How to lucid dream – Induction methods 101

There are many methods of inducing a lucid dream. Some methods work better for me while other methods may work better for other dreamers. It is best to try different methods in order to discover which ones work best for you. Before you try any of these methods be sure your dream recall abilities are sufficient (you should be able to recall at least one dream per night), otherwise you may not remember your lucid dream experiences. Let’s go through a few of the most common lucid dream induction methods.

Dream Initiation of Lucid Dreams (DILD)

Well, by definition DILD is a method of attaining lucidity while dreaming. Unlike the other methods laid out here, the DILD method relies on the dreamer going into the dream with no intention of becoming lucid and somehow becoming lucid while asleep. This happens fairly often to me but it is not very predictable when I will have a lucid dream if no active steps are taken before going to sleep.

A good example of a DILD that happened to me was one in which I was walking through a park having a conversation with an old man. I was not lucid at the time but the man asked me how it felt to be dreaming, at which point I became lucid and instantly had some control over the situation and replied “I know I am dreaming but how do you feel knowing you don’t exist?” This stumped the old man but then he smiled and replied “I feel fine. The same way you will feel when you are awake. How do you know you truly exist?” This indeed was an interesting lucid dream and one that caught me by surprise.

Pros: Great way to become lucid.
Cons: No way to practice. Unreliable.
Best for: Those not trying to LD.

Despite DILD being a common method of attaining lucidity, there aren’t any reliable techniques to achieve lucid dreams using this method. Spend your time practicing other methods but hope for a DILD when those fail.

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

The MILD technique, developed by Stephen LaBerge, involves setting an intention to carry out while dreaming in order to recognize one is dreaming or to notice a dream sign. The MILD method requires the dreamer to make a habit of doing something during waking life in order to carry the same habit into the dream state. The goal is to realize something is askew while in the dream and come to the conclusion that you must be dreaming.

A classic and proven MILD technique is to count yours and other people’s fingers while awake. If you do this often you will get into the habit of reaching the same number each time as well as have a good idea of what normal fingers look like. Once dreaming you may attempt to do the same thing but run into an issue (e.g. missing or too many digits, odd looking hands, hands that change after you look away), then you’ll realize you are asleep.

Another MILD technique involves paying close detail to common objects (such as a watch or clock) while awake. Make sure you look twice at these objects each time you observe them. Once in a dream, you may do the same but realize that the object seems distorted or changes once you look away (time rapidly changing) and hopefully conclude that you must be dreaming.

One technique I use often is to repeat the following phrase in my head “I will recognize I am asleep and remember my dream.” I repeat this mentally a few times during the day and repeatedly before I go to bed. I find that it helps me attain lucidity when practiced. A variation of this technique is laid out in Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming byStephen LaBerge.

Pros: Simple. Easy for beginners.
Cons: Can be a bit boring.
Best for: People with good prospective memory.

Using the MILD method can have very positive results. I find that the MILD method is the easiest for beginners since you can practice it all the time in waking life and hopefully attain a lucid dream within a few weeks or even days of starting.

Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams (WILD)

The WILD method is my personal favorite method of initiating lucid dreams. The WILD method is when you fall asleep while keeping your consciousness and go straight into a dream. This is often achieved by using relaxation and meditation techniques to relax your body and seamlessly transition into a sleep state while keeping your mind focused on entering the dream world.

For WILDs to occur, you are going to want to keep your body as relaxed as possible. Now tense and relax your body, starting from your shoulders and working downwards, then back up to your face. Doing this (or a similar relaxation, meditation, or trance technique) should make your body feel slightly heavy and relaxed.

There are many different ways to induce WILDs, but they all involve simultaneously attempting to keep the mind aware while attempting to have the body fall asleep.

I find that WILDs are easiest to achieve right before an afternoon nap or after waking up earlier than expected. This has to do with sleep cycles, as REM periods can continue immediately when falling asleep if a REM period was missed or stopped abruptly the night before.

The WILD method tends to give me the most vivid lucid dreams, nearly as real as waking life. Some of the WILDs have even seemed realer than real life (if that makes any sense), since I’ve been able to control nearly every element of the dream.

However, there are some risks involved with attempting to use the WILD method.

Sleep Paralysis (SP) is the most common issue I have had to deal with when using this method. SP occurs when your body is asleep but your mind is awake. SP is when you feel completely paralyzed (you literally cannot move) but your consciousness is fully intact. But wait, doesn’t that happen every night? Indeed it does, but we normally are not aware of it when it happens. SP can last anywhere from a few seconds to minutes (I’ve had what seemed like a 15 minute episode) and can be the most frightening experience of your life. I usually hallucinate when in SP, sometimes about demons standing beside my bed and attacking me or I feel like I’m falling into an infinitely deep pit. Despite having some bad experiences with SP, I’ve learned to focus my energy on positive thoughts and use SP to launch straight to a lucid dream. I actually enjoy SP now as it is a full-proof method to enter a LD or an astral projection episode (arguably the same as lucid dreaming but I’ll discuss that further in another article).

Pros: Vivid lucid dreams, induced at will.
Cons: Difficult to master. Sleep Paralysis and other scary things can happen.
Best for: Experienced dreamers.

Despite the scary stuff that may happen, this is the most effective method of attaining lucid dreams. If you really practice the WILD method you will be able to enter a lucid dream whenever you desire.

So there you have it. These 3 methods are the most common ways people experience lucid dreaming. These, of course, are not the only methods available but I find them to be the fairly easy to pull off (well not DILD) and proven to work. If you choose to try the WILD method, whatever you do don’t let Sleep Paralysis scare you! Only think positive thoughts and don’t let your fears come out of else you will have a bad experience. Maybe a few scary SP experiences are necessary for you to learn how to control your mind, but I digress.