Of course, one of the main challenges with WILD is the line between “a thread of consciousness” and “fully awake and aware.”
This is what makes WILD difficult. Everyone has to find their way, that one trick that will allow them to retain that little thread of awareness whilst still being able to fall asleep. Once you learn how to do that, WILD becomes relatively easy.
Mind you, I’m not there yet. I’ve had about 5-6 WILD’s or so, including three times as many failed attempts (i.e. either fell asleep or stayed awake too much).
Most of the successful ones for me have been accidental. I didn’t really intend to WILD, but I fell asleep and without intending to do it, I maintained that shred of awareness that allowed me to consciously enter the dream state. I haven’t really practiced this technique a lot (or any technique for that matter), so I’m not yet sure what exactly works best for me.
This is why people tend to try so many different -ILD’s that try to assist with the WILD process. They need to find their method, the trick that works for them. They need to find that one sweet spot between “barely aware” and “not aware enough.”
Aware-O-Meter: []--------|||||||||||------------------------------------------------------ --[]
The left end is “not aware enough” (fall asleep normally) and the right end is “too aware” (insomnia). The sweet spot lies somewhere in the marked bit, but that’s different for everyone.
Really, WILD is probably the easiest technique once you find your personal sweet spot and a technique that allows you to get there consistently.
Rather than relying on any one technique until it works, I’d say it’s probably better if you spend a few weeks experimenting (on a daily basis) with what kind of awareness is or isn’t enough. At least, this is how I would do it, and the way I’m going to try.
Counting keeps me awake too much, since I tend to synchronize it with my breathing. I need to do something less strenuous like visualization, but then it becomes hard to not fall asleep. It’s challenging, but ultimately rewarding, I think.