Thread: FILD doesn't work for me, why?

Hey Iriba!

Can you describe for us the steps you're following ?

Most of my LDs comes from FILD and yes, it's immediately
When I do FILD I don't get a False Awakening, it's just that I do a RC and simply get out of my bed...

Originally Posted by JPDreeamnz

Hey Iriba!

Can you describe for us the steps you're following ?

Most of my LDs comes from FILD and yes, it's immediately
When I do FILD I don't get a False Awakening, it's just that I do a RC and simply get out of my bed...

It's pretty much this i do.

1. Alarm rings off
2. I wake up and disable the alarm
3. I close my eyes again and try to not think and just sleep naturally
4. I start to tapping my fingers up and down, slowly, but trying to feel them.
5. I wait like 20-30 seconds
6. I make a reality check

Are you a deep sleeper? You should try without the alarm, just try to wake up in the night, keep in the same position and do the fingers thing. It will help you keeping your mind as sleepy as possible.

And do you tap your finger THEN you wait 20 - 30 seconds or you keep tapping for 30 seconds?

tip : tap for a longer time, once I was trying FILD and I tapped my fingers for like 1 minute and then I felt the ''transition'', I didnt even reality checked, I knew I was dreaming, everything in my bedroom was so strange, then I flew away.

Originally Posted by Sonhador

Are you a deep sleeper? You should try without the alarm, just try to wake up in the night, keep in the same position and do the fingers thing. It will help you keeping your mind as sleepy as possible.

And do you tap your finger THEN you wait 20 - 30 seconds or you keep tapping for 30 seconds?

tip : tap for a longer time, once I was trying FILD and I tapped my fingers for like 1 minute and then I felt the ''transition'', I didnt even reality checked, I knew I was dreaming, everything in my bedroom was so strange, then I flew away.

I tap for 20-30 seconds then i reality check, i dont wait after tapping, i already tried more than 30 seconds but i felt no difference

My FILD works after seconds, 10 sec top
The key is to wake up after REM, you'll need to feel really tired like you would sleep in seconds
Put your alarm in a position you can turn it off without making too much effort (not looking in the screen helps too, the brightness can wake you up)

You can alternate the alarm clock to mess with your body a little, giving no time to it regulate your inner clock (but this could cause a lost in some sleep quality)
if you woke and can't do FILD, don't keep doing it... wait a little and relax, do some breath meditation in a relaxed position with your fingers prepared
when you feel like "Ok, I'm almost or already sleeping" start doing FILD

This technique worked 4 times for me when I thought my night was wasted =D

Originally Posted by JPDreeamnz

My FILD works after seconds, 10 sec top
The key is to wake up after REM, you'll need to feel really tired like you would sleep in seconds
Put your alarm in a position you can turn it off without making too much effort (not looking in the screen helps too, the brightness can wake you up)

You can alternate the alarm clock to mess with your body a little, giving no time to it regulate your inner clock (but this could cause a lost in some sleep quality)
if you woke and can't do FILD, don't keep doing it... wait a little and relax, do some breath meditation in a relaxed position with your fingers prepared
when you feel like "Ok, I'm almost or already sleeping" start doing FILD

This technique worked 4 times for me when I thought my night was wasted =D

Well i suspect my REM sleep finish after 6 hours, because sometimes when i WBTB after 6 hours, i can remember
my dreams, I tried with FILD but it didn't work for some reason. But my body don't gets tired to the point i could sleep in seconds
i assume my body is already accustomed waking up early.

When i'm almost sleeping i can't wake up for some reason, it's like i lose consciouness in NREM stage, and can't even feel my body
going through Sleep Paralysis.

Any help please?

Still needing help please

As a regular user of the FILD and WILD techniques I might be able to help you, and hopefully these tips will make the technique start working for you.

Alongside every other lucid dreaming technique, FILD isn't guaranteed. To be guaranteed, it would be called a method, but that's not always the case thanks to a variety of factors that influence lucidity. The extremely simple answer is to have intent. Believe that you'll initiate a successful FILD without any trouble, and you probably will. Reaffirm this fact throughout the day and ensure that you don't forget it.

When it comes to lucid dreaming, mindset is extremely important. Nothing else influences your capabilities like mindset does. Be positive and motivated. It isn't about having the technique done right, because how someone uses FILD may be completely different than how you do it. Design the technique around what makes you the most comfortable, and what you believe will work the best. I use my own version of WILD and it's effective.

Now, say that you have intent and you are motivated but it still isn't working. Change something about the technique then! Perhaps you aren't giving it enough time. If you don't feel like that may be your problem, then change techniques entirely. But again, I must emphasize that the technique isn't the one doing the lucid dreaming: It's YOU, and therefore you have control over whether you are lucid or not. This knowledge alone is something every lucid dreamer should learn, and it makes me sad to see so many people having trouble with lucid dreaming simply because I don't believe its importance is discussed here on these forums.

Also, ditch the idea that lucid dreaming is hard. It's really easy, all you need is intent and to believe in yourself. Set goals. Make yourself exciting about LDing. Think of all the amazing possibilities!

One more thing: Fake it till you make it. If these tips aren't working for you (I would be extremely surprised if they didn't, because this is some powerful advice imo) then just say to yourself: "I'm a natural lucid dreamer." so it assists your brain to construct the neural pathways of being a lucid dreamer. Have a carefree attitude and think to yourself "Yeah, I'm gonna FILD tonight, it's really easy." Don't get stressed about failing. There's always the next night, it isn't a big deal.

That's all, hope I helped.

Hi Zaephyr, what lucid dreaming technique did you start with when you were a beginner?

I have been doing FILD for the past two nights yet I'm either too tired and fall asleep too quickly or I stay awake for too long and cannot go back to bed. Is it recommended for an absolute beginner such as myself? If not, what technique would you recommend? I've been writing in my dream journal for around a week now, and do reality checks every day.

Thanks!

(I'll definitely try your 'fake it till you make it' tip anyway.)

I'm not Zaephyr, but I'd try MILD if I were you. It's pretty simple since you basically just tell yourself you're lucid and it transmits to your dreams. The main thing with it is to firmly believe it will work, so don't really try to force it too much or worry about it a ton if you fail.

Originally Posted by boomaster1999

I'm not Zaephyr, but I'd try MILD if I were you. It's pretty simple since you basically just tell yourself you're lucid and it transmits to your dreams. The main thing with it is to firmly believe it will work, so don't really try to force it too much or worry about it a ton if you fail.

Hmm, alright I'll give it a shot! You don't need to rely on waking up at like 4am do you? It's just RCs during the day, and telling yourself you will lucid dream (using your own mantra) as you're falling asleep?

^^ There might be a little more to MILD than that, Nasson. You might want to take a look at DV's MILD tutorial here, to get started with MILD.

I agree that MILD is a good technique to begin with, BTW, because its elements come in handy when doing the other techniques as well.

Ah, haha. Thanks for that tutorial Sageous! What about FILD however? Is that a good technique for beginners? I've tried it for the last two nights, should I have been doing MILD instead?

^^ Though in my opinion MILD is probably the best technique to start with, trying FILD for just two days isn't very long. I wouldn't be concerned about it failing you as a technique until you've been trying it for a couple of months rather than days.

Also, you can certainly learn and practice MILD at the same time that you are attempting FILD's; MILD's daywork will only compliment your FILD efforts.

Right right. Well I'll do a combination of FILD and MILD in which case! I attempted FILD again last night but I couldn't fall asleep for 35 minutes. It was really frustrating. When waking up I've been lying on my back to make sure that I don't fall asleep too quickly. That didn't quite work out last night, and another night too.

By the way, how did you get into lucid dreaming (if you don't mind my asking)?

^^ I forgot to mention last time that you should be doing your FILD late in your sleep cycle (after about 5 hr's sleep), with a WBTB. I assume that you are doing that, but I figured it was worth mentioning, just in case.

Also, 35 minutes is not a long time to give yourself to go back to sleep. You might trying toughing it out a bit further, and give yourself at least an hour or even hour and a half before you give up. If you had a good WBTB (meaning you didn't wake yourself up to much), you very likely will go back to sleep eventually.

By the way, how did you get into lucid dreaming?

I'm not sure, but I would say that lucid dreaming got into me. I was fascinated by dreaming since childhood, and really focused on its experience (not so much interpretation) in my teens. Then one fine night I realized that I could be self-aware in a dream (because I was), and the real fun began!