Hi, this is my first post. I am VERY new to LD-- been interested in it academically for a long time, only just started trying for it in earnest a couple days ago. I decided to go with WILD as my technique because I wanted a highly reliable method, and because I’m not worried about potentially frightening phenomena. Plus, to be honest, it sounds like a cool sorta head trip.
Here was my concern-- I’ve been doing WILD on my back, even though I’m a side-sleeper. I never sleep on my back-- one of the reasons it’s so hard to do WILD for a consistently long time for me. I’ve been able to go for fifty minutes straight so far, and I’ve gotten nothing other than some odd feelings in my body-- once, a series of painful “going down a rollercoaster drop” feelings, and occasionally the sudden sensation that I can’t breathe, which quickly goes away. These don’t bother me; what bothers me is that these physical feelings weren’t accompanied by anything going on mentally. When I decided to just lie on my side and try it (this is post-WBTB), at some point I actually got HI, or at least I think I did. I noticed that I was beginning to drift off into weird, short, semi-dreams, and when I snapped my mind into focus the darkness would sort of erupt into flashing color. But even then, I couldn’t parlay it into something more, and ended up just going to sleep.
How important it the relaxation ritual pre-WILD (tense your feet, relax your feet, tense your lower legs, etc)? Because I can’t do that on my side, and yet I’m most comfortable and able to fall asleep on my side, not my back. Could I do the relaxation bit and then turn onto my side? Or is it better to lie in the less comfortable position anyway? How important is it to stay perfectly still during WILD? Sorry for the length of this post and thanks in advance for your advice, guys.
I always WILD on my side, try to focus on the relaxation ritual pre-WILD in terms of your mind, you need to zone out. Listen to ambient music for at least half n hour before begining (I use Boards of Canada as they use loops from childhood). The best time for WILD is sesta (sp) time just after eating midday, this is a natural time for a nap as a human.
lucidcrossroads.co.uk/WILD.htm
spiritual.com.au/articles/as … e.htm#wild
2nd Lieutenant Awesome
I gather from your post that you are trying to do WILD at bed time. If that is the case then relaxation is very important. At least in my opinion. You have to learn how to bring yourself down into a trance in order to succeed. You should read the big WILD topic there is a lot of good information in there. Also if you do a search on meditation and you will find some good relaxation techniques there. Just be patient and don’t give up you will get it.
Of course you could also take a short cut and wake yourself after 5-6 hours of sleep. When you wake up try not to move much. In fact if you don’t have to do not move at all. Just visualize the dream you were in your mind. Since you just woke up you should already be relaxed so, just use whatever WILD technique you prefer and you may well find yourself slipping into a dream very quickly fully lucid.
Now, don’t let me discourage you from doing WILD at bed time because it is possible. It just takes longer so, you have to have a lot of patients.
I highly suggest learning meditation or self hypnosis. It is not a requirement but can be very helpful.
Good luck and happy dreaming.
I too am more comfortable going to sleep on my side side, but when I try to WILD I sleep on my back. This is because:
Although side sleeping is more comfortable for me, for the extended amount of time it can take to WILD, I start experiencing pressure pain from limbs that overlap. This is why I try to practice WILD on my back.
When I practice, I do so after 5-6 hours of sleep.
Thanks, everyone. Waking up after 5-6 hours and then WILDing right away (without staying up for 20-60 minutes, as in WBTB) is something I haven’t tried. I’ll try that, as well as continuing to try WILD at bedtime. As for meditation, I’m just beginning to study raja-yoga meditation also, so that may help with relaxation and focusing techniques down the line. Thanks again for all the advice, you’ve definitely given me a lot I can use.
2LA
Yes, going right back to sleep with WBTB instead of staying up for ½ works very well for me and I hope you get good results with it to.
I also practice at bed time and WBTB. I think this is a good combination. Sometimes even if you fail with WILD at bed time and fall asleep you still might get a MILD like effect and wake up in you dreams later.
Good luck and happy dreaming.