Thread: How to MILD, By Stephen Laberge

Okay this is straight out of his book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.
All credit goes to him, and his references. Also this section is kind of long, but nonetheless helpful. I refit some of the lines but not all, so sorry if it seems so long haha.

Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

MILD prerequisites
To successfully induce lucid dreams with MILD, you need to have certain capacities. First of
all, if you can’t reliably remember to carry out future intentions while awake, there is little
chance that you will remember to do anything while asleep. So before attempting MILD, you
need to prove to yourself that you can indeed remember
to do things while awake. If you are
like most people, you are used to relying on external reminders and therefore
need practice in
remembering intentions using only your own mental power. The following is an exercise to
help you acquire the necessary skill to perform the MILD technique.

EXERCISE: PROSPECTIVE MEMORY TRAINING

1. Read the day’s targets
This exercise is designed to be practiced over an entire week. Below is a set of four target events for each day of the week. When you get up in the morning, read only the targets for that day. (Do not read the targets before the proper day. ) Memorize the day’s targets.

2. Look for your targets during the day
Your goal is to notice the next occurrence of each event, at which time you will perform a state
test: “Am I dreaming?” So, if your target is, “The next time I hear a dog bark, “ when you hear
this next, note it and do a state test. You are aiming to notice the target once—the next time it
happens.

3. Keep track of how many target events you hit
At the end of the day, write down how many of the four targets you succeeded in noticing (you
can make a space in your dream journal to record your progress with this exercise). If you
realize during the day that you missed your first chance to notice one of your targets, then you
have failed to hit that target, even though you may notice its occurrence later in the day. If you
are certain that one or more of the targets did not occur at all during the day, say so with a note
in your dream journal.

4. Continue the exercise for at least one week
Practice the exercise until you have tried all of the daily targets given below. If at the end of the
week, you are still missing most of the targets, continue until you can hit most of them. Make
up your own list of targets, keep track of your success rate, and observe how your memory
develops.
Daily Targets

SUNDAY:
The next time I see a pet or animal
The next time look at my face in a mirror
The next time turn on a light
The next time see a flower

MONDAY:
The next time write anything down
The next time feel pain
The next time I hear someone say my name
The next time I drink something

TUESDAY:
The next time I see a traffic light
The next time I hear music
The next time I throw something in the garbage
The next time I hear laughter

WEDNESDAY:
The next time I turn on a television or radio
The next time I see a vegetable
The next time I see a red car
The next time I handle money

THURSDAY:
The next time I read something other than this list
The next time I check the time
The next time I notice myself daydreaming
The next time I hear the telephone ringing

FRIDAY:
The next time I open a door
The next time I see a bird
The next time I use the toilet after noon
The next time I see the stars

SATURDAY:
The next time I put a key in a lock
The next time I see an advertisement
The next time I eat anything after breakfast
The next time I see a bicycle

MILD TECHNIQUE

1. Set up dream recall
Before going to bed resolve to wake up and recall dreams during each dream period throughout
the night (or the first dream period after dawn, or after 6 a. m. or whenever
you find
convenient).

2. Recall your dream
When you awaken from a dream period, no matter what time it is, try to recall as many details
as possible from your dream. If you find yourself so drowsy that you are drifting back to sleep,
do something to arouse yourself.

3. Focus your intent
While returning to sleep, concentrate singlemindedly on your intention to remember to
recognize that you’re dreaming. Tell yourself: “Next time I’m dreaming, I want to remember
I’m dreaming.” Really try to feel that you mean it. Narrow your thoughts to this idea alone. If
you find yourself thinking about anything else, just let go of these thoughts and bring your
mind back to your intention to remember.

4. See yourself becoming lucid
At the same time, imagine that you are back in the dream from which you have just awakened,
but this time you recognize that it is a dream. Find a dreamsign in the experience; when you see
it say to yourself: “I’m dreaming!”
and continue your fantasy. For example, you might decide
that when you are lucid you want to fly. In that case, imagine yourself taking off and flying as
soon as you come to the point in your fantasy that you “’realize” you are dreaming.

5. Repeat
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until your intention is set, then let yourself fall asleep. If, while falling asleep, you find yourself thinking of anything else, repeat the procedure so that the last thing in your mind before falling asleep is your intention to remember to recognize the next time you are dreaming.

Commentary

If all goes well, you’ll fall asleep and find yourself in a dream, at which point you’ll remember to notice that you are dreaming.
If it takes you a long time to fall asleep while practicing
this method, don’t worry: The longer
you’re awake, the more likely you are to have a lucid dream when you eventually return to sleep. This is because the longer you are awake, the more times you will repeat the MILD procedure, reinforcing your intention to have a lucid dream. Furthermore, the wakefulness may
activate your brain, making lucidity easier to attain.
In fact, if you are a very deep sleeper, you should get up after memorizing your dream and engage in ten to fifteen minutes of any activity requiring full wakefulness. Turn on the light and
read a book. Get out of bed and go into another room. One of the best things to do is to write out your dream and read it over, noting all dream signs, in preparation for the MILD visualization.

Many people meet with success after only one or two nights of MILD; others take longer. Continued practice of MILD can lead to greater proficiency at lucid dreaming. Many of our advanced oneironauts have used it to cultivate the ability to have several lucid dreams any night
they choose.

Whoa you made it, hope this helps!