glide into it…a little at a time. It’s like a hesitant animal you’re trying to coax to a nice piece of food you’re offering…I approach the LD…and then pull away, back to my sleeping form…then go in a little further…and then pull back. Each time getting a little more immersed into the dream scenes (which change each time, it seems) The key is patience…amidst that actual session you are trying to have and then over time night after night. Gently look for those soft vibrations that begin to bathe your whole body (which can be quite intense sometimes!) and then don’t try to force it…or get too excited…just let it happen.
I have tried the WBTB method a few times before, but it always failed I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try once more, just not now. I need my rest for the exams this week
I’ll still try to attempt a WILD tonight while falling asleep, but this time I’ll take all your advice and just “go with the flow~” Hopefully I’ll at least realize I’m dreaming during the dream
Thank you all so much for the help, I really appreciate it I’ll fill you all in tomorrow with the results of tonight’s attempt
about a week ago i had the most amazing WILD. i was able to step directly into the dream world and and it felt just as normal as the waking world. what i did, was i focused my mind on staying awake. I repeated in my head “mind awake, body asleep,” over and over again. all while focusing on a void of nothingness. meaning i did my best to clear my mind of all thought. this eventually threw me pretty hard into this odd hypnogogic stage where i heard very loud buzzing and saw colors and what looked like electrical currents. then i sat up in bed and to my surprise, even though it felt like the waking world, it was a dream. and the best part is, is i wasn’t even trying that hard. so my advice is to just relax, don’t want it too much, and just let it come to you. it will blow you away when it does. good luck.
Well I didn’t really bother trying to perform a WILD last night since I stayed up really late to finish some homework and study for exams. Tonight, however, I’ll definitely try it again!
I’ll try my method of keeping my mind awake again (the one where I imagine myself in a particular scenario very vividly) and when I start to feel my legs going numb, I’ll stop imagining and just repeatedly remind myself to keep my mind awake, but I won’t force anything onto myself, just like you guys suggested If I fall asleep, I fall asleep. And hopefully I’ll at least perform a DILD.
I don’t really like doing WILD actually. It wakes me up more than it makes me fall asleep.
I know exactly how to do it, but everytime I try everything just starts itching and I can’t focus my mind on the technique/imagination. So I turn around to a better sleeping position, but then again my legs start itching and I need to scratch . I had succes with a WBTB / MILD. But WILD takes somewhat more practise tho. I will still try it as I haven’t done it for a long time, but the last time I tried WILD it woke me up and I couldn’t fall asleep for abou 2 hours ;3. Still had a good night rest.
Trying to WILD at the beginning of the night is not the most efficient method for inexperienced dreamers. I’ve only managed it a couple of times out of numerous attempts. WBTB increases your chances of success, and DEILD increases those chances even more. Whatever gets you closest to your REM phase. The feeling you get of not being able to feel your limbs isn’t sleep paralysis as far as I’m aware. It’s just numbness - you can still move them if you want to. I’ve had all of these weird sensations before (HI, sense of motion, weird sounds, vibrations), but even with those I rarely reached the dream state because it was the wrong time to try it.
Well, I failed last night’s attempt as well, as expected But this time I’m sure it was because I fell asleep in the middle of my scenario conjuring; I just wasn’t able to keep my mind conscious.
But I have noticed that ever since I started attempting a WILD, my dreams have become more and more vivid! Hopefully that’s a sign that a DILD isn’t too far away
Also, before I’m off to bed, I would like to ask if anyone knows a better way to wake myself up in the middle of the night without using an alarm clock, because I sleep right next to my parent’s’ bedroom and I’m pretty sure they’re able to hear it whenever it goes off
Again, thank you all so much for the help. Every one of your comments and feedback are very informative and help me a great deal in my quest for lucidity
Anyways, after a good 30 mins, I decided to stop acting out the story in my head and concentrated on looking at potential shapes that I expected would form (during the process of a WILD). Again, over 30 minutes passed and nothing happened. It was then that I decided to just fall asleep normally.
If I begin to see that fragmented dream imagery, I let my self glide into it…a little at a time. It’s like a hesitant animal you’re trying to coax to a nice piece of food you’re offering…I approach the LD…and then pull away, back to my sleeping form…then go in a little further…and then pull back. Each time getting a little more immersed into the dream scenes (which change each time, it seems) The key is patience…amidst that actual session you are trying to have and then over time night after night. Gently look for those soft vibrations that begin to bathe your whole body (which can be quite intense sometimes!) and then don’t try to force it…or get too excited…just let it happen.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try once more, just not now. I need my rest for the exams this week 
Hopefully I’ll at least realize I’m dreaming during the dream 
I’ll fill you all in tomorrow with the results of tonight’s attempt 
. I had succes with a WBTB / MILD. But WILD takes somewhat more practise tho. I will still try it as I haven’t done it for a long time, but the last time I tried WILD it woke me up and I couldn’t fall asleep for abou 2 hours ;3. Still had a good night rest.