Last night I decided to try WILDing. First I counted down from 1000, then when I reached 0 I started counting back up, and got to about 1800 before I lost count. I was still wide awake, and I still am 12 hours later. Yeah, I didn’t get any sleep at all.
My question is this: should I continue trying to WILD, ie was this just a random bout of insomnia (I do get it every now and then), or am I not cut out for WILDs?
P.S. - I also noticed, that on reaching zero on the first countdown, I thought I was starting to get HI, but then realised I’d accidentally opened my eyes. I just thought I’d mention that.
I tried out the WILD technique two nights ago when I first tried to have a lucid dream. It didn’t work for me, either.
You should check out the big choosing your technique topic.
It helped me choose the MILD technique and I had my first LD last night. Choosing your technique[/url]
You started at 1000? Sounds like you didn’t expect to succeed. Mental state is worth more than anything in this game.
Plus, you probably had way too much focus. I tried counting a few times and found that as I approached sleep, the counting started failing - i forgot the number i just thought, or what number was before 63, or stuff like that. If you don’t allow rational thought to slide away, then you are now keeping yourself awake, when you need to be keeping yourself aware. Big difference.
Counting requires a lot of thought. You should try another method involving more instinctive, dream/right-brainy things, like watching the HI, singing in your head, etc.
Don’t look towards anything you could see if you opened your eyes. Then it doesn’t matter if you open them a crack.
Yes I agree with Rectifier: you were probably too much concentrated on the counting that you were unable to fall asleep. WILDing requires that you diminish your consciousness in the more or less the same rate as your body is falling asleep, so that at the turning point you’re focusing on only one thing (this could be HI, or preferably a dream scene/object); this allows you to smoothly shift your awareness from the physical body to the dreambody. If you want to use counting, it’s best to use it only in the first stages of relaxation: when you inhale, count and feel the tension in your muscles; when you exhale, feel the tension leaving your body together with your breath. This way you get more easily relaxed. Stop counting when you get to a deeper level of relaxation; then you can for instance solely concentrate on your breathing (for instance when exhale, feel yourself falling down… this accelerates the relaxation process). And when you finally reach SP, and start feeling the vibrations or seeing the HI, gently let them go and shift awareness from the physical to the dream body. For instance, you can imagine a dream scene from 1st person perspective, or you can imagine your dream body spinning inside your physical body (so you can roll yourself out of your physical body, straight into the dream… though this requires some practice). There are many techs available to enter the dream.
Thanks for the tips, I’ll try again tonight. I know I’ll be more successful now I know what I did wrong!
Rectifier, I decided to start at 1000 because I know it takes me a fairly long time to get to sleep, and hadn’t properly read up about the WILD technique, and thought I was supposed to count right the way up to sleep :-/
Wow 1000? I agree with rectifier, you have to prepare your self mentally that you will be lucid. If you go into it with doubts, then nothing will happen. I count from 1. I get lucid before i can reach 40. This is becoz i strongly prepare my mind. Mind is the most important thing in this equation. [/color]
I know. Sometimes i dare myself to actually go OVER 40 Lol. But i become lucid with the range of 10-25. Its mainly becoz i prepare my mind. As i said, Mind is most important in this equation.[/color]
Help your body fall asleep quicker by doing lots of exercise during the day and keep your mind more alert by reading some non fiction eg. about lucid dreaming just before bed.
You need a balance between wake and sleep which is difficult to get
Hi again guys, and thanks for all the tips!
I thought I’d give you a quick update on how it’s been going. I’ve not been trying much recently, as I need to get back in a rhythm of waking up early for school next week, but I’ve not stopped altogether. Last night was, I think, the most successful I’ve been - I think I started to get HI. I could see coloured shapes, and tried to focus on them - they looked a bit like vectorised images. I felt very relaxed, and got an odd sensation of my centre of consciousness moving - from behind my eyes, to right up at the front of them, just next to my eyelids.
Unfortunately I accidentally got less relaxed, and got fully awake again. But I will of course keep trying!
I’m not gonna try WBTB for a while, as school starts up again next week and I need to get as much sleep as I can. But when the next holiday comes around, I’ll give it a go.
Another problem I’ve encountered is that since I started using my alarm clock again, I’ve had zero dream recall. I’m gonna use the ‘glass of water’ technique, and tell myself a lot of times how I’m going to remember my dreams.
I think that’s all I have to say, so until next time
-Richard
Petter, dont try to stay completely awake with ur eyes closed. Otherwise you will be just awake the whole night lol. No, close ur eyes and let ur body sleep but keep ur mind awake. I dont know how to explain it. Its like, when u sleep, you are just sleeping and nothing else. But try to count ur breathing and focus on that. Its like, you can feel your body sleep, but yet you focus on ur breathing. That is what i do. Personelly, i have never listened to music in my head becoz i want my mind to be peaceful. I find counting my breathing to be very peaceful. The first time i did this, i counted about 250 or something. Then it went to 140. Now, it hardly ever reaches 40 before i induce a LD. Look at the darkness when u close ur eyes. Count ur breathing. Sometimes it can be annoying but dont give up. Also, it helps if you are tired. I go to bed at 4-6 am in the night, so im very tired. My body just gives into sleep while i keep my mind focus on my breathing. I wish you all the luck and success.[/color]
No no Petter. Keep your mind focused. But not completely awake. Otherwise you will be awake for the whole night. Just relax your body, focus on ur breathing and count your breathing. This works for me. But we are all different.[/color]
I have the opposite problem: I fall asleep too easily.
When I try WILDing, I start counting, but after a few minutes I start thinking crap, start to think of songs and sing them in my head, make silly plans (‘Father goes to work tomorrow, so do I, maybe he can follow me on the train with his car on the tracks and blablabla’): it’s feels like a kinder garten inside of my head. But that kind of things make me float away from MILDing or WILDing and makes me fall asleep.
But when I ignore this mental babbling, I cannot fall asleep: it’s like a lullaby to me.
It might be that ur burned out right now from trying to LD. IF thats the case, then give it a rest for a week. AFter a week, try to WILD again and this time focus on the breathing. We all need a break from it sometimes.[/color]
@Jaxcal: the point is that I’m just started to try maybe a week ago, and I’m not trying that intense. But when I concentrate on something (like counting or my breathing), I cannot sleep.
If that is the case, then maybe MILD will be a better technique for you. In WILD, you to have keep a balance between relaxing your mind, and keeping it focused on ur breathing or other things like walking downstairs while counting the stairs. Last night When i was WILD 'ing, i induced a LD on 60. That is, i was counting my breathing from 1 and by the time i got to 60, i was in a LD. Most of the times it dont even reach 40.
You will have to find the right balance here. Have a go through How to choose your method. See if WILD is the best technique for you.[/color]
