# Lucid Dreaming > Attaining Lucidity >  >  I can't go into Sleep Paralysis for the life of me

## nobodycares

I've tried laying down for hours at a time, and I just can't do it.  How do you do this?

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## nobodycares

Maybe I should clarify.  I do this every night before I go to bed.  I wake up early and try to do it after 4 - 5 hours of sleep, and now I'm trying it in the afternoon.

All of the times I am not tired, so should I be doing this when I'm tired?  Does caffeine help?

I just wasted my morning trying to induce sleep paralysis twice, and only ended up lying there for 2 hours.

I hate this.

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## Tornado Joe

Hi NoCares,

The more you try, the more frustrated you get, the less relaxed you will be, the less likely you'll reach the point of sleep paralysis.

In most cases, I find that you wake up to _find_ yourself in sleep paralysis, you dont _wait for it_ to happen while you're awake. You may have better luck if you let yourself fall asleep as you normally would, then during your nightly 'awakenings' try to resist falling back to sleep right away and lie completely still and keep yourself conscious just enough to know you're not sleeping. We all wake up at various times between sleep cycles, we just don't remember.

The doorway to lucidity through a WILD is very narrow - it also opens and closes erratically. It takes a fine balance between consciousness and sleep.

Even if you find yourself at that point of paralysis, you may still fail to go lucid out of the excitement. So try not to get so worked up about it now, else you'll be freaking out when it finally does work.

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## nobodycares

At times (perhaps 20 minutes into it) I begin to see waves of light and colors (not really images) and they last until I really try to see more of them and focus on them, and then recede.

Also at times I feel as though I'm transitioning into some other state (perhaps a dream) but then I come back down to normal and just end up sitting there in bed.

I think I have to stop putting my craving to dream ahead of my life, as this is easily taking over.  It's hard for me because the more I want something the more I work at it, but I definitely think WILD is not working for me.

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## Ivy

great, u want to, and i cant make it stop happening, i think it sucks! I don't like sleep paralysis

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## Tornado Joe

> It's hard for me because the more I want something the more I work at it,



That's totally understandable, and not a bad quality to have. Unfortunately, WILDing is something that takes some sensitivity or finesse. Like trying to nail a picture up in the wall using a sledgehammer - it can be done, but you have to be very precise and careful how you use the sledgehammer. Pounding hard will only create a bigger whole in the wall!





> I don't like sleep paralysis



why not? does it scare you? once you accept what it is and what can be achieved from it, it's actually a pretty exhilarating experience (which is why many try to achieve it).

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## mrdeano

> Maybe I should clarify.  I do this every night before I go to bed.  I wake up early and try to do it after 4 - 5 hours of sleep, and now I'm trying it in the afternoon.



Do you get out of bed and do something to awaken your mind?

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## nobodycares

I've tried both.  Sometimes I get up to record in my journal, while other times I feel if I lay there I will be able to transition.

I think the main thing is that I focus too hard and I keep myself awake.  Are you supposed to try and sleep and just count while you're falling asleep, or are you purposely trying to keep yourself awake but put your body to sleep?

I laid there for an hour today and nothing happened.  I think I even ended up passing out for a half hour due to boredom, after the first hour, so I wasted 1.5 hours.

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## mrdeano

> I've tried both.  Sometimes I get up to record in my journal, while other times I feel if I lay there I will be able to transition.
> 
> I think the main thing is that I focus too hard and I keep myself awake.  Are you supposed to try and sleep and just count while you're falling asleep, or are you purposely trying to keep yourself awake but put your body to sleep?
> 
> I laid there for an hour today and nothing happened.  I think I even ended up passing out for a half hour due to boredom, after the first hour, so I wasted 1.5 hours.



You need to keep your mind awake and make your body fall asleep.
You need to
- Keep still
-Keep eyes closed
- Don't move your eyes (try not to)
- Resist temptation of moving

Just let your mind think about Lucid dreaming and SP. But make sure you don't drop to sleep.

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## nobodycares

I've tried that but when I think I stay awake, and my body never falls asleep.

I've laid still for over an hour and never fallen asleep, and didn't move a muscle either.  I'll keep trying but I don't think this will work.  Perhaps I need to be tired when I go to bed rather than just trying to sleep when I'm not tired, only to induce lucid dreams.

I swear this is taking over my life and I have to let it go naturally.

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## mrdeano

> I've tried that but when I think I stay awake, and my body never falls asleep.
> 
> I've laid still for over an hour and never fallen asleep, and didn't move a muscle either.  I'll keep trying but I don't think this will work.  Perhaps I need to be tired when I go to bed rather than just trying to sleep when I'm not tired, only to induce lucid dreams.
> 
> I swear this is taking over my life and I have to let it go naturally.



I find it easier to accomplish when I am tired.
However, they don't always result into a LD

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## wet_roof113

First of all, you need to know, that every-time you try and do it you are getting better. All it will take is experience. What works for me is to be relaxed and have no expectations what so ever. Also you can start visualizing stuff that is entertaining/interesting which may help, I do it sometimes although I'm not very good. It is good to know that you are experiencing unconscious states where you doze off for minutes at a time. For me as I got better you began to be more concious of these time periods. Basically you could very well be going into SP already but it happens during those unconscious times where you have no memory.  

I agree a lot with what Tornado joe said and with practice I think you will gradually get better (I think you may already notice a difference between attempts you are trying now, compared to your first tries, no?)

I remember my first attempts to WILD I couldn't even lay still for 15+ minutes without getting agitated. 


I could help you more, umm why exactly are you trying to get into SP or are you trying to WILD?

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## HugoMax

> I've tried laying down for hours at a time, and I just can't-do it.  How do you do this?



Yo, nobodycares,  :wink2: 
I have the same problem, I've been doing this for a very long time now and I have never even been able to induce sleep paralysis. I was wondering if you also feel weird sensations throughout the time. I also have bursts of tingling feelings and a heavy feeling, but im never paralysed, i can still move, which isn't right. But these just last for a couple seconds, sometimes close to a minute then they're gone. I know you posted your question in 2009 and it's 8 years later, so I'm curious (this is kind of like a message to the future) has it worked for you yet?

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