Hello there. I’ve been trying to get better at WILD after being generally unsuccessful with Mild, but one thing I can’t seem to do is actually fall asleep while laying so incredibly still. The aches and itches are one thing, but otherwise it’s the buzzing, the heartbeat, all these sensations around me that I can’t tune out. Normally when I fall asleep, I tune these things out and in a sense distract myself to sleep. But with WILD, it says one must pay attention and observe to allow the body to sleep, but that’s just it. How do I let my mind fall asleep? Will it follow my body, or am I just cursed to lay there in limbo for a stupid amount of time? (Last attempt I laid there for about 90 minutes. Geez!)
The short answer is don’t do WILD when you go to bed until you’re experienced. A very few people manage to push through, but it’s not worth the torture. Sleep for 4-6 hours first. You don’t need to do a full WBTB, but wake up and then try. You’ll find it comes easier.
The longer answer is to not bother with WILD until later. Focus on awareness and reality checks throughout the day. WILD won’t help you at all if you transition into a dream and immediately lose awareness.
Also, many WILD guides are… let’s say misleading. You don’t have to be a statue or sleep in a certain position. I find it easier to relax and wait to start falling asleep. Then I start to focus on the HH as they begin. For me that’s usually sounds followed by visuals. I then try to imagine feelings (mainly touch) associated with those visuals. About 40% of the time I’ll transition into a dream. The other 60%, conditions aren’t right and either I don’t fall asleep or I lose awareness.
One other note: in most cases my WILD LD’s are my least vivid, least stable with the least control. My LDs are significantly higher quality when I let them happen naturally through awareness.