Thread: WILD question concerning sleep paralysis?

Hey everybody! This is my first post ever !!!

So, I've recently tried to induce a WILD (I haven't had my first lucid yet, but WILD seems to be one that will work for me).

Everytime I try to WILD, I go as far as hypnogogic (spelling, lol) images (i.e. i see blue colors swirling and sometimes I see scenes that disappear after a few seconds), and I never enter sleep paralysis!

I've tried counting and concentrating, and I don't move.

Here's my procedure:

-Lay down on back

-Close eyes and concentrate on breathing

-Soon, I see the colors, and then when they get stronger, I count (1- I'm dreaming, 2-I'm dreaming, etc.)

-I sometimes feel my body tensing (not paralyzed, just feeling heavy and I feel like I need to stretch them)

-I then see some images (i think this is the hypnogogic hallucinations), but then they disappear, but that's probably because I don't concentrate too much.

So my basic questions are:

How can I concentrate more? What's a good way to?

And

Why don't I go through sp? And am I close to an LD?

Many thanks

PS: Sometimes my fingers and toes twitch, but I don't move so that doesn't really mess me up. Just thought I may add that to elaborate on any progress.

Hi Ruler of Dreams,

I think that all of my hypnagogic and hypnapompic dreams are by nature lucid dreams, as I am fully conscious when I have them, and am aware they are inner images, not outer reality. I use the lucidity to gather as much detail from them as possible, as they are also the ones that are most likely PSI or psychic dreams. They are usually a message for me, from someone else (God/dess, spirit guides, angels, family and friends), so I want to get the message as completely as possible. Most of them are very short, like seeing a photograph, or a few frames of film, or even just hearing words and also seeing them spelled out. But sometimes, they will go into a full length dream, and then I still use the lucidity to gather information. I don't like to control or change them, though it sounds like fun when people do. I'm just afraid I'll miss something important through doing that! I think sometimes I do ask questions, and sometimes that brings clarification on what's being received.

What were you specifically trying to accomplish? Do you remember the hypnagogic images? Did they seem to have meaning to you?

Originally Posted by IrisRavenstar

Hi Ruler of Dreams,

I think that all of my hypnagogic and hypnapompic dreams are by nature lucid dreams, as I am fully conscious when I have them, and am aware they are inner images, not outer reality. I use the lucidity to gather as much detail from them as possible, as they are also the ones that are most likely PSI or psychic dreams. They are usually a message for me, from someone else (God/dess, spirit guides, angels, family and friends), so I want to get the message as completely as possible. Most of them are very short, like seeing a photograph, or a few frames of film, or even just hearing words and also seeing them spelled out. But sometimes, they will go into a full length dream, and then I still use the lucidity to gather information. I don't like to control or change them, though it sounds like fun when people do. I'm just afraid I'll miss something important through doing that! I think sometimes I do ask questions, and sometimes that brings clarification on what's being received.

What were you specifically trying to accomplish? Do you remember the hypnagogic images? Did they seem to have meaning to you?

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

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...

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,