I just posted this on another thread. I liked it so much, I thought it deseved its own thread. I'm fairly certain that, finally, after 12 winters of experimentation, I've figured out a way to consistently induce lucid dreams. I'm going to tweek the variables over the coming months. I'll let everyone know if anything needs to be changed.
This is what I've had the most success with (8 LDs over the past week!):
A variation of the MILD/WILD technique.
1) Get up after 5 1/2 to 6 hrs of sleep.
2) Empty your bladder and do a reality test.
3) Drink a half cup of milk, take a B6, and then drink a cup of instant coffee.
4) Do another reality test.
5) Go back to bed.
6) Lay on your back and do whatever WILD visualization is most comfortable for you. Do it till you're in a lucid dream or until you're no longer comfortable. I've been using the "being dragged (forwards) across the sheets" visualization. I imagine myself being pulled by the ankles across the sheets, trying to feel the cloth rubbing against my back. This usually takes about 15 minutes.
7) If you're not there yet (I'm usually not), roll onto your side or belly and do this variation of the MILD technique:
a) Imagine yourself somewhere very well known to you but is also a natural dreamsign. (I imagine being in my old barn, which was destroyed by a windstorm several years ago.)
b) Imagine yourself walking from notable point to notable point within the building. (There are about 13 such points in my barn.)
c) At each point, imagine yourself noticing the dreamsign, realizing that you are dreaming and performing your pre-planned dream activity. (such as taking off into the air, or touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth.)
d) Before proceeding to the next point, say to yourself, "The next time I'm dreaming, I want to remember that I'm dreaming."
e) Continue until you cycle through the entire building or are asleep. This should take at least 20 minutes. It's ok to look at a clock the first time you do this to get a feel for the time. After that, don't. It may spoil the effect. If you're still not asleep after cycling through the building, just allow yourself to drift off while making an effort to hold onto your intention to become lucid, thinking of nothing else. The time you spent practicing the technique has already "burned" it into your unconscious mind.
Notes: The biggest problem I've had up until recently is falling asleep TOO SOON. You need to do the MILD technique with singleminded focus until your intention is "set" or you fall asleep. That's why I do the milk, B6, coffee thing. If I don't, I go through the technique fogbrained and usually fall asleep within 5 minutes. I rarely have a lucid dream when that happens, and even if I do, the quality usually isn't very good. You can play around with these variables to maximize the benefit, as ease of falling asleep is an individual thing. The important thing is to make sure you DO MILD FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES.
Doing the WILD technique on my back before doing MILD also helps me focus, making MILD easier to do, and the switching of techniques midstream/cycling through different points in the dream building holds my interest by avoiding repetition.
Also, after doing this technique, my awarenesss is so intense that it's a lot easier for me to reenter a dream lucidly if I happen to wake up prematurely.
