A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming (35 page)

a lucid dream before I know it. The movement stops and I open

my eyes. I’m turned completely around on my bed. Did I make

it, am I dreaming? I jump and float up to the ceiling. Jackpot.

I’m in. —THOMAs P.

coined and perfected by Stephen LaBerge and is called the wake-

initiated lucid dream, or WILD, for short.

WILDs differ from other lucid dreams in one very important

way: they require one to go from the waking state directly into a

lucid dream without any lapse in consciousness. Yes, you heard

right, it’s possible to watch your body go to sleep while your mind

remains awake and aware. This direct entry into a dream is one of

=
218
<

the most unique and unusual experiences you may have as a lucid

dreamer, or as a human for that matter. While we aren’t fans of

boring acronyms, the name aptly describes what this experience is

like: wild. Never thought something like this was possible? Well,

it’s very real, and you’re about to find out how to do it.

What Is A WILD Exactly?

The idea behind a WILD is simple. You want your mind to

stay awake while your body falls asleep. In other words, you

want to fall asleep consciously. This awesome feat boils down to

one simple idea: allowing your body to relax completely while pre-

serving a clear awareness.

This transition provides a direct entry into a lucid dream.

Awake only minutes before, you can walk through the doorway of

your dreams just like you’d commute to work. There is no need to

become lucid with this technique, since your awareness never left

in the first place.

Remember that lucidity is a spectrum, not an on-and-off

switch. Typically, WILDS contain a very high level of lucidity—

they are very stable and long, allowing you full, conscious influence

over your inner landscape.

The Experience

Your first WILD might be intense or even scary. You may hear

sounds, feel strange bodily sensations like buzzing or “vibra-

tions,” see flashes of images, or even hallucinations while crossing

=
219
<

over the threshold between waking and dreaming. These are com-

pletely natural, don’t worry. If you’ve ever been to a Pink Floyd

concert, you already have an idea what it’s like.

So how do you fall asleep consciously?

The Twilight Zone

Every day the sun sets, and just before the world gets dark we

experience a transition between day and night. Dusk is a time

when the physical world gives way to shadows and introspection,

and the same goes for sleep, in the state that lucid dreamers know

as the twilight zone. No, this isn’t the 1950s TV classic, this is the

place between sleeping and waking, what the French call
dorveille.

It is the springboard to WILDs.

As we lie in bed at night, neither completely asleep nor entirely

awake, we experience hallucinatory images, shapes, sounds, col-

ors, and ideas. According to Russian physicist Arkady Migdal,

this intermediate state, “where consciousness and unconsciousness

mix,” is the optimal state for creativity.

With the logical, analytical faculties of our everyday mind tem-

porarily shut down, the twilight zone allows for the free-flowing of

images, creative connections, and intuitive impressions to rise to the

surface. In fact, this fluid state has been used by many great thinkers

and mystics throughout history. Robert Moss calls this the “solution

state,” based on the countless scientific discoveries and break-

throughs, all made during the cusp between sleeping and waking.

Einstein was said to use this special state to receive visu-

als, which helped him develop ideas. In 1905, he descended into

=
220
<

=
221
<

SHAMANS, YOGIS, AND OTHER MYSTICS

WILDs remind us what shamans have been telling us for centuries. We don’t
have to sleep in order to dream. For them, accessing the spirit realm is a matter
of simply shifting awareness. shamans think that our souls exist on many
levels of reality, which run parallel and simultaneous to the physical world. They
believe that we have access to these realms at any time simply by shifting our
attention. For them, a WILD is a direct path into the dream world. One in
which they can enter anytime they please.

twilight and returned with the theory of relativity whirling around

in his head. Niels Bohr, the physicist who won the Nobel Prize for

the structure of the atom, saw in a vision the nucleus of an atom,

with the electrons spinning around it, much like our solar system

with the suns and planets.

Shamans, Tibetan yogis, and mystics knew the importance of

this borderline zone as the springboard to receive intuitive visions

or travel to other realities. They understood this liminal state to

be highly conducive to psychic abilities. If you are at all interested

in things like intuition, telepathy, clairvoyance, or other “subtle”

abilities, then the twilight zone is your playground.

Most of the time when we sleep, we fly right past the twilight

zone. Within a minute of hitting the pillow, we often conk out

like a kid in a stroller after a long day at Disney World. Learning

to spend more time in the twilight state, advises Robert Moss, is

the best way to consciously dream. “If you can develop the ability

to enter and remain in a state of relaxed, free-flowing awareness,

images will come,” says Moss.

=
222
<

How to Perform a WILD

You’ll notice that the beginning steps to the WILD technique

are similar to a normal lucid dream. The wake-back-to-bed,

for instance, is important when attempting any kind of technique.

The logic is the same: catching your last REM cycle will thrust

you directly into a dream. It will also be useful to obtain a state of

almost hypnotic relaxation. Have a fun and playful attitude! The

more you try to force this induction, the harder it becomes. You

can’t force relaxation, and this isn’t the time to be competitive.

Simply allow your body to do what it naturally does already—

go to sleep. A WILD doesn’t require you to do much more than to

sit back and enjoy the show.

Preparation: Wake-Back-to-Bed

1. set your alarm.
Catch your last REM cycle by setting your alarm clock one to two hours before you would normally wake up (refer

to chapter 9’s REM illustration).

2. Wake up.
Awaken for fifteen to twenty minutes. Same as before.

Read, go to the bathroom, knit yourself a sweater, do a multipli-

cation problem. Get your mind awake but move slowly and keep

your body relaxed.

=
223
<

REM ATONIA

ReM atonia is your body’s way of protecting you from yourself. As you

enter ReM, your body becomes physiologically paralyzed. Nature built in this
nifty function to protect you from acting out your dreams. In short, the body
shuts itself off so that it cannot move while you dream. If we were able to
move, we’d probably have people jumping out of windows thinking they could
fly, playing the marimba on their kitchen counters, and punching their sleeping
partners. Thanks, ReM atonia! You’d think that sleepwalking is related to atonia,
but you’d be wrong. sleepwalking occurs during non-ReM sleep.

Relaxation

3. Lie back down.
Now focus on your breath and let go of any

tension you might be holding in your body. Feel how comfortable

your bed feels. Focus your awareness on the blackness in front of

you, but don’t get caught up in your thoughts.

Simply let them drift in and out. The trick here is finding a bal-

ance between a relaxed body and an alert mind. Stephen LaBerge

calls this a state of attentive relaxation.

Transition

4. Hypnagogic imagery.
As you transition through the twilight

zone into the dream world, you should begin to see random streaks

of color or flashes of light dancing beneath your closed eyelids.

Sometimes they take the form of images with no story, like flipping

=
224
<

through different TV channels. This is the beginning of the hyp-

nagogic imagery, something we all experience as we fall asleep each

day. Congratulations, you’re almost asleep!

5. Deepening.
Your body will begin feeling heavy or numb. Your

senses of the outside world will begin to diminish, and you might

feel other sensations like buzzing or vibrations. This is the onset

of REM atonia, a very natural state that your body goes into each

time you dream. Basically, your body is physically paralyzed, but

your mind is still awake. You’re only seconds away! Watch the

images in front of you until one becomes very clear. This one, clear

image should stay there in front of you for a couple seconds and

eventually move toward you (or you toward it). It will engulf you.

6. Jackpot.
You’re in! Congratulations. You have just entered a

lucid dream directly from the waking world. Remind yourself that

you’re dreaming and explore your surroundings. Talk with dream

characters, fly, write a poem, create a beach house, seek answers

to an important life question, or simply sit back and relish your

awareness.

Tips on WILD

Relax.
Your body knows what to do. If you’re having trouble fall-

ing back to sleep, it might be because you’re thinking too much.

An alert mind is not necessarily a thinking mind. Try to clear your

head and have a passive awareness. Imagine that you’re watching a

great movie and enjoy the show.

=
225
<

b
Don’t move.
Moving your body will just lengthen the process.

Focus on releasing all tension and feel how comfortable your

bed is.

b
Hands up.
If you are falling asleep too quickly and losing awareness, try this: lift your forearm perpendicular to your upper

arm like it’s in a cast. As you drift off to sleep, your arm will

naturally fall back to the bed and serve as a reminder of your

goal. Repeat this step if necessary. You’re body will fall asleep

within seconds.

b
keep a focused mind.
This can be challenging. Continuously

remind yourself of your intention as your body turns off. Try

counting. “One . . . I’m dreaming . . . two . . . I’m dreaming . . .