How to WILD Properly and Effectively

Quest for Lucidity
1

I read about WILDing on the forum a little more, and it really surprised me. It seems that many people don’t know how to WILD properly, and it’s costing them. People are taking the wrong approach, and it restricts them from being able to do it.

I thought about the problems that people have, and it all winds down to one thing. When attempting a WILD, many people seem to think that if they just lie there counting or doing whatever to keep awake, a dream will just poof in front of them. Sure, they might be attempting to acheive SP or HI along the way, but in the end they just sort of expect a dream to appear. Or, they try to create the dream. Either way, all they’re doing is lying there, waiting for something to happen.

After countless attempts at this, I’m sure many of you have discovered how hard this is. That’s because this is not the way to do it.

Get this: to have a wake indulce lucid DREAM you actually have to dream. Which means you have to fall asleep. If you’ve ever tried to fall asleep by lying there thinking fall asleep, fall asleep, when am I going to fall asleep? you’ll know it doesn’t work. In fact, it could cause some pretty bad insomnia. So how do you expect it to work when WILDing?

A WILD is done not by being awake and dreaming, but by falling asleep while hanging onto a thread of consciouness. A WILD attempt where you accidently fall asleep is better than one where you get frusterated and give up.

Thinking about this, the next time you WILD, lie the way you normally do, relax, and go to sleep. While you do that, hang onto a tiny bit of consciousness. Don’t lie any differently, or expect that it’ll take long to have a WILD. Just go to sleep like you normallly do. It’s not about waiting for the dream, it’s about staying conscious in the dream.

Happy WILDs! :smile:

2

I don’t quite get you on this, hanging onto a tiny bit of consciousness while falling asleep? it sounds impossible.

3

You have to realize there’s a difference between lying in bed, fully conscious, with a fully active mind, and falling asleep with a very low level of lucidity or consciousness. All you need is that little bit to realize you’ve fallen asleep, at which point you can fully “activate” your mind/ consciousness without waking up your body as a result.

4

She’s right, Minato. Most WILD techs are just gimmicks to keep your mind barely aware while you doze off (eg. counting), so that’s basically it.

It’s good practice to actually observe and aid the dream as it forms, that is, observing HI or passively visualizing stuff, while your body is already relaxed. That has to be done, of course, with the slightest of intents, barely enough to follow what’s going on. Doing that efficiently enough, a dream forms, and you’ve been watching it since the beginning, so now you’re conscious of it :content: You know the rest.

5

Of course, one of the main challenges with WILD is the line between “a thread of consciousness” and “fully awake and aware.”

This is what makes WILD difficult. Everyone has to find their way, that one trick that will allow them to retain that little thread of awareness whilst still being able to fall asleep. Once you learn how to do that, WILD becomes relatively easy.

Mind you, I’m not there yet. I’ve had about 5-6 WILD’s or so, including three times as many failed attempts (i.e. either fell asleep or stayed awake too much).

Most of the successful ones for me have been accidental. I didn’t really intend to WILD, but I fell asleep and without intending to do it, I maintained that shred of awareness that allowed me to consciously enter the dream state. I haven’t really practiced this technique a lot (or any technique for that matter), so I’m not yet sure what exactly works best for me.

This is why people tend to try so many different -ILD’s that try to assist with the WILD process. They need to find their method, the trick that works for them. They need to find that one sweet spot between “barely aware” and “not aware enough.”

Aware-O-Meter: []--------|||||||||||------------------------------------------------------ --[]

The left end is “not aware enough” (fall asleep normally) and the right end is “too aware” (insomnia). The sweet spot lies somewhere in the marked bit, but that’s different for everyone.

Really, WILD is probably the easiest technique once you find your personal sweet spot and a technique that allows you to get there consistently.

Rather than relying on any one technique until it works, I’d say it’s probably better if you spend a few weeks experimenting (on a daily basis) with what kind of awareness is or isn’t enough. At least, this is how I would do it, and the way I’m going to try.

Counting keeps me awake too much, since I tend to synchronize it with my breathing. I need to do something less strenuous like visualization, but then it becomes hard to not fall asleep. It’s challenging, but ultimately rewarding, I think.

6

Hmm, I think my SC got this right the first day I read an article about WILD.

7

I’ve read so many people saying something like “I tried to WILD for x min but then gave up and went to sleep normally”. They say this because they can’t WILD/fall asleep, but as soon as they “give up and go to sleep normally” they fall asleep quickly. The thing to think about is what is the difference? What are you doing differently when you “go to sleep normally”? Because if you are able to fall asleep like that, you should get that and try to put awareness into that kind of falling asleep to get a WILD. If you’re trying to WILD and aren’t getting there it’s because you’re trying to fall asleep abnormally, and that’s why it isn’t working! :razz:

8

Exactly! People seem to think that if they fall asleep abnormally, somehow a dream will appear in front of them. I know from expreiance that it doesn’t work that way. :smile:

9

Iv’e only tried a couple of days in a row now of WILDing, and have tried the counting technique, I start to feel my counting getting really terrible and then I fall asleep without knowing it and wake back up remembering the ND i had. I need to try and hold onto that thread of conciousness some how, and counting doesn’t help lol. What other techniques are there? and I’ve also never had HI. Well not that I remember ofcourse. it’s early days!

10

It’s very unlikely that anyone can WILD reliably without having understood and internalised the ideas that OP has written about. The funny thing is, these ideas are so simple, and yet people keep overanalysing and thinking there’s more to it than just ‘fall asleep, stay aware’.

Exactly, I have seen people saying that a lot. It’s an indicator that they have completely misunderstood the process.

11

think of it like you want to fall alseep with a lifeline in the back of your mind to waking life. try to be aware of falling asleep and “close” it very slowly if that makes any sense. :tongue:

12

It is not correct, Sliph. Thinking about WL often brings thoughts of events that spring emotions in us, if slightly, like fear, anger, frustration, also excitement, reactiveness, and that brings the body to being tense, and the mind wandering too much in its own memories means losing consciousness of what’s happening in the present. So either way, keeping awake or falling asleep, that way a successful WILD is unlikely to happen.

Instead, the simple procedure to follow is knowing what you’re going towards (very easy since you just have to observe yourself falling asleep and waking up for a day or two, or recognize how dreams feel), and accept it, become a part of it, become fully conscious of the transition in the mind state and integrating it in the current way of thought. That occasionally includes HI, but it can start way before they appear. THe “stay aware” part means that something is happening, and you just have to let it happen, without clinging to memories or happenings of sort. It’s all about watching how your mind prepares for sleep.

Summing it up, you do have a different mindstate when you dream; if you want to reach a dream consciously, you have to reach that mindstate consciously when you fall asleep.

13

Thank you im new to LD and ive been trying for a couple days and your clerification is most helpfull. Tosxychor ur very helpfull as well, hopefully with this comunities wealth of experience i can have my first WILD soon :smile:

14

Thank you, Lena and Toxy, now I actually know what I’m trying to do, instead of what is usually described as simply lying on your back till you either can’t move, or see things; I actually know what I’m looking for, what to observe, and how to do so.

15

Oh my gosh, THANK YOU. I’ve been trying to have a WILD with other wierd techniques before this. After reading this, it changed my whole view of WILD. Last night I had my first one!!!

16

Great! Congrats! :smile: :smile: :smile:

17

Update: So far, it’s been two for two. Now I can finally experience, and improve, my dreams to the fullest extent. My sincerest thanks.

18

I was useless at WILDing until I read a post very similar to this one a while ago.

I dunno if I’m allowed to link it (its on Dreamview) but meh I’ll post it anyway just because it’s a decent read for anyone trying to WILD.

https://www.dreamviews.com/f79/why-you-fail-wilds-96892/

Yay for no more insomnia by WILDing! Woot! :smile:

19

With so many WILD-related techniques and gimmicks around, it’s easy to lose sight of what you’re actually trying to accomplish, as it gets buried under all of the methodology. It’s great to have threads like this that expose the basics and help bring everyone back on track! :grin:

20

I don’t think I fully understand. I lay in bed every night and I try to wild, its to the point where when I’m going asleep I start the counting without thinking about it, I’m just used to counting now I do it automatically. Everytime I try to wild (Every night basically) I get to swirling colors and sounds. I also notice my counting gets messed up. (Like I will be on 43 for a good minute before I realize it, or my words will be different, like instead of 12 I’m dreaming, I notice I was saying 12 ice cream instead.) Is that bad? Am I doing something wrong. Also I get very strong urges to move my hands and feet when I get to swirling colors.