MILD not working and other newbie concerns

Quest for Lucidity
1

Hello there!

So, I’ve started trying to get lucid dreams about two weeks ago. Simply put, that’s when I accidentally happened to stumble upon a short article about lucid dreams. I decided to try and reproduce them since I know I had a lucid dream once, long ago. I only vaguely remember what it was about, but I vividly remember that I knew I was dreaming in that dream. Back then, it was an isolated incident and I didn’t think much of it, other than that it was one of the best dreams I had ever had. Now that I’ve found out about lucid dreams, though, I’m determined to have more.

Anyway, I’ve started doing all the typical stuff. I consulted that guide which advises you on which technique I should choose. Being someone who typically falls asleep in 15-20 minutes (on average), I figured that trying to do MILD should be a good choice. So every time I go to sleep, I chant to myself “I’ll dream and I’ll realise that I’m dreaming” while trying to banish all other thoughts from my mind. This latter part doesn’t work perfectly - I find it hard to get rid of all the erotic thoughts that flood my mind late at night. I generally try to envision a black hole to try and get rid of wayward thoughts while repeating the mantra in my mind, but I’m not sure if this is a serious impediment to my ability to do MILDs.

Also, I’ve been trying to look for dreamsigns. My dream journal currently has 15 entries (most of the time I remember my dreams, though once or twice, worryingly enough, I didn’t, and on some nights I get several dreams as I occasionally wake up in the middle of the night). However, I’m not sure what I can interpret as a dreamsign and what I can’t. 6 of them involve former high school classmates, which is probably the closest I get to an actual dreamsign. In real life, though, I only meet with two of them with any regularity, and even that is a rare occasion - I haven’t seen them since I’ve started trying to lucid dream, actually. I think I’m supposed to do reality checks every time I see them, right?

At any rate, classmates are only 6/15 and that’s probably the most common recurring theme. 4 of them involve family members, but not always my actual family members, just people who I - in my dreams - consider to be members of my family. Also, all of the dreams seem to take place in realistic locations, often in places I’ve been before, or in places similar to where I’ve been before, but I’m not sure if that even counts as a dreamsign since it’s really nothing special.

Finally, I have considered using other techniques. I’ve considered WBTB, but my sleep schedule is already a bit borked, and though I’m trying to fix it, it takes time to adjust. On the other hand, WILD just seems too difficult to do and I’m not sure I even understand the concept of falling asleep with an awake mind.

So, that’s three main concerns. What should I do about them? I’m going AFK for a few hours now, so I hope that by the time I get back, I’ll see responses. Thanks for any help in advance, of course.

2

These natural breaks in the night can be used for WBTB, just going to the toilet can be enough and then do the MILD technique.

Two weeks is a very short time. So relax. Also since you have experienced a LD in the past you KNOW you can become lucid. :happy:

Reality checks can be done in those family and realistic situations. But IMO it’s important to do them while expecting to get a positive result ie that you are dreaming.

3

Thanks, that’s helpful. I’m going to try and will myself into consciously doing WBTB during these spontaneous wake-ups, although I often have problems waking up even in the morning when I’m supposed to… :neutral:

When would I expect a positive result to the question “I’m dreaming”? The closest I get to that is either when I have a philosophical moment and suddenly start to think about the meaning of life, or sometimes when I almost fall asleep during the day (due to exhaustion or boredom) and drift on the border of sleeping and being awake. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure I always recognise myself as awake when I’m actually awake.

4

That is the trouble, dreams can feel just like real life … hence the use of reality checks. Haven’t you ever had a false awakening in which you do your morning routine … to find yourself in bed waking up again? :spinning:

5

moogle helped you all the way but I would like to put some info too.

Be sure to read MILD tutorial or guide once more. Keep in mind that saying mantra is not MILD, it’s just saying mantra which can help but if you do only that you are cutting your chance to become lucid.

I know it takes time to adjust your life toward lucidity and trust me it is worth!

If you have time or when you are bored study Stephen LaBerge’s work. His specialty was MILD. To be aware in a dream or lucid you need to be aware/lucid in waking life too. That’s why LaBerge developed targets. For each day you have 5 or so targets and you need to memorize targets but only for the day that you are doing. So let’s say it’s monday, you wake up, memorize targets for monday and then you go with your day, but whenever you see one of the targets you make a RC.

Then again, RC, it’s very important how you do one. Also LaBerge had the most success with WILD when he was doing it with WBTB. Like I said read MILD guide again. Like moogle said, you can do WBTB when you awake from a dream, it’s perfect timing! But you need to experiment with time you stay awake…

Becoming lucid is a lot of work but then again it’s not! :content:

6

Well, thanks for the help, I finally experienced a short period of lucidity this night! Too bad it lasted only for a brief time - even though I even remembered the “rub your hands” technique and used it as soon as the thought “I must be dreaming” popped into my mind. It was a false awakening that put an end to the lucidity - ironically, the dream continued by me writing in my dream journal. It was an awesome feeling while it lasted, though. Maybe it’ll go even better from now on?