Thread: Beginners Help?

So last night, i attempted a WBTB with MILD.
I also used MILD when i first went to bed.
I woke up before my alarm for 4:00 (3:20, must have been because of my first MILD)
Sat at my computer for a bit, did some math etc for 40ish minutes.
Then tried to go back to bed (i have a kitten, so he keeps me up a little)

But i found MILD to be really distracting, i must have been laying there for over an hour and i just couldnt get to sleep.
Then i woke up early to a noisy kitten who wouldnt shut up.
My only success was remembering four dreams (two before WBTB two after)
as opposed to my usual one dream.

I was wondering if there are any easier methods for beginners?..
It was a constant battle for me to keep my mind quite and believing.
But even so, im sure i kept telling myself that i WOULD realize im dreaming, and even imagined what i would do in the dream.

So to sumarise, am i doing this correctly?,
Why is it hard for me to use MILD?,
Why is it hard for me to fall asleep using MILD?,
Does it matter that me and my mind constantly fight? Like when you try not to think about something, then you fight to keep it out of your mind? (for example that WBTB wont work..)
Does it matter that i recall lots of my dreams in third person (i think)
And just anything els you can tell me to help a beginner.

SideNote: I have been practicing reality checks, but not for very long (few days)

MILD is just telling yourself mantras/affirmation. WBTB can help, but it's not necessary. There is no need to keep your mind quiet.

During day, you repeat your mantra. At night you go to sleep, and if repeating mantra keeps you up, wait with mantra until you feel sleepy and start reciting it then. it's ok to stop thinking it if it keeps you up again. It would be best, if your mantra is the last thing you have on your mind before falling asleep, but if it keeps you awake, just think it as much as you can and then stop and go to sleep.

What I would suggest is to add some awareness and RCs to practice DILD. Together with mantras, they will give you better chance of getting LD.

My favorite way to practice DILD:

1. During day, I ask myself awareness question, followed by RCs and mantras.

2. When going to bed, I spend few minutes sitting on bed doing the same.

3. As falling asleep I repeat my mantra.

Awareness question+RCs+mantra

During day, pause what you doing and ask yourself a question "Wow, am I dreaming?" that jolts your attention and makes you stop doing whatever you doing.

For a moment, entertain the idea, that you are sure this is a dream or false awakening and feel the excitement in the pit of your stomach. Just pretend, that you have had a lucid dream before that was indistinguishable from waking reality, so this moment could also be a dream and you don't know for sure until you RC. Really consider the answer. Don't just automatically answer "Of course I'm not".

Look around and notice details. Look at your hands and count your fingers. Do you have the right amount? Do they look normal? Do a reality check. Try to gently push your thumb through your palm and expect it to go through. Is it going through? Pinch your nose and expect to be able to breathe. Can you? Can you levitate?

If not, tell yourself "Next time I'm dreaming, I look at my hands and realize I'm dreaming". Repeat this mantra a few times while looking at your hands.

Pretty soon, this behavior will start manifesting itself in your dreams and you'll be asking yourself if you dreaming, while in regular dream. That will make you lucid. You will do a couple of RCs to make sure.

More in Collection of techniques for DILD

Welcome, lnich13! Gab's advice above is excellent and I endorse it. I'll let it stand on its own and just address a few of your specific questions below.

One thing that jumps out at me is that you sat at your computer during WBTB. Computer screens put off a great deal of light that will throw off your Circadian rhythms. This can make it more difficult to go back to sleep. I'd recommend avoiding the computer during WBTB or installing a program like f.lux to mitigate this light problem: f.lux: software to make your life better. (It's a freeware program that tunes the colors of your monitor at nighttime to be less jarring to your bodily rhythms.)

Originally Posted by lnich13

Why is it hard for me to fall asleep using MILD?,

My guess is that you're thinking a bit too hard and allowing yourself to get caught up in your own thoughts and doubts. Try to view MILD as a gentle ritual you perform as you fall asleep. It's perfectly fine for your "inner voice" to grow quieter and quieter as you drift off to sleep. Snuggle up with your pillow, relax, and try to just feel contentment as you surrender to sleep. Don't worry about whether it will work. Simply expect that it will and give no energy to negative thoughts.

Originally Posted by lnich13

Does it matter that me and my mind constantly fight? Like when you try not to think about something, then you fight to keep it out of your mind? (for example that WBTB wont work..)

Yes, this is generally something you want to avoid. My advice for fighting your mind: don't.

If negative thoughts come, give them no energy or attention. Simply acknowledge them and let them pass through you. Turn your attention back to positive thoughts of success and all the super cool stuff you have planned for your LD.

Remember that these are your thoughts, and without energy from you, they will die off. So don't worry when they show up. We all get negative thoughts -- what matters is whether we give them shelter. Just brush them gently aside and pour all of your energy into the thoughts and visions that will bring you success.

Originally Posted by lnich13

Does it matter that i recall lots of my dreams in third person (i think)

I can't think of any particular problem with this. I recall perhaps 20-25% of my dreams in 3rd person.

Here's one way to turn this to your advantage perhaps. Throughout the day, stop and quickly question whether or not you have a physical body. If a lack of a physical body or a 3rd person perspective is so common for you, this could be a great way to catch a DILD.

Originally Posted by lnich13

And just anything els you can tell me to help a beginner.

Be patient, put in the work, and you will succeed. Also, consider joining a class. This made a great difference for me starting out. I was a student in OpheliaBlue's wonderful Intro Class and I still help out some w/ the teaching there: Intro Class (OpheliaBlue RareCola CanisLucidus Chimpertainment Xanous). Since you are pursuing MILD, gab teaches a great DILD-specialized course that offers specific help w/ that family of techniques: DILD (gab)

Good luck!

Thank you both very much!(:

gab, just after i woke up, i researched a bit more into ADA.
I spent long amounts of time yesterday doing the very thing you just explained, questioning my reality. After i had questioned it for some time (normaly about how much detail i could see, and all the sounds, and how real it all is) i preforme three RC's. (Counting my fingers, pushing a finger through my hand and pinching my nose).
I actually found this all very fun, but im in an exam week at uni, so i might need to put less time towards this for a few days..

Last night i tried again, but instead used less mantra (Im only really basic with mantra, i just tell myself that i WILL have a lucid dream, it WILL be vivid, and i WILL remember it. ) It would have been wonderful, i went to bed at 9:00 ish, but still found it dificult to sleep. I still had an alarm set for 4:00am, for another wbtb just to experiment with the time being awake. AGAIN, i woke up at 3:00 and found it dificult to go back to sleep, my little kitten wouldnt stop making noise. >.>

I ignored him, fell back asleep and woke up to my alarm at 4:00. (woke me up out of a dream, i was not lucid D
From then till 5:30 i stayed awake, unable to fall asleep again, largly because of my kitten. >.>
And when i finally did, i woke up at 7:00 because he droped an huge water bottle on my head. D:

Anyway!, sorry for getting off topic!

So after last night, im going to keep using AllDayAwarness. Hoping to score some DILD's. I will still use some small mantra, because it shockingly improved the amount of dreams i remembered. (i only ever get one dream in a night, but with one mantra, i managed to remember four dreams!)

I will continue this and some more research for a while, i cant wait for my first LD.


Thank you both very much for the advice, i have read it all and will be taking all of it on board (;
My final questions are;
I heard you could induce a LD through SP, should i persue this?
Is this method the esiest for beginners?, or am i doing it the long way?
Is there anything els i can do to improve this?
What els can i question during day to day activities? (so far i pretty much only question the amount of detail, seeying as i have never had a LD, i dont have much to compare reality to. I did hear that there is usally fog, so i keep an eye out for that, what els? (: )

Again, thanks for all the help so far, your feedback is really useful for a beginner like me ;D

Originally Posted by lnich13

... i woke up at 7:00 because he droped an huge water bottle on my head.

My kitteh says hi to your kitteh.

Originally Posted by lnich13

I heard you could induce a LD through SP, should i persue this?

No, no and no. SP is harder to induce that LD. SP you get naturally after you start to dream. There is no use for SP with regards to lucid dreaming.

Originally Posted by lnich13

Is this method the esiest for beginners?, or am i doing it the long way?

DILD is indeed the easiest method. Give it at least a few weeks to a month. Longer, if you can.

But if you have time, check out WILD and DEILD. Just in case you find yourself in situation and then you can try those methods. (when my second DILD was interupted by noise, I just read a DEILD tutorial that evening and got me my first DEILD).

Originally Posted by lnich13

Is there anything els i can do to improve this?

Keep up with your awareness, put emotions into awareness question "Am I dreaming", believe that RC will work during day when you practicing, write your dreams in DJ. Also write down what you want to do in your lucid. Then visualize it. It will come in hande when you become lucid. You will know what to do without having to think about it.

Don't just believe that you will have LD, but have intent. That's more than a belief. Intent is a sure thing. Same way as you know that in the morning you are going to school. No questions about it, right. It's going to happen, you don't have to wish it, just know it.

Originally Posted by lnich13

What els can i question during day to day activities? (so far i pretty much only question the amount of detail, seeying as i have never had a LD, i dont have much to compare reality to. I did hear that there is usally fog, so i keep an eye out for that, what else?

Look at things and say "wow, that's strange" (even if it's not). Have that sinking feeling in your stomach while saying that. This will help you recognize strange things in your dreams and get you lucid that way.
Look at something and say "if this was a dream, that [something] would be [something else]. You can have fun with this one, as it's rally just up to your immagination what you come up with. For example, when I walk to my fridge, I say if this was a dream, there is a six pack in my fridge. Or that TV would be 60 inch flat screen, or when I turn around, there is Tahity.

Kiteens just got back from desexing D;

Okay(; I have only woken up to SP once. I was so tired, i felt like there was so much weight on top of me. I just shut my eyes and went back to sleep :L

Ill check them out now!(:

Ill begin working with the emotions right after my exams.

Thanks for that last bit of info!(: That fridge check is a really cool way to do it, i cant wait to test this all out(:

(by the way, i was just thinking about the movie inception. Could you bring a spinningtop with you everywhere, and use that as a reality check?.. )

Thanks so much for all the help, with any luck ill report back to you with my first LD sooner or later. (:

About the spinning top - I thought the same thing - to use it as RC. But in a dream, if you think it will go on, it will, but if you think it will fall, then it will fall. So I'm not sure if it's a reliable RC. Would be interesting to try, though. Where do you buy those things, anyway?

I know you will be reporting your LD sooner, rather than later.

h t t p : / / d x . c o m /p/inception-stainless-steel-spinning-top-totem-with-plastic-die-44826
h t t p : / / w w w . ebay . c o m . a u /itm/TOTEM-SPINNING-TOP-STAINLESS-STEEL-INCEPTION-MOVIE-/220768163550?pt=UK_Toys_Creative_Educational_RL

Looks like others might have had the same idea (;
Well, what happens if you believe it will fall over if your not dreaming, but will spin indefinatly if you are?
No, haha. I see your point(:

Just did some research on the DEILD, do you think its easy?. Should i be attempting this? or sticking with ADA for DILD?(:

Originally Posted by lnich13

Just did some research on the DEILD, do you think its easy?. Should i be attempting this? or sticking with ADA for DILD?(:

I personally can pull off DEILD only from lucid dream. I was never able to do it form regular dream. But it's a great technique. Even if you don't actively practice it, but rather you will wait for a DILD and chain from there, it's a great thing to know how to pull it of, in case situation presents itself.

DEILD(dutchraptor)
Re-entering collapsed LD - this one got me my first DEILD, from my second DILD.

So ive been doing DILD practice all day, for a while now.
but Last night i attempted a WBTB and WILD. I used the DreamZ app to wake me up, but i think its results would have been tampered with ( i have a cat who sleeps with me, curled up in my arms every night. ). Nevertheless, it woke me up around 4:00, which was what i asked it to. I stayed awake for 25 minutes reading a book (avoiding my computer), and thinking about WILD. When i went to bed, i relaxed my whole body (first i tensed and untensed, then i just imagined moving every muscle). After that, i tried keeping my brain active by counting up to 100 in my head, and seeing the numbers visualy. I did this around four times (really slowly), i would lose focus occasionaly, but i did pretty well.
Three times during this, i realised how heavy i had gotten ( i tried getting hevier during the relaxation, but imagining sandbags tied onto me just made me tingle where i put it). As soon as i was heavy, i tried to stay focused on my numbers, and slowly the heviness fadded. So the next time, i focused on the heviness, but it still fadded.
At the end of it all ( i was awake for an hour - hour and a half ) I saw light through my shut eyes, and thought i had reached a dream. So i slowly opened my eyes to find i was still in my bed. Performed some RC's, then just gave up.

What was i doing wrong?
How can i do this quickly ( i dont want to sit up all night )
I remembered no dreams last night at all, could that be due to stress from my exams last week? tiredness?
Should i stop attempting WILD and focus all on DILD again?
Any extra guidence you can give me from what youve read?(:

Originally Posted by lnich13

What was i doing wrong?

People have success with many different styles of WILD, so I'm hesitant to call any particular one "wrong". For me, I prefer to ignore physical sensations entirely. I treat WILD as a time to patiently observe hypnagogic imagery and dreamlets.

I forget about my physical body entirely. It's just my self-awareness and the imagery that I experience. There is nothing else.

Originally Posted by lnich13

How can i do this quickly ( i dont want to sit up all night )

That's a difficult question to answer. All of my successful WILD attempts have occurred when I ignored the clock entirely, quit worrying about how long things were taking, and behaved as if I had forever. I don't even know how long they actually took! A more experienced WILDer might have some suggestions for speeding things up.

Originally Posted by lnich13

I remembered no dreams last night at all, could that be due to stress from my exams last week? tiredness?

Stress and lack of sleep will definitely hamper your dream recall. The classic advice for dream recall is the best -- get lots of rest, be aware during the daytime, and always journal your dreams.

Originally Posted by lnich13

Should i stop attempting WILD and focus all on DILD again?

If you'll become frustrated by long WILD sessions, sticking just with DILD/MILD is absolutely fine. I had loads of LDs before I revisited WILD. (I attempted it early on with zero success and came back to it much later.) Decide how well you feel that WILD fits in with you, your life, sleep habits, and needs, then decide based on that. If it's causing you distress, it's perfectly fine to get lots of DILDs first and revisit WILD later. That's the path that I took.

Originally Posted by lnich13

Any extra guidence you can give me from what youve read?(:[/B]

If WILD is something that is important to you, consider Sageous' excellent WILD course. Even if you don't sign up, the course materials are outstanding. I recommend them highly: WILD