psychology

Various techniques have been developed and tested to induce lucid dreams in recent years dif things work for dif people. Consistency. A lot of people who are new to LDing ask what the easiest induction method is. It’s hard to answer that question because different methods work for different people. Having said that, I have always thought that MILD is the perfect method for beginners. As long as you keep trying, there really is no wrong way to do it and you will eventually succeed.

In the Mnemonic Induction Lucid Dream (MILD) technique, one rehearses a dream and visualises becoming lucid while repeating a mantra expressing the same intention, such as: “Next time I’m dreaming I want to remember that I am dreaming.” For best results, it should be performed while returning to slumber during the Wake-Back-To-Bed (WBTB) technique, whereby one sets their alarm clock to one or two hours before their normal waking time, gets up for a few minutes, and then goes back to sleep.

This is one of the most reliable and versatile things you can do that can lead to amazing dream experiences. The great thigs about this method: All you need is a few minutes before bedtime. MILD is also complimented by WBTB and reality checking, but it can do very well as a stand alone method.

A word about consistency: one of the biggest pitfalls I see is when a person tries one method for a week or two, then decides it’s not working, and switches to another method. They jump from one method to the next and believe that nothing is working for them. It’s very important to understand that lucid dreaming is a skill. Were all naturals to an extent, but with any mental or physical practice , consistency and practice makes perfect. The mind needs time to internalize what you are trying to learn before it can give you good results.

 With lucid dreaming, even though you may not have lucid for the first few weeks, just affirm to yourself that you ARE making progress. It is a life long journey, be patient. Practice and consistency are extremely important with MILD. To get the best results, you should be doing it every single night. If you wake up in the morning with no lucids, don’t think of it as a failure. If you did the MILD before bed, then consider it a success because you got your practice done. Your lucids will come when your mind has begun internalizing your practice.

Preparation

set aside atleast 5 minutes just before bedtime for the MILD. If you want the best results, I recommend a little more time, maybe 10-20 minutes total.

MILD is very a mental practice. It’s important to make your attempt when you feel relaxed and your mind is free of daily worries and nagging thoughts. Spend a minute or so (or more if you are a meditator) letting go of any thoughts and worries. Make it a rule to not worry about your daily life when it’s bedtime. If you need to, jot down your worries and thoughts in your dream journal so you can read any reminders or worries in the morning. You might try imagining that you are throwing your troubles and your thoughts away in a well or a box near your bed. If you are still being plagued by worries and thoughts, affirm to yourself that the best thing you can do for yourself and everyone around you at this moment is to get a good night’s sleep and be relaxed and happy in the morning.

On WBTBs: If you wake up naturally during the night, it would increase your chances of getting lucid if you repeat the MILD when you go back to sleep. If you have the need or want to, you can set an alarm at night to increase your chances of being lucid when you go back to sleep. It’s not necessary, but it can help a ton.

It’s very important to keep a dream journal for MILDing, especially if you are coupling it with reality checking. When you keep a dream journal, your recall gets better, and with that, it will be easier to MILD and lucid dream in general. Like working out at the gym, dreamwork Is a whole practice, not just one technique or method.

The next part depends on how easily you fall asleep. If it takes you a long time to fall asleep (10+ minutes), then you may lie down and get comfortable as usual, and do the MILD as you fall asleep. Don’t worry about trying to keep it up to the very last moment you fall asleep, because that will keep you awake. But try to make sure you keep your mind on it for at least 5 minutes before letting your mind wander or dropping off.

If you are the type who falls asleep within a few minutes of hitting the pillow, you may not want to lie down for the MILD. Instead, turn off the lights, sit comfortably on your bed, and after at least 5 minutes, go ahead and lie down to sleep, keeping the MILD going as you fall asleep. Ease into it and try to say your mantras and visualize a dream or mantra until the very last crescent of consciorunes.

The Method

Once you have settled down your mind and you’re comfortable, turn your attention to lucid dreaming. You can visualize a new dream ot Recall a recent dream, in as much detail as you possibly can. Imagine yourself exploring the dream as if you had been lucid in it. Believe that you are back in the dream again, only lucid. Believe that, in only a few minutes, you will soon be dreaming again, and imagine yourself knowing it’s a dream, doing whatever you want. You can come up with any scenario you wish for this. It may be helpful to imagine yourself completing whatever tasks or goals you have. This can be really helpful if you want to go back to a certain dreamscape.

Another variation of this is to use a movie, video game or book. You can make up a completely imaginary environment, perhaps something from your daydreams. Imagine yourself lucid in the environment, doing whatever you want to do. It helps if you see yourself doing fun or interesting things, because it keeps you motivated.

You don’t have to imagine the same thing in every MILD attempt. If you did, things might get boring and your mind will not be in an active state. So don’t be afraid to change it up, use a different dream memory, or imagine new things.

If you have time during the day and you want to give your MILD a boost, you can practice it in the middle of the day. Simply daydream yourself into a lucid daydream. It will help build up your visualization and creative skills, which are useful for not only MILDs, but dream control.

Using Autosuggestion

Using autosuggestion or mantras, either alone or with the visualization, will help you MILD. Remember that the mind listens and will give you results based on what you are telling yourself. Be specific, be intentional. Such as “ I will remember all my dreams tonight” or “ I will have many lucid dreams tonight” or “ I am a natural lucid dreamer”

“I’m dreaming” –> the best for coupling with visualization, really drives it home.”This is a dream””I’ll be dreaming soon.”

This method is pretty simple, but it can be powerful once it’s mastered. Anyone can master it if they put in the time to practice it. You can do MILD while you’re exploring other methods, so that if the other methods don’t work well for you, there’s always that guarantee of getting lucid eventually from your MILDs. Typically I recommend doing MILD for at least 2 months to give it sufficient time to work, but for some it may take more time. Sooner or later it will work–it’s just that for whatever reason it takes longer for some people.

Prospective Memory

The MILD technique works on what we call ‘prospective memory’ – that is, your ability to remember to do things in the future. By repeating a phrase that you will remember you’re dreaming, it forms an intention in your mind that you will, in fact, remember that you are dreaming, leading to a lucid dream,” says Dr Aspy, Visiting Research Fellow in the University of Adelaide School of Psychology. There are other ways to help work on your prospective memory, and one of them is setting targets to try to remember things in the future.

This technique is great for reality checks. Prospective memory works almost like a code or a script; you assign an IF, THEN script to your own mind – for example, “IF I see something weird, unusual, or inexplicable (a dreamsign), THEN do a reality test to see if I am dreaming”. And because you want to remind your future self to do that reality check in that moment, you take a second to plant the seed, even go as far as imagining the next time you will see your dream sign and do that reality check. Practice that visualization. Then you are more likely to do that reality check at your desired target.

Daily decide on four things that when you experience them you will do a reality check. This could be looking in the mirror, getting in a car, hearing a dog bark, dream signs or random things etc. many people say it works when they set targets early In the morning write down the four things that will trigger you to do a reality check. Then throughout the day note each time you remembered to check your reality. Try to use different targets each day, to increase the chances of doing reality checks in your dreams.

As an ongoing training exercise or skill practice instead of a pass/fail test. Pick a target (next time I cross a doorway for example). When I cross the doorway I do a reality check or pay extra attention to myself and my surroundings and trace things I’ve done (or thought) backward to the last target. Then set a new target (next time I’m outside for example). Pick targets that will have you doing 4-5 reality checks daily if you remember it.  If you realize you missed a target, do the RC anyways TO BUILD THE habit,   and set a new target. Don’t be hard on yourself for missing a target!

If you catch a target, take a second to mentally replay your day from that moment back to the last target you caught. This helps keep lucidity & it helps build the brain muscle of recalling your dream as it’s happening, by recalling your day as it’s happening in between the targets. And this skill will carry over into your dreamspace. This builds dream recalls and incubates lucidity at the same time.  Trust me, once your having long long hours long lucid dreams, this skill comes in handy as it becomes hard to remember the whole dream. o improve your dream recall, especially for long lucid dreams, try to mentally replay your dream, or remember keywords as the dream is unfolding.

When it comes to lucid dreaming, youre training your consciousness, so memory/attention exercises or meditations are always beneficial. Remember, when it comes to lucid dreaming and reality checking it’s a skill you are practicing. Not a test. Count your successes. Do the RCs, etc when you remember about the target, even if you missed it. Both MILD and memory targets are great for beginners and don’t require too much effort. The key is to make it a part of your daily routine, but also make it mindful rather than let your reality checks occur on autopilot. Make it intentional and be consistent. & that will get you lucid in the dream world.