Help with concentration?

Hey all,

The past few days I’ve been using vampirisim45’s WILD variant when I go to bed, and while the technique itself works great more or less (HI starts quickly and I managed to reach SP for the first time), I have a lot of trouble staying focused. What happens is this cycle where my mind wanders the closer I get to sleep and then snaps back to attention, waking me up. Even if I repeat mantras to myself I get distracted, eventually just falling asleep ‘normally’, and if I concentrate too hard I don’t slip into HI.
Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping myself focused (more than just counting or repeating a mantra, because those aren’t enough) but not so awake that I don’t reach the hypnagogic state at all?

Thanks!

Yeah, here’s a suggestion: if you have trouble staying focused, then just try to focus for thirty seconds or so at a time. Then, let yourself drift off. After you’ve drifted for a bit, focus again.

the only times i managed to do WILD (2-3 times, so i’m surely not anexpert :shy: )
i used counting:
i started counting from 100 to 0, taking away a number everytime i breath:
100
inhale
99
*exhale
98
inhale
etc.
i found it pretty usefull to scream the numbers in my mind, really loud
i hope this helps :wink:

^^^^
That is an interesting technique, I’ll have to try it out!
:write:

actually the synchronization with breathing is only because i can’t really ignore it, so i just HAVE to count with it :slight_smile:

EDIT: quick tip you won’t really like: the WILD technique is pretty difficult for beginners, if i would be you i would start out with something a bit easier, like MILD and RCs
(obviously it varies from person to person, but i had to try quite often before getting it right)
if however you still want to try it, remember to do it after waking up in the middle of the night, it will be a lot easier than doing it directly when going to bed

good luck :smile:

I’m not saying that Vampirism45’s technique doesn’t work but the key to being successful with WILD is experimentation. Just like he did discover HIS ultimate WILD tech sadly(sadly because otherwise would be easy for us dreamers to become lucid) you need to discover yours.

I’ve been reading so much guides and tuts on how to WILD but they all have some common things but they also have their differences which exist because every guide was written by another dreamer.

You can use basic things, hell you can use everything but with time and with patience you will succeed.

From my own experience I don’t rely on HH’s(visual, sound) because they are not reliable for me. I’ve been caught up to many times in HH’s and then I would start interacting with them and then everything would fail. That’s actually the part where most of the guides are different. The transitioning point, from waking state to the dream state.

Almost every dreamer has it’s own way. I do rely on HH’s that are body sensations like floating, sinking, lifting up and such. When I came to that point I would let myself fall asleep and next second I would be in a lucid dream or I would roll over into the dream or I would get up into the dream.

Like I said different strokes for different folks!

Good luck in discovering your ways! :content:

Thanks a million for your responses guys, & I’m sorry responding took me so long! =

@noobdreamer: Yeah, the counting-back-from-100 thing is what I’ve been doing! But I still get distracted, or my mind wanders, or I lose my place-- and then when I notice that I’ve lost my place or gotten distracted, I snap all the way back to reality and have to start all over!! :angry:
And yeah, I’ve heard the “WILD isn’t great for beginners” thing, but 1) nobody really specifies at what point you stop becoming a beginner; 2) I’ve had lucid dreams before (mostly MILD or FILD), it’s just I’m coming back to it after a while of being away; and 3) hey, practice makes perfect, right~?

@dB_FTS: Thanks, that might actually be really helpful! I think a part of my problem is that by the time I get to a state where I could theoretically enter a dream, I’ve forgotten what i’m supposed to be doing… >_> so no matter how I get there if and when I do, it’s hard for me to remember that I’m supposed to enter a dream/reality check/whatever. But your advice is really good, I’ll try that for sure!

Thanks again you guys!! :smiley: