Thread: Need some help with WILDs

Hi, this is my first post here, I have been browsing these forums for a while, they have been really helpful so far.

I have been trying to do WILDs in the afternoon, a couple months ago I tried a few times, recently I have been trying to start them up again. I have tried doing WILDs at night, before my REM period, and I wasn't able to have one, and wasn't able to fall back asleep, so I had tremendous sleep loss for a couple days, and decided to abandon that since I have exercise and then school in the mornings.

I have been getting gradually closer to successfully having one, but I get stuck right before I transition into the dream. For instance, in my latest attempt today, I got to a point where I couldn't hear outside noises and then I was feeling vibrations, and everything was blacked out (save a point of light moving around my eyes)and I couldn't hear any outside noise. The problem is, my heart was beating hard, not fast, but very hard, and it felt like it was growing larger and larger and larger. I wasn't feeling pain, I wasn't feeling, at least consciously, excited. I tried to stay relaxed and calm but the vibrations stopped, my vision and hearing were back to how they are at stage 1 of WILDing. I let the stages come back through normally, and got to a point where I couldn't hear anything, and all I could see was total blackness, and I couldn't feel anything, I felt like my mind was floating up and rotating in empty space. Then, I could feel my heart again, doing what it did before, I felt like it was massive and couldn't ignore it. Suddenly I heard a lot of white noise and it shot me back to stage 1 again, which at that point I just gave up and stopped trying.

Again, both those times my heart wasn't racing, my breathing was normal, it's just the way my heart, how would you say, felt would shoot be back to stage one. I have been trying hard to not get excited or anything, I feel calm the whole time. Maybe I'm subconsciously in a lot of excitement and anticipation over the transitional stage.

My heart used to start racing when I got to the HI stage even though I would remind myself that excitement will shatter my progress, and try not to get excited. I think I'm just getting subconsciously very excited, even if I'm trying to remain calm.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to what I could be doing wrong, or what I should do to prevent this? Should I just keep trying until I succeed? I realize that it could take a while to have a successful WILD but I'm getting close, and this has been happening for a while so I figured I should come here for help. Otherwise I'm going to just keep trying until I can have one. Thanks!

The problem is that when your heart starts beating really fast, you immediately start paying attention to it and then have to consciously tear your attention away and focus on something else. Whenever something starts to distract me I consider it for a second or two, then slowly turn my attention toward something in my head, usually a visualization of what I want my dream to be. If I'm focusing more on building every detail around my dream space when HI and vibrations hit, I can keep my mind kind of above my body. Congrats on successfully getting to HI, and good luck getting past it

Thanks, I'll try that. I think my problem is I'm not really focusing anything substantial when that hits (I count to keep an anchor, and I don't think that's substantial enough for me), and it's easy in sleep paralysis to get lost visualizing things, so I think that will work.

Today, here is the progression of things, over about an hour: I focus on my breathing, I get to HI/HH, gets more intense, body falls asleep more, then my body feels like it has completely fallen asleep, then it comes back a little. I wait it out, eventually I feel light vibrations, this happens for a while, then I (foolishly) cut it off, open my eyes (which took a great deal of force). I found a post by user mzzck entitled "some ideas on WILD progression" (can't post links yet), which seems to be more accurate to me than other "timelines" I've read.

I'm going to assume I was in N2 or N3 sleep, and I just cut it off too soon? It was an hour to an hour and 20 minutes I was attempting this, and basically, taken from the post, and the bold is what I got too:
"HH -> vibrations, sense dampening/relaxation -> a bit of down-time, sleep disorders may appear here if you've got them -> vibrations, more sense dampening/relaxation -> conscious transition* -> REM, fully body paralysis"

All I'm asking here is if I would be correct to say that I am just not being patient enough? I spent so long, and really, none of the guides I have read really explain the order of events or how long it should take for first-timers, however I understand it will vary a lot. An answer would be appreciated, I'm just trying to figure out if I am right in saying I was getting close to the conscious transition and just cut it off too soon? I'm really just asking because I have been trying to spend just an hour to an hour and a half, and I would like to know if I should just resolve to try longer.

It should only take about 15-30 minutes. It might take longer if you have a hard time falling (back) asleep. You are doing everything right. I would take a close look at your timing. Take a regular nap at this time to see if you dream. The body distortions and vibrations you describe are probably REM beginning. Time your nap to be closer to whatever time this occurs.

It sounds like you don't get a lot of visual hypnagogia. I am the same way. I feel physical sensations. Try to take advantage of this when it is time to finally enter the dream. Imagine yourself running, or touching things. Imagine your dream body engaging in some familiar physical activity. This should transition your awareness from your real body into your dream body.

Today when I tried to WILD I hit vibrations and HI much much faster, within 3 or 4 minutes. But, after trying for another hour after that, I had no success. I got to a point where I think the dream was forming, but I couldn't slip into it. I was seeing images through my eyes (not my minds eye like HI, I could actually see things), but when I tried to slip into it I couldn't. Happened a few times, tried different techniques to get into the dream, nothing worked.

Here is my thing: I'm have trouble napping. I think that's giving me trouble when I try and fall asleep. In the naps I have taken in the afternoon before (not WILD, of course), it takes me 1-2 hours to fall asleep. Tonight I'm going to try doing it at night, since I have no morning obligations, and can risk losing sleep. The past times I have tried it at night, I failed and then couldn't fall back asleep, which ended in massive sleep loss (I followed a guide that wanted me to wake up earlier than anyone on these forums recommend, so I only had 4 hours of sleep. I was in the beginning REM stages, but not far enough in I think). I am feeling more confident about it now, that I have been able to slip into the transition so quickly. I would still like to get some advice for falling asleep though, since afternoons would be the easiest time for me to do it in terms of schedule.