I’ve tryed MILD,WILD, and WBTS. I think I’ve made good progress, but I can’t actually fall asleep with any of these methods. I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten to sleep paralysis; I don’t feel my body anymore, and It’s like I’m a disembodied consciousness floating in nothingness. Once I laid there for 2 hours and still no sleep, no dreams, just a couple brief hypnagogic images. When I finally give up, I physicallly feel like I have slept, but my mind didn’t sleep, and I’m certainly not dreaming. I’m just laying there concentrating on my breathing. What am I doing wrong?
I must clarify, that from the methods you’ve mentioned, only WILD may cause difficulties falling asleep, as both MILD and WBTB require you to fall asleep normally, losing consciousness.
When you do MILD (probably after WBTB), lie in your bed and repeat a sentence like “I will realise I’m dreaming” in your mind. For it to work, you must really mean it. It helps to actually imagine yourself in a lucid dream. Try to visualise yourself in a dream, doing a reality check and becoming lucid. After you’ve done all that enough times and feel confident, relax and fall asleep, normally. If it works out well, you should remember what you did before falling asleep and become lucid during the dream.
Now for the WILD. This method is the most difficult method you could have chosen as a beginner, but seeing that you have already succeeded in getting sleep paralysis, you are most likely on the right track. When you do WILD, you should do it after 4,5 - 6 hours of sleep or during an afternoon nap. This ensures that you enter REM sleep. First step is to relax. Lie comfortably on your bed and physically relax your body, relax your muscles. Close you eyes and clear your mind. Try to have as little thoughs as posibble, especially about Lucid dreaming/Sleep. Many beginner WILD’ers do a mistake thinking about Lucid Dreaming, The WILD proccess, Sleep paralysis when they are WILD’ing. Do not do that, as this reminds you of your physical body. If you remember your physical body, you will feel it, and that will keep you from falling asleep. The key of WILD is to forget all the physical world, but keep your consciousness. The best way to do that is just to look at the images you see in your eyes. Look at the blackness, HI and HH. Look passivelly, don’t interact with them. Do not let them fade your consciousness away. Watch them like you watch TV. If your mind is clear, you will advance trough SP and HS. After the HH the dream will start to form. When it’s clear enough, interact with it. That will make you lucid dream. If your mind is clear and you do not think about anything related to WILD, you will quickly fall asleep, with your consciousness awake. It’s always hard to do at first (I’ve tried tons of times before actually succeeding). You have to find a balance between Waking up and falling asleep. Do not think to much, or you will not fall asleep. Don’t let go of your consciousness, or you will fall asleep normally. Try to put your consciousness in a passive, trance-like state. To do this, you must be fully relaxed, with a clear mind. Good luck.
this post helped me a lot. i didnt know i wasnt supposed to be thinking of lucid dreaming. I am always trying to imagine what i want to do in a lucid dream. for some reason MILD doesnt work for me, i guess i just cant get myself to really believe what im saying. but now that i know this WILD might work a bit better.
But my biggest problem is that I dont even know that i have really experience SP. i think ive gotten close but I just dont get past quick flashes of images.