For a while now we have been discussing facts about lucid dreaming, like how to prepare for a lucid dream and what to expect once lucid dreaming. But what most people know about lucid dreaming is just scratching the surface, and today we’ll discuss a higher level of lucid dreaming. In fact, it is considered to be the highest form, one that gives full control and lucidity to the dreamer: the Wake Induced Lucid Dream, or W.I.L.D.
What is W.I.L.D.?
Tracing its roots back to Tibetan monks who have been practicing the method for hundreds of years (a process they refer to as “Dream Yoga”), WILD, put simply, is a lucid dream that you can start even while you’re awake. Yes, you read that right. WILD allows people who have mastered it to have lucid dreams –on command-, where beginners and intermediates would require effort to do so.
Being awake, WILD allows you to be totally conscious and will be conscious throughout the process and thus not rely on your subconscious to initiate the lucid dream process. In addition, because you are conscious throughout and aware, most of the time there is no need to perform reality checks, which can be something of a challenge in and of itself for beginner and intermediate lucid dreamers.
How to perform a W.I.L.D.
Because each person is different, has never been one truly specific way or method to induce WILD, and there are so many known approaches. However, there are still a set of guidelines that each dreamer can follow in order to come up with their own specific methodology of inducing WILD, which will also lead to slight variations in their experience.
Some guidelines on WILD are as follows:
1.) Proper timing – It is important to know when to try and initiate a WILD, as the chances of it succeeding increases dramatically with the right time. The best time is after around 4-5 hours of deep or at least normal sleep, which will allow your mind to go through most of its non-REM sleep phase. This means setting your alarm clock around 2-3 hours earlier than you normally would, so you can wake up, but with enough tries and practice your body should be able to wake up on its own, naturally, during your WILD time.
Be very careful with this. You still need to be able to go back to sleep once you wake up, so do NOT have an alarm that will be so jarring that your mind gets rattled unnecessarily and prevents you from going back to sleep. Some phone apps and clocks have a “smart rise” feature which uses a slowly fading melody to wake you up, which also helps you rouse relaxed and ready for the next step.
2.) Returning to sleep and setting the scene – Once you’re up, the next step begins: going back to sleep! During this phase you should be able to relax properly, usually done through paced and smooth breathing sessions as well as freeing your mind of any thought, other than you repeatedly reaffirming to yourself that “I’m dreaming.” This keeps your focus on the task at hand and will help initiate the next step of the process.
What’s interesting to know is that many of us experience this stage without knowing what it is exactly. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of your sleep to go use the toilet, or grab a glass of water, feeling all groggy and like you’re floating on a cloud, bordering on sleeping and being awake? That’s it! So once you experience this feeling, you’re ready for the next phase.
3.) Creating the scene and entering it – A few minutes into phase 2 you’ll begin seeing and experiencing hypnagogic images, which we discussed in our lucid dream post before. This will be different from person to person, and may include flashing colors, ribbons of light, random patterns, and so on, until it develops into actual recognizable scenes.
Once you’ve achieved this state, your body can now approach the barrier between being awake and being asleep, and it is at this point where the WILD can be initiated fully. This is done by having your mind stay active and resisting the urge to move or shake. Keep focused and control the body, even if it feels quite uncomfortable at the start. Successfully doing so will make your mind and body enter a sleep-paralysis state, which as we discussed before, is a stepping stone to lucid dreaming. But unlike simply experiencing it with no control, this time you are fully aware of what is going on, and are actually welcoming it, rather than being scared.
After this, your mind will start shutting off receiving external inputs, and begin generate dream visions, all the while with you being fully aware of it. Once the dreamscape has been completed by your mind, you can enter it fully and enjoy the experience of a WILD!
Remember that as with all things, WILD needs a lot of practice, and it being the highest form of lucid dreaming, it may take a while and a lot of attempts to get used to it. Just remember the tools we’ve shared with you in the past, and don’t forget to use binaural beats to help the process become easier! Listen to this binaural beats track for lucid dream induction and try experiencing a WILD!
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