Lucid Dreaming Techniques

Learning Lucid Dream Induction Techniques

Introduction

In the last section, we discussed a few different techniques to increase your chances of having a lucid dream. If you have been performing the exercises suggested, you should already be recalling more dreams now and have successfully started a dream journal. Also reality checking should be an intrinsic part of your everyday life.

If the above statements are true, you may have already had your first lucid dream but if you haven’t, don’t fear there are a few more lucid dreaming techniques to try, although they are slightly more advanced.

The following techniques are very similar to ones that I developed for myself over the years.

Rather than confuse several different methods that basically accomplish the same thing, I have chosen to summarize the techniques which are covered in much more detail in the publication “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming” By Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. and Howard Rheingold.

This is a book that I would strongly recommend you purchase if you are serious about further developing your lucid dreaming techniques. For convenience, some of the subject terms we will be covering in this section have been reduced to slightly more manageable abbreviations.

From here onward, we will refer to them by their abbreviated form:-

WBTB – Wake then Back to Bed Method
DILD – Dream Induced Lucid Dream
MILD – Mnemonic Induction Of Lucid Dreams
WILD – Wake Induced Lucid Dream

DILD – Dream Induced Lucid Dream

“What is a DILD?” You may be asking. Well really there isn’t any difference between a DILD and what we have already discussed so far. I mention it here purely so that you can familiarize yourself with some alternative ways of describing it.

A DILD is simply the process of entering a lucid dream from within a ‘normal” dream. Either by spotting a dream sign and performing a reality check, or simply realizing you are dreaming and becoming lucid.

The distinction does not become obvious until you consider the techniques detailed shortly. If you are not having any spontaneous lucid dreams at this point do not fear. There are some more advanced techniques that you can use to induce a lucid dream.

WBTB – Wake then Back To Bed method

Many years ago when I started lucid dreaming, I began to notice something odd was happening. I noticed that I would have more lucid dreams if I had been disturbed during my sleep in the early hours of the morning.

This was especially true if I had to stay awake for an hour or two before returning to bed. From here I developed what has become termed as the ‘Awake Then Back To Bed’  method.

This method is basically as described in the title. It is a fairly straightforward technique but it can require a certain amount of will power to successfully implement.

So far you should have had plenty of time to practice your dream recall and hopefully you have been jotting down your dreams too. If you have been questioning your reality on a regular basis, you should be well on the way (after implementing this technique) to having your first lucid dream.

This method is best practiced at a time when you can afford to lose a small amount of sleep without it affecting your day job\driving\operating machinery etc.

Background information

When you sleep, you will enter a point where you begin to dream. This phase of sleep is called the REM stage. You will enter the REM stage roughly every 90 minutes during the night, giving approximately four or five REM stages per night.

This means you have four or five chances to have a lucid dream every night.

The technique

This is where the will power comes in. What you need to do is this. Aim to wake up in your fourth phase of REM sleep. To do this you will need to set an alarm clock or equivalent that will wake you up.

The fourth phase of sleep will be about six hours after you fall asleep. So just before going to sleep, set your alarm to go off six hours in the future.

If you sleep less than six hours a night aim for the third phase of REM, which will be four and a half hours after you fall asleep. Here comes the tough part.

When your alarm goes off, you MUST get out of bed. DO NOT turn over and hope that you will get up in a few minutes. YOU WON’T. You will do what we all do and fall back asleep.

Once you have got out of bed it is important to keep your mind active for AT LEAST AN HOUR. Nothing less. Try and read a book about lucid dreaming or read through your dream journal. The trick is to get the idea of lucid dreaming into your head.

When you have been awake for an hour, return to bed. Whilst dropping back off to sleep, keep a scene in your mind of a place you would like to appear in if you entered a dream.

If you suddenly find yourself in this place, do a reality check to test whether or not you are dreaming.

If you are (you should be), CONGRATULATIONS you have had your first lucid dream.

That’s all there is to it. This is a really simple method that can be extremely effective.

If the above technique isn’t working for you, try the following method.

MILD – Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams

The MILD principle can be summarized in one sentence as:-

“When you are dreaming, you must remember to recognize that you are dreaming”.

Now, I know what you are thinking; “If I could recognize that I was dreaming lucid dreaming would be simple!” and you would be right. It is not only recognizing you are dreaming that is important, it’s remembering to recognize that you are dreaming that gives you more chance of having a lucid dream.

The good news is that it is possible using a few simple exercises to increase this ability to remember that you are dreaming.

Basic principle of the MILD technique

Imagine that you have to remember to do two things at the end of the week. One of these things is to buy a VERY important gift for somebody, maybe a birthday or anniversary gift. The other thing is to remember to wind up the clock.

As you can see, the motivation to remember to buy the gift is going to be a lot stronger than the motivation to wind up the clock.

Over the week, you will probably re-iterate in your own mind the importance of buying the gift, whilst the chore of winding the clock will probably leave your mind shortly after you thought about it. The point here is that you have a strong intention to achieve one goal but your second goal you probably couldn’t care less about as it is insignificant. So we have learnt that a strong intention will aid in remembering something.

Now, let’s say you are at the end of the week and you have successfully remembered to buy the gift. Well done. As you are wrapping the gift, the clock on the wall chimes. You remember the other thing you were meant to do…. Wind up the clock. So you have successfully remembered to do both things. Even better!

The only difference here is that remembering to wind up the clock was triggered through association and not through you making the effort to remember to do it.

So we have learnt that we can increase the likelihood of remembering something through:-

1) Having a strong intention to remember something. ( The Gift )
2) Forming an association between what we want to remember and the circumstances in which we intend to do it.            ( Winding The clock )

By developing our intention, and capability to spot associations, we can increase our ability to remember future events.
Exercise 1

Take a piece of paper and for each day of the week, write down four things that you intend to spot during the day. For example

Sunday

The next time I start the car
The next time I take a drink
The next time I see a bird
The next time I hear my name

For every “event” that you spot during that day, do a reality check as discussed earlier and ask “Am I Dreaming”. Keep score of how many you hit in your dream journal.

Note – If you miss one event but notice it later this is classed as a missed event.

Keep this exercise up until you notice the amount of events you hit improving and you can see an obvious increase in your capabilities.

The technique

O.K. Now you have spent a while improving your ability to remember to do things in the future, it’s time to put it into practice. The MILD technique is as follows:-

Step1 – Set a firm intention in you mind when you go to bed, to wake up during each dream period and recall your dreams. Really mean to do it, don’t just say it. If you find waking up difficult you could try and use an alarm to assist you as discussed in Chapter 4.

Step 2 – When you wake up, try and recall as many dreams from the previous period of sleep that you can. It is tempting to just turn over and go back to sleep. Don’t! Keep yourself awake and make an effort to recall your dreams.

Step 3 – Once you have recalled your dreams, go back to sleep. As you are falling asleep, focus your intent on remembering to recognize that you are dreaming.

Say in your mind “Next time I am dreaming, I will remember to recognize that I am dreaming.” Really mean it as well. Think that doing this is as important as buying the gift mentioned previously. Feel that it is the most important thing at that time. Really want to remember.

Step 4 – When you have set this intention, imagine that you are back in the dream that you recalled in Step 2. Imagine that you recognized it was a dream, and visualize yourself becoming lucid in that dream.

In your fantasy, look for a dream sign that you have noticed from your dream journal and see yourself realizing that you are dreaming. Say to yourself “I am dreaming!”

Step 5 – Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until you have firmly set your intention. When you feel alright about it, let yourself doze off to sleep. Ensure that your intention is the last thing you think about when you fall asleep.

If all goes well, you will find yourself falling asleep into a dream, and then remembering to notice that you are dreaming. This realization will cause you to become lucid.

WILD – Wake Induced Lucid Dream

If you have been trying the MILD technique for a while and are still not having much success, you may want to try another technique. This technique is considered more advanced than the MILD technique but is still very effective.

This technique involves entering a lucid dream directly from the waking world. To master this most advanced technique, there are several relaxation and breathing exercises that you need to practice. As this is a guide for beginners, we will look at the WILD technique in a dedicated section.

Leave a Comment at the Bottom of the Page. Older Archived Comments are Below…

WILD effects (hahaha, no pun intended)
Wednesday, 15 June 2011 00:12
Star Wars Fangirl

I’ve heard before that the WILD method can induce sleep paralysis and can make you feel and hear things that aren’t really there. This is TOTALLY true. The sleep paralysis thing has never really happened to me, but I’ve felt my bed tilting constantly, and I often hear sounds right before I fall asleep, like people talking but I can’t understand the words. A lot of times it’s music that keeps getting louder and louder until I’m in a dream. Sometimes the noises scare me back to wakefulness, like demonic dogs snarling at me (that was a recent one). But I’ve never been able to keep concious into a dream. The sounds just become the dream after I black out, amd then I’m just there, dreaming… darn.

Brain Powers
Friday, 27 May 2011 00:39
Savio

It’s awesome, I tried commanding my brain and I think it worked. This night I’ll try it again, to lucid dream or to do subjective communication, I think subjective communication first .
Aw man, i get anxious at high school, i want to go home to sleep and try it xD. bye bye

Which technice am i doing?
Sunday, 15 May 2011 12:30
Brenden

I have had dreams before where I wake up durring the night and I feel awake but im obviously sleeping because something unusual is in my room. for example spider webs everywhere, no blankets, something missing like my TV, im whereing school clothes, etc. Sometimes I totally freak out, and sometimes after I freakout I figure out it’s only a dream and I put my head on the pillow and go to sleep. What technice is this if it is one? Is it a technic at all? Am I just half awake in a dream or what? And should I get up out of bed to explore or go back to sleep like normal?

dont know
Friday, 22 April 2011 17:46
ema hairgreen

when i was dreaming. i had dream i was lucid dreaming. i was at a swimming pool then kinda went… oh im dreaming ….. but my mind didnt quite register it. then i woke up for school a shor t time later. why didnt my brain make the connection

Techniqual (!!!) Problems
Friday, 15 April 2011 11:25
Joe

Hi. I have tried every existing technique for lucid dreaming, but unfortunately nothing works for me!! What should I do!! I’ve been trying a year now, but… ;( I had only one lucid dream a few months ago, but nothing more. I REALLY need ADVICE.

other dreams
Tuesday, 22 February 2011 22:27
ruall

Just so u no ucant go into other peoples dreams

exactly =]
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 19:21
pinkrose gorillaz lover

yep thats my favorite part lol, gonna go into my friends dream then go back to some old places were we used to live…but yeah they’ll remember it when they wake up

reply to pink rose gorillaz lover
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 15:53
ronald

wait so u can actually go into other peoples dreams and tell them there in a lucid dream and they will remember it when they wake up?

help 4 u guys
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 14:31
pinkrose gorillaz lover

well once you know ur dreaming…u can do whatever the hell u want, swim withought breathing, turn into any animal, fly, talking anyone anything, and even make ur freind thats sleeping lucid dream! jst go into their dreams and tell them that they are! then u two can do whatever u want. hope it helps

Question
Tuesday, 08 February 2011 23:56
chuck

i was wondering what effect does sleeping aids have on the ability to lucid dream

A little help
Sunday, 23 January 2011 02:07
The Hunter

This might help in case anybody has trouble actually falling asleep in the first place. dont get on the computer right before u go to bed cause that stimulates your mind.

Dream journal
Wednesday, 12 January 2011 06:48
Heather

I want to lucid dream and start out in a green field, so if I wrote about it in detail in a section of my journal, then reread it a few times before sleeping, would it help? Thanks!

sort of confusing
Thursday, 30 December 2010 10:08
sarah

ok I think i had sort of a lucid dream because I knew I was dreamiing but as soon as i tried to make anything happen the dream kind of faded away. This was soon before I woke up. Is there a reason or was it just because i was too consious by the time I realized I was dreaming?

LUCID DREAMS
Saturday, 11 December 2010 17:34
Buryan

So i had my first lucid dream and i did what every teenager thinks of and had sex with a sexy women. It went on for about 5 minutes until i woke up. best dream i ever had!!!!! lucid dreaming is the coolest shit ever

just gettin started.
Saturday, 11 December 2010 13:16
Jake

i dont recall myself having a lucid dream. but i really want to have one. but still am alittle confuzed on what they are all about, can you take complete control of your dream and do and imagine what ever the hell you like, or do you have to stick to the situation your stuck in?

same…
Wednesday, 08 December 2010 22:51
kamuixmod

the same happened to me too. When i was like 5 years old (the amazing thing is that i still can remember that but not each detail)

I was a child and a big monster truck or something like that were looking a my direction it were near my house, then i started to run like crazy.. it catched me up well i cant remember the part what happened then but i had some dreams like that too.

What i remember now is that i had this dream like 20 times in different day delays.
It was in the same age. there were 2 people who were chasing after me with a gun and they hit me with the pistol always i were so scared and it did hurt soo much that i just wanted to wake up the the failing part is i couldnt! i tried to wake up but couldnt. That was the time when i had my 1. Lucid Dream.

my 2. Lucid dream was when something again chased after me to kill me i wer in front of my House and heard my mother inside the House. I knocked at the door like crazy but nobody opened the Door anytime!

but i finally managed to open the door or better said tmy mother opened the door when i dreamed the same dream the 5th. time and t was a great relief for me

Was I lucid dreaming?
Wednesday, 01 December 2010 07:32
Taylor

One time I had this dream about being at a carnival, and my whole family just left me there so I started crying and then in my dream I yelled at myself to wake up so then I realized I was in a dream but I was so scared I wouldn’t wake up I just kep pounding on the floor screaming at myself to wake up and then I did. It was about 5 years ago but I can still remember the whole thing…

remembering dreams
Monday, 18 October 2010 00:57
draquel

If you have had a dream and you wake up and start thinking about something, than you will most likely forget what you dreamed about, but if the dream was important, like you say, see and old girlfriend that moved away or a family member that died, you will most likely remember it, to best remember your dreams, once you wake up, do not move or think, focus on your dreams, you will remember them.

HELP
Sunday, 26 September 2010 20:21
ADHD:)

i cant go lucid! i have tried all the technices, but i forget them im my sleep! I even tried self hypnosis (which does work. i hypnotized myself to remember my drams) all of my dreams are CRAZY! last night, ihad a long dream that would take a long time to explain (it was about a lion trying to take over spain (i probobly had this dream because the flag of spain has a lion on it) and he made me nad others help!) the only dream sign i have is that there is always a buetifly vivd imige of the skie somewhere

Lucid Dreaming
Wednesday, 18 August 2010 11:56
Railey

One time, I realize that I was dreaming so technically, I was in the state of lucid dreaming but the problem was I had trouble staying in it. It’s either I wake up from it or forgetting that I am actually dreaming. How can I stay in the state of lucid dreaming?

in order
Monday, 16 August 2010 19:11
alissa

i do remember my dream but not in order i dont remember exactly what happened first

Answering Samantha
Monday, 16 August 2010 15:17
Sammy

Yes! Of course you were lucid dreaming! When I had my first lucid dream (3 nights ago) I was in a large field with a bus up ahead. I knew my dad was in that bus, so I began running up there, but then I stopped dead. I thought, “My dad could be evil, because this is a dream. Wait- I’m dreaming? I’M LUCID DREAMING?!” and then I woke up! Try again and try to stay calm!

Am i lucid dreaming?
Saturday, 31 July 2010 02:48
Samantha

Okay, well i had the most confusing, weird, wild dream and the setting was on a different planet. So While on this planet i had realized that i had been dreaming.And so I made myself wake up…was i lucid dreaming or not??

WILD technique!!
Wednesday, 02 June 2010 07:06
Mike

Yes, I would also VERY much like to know about this WILD you said you’d make a dedicated post about. Thanks! I shall attempt my first lucid dream tonight (in 5 minutes )

WILD technique
Sunday, 07 June 2009 08:25
Anonymous
Thank you so much….except I didn’t find the section on WILD you mentioned you would post. Could you provide some explanation about it?