Lucid in Wake-to-REM Transitions: WILDs, OBEs, & Astral Projection

Oct 13, 20242 min read

Wake-initiated lucid dreams (WILD) differ from the more common Dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD), which is when you become lucid while the dream is already in progress. In a WILD, you maintain awareness of your state through the waking-to-dreaming transition. You are lucid as soon as you begin to dream.

Have you graduated to the world of Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreams (WILDs) yet? If not, you’re in for a fascinating journey.

For me, WILDs have been one of the most effective ways to increase my rate of lucid dreaming, especially when combined with sleep interruption (wake-back-to-bed) and galantamine protocols.

Even after attempts when I didn’t succeed at inducing a WILD, the memory, focus, and concentration efforts I put into the practice often triggered regular lucid dreams later on in my REM periods.

In this 15-minute workshop excerpt, I introduce key concepts that help facilitate a successful WILD. We touch on the timing of sleep interruption periods, sleep paralysis, and how to use visualizations and the 61-point body scan method to smoothly transition from wakefulness into REM sleep—all while staying lucidly aware of your state.

Common Experiences in WILDs: "Metachoric" Perception

Metachoric: When the whole of the physical environment is replaced by a hallucinatory one. May provide a precise (or imprecise) replica of the sleeping environment. The transition may be completly continuous with ordinary perception of external sensory inputs.

One of the most unique aspects of WILDs is the potential to experience what’s called metachoric phenomena during REM sleep.

The term, 'metachoric' was originally described by lucid dream researcher, Celia Greene. This occurs when your dream environment mimics your waking environment, making it difficult to realize that you’ve already started dreaming. It’s a fascinating state and one that is sometimes confused with out-of-body experiences (OBEs) or astral projection.

In the video, I also touch on why these experiences overlap, and how the distinctions between them are often misunderstood.

Watch on YouTube

Youtube Thumbnail on WILDs, OBE, and Astralprojection. Background shows image of a sleeping person rising out of body. Dr LaMarca is shown talking in the corner about the topic.

Advanced WILD Challenges

For those of you who have already started experimenting with WILDs, you may have encountered some challenges, like:

• Trouble fully falling asleep

• Getting stuck in-between wake and sleep or in sleep paralysis

• Not recognizing that you are already dreaming while trying to WILD due to metachoric experience

If these sound familiar, you’re not alone! I’ve written another blog post on advanced WILD methods, specifically around how to overcome some of these common obstacles. I discuss techniques for navigating insomnia during WILD attempts, recognizing metachoric experiences, and working through the tricky balance of staying aware while falling asleep.

Want More? Let Me Know!

There’s so much more to the WILD and OBE conversation than I can cover in this short excerpt, and I’d love to explore more with you! What specific topics would you like me to cover? Let me know in the comments or feel free to reach out.

Citation

Green C. (1990). Waking dreams and other metachoric experiences. Psychiatric journal of the University of Ottawa : Revue de psychiatrie de l'Universite d'Ottawa, 15(2), 123–128.