Does MILD even work?

[Elucive]

If there is anybody here who has moderate or consistent success with MILD, would you mind posting your personal steps here?

[ninja9578]

I haven't done it in a while but I've had two MILDs (in my opinion, other people have said that they are VILDs.) I simply kept picturing myself in a room with an 'RC' on the wall as I went to sleep. In the dream I found myself in a room with an RC on the wall, I recognized it as a dream sign like I had planned and went off on a lucid dream. Success rate for me had been very low, however, so I stopped trying.

[Oneironaught]

Truth be known, a MILD is really the same thing as a DILD. The only difference is that in a MILD you become lucid because you experience something that you've made a point to recognise as being a dream sign or dream-like quality. In a DILD, you've spontaneously recognised something as being dream-like but, not necessarily something you've planned - or have reminded youself - to recognise. Now, your question. Yes, MILD does work but don't make the mistake of relying on only one method or you'll probably have very little success in the art of lucid dreaming.

[Elucive]

Very well said, and thanks for the response. I guess I've given up on MILD....it has never worked for me...right now I'm more geared on DEILD and WILD. My problem is that I never wake up directly from a dream, so when I wake up I'm not tired at all. So sad that not even WBTB has worked well for me.

[Elucive]

I'm still curious to see how many people have consistent success with MILD, anybody?

[Angelmouse]

Hiya. I use MILD when I haven't had an experience for a while but I'm getting pretty adept at DILD. I have so many different triggers tho because I have loads of recurring themed dreams. Try saying that when you've had few. I find the best trigger to use is a colour because they are the most common denominator. Angelmouse X

[Bonsay]

Some form of MILD usually works for me. I just chant myself to sleep with "I will have a LD bla bla bla..." until I fall asleep.

[Yamluver]

Sorry, off topic, but what's Deild? I have seen that used a few times.

[Bonsay]

Sorry, off topic, but what's Deild? I have seen that used a few times. Dream Exit Induced Lucid Dream In short, it's about staying still the moment you wake up from a dream. If you don't move or open your eyes there is a high possibility that you get thrown back into a (lucid)dream. It's like a form of a WILD without the effort.

[Oneironaught]

Sorry, off topic, but what's Deild? I have seen that used a few times. Read this. Klace claims to have created the method but, I know for fact that many people have discovered it on their own as well, myself and AdamA included. That said, it's still a worthy method to consider. Basically, DEILD is when you awaken from a dream but, rather than open your eyes or move, you lie there thinking about the dream and try to drift back into it, hopefully lucidly. Like many other techniques, it's really just another variation of WILD.

[Merlock]

Truth be known, a MILD is really the same thing as a DILD. The only difference is that in a MILD you become lucid because you experience something that you've made a point to recognise as being a dream sign or dream-like quality. In a DILD, you've spontaneously recognised something as being dream-like but, not necessarily something you've planned - or have reminded youself - to recognise. Now, your question. Yes, MILD does work but don't make the mistake of relying on only one method or you'll probably have very little success in the art of lucid dreaming. Well, to be completely precise with terminology: MILD is a technique (Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dreaming) while DILD is one of the two lucid dream types (DILD = Dream Induced Lucid Dream, WILD = Wake Induced Lucid Dream). Ah, LaBerge would be proud. >.>

[Oneironaught]

Well, to be completely precise with terminology: MILD is a technique (Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dreaming) while DILD is one of the two lucid dream types (DILD = Dream Induced Lucid Dream, WILD = Wake Induced Lucid Dream). Ah, LaBerge would be proud. >.> Technically, yes. But many people "use" DILD or WILD as "techniques". Oh, the confusion... EDIT: The more I think about it, you made a good point. Let me try to clarify what I mean. In my experience, MILD is more of a means to trigger a DILD. Though I suppose it's possible to have a WILD as result of MILD, if you do then it's generally just referred to as a WILD. I classify MILD and DILD as nearly the same because, in general, a successful MILD is what becomes a DILD. While a successful WILD (and all of its many variations: DEILD, FILD, etc...) results in, well, a WILD. I'm not sure if I made that more clear or more confusing.

[Hero]

I have a lot of success wit MILD. Although many times I get non-lucid feeling lucid dreams through MILD. What I do: Basically I tell myself I will hae a lucid dream and that it will be the way I want it to be and then I don't think about anymore until I go to sleep, where I repeat the phrase a few more times and then sleep.

[h0merg0mez]

Last night i tried something pretty similar to a MILD, I imagined myself writing in my dream journal about a lucid dream I had. Kind of like the movie "The Secret" or whatever...just visualize it and imagine the feeling and excitement you'd have. Anyway, I had 2 very short, lame lucids last night where I had no control, but I hope to try it again soon!

[Elucive]

This is good, it's great to hear from people who have success with MILD. Tonight when I try MILD I'ma do something different, instead of telling myself, "The next time I'm dreaming, I will remember I'm dreaming", I'm going to vizualize my dream sign (old friend) and tell myself, "Next time I see Carl, I will remember I'm dreaming". Hope I get results.....I guess it might work better since I'm thinking a lot of my dream sign maybe there will be a greater chance of it appearing.

[Angelmouse]

That's cool. But try not to push it too hard tho if you hold on too tight things can slip thro your fingers. Good luck Hon. AM X

[Spartiate]

I have been dabbling with MILD for a while now. The way I do it is by making my subconscious drift to thoughts of LDing before I fall asleep, the problem is I need at least one WBTB for it to work, which has been hard to come by these days. One thing that I have achieved with MILD however, is the ability to wake up at will. I'm basically a human alarm clock right now .

[TygrHawk]

Just to chime in here, MILD, combined with WBTB, is the only method with which I've had consistent success.

[Elucive]

I tried this morning, my dream sign didn't appear in my dream, but it's ok, it was a fun dream. I'm starting to notice a pattern in my sleep pattern? During the night I wake around 4am to pee, when I wake up at this time I don't recall any dreams...don't know why. I don't try any tech cause I'm not tired at all when I awake at 4. Then I wake up again at 6am, and once again I don't recall any dreams....I wake up AGAIN at like 7 which is my WBTB time and I sleep until 9. I move to my living room and try MILD....I think after I wake up around 9:00 I'm going to try DEILD..... The reason why I'm saying this is because when I tried DEILD during the night I failed because since I didn't recall a dream, I wasn't tired when I woke up.....but if I try it after my WBTB, then it might work....since I always dream during my WBTB...... Huh.

[Leerafel]

Woa, it sounds like I have a different understanding of what a MILD is than everyone on this forum. I learned how to to MILD from LD4ALL, and it is only differs from WILD in the sense that once you wake up, you don't wait for 30 mins. You simply go BACK to sleep repeating something to the effect of "I'm dreaming, this is a dream" etc. This is the only technique that I have had real success doing. I think some people refer to it on this forum as DEILD or something, but from my studies, DEILD and MILD are the same technique. In any case, if you have been trying to do MILD when you very first go to sleep at night, no wonder you aren't having good success! You've got to try it when you awake from a dream.

[Elucive]

I have trouble waking up from a dream, I know it sounds dumb but it's true. It's always hit and miss, if I wake up from a dream I'm very tired and it's easy for me to go back to sleep, but if I don't awake from a dream, then I'm fully alert and it's hard to get back to sleep. I've set my alarm for...4 hours later, 5 hours later, and even 6 hours later, but I still can't wake up DIRECTLY from a dream...it used to happen all the time but doesn't anymore. And I feel that that's the main thing holding me back. Some of you might say, "Maybe you do wake up from a dream but you just don't remember it". I know if I wake from a dream cause like I said earlier, if I do, I'm very tired, if I don't, I wake up fully alert. But do you HAVE to wake from a dream....won't it still work even if you don't? doesn't all that matter is the fact that you slept for like 5 hours and are near the deeper REM stages?

[Oneironaught]

Woa, it sounds like I have a different understanding of what a MILD is than everyone on this forum. Yeah, this community has some terms that are tailored to our own vocabulary. I learned how to to MILD from LD4ALL, and it is only differs from WILD in the sense that once you wake up, you don't wait for 30 mins. I often make it a point to point out that most techniques are really just variations of the same few. Sometimes only the wording is different. Many overlap and don't really have a clear-cut distinction. But do you HAVE to wake from a dream....won't it still work even if you don't? doesn't all that matter is the fact that you slept for like 5 hours and are near the deeper REM stages? You do not HAVE to, no. Try to catch a REM period - or soon before one - for best results.

[Leerafel]

I have trouble waking up from a dream, I know it sounds dumb but it's true. It's always hit and miss, if I wake up from a dream I'm very tired and it's easy for me to go back to sleep, but if I don't awake from a dream, then I'm fully alert and it's hard to get back to sleep. I've set my alarm for...4 hours later, 5 hours later, and even 6 hours later, but I still can't wake up DIRECTLY from a dream...it used to happen all the time but doesn't anymore. And I feel that that's the main thing holding me back. Some of you might say, "Maybe you do wake up from a dream but you just don't remember it". I know if I wake from a dream cause like I said earlier, if I do, I'm very tired, if I don't, I wake up fully alert. But do you HAVE to wake from a dream....won't it still work even if you don't? doesn't all that matter is the fact that you slept for like 5 hours and are near the deeper REM stages? For me, it doesn't work if I haven't awakened from a dream. I think if you don't wake up from a dream (or rather, don't remember dreaming) then you aren't in the position to be able to become lucid, and you probably wouldn't remember even if you did. Bottom line is that for me, I have to have awakened from a dream for MILD to work.

[bro]

MILD has worked for me, though I can't say consistently. When it has I usually filled my time with a WBTB, reading about LD's, making plans for the LD I would have, and Re-reading my dream-journal to get my mind going... Fantasize as you MILD, go back to bed, have a plan, and enjoy the ride. At the very least, you should have some interesting dreams.