I have been trying to lucid dream for over 2 years now never giving up and trying very hard, I’ve tried mainly through the WILD method with no success but I have been able to achieve a FA and 2 very short semi LDs for about 5 seconds before they turn back into a normal dream, I have recently heard about the CANWILD technique and it sounds very promising, can anyone tell me how successful it is and what I need to do to get it just right. Together I hope we can achieve my first LD!!!
hey DaDerpDolphin
i’ve been toying with the idea of CANWILD for quite a while without actually knowing it was a thing. In essence, it is just a much easier form of DEILD, so as such, you want to focus on the same things.
The best way to do this, apart from obviously keeping still, is to focus on physical sensations, and try to build a scene in front of you. The easiest way to do this generally is to just imagine a scene (best if it’s a pre-planned scene) in front of you, and try to see it in your mind’s eye. Focus on this until you can actually see it. Next you want to focus on what sensations you would feel if you were there. For example you would try to feel the wind on your skin, smell the fresh cut grass, and most importantly, HEAR the sounds. once you can hear it, TAKE TIME to ANCHOR yourself in the dream. You can do this by slowly breathing deeply and counting, or touching some objects in the dream to really immerse yourself (my favourite.)
Notes to Remember: *keep your eyes still *visualise *REMAIN FOCUSED *don’t give up
also as for your always trying WILD, maybe try some other things as well. I find that a huge portion of my lucids are DILDS. A good method to practice is ADA, which i find has gotten me most of my lucids.
if you don’t mind some reading, here is a link to a good tutorial
https://www.dreamviews.com/induction-techniques/113253-all-day-awareness-dild-tutorial-kingyoshi.html
anyway, sorry about the long winded answer, i hope this helped.
Hi Leopold,
Thanks for the great answer better than any help I’ve gotten before, I attempted it last night woke up didn’t open my eyes stayed very still and hoped for the best and nothing happened I assumed I did something wrong maybe its that I didn’t imagine anything also can you tell me anything that confirms that I am doing it right when i’m attempting it like any feelings stuff like that.
Thanks so much!!! I hope you can help me achieve my first LD!!!
Hey Dolphin,
The important thing is to not be disheartened by it not succeeding the first time, and to keep trying with focus and determination. Not many techniques work for people the first time, as you aren’t used to it, and don’t automatically fall into the flow of it.
DEILDs especially can be incredibly hard to start out, as they require a LOT of focus, and don’t let you drift off. I do have some tips that might come in handy though.
The first one is simple, but will require a few nights of doing this technique to use. If you do it one night, say at 5:00, and you find yourself fallling back to sleep too quickly, it means that you have not had enough sleep to keep focused, so the next night, try setting the alarm for 5:30, and so on. On the other hand, if you find it is taking too long to fall asleep, and you are lying there for too long to keep focused, consider setting your alarm to 4:30, and try again the next night. It’s all about finding what’s right for you.
Secondly, and i can’t really boast here because this is what i struggle with most, is keep focused, and don’t give up. When you are lying there, depending on what time it is, it’s either going to be really hard to keep your mind from drifting and you falling asleep, or you are going to have to lie there for quite a while, even up to 10-15 minutes maybe. Either way, you are going to have to be extremely strict on yourself as not to let your mind wander too much. Some people suggest meditation to counter this, some people suggest counting, some suggest FILD, or VILD. I say, FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Again, this may take multiple nights, but so be it. Once you have found what works best for you, your LD count will start shooting up, and you can focus on other things such as dream stabilisation, and fun stuff like that.
Thirdly, and i don’t know if this is just a personal thing but i will recommend it anyway, visualise a scene. This helps a LOT in this process, as it keeps you aware and interested, and you can really feel the transition between wake and sleep. Literally. When you start hearing the sounds, and feeling the sensations, that’s when you know you are dreaming.
Lastly, if you really want to do your homework, there is a great episode of the Dreamviews Podcast where they talk about WILD and DEILD, and give some great tips (especially in the DEILD part) I would strongly recommend listening to it before bed if you have the time.
Other than that, i don’t have much else to add.
Good luck, and let me know how you do
Sorry, i forgot to put the link to the podcast oops
It’s on youtube here,
youtube.com/watch?v=RFrm4IkEsw0
and also on iTunes. (Dreamviews Podcast episode 8 )
hope this helps
Wow, its really starting to work, well I didn’t have a ld but as I was visualizing a scene at the beach gradually it was starting to become clearer and I began to hear the wind then my dog must’ve heard something because she kept barking and it stuffed me up, well my hope is rising I’ll keep reporting back to you general and my quest of lucidity will be soon complete and as you said I can get to all the fun stuff. BTW thanks for all the help!!!
- derp derpity derp derp
Wow!
That’s amazing! i’m so happy for you.
Let me know about it when you have your first LD!
Speaking of CANWILD, I’ve had a hard time finding an alarm app for my iPad that will go off for a few seconds and then shut off automatically.
I think it would be a handy tool for any LD’rs.
I generally use Aida reminder Lite,
but only because i have an iPod touch 4th gen,
so it was the only thing that could work on iOs 6.0
Pretty much any type of reminder app will do,
as they don’t need to be dismissed
Cool, thanks. Have you had any success with it, so far?
I’ve been reading up on REM cycles and WILD and such,
and realised that if you want to maximize your potential when CAN-WILDing.
You need to find out roughly when your REM cycles end, as if you are woken up halfway through one of your REM cycles, it will startle you, get your heartrate skyrocketing (depending on how loud your alarm is) and might cause you difficulties getting to sleep.
This is not a requirement at all,
but it is helpful. (also if you are reaching the end of one of your REM cycles it will be easier for you to hear your alarm)
hope this helped
I DID IT MY FIRST LUCID DREAM or lucid dreams I gave up on CANWILD for a while but last night I managed to have 3 DILDs it wasn’t as real as I expected are wilds more realistic than dilds
OMG IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!
congratulations!
you have to tell me about it. What did you do in it?
Also, there is no difference in how realistic DILDs and WILDs are, just the general dream. I’ve had some incredibly vivid dreams, and some not so much. It all depends on how conscious you are (the dream layer) and even how deep alseep you are.
If this continues, try at the start of your dream, just stopping for a minute and looking around, touching things, smelling the smells, hearing the sounds, really drinking in every aspect of the dream, and i promise you it will be as vivid (if not more vivid) than real life
trust me
(and yes, some dreams can be more vivid than real life)
once again, GREAT JOB
keep me posted!
Well my first one I don’t remember much of, but My second one was incredible I walked outside of my house and everything was so bright and colourful the grass was so green and the sky was so blue I saw my fence and I thought I’m gonna fly over this so I was floating then I just fell to the ground I could feel the grass on my hands I did my RCs for fun I pushed my finger through my hand it felt so weird I held my nose and took a great big breath and the third one it was night time and I looked really close at the sign and it looked so vivid. They didn’t last very long I kept getting excited and turning them back into a normal dream so yea. I feel a little disappointed cause I don’t remember much and some of it felt just like a ND I really want to try WILD so I can get a really vivid and realistic dream. One question do most LDs feel like real life?
Thank you so much for your help I’ll tell u if I manage to CANWILD WILD or DILD
wow, that sounds awesome!
i don’t know whether or not you are farmiliar with the ‘layers of lucidity’ or not, but here’s the gist of it.
layer 0: not lucid (ND)
layer 1: You become lucid, but get overexcited and wake up almost instantly
layer 2: you become/stay lucid, but you aren’t yourself in the dream, and do weird things that don’t seem like you (some are kind of like a ‘half lucid’)
layer 3: you become/stay lucid, and are 100% conscious, but have a little bit of difficulty controlling all aspects of the dream
layer 4: you are practically a god. You can do whatever you want
the reason i brought this up is because i think that your dreams were probably around the layer 2 level. This does not mean they weren’t proper lucids, far from it actually, some of my favourite dreams have been layer 2s. This just explains why you might have kept slipping back into the ND state. Its because you weren’t 100% conscious in the dream. And really, don’t sweat it. pretty much everyone’s 1st lucid is a layer 1/2. You actually did incredibly well to have 3 in one night. Keep at it and soon enough you will be rolling in layer 3s and 4s.
As for your question, i’m not really sure what you mean. There are lots of ways that LDs do and don’t feel like waking life. Plenty of lucids are as vivid, and sometimes more vivid than real life, a lot of the DCs will be people from real life and sometimes act like the real people, and sometimes they act completely uncharacteristically.
My best answer to your question is, in my opinion, ‘most lucids’ don’t really have that much in common. They are all so incredibly different. Some people have even had entire lucids be completely in cartoon. Yours will always have something in common, but everything is changeable. some will feel like RL, and some won’t.
Also i’m willing to help any time,
it’s been great
i dont know if i am using a technique or what but my way to get into a lucid dream is im waking up 5am in the morning stay awake for about a minutes 2-5 then ill go back to sleep roll over left and right then my final move is to lay in bed straight body with two hands in the side i dont move for how many minutes making a scene while my eyes close and then there slowly i can feel my body paralyzing and thats the start i am in a lucid dream.
thats awesome
do you use an alarm? or wake up naturally?
I have never heard of ADA before so thankyou Leopard_the_Hippo. I find that lately my awareness is at a low point. I will practice all day awareness to see if it helps.
As for Dolphin I suggest practicing DILD as it is easier to achieve lucidity and a better method when starting out.
Continuing…
But progress into WILD and CANWILD techniques as they are more rewarding. DILDs are great dont get me wrong but the couple WILD LDs Ive had were well: wild.