EILD Tutorial

Written by ninja9578

EILD

EILD can stand for both externally induced lucid dream or electrically induced lucid dream. Originally it was 'electrically', however the device does not have to be electrical. During sleep your senses still monitor the outside world. If they didn't you would be unable to wake up from an alarm clock.

The EILD technique takes advantage of this. You have a device signal you when you enter the dreaming state and you recognize the signal and become lucid.
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Background

Dr. LaBerge invented this technique while doing work for his doctorate. He has been perfecting the technique since then and released one device for it: The Nova Dreamer. There are more devices out there, but it is the most famous.

Preparation.

There isn't very much preparation for EILD other than buying the device. It is recommended that you have a few lucid dreams under your belt before attempting an EILD, for the simple fact that you may dismiss the signal from the device as something else.
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Knowing When You Enter REM

Unless your device can detect REM, then you will need to program it to signal you while you are in a dream. Most people wake up naturally after each dream, they just don't realize it. They fall back to sleep immediately and forget that it ever happened.

A common way to overcome this is to drink a large amount of water or juice before bed. You will wake up in the middle of the night and have to go to the bathroom. Your body will not wake up you for that (you could easily hold it all night), however, if you are already up because you just finished a dream, your body will signal you to go to the bathroom. At this time you have just finished a REM cycle.

Your REM cycle actually started about fifteen minutes before that. Remember, early REM cycles are shorter than later ones. Set your device to whatever time that was.

How to EILD.

Having an EILD is very similar to having a DILD because you will rely on signals from the dream to become lucid. Go to sleep with the device on as normal, if you find the device uncomfortable to sleep in then you may want to leave it off until the middle of the night, then wake up and attach it, you won't lucid dream in your early hours of sleep anyway.

Sensing the Signal

When your device signals you, it will be incorporated into your dream somehow. The mind has to improvise to disguise the signal so that it is logical, but because of this, the signal is usually obvious for those who are average to good at recognizing dream signs.

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Senses

It is most likely possible to use any of your senses as a trigger, but some are better than other. When deciding which is best, you have to take into consideration your own brain, and evolution.

• Sound - If you sleep in a noisy area, say, a city, then your brain is most likely trained to ignore sounds at night, so an audio clue is probably not going to work. Evolution is also against you here. Ancient man lived in the plains of Africa, so usually something making a noise at night, would be a predator, so your brain's response would be to wake up. You can even see this response today, when you wake to an alarm, you tend to be jarred awake, and if you touch your chest, you can feel your heart beating faster than it would be when you wake up naturally.
• Light - Light is a good sense to use, because there is no obvious evolutionary reason to wake from it. But again, if you live in a city, where it's constantly fairly bright, your brain is probably also going to ignore it, however if you normally sleep in the dark, it is probably the best.
• Touch - Touch is probably the best, because a light touch will most likely not wake you up. In ancient africa, a light vibration would usually be associated with a member of the pack breathing, or rolling over. And even in modern times, there is very little that mimics a light vibration. It may work less if you sleep with someone, however it should still work since the sensation is completely different.
• Smell/Taste - Because these senses play such a small role in the way humans interact with the world, it is very unlikely that you would identify any particular smell while sleeping.

Devices.

Nova Dreamer

This is the most famous EILD device. It was produced by the Lucidity Institute, but they have stopped production. Their website has said that a second version of the device will be out soon, however the site has remained like that for nearly a year.

The Nova Dreamer detects the REM from the eyes and immediately starts signaling you, which should give you the longest lucid dreams possible. It can be set up to either give you visual cues or audible cue or both. It is important to note that the device will not automatically grant the user lucidity, but that you must train yourself to RC to the stimuli it provides you with.
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Vibrating Watch

Touch is the sense that is most sensitive while you are sleeping so vibrations are easily picked up in dreams. A vibrating wristwatch can be bought at any blue collar sporting good store. They were invented for hunters so that they can get alarms without scaring away game.

The watch seems most effective when worn on the ankle, but can be worn on the wrist as well.

The obvious problem is that you must time your alarms at the right time. Your REM cycles are only fifteen to twenty minutes each so you must know when they are to program your watch accordingly. Use the REM Cycle Tutorial to get an idea of when your REM cycles will be.
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Audio Files

During sleep you can hear sounds from the outside world. The majority of them are filtered out (white noise,) but correctly made sounds will pass through and be incorporated into your dreams.

Setting up your computer or CD player to play these files during your REM cycle will allow you to become lucid from them. Most commonly the files include a voice that tells you that you are in the dreaming state and to do a reality check.

A full list of EILD audio files can be found in the Audio Aid Repository.
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Other Devices

There are many devices that can be used as an EILD aid. Some have found that using the vibrating function of cell phones can induce lucid dreams. Anything that can signal you automatically can be used as an EILD device.

Pros.

Easy

As long as you can recognize the signals as external, you will get cued that you are dreaming every time without relying on seeing a dream sign. In essence, the signals from the devices become your dream sign.
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No Lost Sleep

This is one of the few techniques that doesn't require waking up at all. It is just as effective if you sleep straight through the night where as most technique work better if combined with WBTB.

Cons.

Varying REM Cycles

Most of these devices don't actually detect REM (with the exception of the Nova Dreamer,) so you must set them to go off at the right time. Everyone has REM at different times and that time changes depending on when you go to bed.
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Disguised Signals

Another problem is that the brain is very good at disguising these signals and incorporating them into your dream. For instance, if the Nova Dreamer is set up to flash lights, your dream may place a police cruiser on the street.
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Cost

Some of these induction devices are very expensive. The Nova Dreamer is no longer for sale, but on eBay it can reach several hundred dollars. A vibrating wristwatch can usually not be found for less than thirty dollars.

Other Useful Links.

Audio Aids Repository