Welcome back! For one thing, you could open a workbook in the DILD class DVA section of the forum. (I'm a teacher there, along with Fogelbise)! Having a workbook helps you to track your progress and ask for feedback. You can also do the same with this thread here if you like . I like the opening of a class workbook because it really cements your intention to get serious about DILDing .

For another, I recommend (re-) reading LaBerge's ETWOLD, chapters 1-3. I try to re-read this once a year in any case, it always ends up refreshing or motivating a portion of my practice. And do what he says. Sounds like you have the DJ part down pat, that's great, but there's a lot of other good stuff in there: PM exercises, intention/reflection moments, goal setting.

DILD really benefits becoming very familiar with your dreams: not just dream signs, but the *feeling* of begin in a dream. Once you get back to having very vivid non-lucids, the kind where you wake up and think "Whoa...you mean *that* was a *dream*!?", you will fully come to believe that at any time, any conscious experience *could* be taking place in the dream state. Never assume you're awake just because you're having a vivid experience! Always take time to stop and seriously question your state. And not just waking/dreaming, but what is your state of mind? Confused, alert, emotional, etc. Learning to track your state of mind is also very helpful for DILDs.

MILD is great for DILD, both night-time classic MILD and what I like to call daytime MILD: visualize a dream scene, see yourself in the dream recognizing it as a dream, and tell yourself "I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!", getting lucid, and pursuing your dream goals.

It is very very helpful to have concrete, specific dream goals that you are excited about. For me, simply the general goal of "I want to be lucid in my dreams" does not seems sufficient. Concrete goals really help both in getting lucid, and in staying lucid: if you move from goal to goal in your dream, you can really stretch out the length, it helps to stay engaged in the dream environment.

Reality checks are a tool to determine your state (waking / dreaming). They help you get lucid but do not *make* you lucid. What gets you lucid is paying purposeful attention to your experiences, being aware of and reflecting on your experiences. In short, "being lucid" during the day will translate to being lucid in dreams. The RC helps you cement budding lucidity once you have that "hey, this is weird/dreamlike" spark, and that spark comes from critical reflection and contemplating your state during the waking day.

Hope that helps and gets you started!