Thread: WILD question concerning sleep paralysis?

Originally Posted by Ruler of Dreams

I was trying to become lucid using the WILD technique. The images.. yes I do, quite vividly infact, but they didn't help me become lucid.

Not really, it was just random stuff

I have not tried using any techniques to become lucid. I simply do, frequently. In fact, I take melatonin at bedtime so I can get some actual sleep! I was awake most of the night before, dreaming. I was exhausted when I got up. It's part of what opened up for me in 1986, when I kind of got hit over the head with a lot of extra vivid dreams that demanded that I wake up! It's been a trip!

Nothing is just random stuff in dreams, really. You just don't know how to interpret it! I get as much meaning from many of hypnagogic/pompic images as from full length dreams. Lots of times they're puns, or they're answers to questions I've been asking, or they're my guides adjusting my dosage on an herb I'm taking, or they're reminders of something I need to do today, or whatever, but they're never, in my experience, random stuff.

One funny one I had once, when I had been carrying on very intellectually the day before, was of a woman wearing this fancy plaid ruffled collar over her blouse. I thought and thought about it. I finally realized that woman's collar was a pun for "woman scholar." Isn't that cute? My guide's way of teasing. Sweetly.

Another time, I saw a woman with her hair blowing out in one direction, and couldn't figure that one out. Someone on a list suggested that something she was hearing was going in one ear, and out the other, thus blowing her hair out. I took that as a hint to listen more carefully.

They always mean something.

She who loves interpretation most loves hypnagogic/pompic images second!

A picture speaks a thousand words!

Originally Posted by Bucketheadjamz

Hello, welcome to the best lucid dreaming site on the net!!

First off, know that you do not need sleep paralysis to enter a dream. Your goal should not be to enter sleep paralysis, but to enter the dream itself.

You left out a very important step in completing a successful WILD:

It's called Wake Back to Bed or WBTB. The reason you need to do this is that in the beginning of the night, your dreams are about 90 minutes apart. Your dreams during this time period are also of significantly lower quality than those of later hours of sleep.

What you need to do before you attempt a WILD is to sleep normally for some time and then stay awake for some time. I have had the most success sleeping for either 4 or 6 hours and staying awake for 1 hour.

So you sleep for 4-6 hours to get your REM cycle (where most dreaming occurs) to become much closer together, like around 15 minutes apart. Then you wake up, via alarm clock, natural light, bathroom break, anything. Now you stay up. Staying up greatly increases that chance that you will not drift unconscious while waiting for the dream to form.

Although concentrating on breathing may work for you, I would suggest trying other things. I find that concentrating on something as simple as breathing is too dull. Perhaps you would have better luck thinking about what you will do if your WILD attempt is successful. Doing this will also save precious lucid time since you won't have to think about what to do. This will also increase the chances of a DILD since you are thinking about lucid dreaming (right before falling asleep).

I don't know why you don't go through sleep paralysis, but it is not uncommon for a WILDer to miss out on sleep paralysis. I have never experienced sleep paralysis. I think that when people experience sleep paralysis, it is usually when they wake up from a dream prematurely.

Depending on whether or not you are using WBTB, you may be close to a dream. If you sleep for 6 hours before attempting a WILD, you should only be laying down for 15 or 20 minutes (at most) to enter a dream. I'm not too sure about this, but this has been my experience.

Also, if you haven't already, check out the WILD and WBTB tutorials on the site.

Feel free to ask questions and once again,

Thanks! This may be why... however, I stay up late frequently (it's summer where I am), and I sometimes feel myself close to a dream. Is it absolutely necessary to do WBTB to induce a WILD?

Originally Posted by IrisRavenstar

I have not tried using any techniques to become lucid. I simply do, frequently. In fact, I take melatonin at bedtime so I can get some actual sleep! I was awake most of the night before, dreaming. I was exhausted when I got up. It's part of what opened up for me in 1986, when I kind of got hit over the head with a lot of extra vivid dreams that demanded that I wake up! It's been a trip!

Nothing is just random stuff in dreams, really. You just don't know how to interpret it! I get as much meaning from many of hypnagogic/pompic images as from full length dreams. Lots of times they're puns, or they're answers to questions I've been asking, or they're my guides adjusting my dosage on an herb I'm taking, or they're reminders of something I need to do today, or whatever, but they're never, in my experience, random stuff.

One funny one I had once, when I had been carrying on very intellectually the day before, was of a woman wearing this fancy plaid ruffled collar over her blouse. I thought and thought about it. I finally realized that woman's collar was a pun for "woman scholar." Isn't that cute? My guide's way of teasing. Sweetly.

Another time, I saw a woman with her hair blowing out in one direction, and couldn't figure that one out. Someone on a list suggested that something she was hearing was going in one ear, and out the other, thus blowing her hair out. I took that as a hint to listen more carefully.

They always mean something.

She who loves interpretation most loves hypnagogic/pompic images second!

A picture speaks a thousand words!

Thanks, I'll try to interpret my hypnogogic images next time lol.

Originally Posted by Ruler of Dreams

Thanks, I'll try to interpret my hypnogogic images next time lol.

Do you keep a dream journal? I journal all my dreams, including these, so if I can't figure it out right away, it may connect later on.

As for sleep paralysis, I've only experienced that a couple of times, and I think Jamz is right, that it's related to waking from a dream mentally before your body wakes up. I had one instance where I woke up with sleep paralysis to find my face stuck in my pillow, and I was unable to breathe, which was scary. Fortunately, I had just re-read Jeremy Taylor's _Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill_ the day before, and remembered he said to move fine motor muscles, not big ones like arms and legs. I twitched my eyebrow, and the paralysis released. Remember that, just in case!

Anyway, I'm new here too, as of yesterday, but welcome!

I'm signing off for now...

Originally Posted by IrisRavenstar

Do you keep a dream journal? I journal all my dreams, including these, so if I can't figure it out right away, it may connect later on.

As for sleep paralysis, I've only experienced that a couple of times, and I think Jamz is right, that it's related to waking from a dream mentally before your body wakes up. I had one instance where I woke up with sleep paralysis to find my face stuck in my pillow, and I was unable to breathe, which was scary. Fortunately, I had just re-read Jeremy Taylor's _Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill_ the day before, and remembered he said to move fine motor muscles, not big ones like arms and legs. I twitched my eyebrow, and the paralysis released. Remember that, just in case!

Anyway, I'm new here too, as of yesterday, but welcome!

I'm signing off for now...

Nah, I don't keep a dream journal. But I have worked on remembering dreams, and I can vividly recall them. I think that to induce a wild, I don't need to do reality checks or keep a dj, so that's why I picked it.

Thanks! This may be why... however, I stay up late frequently (it's summer where I am), and I sometimes feel myself close to a dream. Is it absolutely necessary to do WBTB to induce a WILD?

No problem.

No, WBTB is not absolutely necessary. However, it is extremely important. I do settle in the for ride of the HI when I first go to bed, but never do I attempt a WILD from the beginning of the night.

Originally Posted by Bucketheadjamz

Thanks! This may be why... however, I stay up late frequently (it's summer where I am), and I sometimes feel myself close to a dream. Is it absolutely necessary to do WBTB to induce a WILD?

No problem.

No, WBTB is not absolutely necessary. However, it is extremely important. I do settle in the for ride of the HI when I first go to bed, but never do I attempt a WILD from the beginning of the night.

Thanks

So, I don't need to go through Sleep Paralysis once I try to WILD? And how will I know when to "step" into the dream? Do I move my physical body once I know I'm dreaming or think I'm moving? Sorry for the wave of questions

No, sleep paralysis is not inherent to a successful WILD.

It's hard to explain how to know when to step into the dream. It's different for everyone, but for me, I just know that I am now far enough along the (epic) journey to dreamworld based on how everything feels. The HI and everything in general gets more intense the closer you get to a full-on dream. So, for me, I just know because of how it feels.

Once you know/suspect you are now in a full-on dream, you could try to move your physical body. Hopefully, doing so will only move your dream body. Once you get outta bed (assuming the dream starts there), you may find it helpful/necessary to do some stabilization techniques. One common way to do this that works for many people, myself included, is to watch while you rub your hands together. Using your other senses is advised as well.

When you get a chance, be sure to check out the tutorials on WILDing, WBTB, dream stability, dream control, etc.

Don't worry about the stream of questions. Happy lucids!