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Question 1: Do your visualizations have to be vivid to work with V-MILD/ VILD?
For example, I close my eyes and I see darkness. I know what everything looks like, what is going on and what is being said. But I only actually see the darkness of my eyelids. The closest thing I can compare it to is a person that has become blind after being able to see.
Question 2: Can V-MILD/ VILD still work for me?
All of your answers and insight are imensly appreciated! :D
You aren't expected to literally see what you're visualizing. As you said - you know what everything looks like and what's going on, but you're still only going to actually SEE blackness until you actually start dreaming.
Visualize it to the very best of your ability. Try to involve your other senses, if you can - everything you can do to make it more vivid. I like to explore my room and touch the walls and crawl around on the floor. You'll get better at it as you practice it. Eventually, it will gain substance.
Thanks Bubble, I've heard it explained numerous times saying that people actually see what they are visualizing. Very confusing and it seemed like something very hard to do. Now I can practice with confidence :)
We imagine / visualize in the same area of the human brain as when we dream. This area is the secondary visual cortices (collective known as cortex) If you can visualize an apple you are using the same area of the brain as when you dream. Visualization greases the grooves to dreaming so keep visualizing!
Eventually... you will! It will come in flashes, or it might slowly gain substance, or you will do a reality check and you will be dreaming. Or perhaps your mind will wander, you will experience some dreamlets or see a few floating objects, and then snap back to the visualization... and then realize that it is truly solid, and you are dreaming. It's very important not to expect any one specific thing to happen, or to expect a specific experience.
When you get particularly good at visualization, you might begin to see things emerging out of your HI and the like. Or you may never - everybody is different. The important thing to remember is that nobody experiences VILD in exactly the same way... and no two VILD experiences, even when they are experienced by the same person, are exactly the same. Every single VILD experience I have had has been different. Some of them have been vastly different, so different that you wouldn't even think I was using the exact same technique.
So even if there are members out there who really do 100% see what they are visualizing, just because you don't doesn't mean you're "doing it wrong".
Some people practice it more than others during their childhood. The best way I can describe visualizing anything is like remembering something. You know what it looks like, you can see a mental picture of it in your head. Close your eyes and think of the letter 3. It is right there! But not really there. I recommend visualizing dreams and changing them into lucid dreams when MILDing because it gives your mind the idea "this should have happened." With practice it will get more like you are "seeing" things when you close your eyes, and when your eyes are open you can almost see 2 realities if you want. Your imagined one and the real. Have fun with it! Visualizing is a fancy word for daydreaming and is a really fun tech!
One more mild question. Will saying/thinking mantras during the day help with LDing or should I keep it around bed time?
In my opinion the more you say/think/visualize what you want the better it works since dreams are a picture of your thoughts through the day. :P
This is why I recommend taking time to daydream before bed and if you are really really wanting an LD, take some time (20-30 minutes) of just visualizing what you want.
But can you still MILD if you close your eyes and visualize without images? I don't see the answer..