So I’ve only been trying to induce lucid dreams for two nights. On my first night I managed to become lucid upon the start of my very first dream (I used MILD, and also ended up doing an RC in my dream), but it faded within about 15 seconds.
Last night I was consciously focusing on dreaming as I fell asleep (and trying to focus on that “third eye” kinda thing). I felt (or, more accurately, didn’t feel) my limbs go numb. I felt my breathing and heartbeat slow, and it seemed that the darkness my eyes were experiencing slowly enveloped my whole body (hard to explain). It became extremely difficult to concentrate, and suddenly the thought of my room around me entered my head. I suddenly became aware of exactly where I was, feeling in my limbs returned, the darkness retreated back to my eyes (again, hard to explain). I was suddenly wide awake (though I hadn’t opened my eyes), and I noticed my heartbeat had spiked. My first thought was “Woah, I think that was almost WILD.”
I woke up later from a dream (non-lucid), wrote it in my journal, then tried to do it again. I got a similar result, and even managed to start seeing some people sitting around a table. I tried to enter the scene, by imagining myself walking around the table and trying to sit at it, but I lost focus and woke up just like before.
So, my question is, was this WILD, or something close to it? If so, how close was it? How long might it be before I can successfully transition into a lucid dream state? What can I do to improve my chances of of successful WILD?
You were very close to a WILD! The fast heartbeat is one of the signs some people get when they are starting to WILD. The people around the table you saw were HI. I believe the trick is to watch this HI passively, without trying to interact, but still maintaining focus. After a while it will feel more stable and you’ll be able to enter the dream easier. That is, if you’re not simply sucked into it!
Just keep practicing. If you got this far in two nights I think you’ll WILD pretty soon
Welcome to LD4all Immortal Penguin!
Anyway, to answer your question, you were VERY close to a WILD. I know what you mean about the darkness going back Happens to all of us.
However, it seems that you tried to enter the dream too early. You started seeing the dream form, but it wasnt ready so it kicked you out. Also, as mattias said, if you just keep on watching, eventually you will just appear in it. That is how I get ALL my WILDs. I just lie around, and suddenly BAM! Im in a dream. For some reason, I dont see HI, but sometimes I see the early form of the dream. When you were almost in your dream, was it all foggy and indistinct? And did you hear music or white noise in the background? If you did, you just have to wait a couple more minutes and youll find yourself in a dream
Yes, it was very foggy, and very dark. There was no environment at all, just black. I didn’t hear any noise or anything. In fact, I don’t tend to hear anything in my dreams, although I’m often “aware” of sounds (mostly just dialogue). I tried to WILD again last night, but didn’t make it as far. I’m still optimistic, though, especially since I got so close on my first night.
And although I haven’t had any LDs since the very first night I tried, my dream recall has increased remarkably (Dream Journals are AMAZING!). Last night I remembered at least 4 separate dreams, one of which was relatively long and I remember in pretty good detail (including colors, which I NEVER remember)! Also, I had my first FA last night. What a weird experience!
Also, I had two dreams last night in which I talked or thought about dreams (but did not become lucid). This is a good sign, right? I’m really excited to start experiencing longer, more vivid LDs, but I feel like I’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in only three nights.
Off Topic: rubiks_cube_man, I thought I’d let you know I’m a cuber too. Best time: 42 seconds (a few years ago). Used to be able to do the 4x4s ('till mine broke), never got around to the 5x5s, and almost learned to do the 3x3s blindfolded.
Congratulations! You where very close to WILD. Only one piece of advice, when you “fail” at WILD (darkness retracts, everything returns to normal) slowly sit and do an RC. I lost one of LD that way, i WILDed and got up (while i thought i failed) and didn’t do RC, i even questioned some minor details that where amiss but didn’t realize i was dreaming.
If you didn’t already read it, visit the WILD FAQ in knowledge base.
Good luck in your WILDs. You made progress in three days for what it took me 2 months (roughly 90 WILD attempts). Keep up the good work!
better dream recall, FA’s and dreams where you talk about dreams are all great signs! And I’ve found the more you use the DJ’s the better recall you get. The more detail you right down, even those little things that might seem useless, the more detail you’ll start remembering.
btw spider, that was a great WILD FAQ you put together there
The fast heartbeat is one of the signs some people get when they are starting to WILD. The people around the table you saw were HI. I believe the trick is to watch this HI passively, without trying to interact, but still maintaining focus. After a while it will feel more stable and you’ll be able to enter the dream easier. That is, if you’re not simply sucked into it!
Happens to all of us.