I’ve been browsing LD4all for a few months now, and about 2 weeks ago I decided to try and start becoming lucid. I tried various techniques and none of them seemed to work. WILD, MILD, WBTB, etc.
Last night, I tried the WILD technique where you envision yourself climbing down a flight of stairs counting all the way down. It didn’t work, and I went to dreaming as usual (this was around 4 am). I woke up at 11 randomly, and decided to go back to sleep since I didn’t have to be up for another hour. I decide to try a WILD while falling asleep, and this involved me just remembering the dream I just had and envisioning myself back in that dream world. It worked! I specifically remember being aware that I was in the dream. And then… I lost it. It was back to a non-lucid dream, just like that.
It was kind of upsetting but encouraging at the same time. I’m thinking this is a good sign and that a combination of WBTB and WILD might be the key for me.
The reason I posted this is because I want to know which one of these two ways have been more successful with people:
1.) Waking up 6-7 hours after falling asleep, doing something that involves lucid dreaming for at least 30 minutes, then going back to sleep attempting a WILD.
or
2.) Waking up 6-7 hours after falling asleep and then going immediately back to sleep attempting a WILD.
I tried the first one several times and it never seemed to work for me. But it seems like number 2 may be what I need to try. I wanted to see how many others have had success with it as opposed to the first one.
Welcome!
If you wont move at all when you wake up, and that includes your eyes. Youll be able to drift back to the dreams very easily in minutes or even seconds. Not moving when you wake up can be quite difficult but itll come with practice. The advantage of doings something for 30 minutes or so before trying is that you activate your brain a bit and that will make it easier to remain aware when you fall asleep. You can also try Rhythmic Napping if you are interested in entering a dream from waking consciousness.
Hope this helps
If I actually woke up after 6-7 hours of actual sleep, i would probably stay up.
If I immediately tried to WILD after 6-7 hours of actual sleep, I would probably stay up.
My suggestion is, quit trying.
If you want to experience a lucid dream the best thing you can do for yourself is sleep normally.
Go to bed when you are tired, and wake up when you are not.
While awake, take some time to think to yourself, “gee, i would like to have a dream that i am a part of tonight” while eating your toast or drinking your orange juice. Make sure that you expend all your extra energy throughout the day.
When your body says, “gee, it’s time for me to sleep.” Yawn and believe that you will dream.
I’m sorry…but I disagree completely - obviously if you can’t get back to sleep yours is the only possible option, but most people don’t have any problem going to sleep. WILD is borderline impossible to do without a WBTB, and MILD can be significantly more effective with it, even LaBerge essentially suggests a MILD with WBTB stating that you initially want to start by remembering to awaken from a dream.
That’s essentially autosuggestion and while it can yield lucid dreams, perhaps even frequently if diligently practiced, t can’t really be used to LD on command. Whearas a technique like MILD or WILD can be used to have a lucid dream on command at that particular instant.
Actually that sounds much more like MILD - unless you went consciously into that dream you were having. The reason I say this is that what you suggested is exactly what LaBerge outlines for MILD only he combines what you did with the idea of repeating a mantra simultaneously as you fall back alseep.
I also disagree. Although it can be possible to achieve lucidity that way, WBTB and MILD significantly raise your chances of getting lucid.
Even being awake a few seconds during WBTB and thinking about getting lucid will help your chances of getting a lucid dream.
Thanks everyone for the welcomes and swift replies!
@relV, I’ll try the not-moving thing tomorrow morning. I tried the WBTB this morning but wasn’t very successful. It’s hard to stay focused because I live right near the highway and cars sound like airplanes at 11 am. Maybe I should get some earplugs.
@rare, sometimes when I attempt WBTB after 7 hours, I can’t fall alseep again or I don’t fall back asleep for an hour. What you’re suggesting sounds like autosuggestion, and that one doesn’t seem to work for me at all, even though I genuinely believe what I’m telling myself.
The only technique I haven’t really actively perused yet is making myself do reality checks frequently during the day in hopes that I’ll start doing them in dreams also. The thing about that is I’ve never been entirely sure if you’re supposed to ask yourself “Am I dreaming”" aloud and do a check or just think it.
It really doesn’t matter, obviously though if you keep asking yourself if your dreaming audibly you might get some strange looks. The key with RC’s is to make sure that you ARE actually questioning reality. If reality checks become a perfunctory “no I’m not dreaming” then you will likely do the same thing in the dream. They must be a serious question posed to yourself.
About this whole topic…
First of all,
I partially agree with Rare and partially with Stevenscar&Lucidity Master.
Trying can actually decrease one’s chance to succeed.
I have recently read LeBerge’s Exploring The World Of Lucid Dreaming and of course I was overwhelmed. Fascinating book.
Nonetheless, keep in mind its almost 20 years old now…
Things are different.
Fact, your SC is the only and only thing at all keeping you from LDing.
I have a friend who never had a LD and using Hypnosis, he started having them after a couple of days, and after a couple of weeks, he could have them every night out of will.
He didnt have too much knowledge about Lucid Dreaming techniques and all of his attempt tried.
Trying makes some people believe it is hard and that makes it hard for them.
While practicing WILD and MILD is of course useful to achieve Lucidity, for some people, it is a barrier. The question is how it affects your mind. If you are treating it as a bonus pill, it will do you good, the problem starts when people think that LDs are some sort of phenomena that will come using the techniques. The techniques are of course only suggestions to induce this very natural but tricky state of consciousness.
The only thing one needs is awareness, Im talking about awareness in the waking hours. Thats why RCs are very good. By doing RCs, you are examining the reality. Ultimately, that is enough. By constantly checking on the environment, we form this habit. We are in dreams ourselves of course (only in different bodies) and so this habit comes with us to the dreamland. Lucidity Master is absolutely right saying it doesnt matter if you say it out loud or whatever it is you do, the important thing is to question the reality. When this habit is strong in your life, you constantly Subconsciously question the reality you are in, thus making is almost impossible to not realize your dreaming if you want to.
People here will probably find it hard to believe but there people who try to ND.
snake, Im not always success with WILD, it works better with WBTB.