Was I close? Is heart beat just a side effect? (WILD)

Ok, this is my first post lol.

Anyways last night I decided to try WILD for the first time. I shut my eyes and about 5-10 minutes later there was strange colors flashing in my brain, it seemed like they were above my eyes so I couldn’t see them directly. Then a couple minutes after that I heard a splashing, watery noise in my ears and heart rate rocketed. My arms and legs got heavy and I tried to stay calm. I thought my heart rate was because I was too excited so when I tried to calm down I lost concentration. Now I read somewhere that your heart rate is just a common side effect and I shouldn’t try to calm myself down. If that’s true (is it?), then I think I can get an LD on my next try tonight. And I WILD without WBTB :wink: .

Sorry about the double-post but I would really like an answer before I go to sleep in a couple hours.

I think you’re getting to excited. Try meditating before or drink some tea :wink:. Just focus on breathing or visualize a dream and just be aware that you are dreaming.

Ahhh, so you’re telling me that it’s not good that my heart beats so fast? I think meditation looks a little bit stupid. Like it appears to me that meditation is crossing your legs and doing that thing with your hands and saying “ohhhhhhhmmmmmm” and floating around. And does iced tea count? Lol my microwave doesn’t work.

You totally have the wrong impression of meditation lol. Meditation is used to calm the mind not float around and make noises. Yes some people make noise called mantras that help but you should look deep into meditation because there are so many ways to meditate like just focusing on your breath and being in the present. WILD is closely related to meditation except you are trying to sleep while in meditation you stay awake and aware while your body relaxes and sits there.

But when you WILD just keep focus on your breath and sensations. Don’t hesitate and think “oh is this whats suppose to happen” or “oh is this not good?” just simply relax and become aware of the different sensations and images that come up.

Would it help if I was drowsy when I WILD’ed? I tried when I was fully awake but nothing happened. Actually colors started floating for a minute or two then my damn phone rang and I couldn’t go back to where I was. I do the tense-then-relax exercise, where you tense your feet while you inhale then relax them when you exhale and do that with all your muscles until you get to your head. Also, is there a special way I should lay down? I’m a stomach sleeper so I lay on my back so I can’t fall asleep. One last thing, I have a stand up fan next to my head while I sleep, should I turn it off? It’s really hot in the Caribbean so I have it on all the time but it just occurred to me that that might break my concentration.

It might help but since you have been using the fan for quite a while(I’m assuming) then you’re probably already used to it. I say just keep practicing don’t expect this to work the first time or right away… PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

Well I’m not expecting it to work that soon, but right now I’m living 3000 miles away from my home state of New Hampshire because of the recession so I want to have a way to talk to my friends back home (besides myspace, facebook, and email) even if it is just a dream lol.

Dont worry about it then. I’m sure your doing fine.

Alright cool thanks :content:

You’re question has already been answered, but I just thought I could add something.

Having a fan on, if it’s not too loud, might actually help when using WILD. When I tried WILD in the past, I found that I always started to get scared during SP because of sounds that I hear and it distracts me. I started using a humidifier (if I don’t use one during the winter I get a really sore throat) and, without even realizing it at the moment, it helped a lot with WILD. It adds sort of a white noise in the background which makes abrupt sounds less noticable, whether they are in my head or actually happening.

Just a thought.

That’s good to know too. I tried WILD with WBTB last night but I never got out of bed and tried going back to sleep and I ended up just laying there until morning. Should I have gotten up?

Yeah, usually when doing WBTB you want to stay awake for like 30 mins by doing something then go back to sleep.

Ugh I’ll try 10 minutes, 30 seems too long for me.

The way to make WBTB the most effective is you wake up, get out of bed, and read about lucid dreaming in a book or on the internet for 30 minutes to an hour. If you don’t want to wait 30 minutes then you could try 10. I’m not sure if it will work as well, though.

I got the Infinity software LD program, it says some people say 5-10 minutes work just as good. But I guess I’ll try thirty. I’m worried about felling more awake. If I become untired while I’m on LD4all I won’t be able to WILD as easily, or at least I’d presume that because I’ve never LD’d