Making WILD your own (updated)

Scroll down for my actual advice on getting WILD to work for you. What you see below is my general commentary on WILD.

WILD, WILD, WILD. That’s all dreamers, new or old, can ever seem to think about. Perhaps it’s the thought of LD’s on command, or maybe the thought of HI and SP that sounds so alluring. Well, whatever the case, almost every new member tries WILD, and almost every new member makes a post along the lines of “help, WILD is not working!”

So why is it not working? They’ve followed every step; they lay on their backs; they don’t move or swallow; they count in their head; they watch for HI and are always prepared for SP. It’s all very clear in the tutorials, so why are they failing? Perhaps it’s because the tutorial merely presents a basic formula, but it’s not one that works for every person. We are all different and our minds all work differently. It only follows that WILD needs to be adapted to our own needs.

Now, anyone who has ever had a reply from me on what technique beginners probably knows that I rarely recommend WILD. There are multiple reasons, but this topic is not about what you should or shouldn’t use. The reason I bring this up is because of how discouraging it is to do the same thing every night without success. But don’t be discouraged.

Let me dispell this right away: there is no certain way to get instant LD’s. All techniques take practice and take time. WILD like any other technique is only a tool, it in itself can’t do anything. It’s up to you to figure out what tool works for what job and how to properly use that tool. A screwdriver isn’t any good if you’re trying to use it like a hammer.

So is WILD difficult? No, not once you figure out how to make it work. It’s getting it to work that takes time. There is not reason not to try for it other than to keep yourself from losing motivation. Anyone can do it as long as they don’t expect instant results.

All of our induction methods are only different ways to do the exact same thing. The real difference between WILD and MILD? One way you program the SC to remind you that you are dreaming before you fall asleep, and the other you constantly remind yourself until you actually are in a dream. That is it. It’s no more mysterious, no more powerful than MILD, and really no more complicated.

So let’s break down the basic WILD formula. These are the things that have caused people the most grief, so I will try to explain why it is we say to do things and why not to do other things. Remember, everything you read about how to WILD is a basic guideline. Any of it can be changed or adapted if that is what you need.

Sleep paralysis
SP is one of the things that seems to defeat a lot of dreamers. There are frightening stories about the Old Hag, it is difficult to get in to for some and overall is an uncomfortable experience. Why is it a part of WILD?

SP means your either your body is asleep or you are having a false awakening in which you cannot move. Either way, your mind is free to wonder. Use this time to creat your own dream body. Imagine yourself rolling or floating out of bed; just do what you can to move within your mind.

However, you do not have to be in sleep paralysis to successfully WILD. SP might make things easier for some, but it is not a requirement. So many people get obsessed with inducing SP that they don’t know what to do once they are there. Also, too many people focus on their body trying to gauge whether or not they are in SP rather than maintaining their concentration. Your goal is an LD, not being frozen in bed.

Lay on your back.
I have read and it has been my personal experience that SP is easier to achieve while on your back. Good. Except that I sleep on my stomach and only occasionally fall asleep on my back. However, I still manage to WILD on my stomach. So is it really necessary?

Sleep in whatever position you find comfortable. It may take some practice before you keep from simply falling asleep, but if you can’t sleep on your back easily don’t bother. As I said before, SP is not necessary.

Stay perfectly still
There is a good reason for this; you can’t fall asleep while moving around. Your mind will send “roll over” signals to see if you are really asleep or not. If you can ignore them your body will fall asleep faster. This does not mean you can’t move at all if you need to.

If you’re uncomfortable, fix it. If you have an itch, scratch it. If you’re in a bad position, for heaven’s sake move. The distraction of these things cause more of a disruption than moving ever would.

Don’t swallow
No, no, no and no!!! If you need to swallow, swallow! I made this seperate from the previous section because of how prevelant it is. Just don’t think about it, that’s what the issue is. Don’t let anything distract you. If you have to swallow, do it naturally. It’s losing concentration that is the biggest factor in failed WILD attempt. If you’re thinking “I am dreaming… but I really need to swallow,” that won’t get you anywhere

Wake up 5-6 hours after first going to bed
This is probably the best thing to help you achieve an LD, whatever technique you are using. Depending on how fast you fall asleep, you can do a full WBTB, or you can do like me and quickly write in your DJ before going right back to sleep. The reason this is so helpful is because you will go back into REM sleep very quickly. At the beginning of the night, you go into deep sleep, which means you have to unnaturally force a dream to WILD. This takes quite a bit of time and is generally difficult to do.

Count in your head
Counting is good because it helps you focus, but it is not a requirement. I’ve had more success saying “I’m dreaming” over and over than counting. Heck, why not try to stay focused with a MILD mantra? At the very least you have some back up if the WILD fails.

HI
HI is the leading cause of confusion IMO. All it is is a dream beginning to form. We expect to see random images, but that’s not always the case. For me, HI has ranged from random blurs to seeing and hearing my coworkers.

[i]Again, your goal is to LD. Not to see HI.[/i] Just let it happen, but don’t actively look for it. If you find yourself thinking “oh, is that HI?” then you’re probably putting too much focus on it.

Another thing that I think I need to point out is that HI has stages. There seems to be some confusion about what exactly to look for. At first it might be flashes or images like daydreaming and it gets more intense as time goes on. You don’t necessarily have to physically “see” it… and in fact you’re not. Again, the main thing I wanted to say here was don’t put too much focus on it.

WILD is the only technique you need to have LD’s every night
Here’s the thing, no technique is guaranteed to work 100% of the time. Why limit yourself to just one tool? Make an entire toolbox to have at your disposal depending on what your situation is. Even if you do get WILD working, you should also look in to other techniques like MILD, DEILD and VILD.

There are so many other things I could say, but it all boils down to this: adjust WILD to fit your needs. The tutorials are great, but are generic. Find what works for you. It might take days, weeks or even months, but the benefits are worth the time!

3 Likes

Thanks for this post, Rhewin!! I am very new to this topic, and when I looked at those “WILD rules” stated here on the forum, I felt very uncomfortable about them, because they did not seem logical to me. Just exactly what you said: I cannot sleep on my back, and even if, I could not dream long enough as my wife would give me a knuff as I start snoring then. :wink:

Same applies for everything you said… I also mixed mantras and counting to stay focused, and I even leave my eyes open if forcing my eyelids shut feels uncomfortable. Your eyes close automatically if you fall asleep, but I think having darkness around you helps.

As a result, I had my first feeling of success in WILDing last night. It was not yet an LD, but it started to come out right. This was the second(!) night trying and I simply did it “my way”.

By the way, I had another Idea, which seemed to work for me: When certain things make you lucid or keep you lucid, why not “embed” them into the focusing.

Instead of counting I tried to imagine how I look at my hands, how I rub them, and how I swirl around. When I “fall” into a dream, why not in a way that makes it lucid and stable right from the start…

Thanks a lot, Rhewin. I think this thread helped me atleast a bit to free my mind. :grin:

Excellent post, thank you Rhewin!

In my personal experience, following those rules (don’t move, don’t smallow, ecc.) had turned WILD in some kind of medieval torture :happy:
I’ll keep on trying in a smarter way :smile:

@DaConceit: Congratulations on almost making it :content:. What you said about images is actually one of the ways I do WILD. It’s not quite VILD as you’re not incubating the dream, your just focusing on things that help you become lucid. Great insight for a beginner.

@Beat Doctor: Good, I was hoping it would. WILD gets so many people’s mind full of garbage that they can’t even come near success.

@Fabio: :lol: I like your description. Again, the rules are meant to help you get an idea of what to do, but following them to the letter can be a bit unsavory.

I’ve done this many times and it works great. Suddenly I’d start feeling my hands rub and I’d have two pairs of hands, physical and dream ones. From there it’s just a little more attention on the dream ones and start imagining other senses slowly and I’m lucid!

And great post, Rhewin. Although I’m sure we’ll still see many “I have the swallowing issue” posts :tongue: We must keep our sanity! :nuu:

I have found a good way with WILD if you are having trouble with the start and first part of getting to hi or such. Try just going to sleep have no attempts at WILD just let yourself go to sleep, this gets rid of the swallowing problem for a while. Trust yourself that once you have been lying there for abit remember about the WILD attempt, by this point you will feel more chilled and have this incredibly calm feeling, this I have found helps with WILD.

Remeber a WILD attempt where you just fall asleep with no LD or ND is 100 times better than just giving up.

:content: Excellent post, Rhewin! This is definately going to help a lot of people!

i reached an all-time best last night. got to SP & HI and passed mental excitement… but then the feelings broke off and i lost some of the transition. so i should create movement in my mind? ok.
i did this without wbtb, maybe i should try wbtb and see how much further i can get?
i really like SP i dont know why people don’t… its like i know i can easily will myself to move, but im just so much further from actually doing it… like thinking " maybe i’ll move after this next attempt to sleep conscience".

Thanks for the post. It’s good that you take the attention away from all the SP and HI mambojambo. The less you take notice of the stuff happening to you the better is my experience. If you’re waiting for something to happen like vibration, SP or HI, then you probably never fall asleep at all. The only successful WILD attempt I had I didn’t even notice any HI or SP at all.

if you have a song stuck in your head, could you focus on that to stay “awake”?

When I have a song stuck in my head it does keep me awake, which is the problem. You see, when you WILD, you have to fall asleep. You have to be sleeping to dream. The trick is to stay aware. Now, there are some people who do respond well to music, and there is a variation on WILD that uses music to maintain focus. I want to say it’s called M-WILD, but I’m not sure :shy:

Still, whatever you use make sure you can focus. I’ve fallen asleep with the TV on and the noise was just incorporated into the dream (i.e. DC’s were acting out what I was hearing). Music can be the same, so whatever you use, keep the focus on dreaming.

True. I was never really scared of SP, I was/am actually quite fond of it. And I would describe it like you can move, but you don’t know how to. Like you’re playing a game and you don’t know the controls to move.

My problem with WILD is that every night I get a new problem hehe. I try to find a solution during the day, and actually do find it but a new problem comes up. Sometimes I am too awake or just unaware. Sometimes I get iches that turn into pain with time and when I move I brake the process. Sometimes I’m just stuck at the same progress level for hours.

Well, i actually know the controls… use selective attention. focus on your left arm for eg. imagine sparks or light building up in it, trying to get out, you control the valve…so open it when you want to move… and thats only in extreme cases.
do you use WBTB? for some reason i don’t often try it… i guess because i have to work a early most mornings, so i try WILD without it, i think of it as intensive training lol.
i find reasons for faliure also. i think excersie around bedtime is one of the best things you can do, aswell as reading, writing, drawing, math,… anything mentally excersising. as well as a satisfying day. if you don’t feel you’ve accomplished much in a month, week, day, thoughts will not leave you alone at night, our sleep rituals reflect every other aspect of our lives.

approximately how much percent would my chances of a WILD increase if i start using WBTB? anyone guesstimate?

The chances would double, that’s for sure. If you give some effort to it, WBTB can really be useful.

thanks… i better try it soon, because i can get to a decent point without it.

Based on my experience it’s 100% seeing as how I’ve never had a successful WILD without WBTB. But, others have so that really doesn’t hold an water :tongue:. No one can say how much higher the chances will be for you. As I’ve been trying to say, we’re all different and can all expect different results. Still, I would say that it would greatly increase your chances, even if you don’t get out of bed for the WBTB.

thanks, and i believe your right just based on how this morning after my alarm went off, i closed my eyes to try WILD except now i was almost too tired… i just need to focus more i think and my mind will drift.

Yes, find something that will keep you focused. It could also help if you wake up just a little bit more, like to write in you DJ