Thread: Best Method to Focus on for a Newbie

For beginners, definetly start with MILD/DILD. It doesn't require actual "Technique" like WILD does. But you will have to start doing RCs and increase your general awareness like others have said.

But attempting to WILD is perfectly fine also. Some people say that WILD is easier for them than DILD/MILD

WILD comes very naturally to some people, and could be your thing. Personally, I find SP to be too strange a feeling, plus I don't like getting up and detracting from my regular sleep, of which I already get too little of.

So, I predominantly use MILD, a touch of DILD, and increased awareness. I like this combination because it offers more certainty than any one method alone, plus they aren't incredibly difficult to do.

Everyone is different, and I recommend dedicating a few straight days and nights to trying out each of the processes, and then committing to one or two methods from there. If you find SP to be enjoyable and even easy, or if you wake up naturally during the night, WILD may be a better fit than MILD/DILD, and visa versa.

Thanks all very much for your replies!

It looks like I will begin with a focus on MILD/DILD once I have improved my dream recall. At the moment I am having a couple of issues with awareness and reality checks, though.

I work five days a week, 8:30-6 and for the most part I am flat out with customers and other tasks and for a lot of this it seems to be difficult to do a really conscious/aware reality check. I can briefly say to myself, "Am I dreaming? Nope" but I do it in such a casual way I don't think it would cause me to become aware enough - but I don't really have many chances to actually stop be aware of my surroundings and ask myself.

I did about 8 reality checks today during work today, I guess I will see how I can best work it in.

On a similar note - the whole awareness / increased awareness thing... I am having REAL trouble with this. There are a lot of good tutorials here - is there one on this? Or can anyone give me some tips?

Val, I am like you are with work. There is always the dream journalling route. Go to sleep earlier and use your extra time in the morning or get up during the night to journal or at least jot down some things.

And since you are so busy at work, you could try to instead maintain a more constant, less demanding, state of awareness. Focus on your breath, don't try to control it just be aware of it.

Ultimately, dedicated dream journalling on it's own can lead to LDs.

I've been trying to do the RC thing at work lately, and if your work is the sort you need to keep your mind on pretty much, RCing can be a distraction. For times it's not busy I will try to RC.

So for awareness building focusing on breath meditation - meditation at home will help along these lines, doing a form of breath meditation (breath in 10 seconds, hold 10 seconds, breath out 10 seconds) takes a while to get used to, but it's good. You don't have to do the 10 seconds thing the whole time, but breathe slowly and relax is the point. Now at work do your best to "focus on your breath" just feel it as you breathe in or out. I can usually practice this at least 3-4 hours of the work day without it being a distraction or drain of any sort. And it helps me be more patient with customers, and more objective in situations. So it should only help you at work. But that's just to increase your awareness.

I know this method of dream journalling + basic awareness can get some amazing results if you take the basic idea of it pretty far, so it's not really a limited method. And I've seen some experienced posters on Dreamviews suggest it basically as well. Dream journal + awareness methods in the waking day.

What is the point of dream jourlnaling? how will it help you lucid dream?

How does it help you go lucid? Well while you journal you have dreaming on your mind. It is like a form of MILD, because it's the sort of thing, that suggestion that carries over into your sleep. Incedentally, as you read about lucid dreaming right now, you are actually improving your own chances of having a lucid dream. And the people who journal also seem to be the ones who "Go lucid for no reason" most. This is closely related to MILD. Though I've never approached MILDing with much dedication, it is along the same lines as it as far as I can see.

But really the explanation almost goes off on a tangent. I'm pretty sure it's accepted that dream journalling will aid you in your ability to go lucid.

It improves your recall yes, but somehow, and I don't know how exactly, it makes you a better dreamer while inside of the dream as well.

Originally Posted by ah19

What is the point of dream jourlnaling? how will it help you lucid dream?

What's the point in lucid dreaming if you can't remember them?

ah okay, i started a dream journal today and just logged my first entry. should i put a date