Thread: An Overview of all Lucid Induction Methods

This walk through was created to give the beginning lucid dreamer an overview of all the "techniques" they may encounter around the website.
This is both an acronym list and an explanation of all the things one can do to attain lucid dreams -- there will be both links to tutorials and short explanations for each category.

While reading this keep in mind that no single lucid induction technique is better than any other. Each was created to tailor to a specific type of person, not all of these will work for everybody; each must find the technique(s) that works for them.

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The following is a list of page anchors leading to everything I'm going to talk about. You can either just read over the whole thing in order, or skip around.

Contents:


. "WILD"

• Mental WILDs
  
  . .▪ "Quick"
  . . . . . ◦ DEILD
  . . . . . ◦ Visual WILD
  . . . . . ◦ Tactile WILD
  
  . . .▪ "Slow"
  . . . . . ◦ Original WILD
  . . . . . ◦ HIT
  .

• Physical WILDs
  
  . .▪ "Quick"
  . . . . . ◦ FILD
  
  . .▪ "Slow"
  . . . . . ◦ FAT

. "DILD"

• WBTB
  .
  . .▪ Traditional WBTB
  
  . .▪ Chanting
  
  . .▪ Dream Incubation
  .
• Other
  
  . .▪ Traditional DILD
  
  . .▪ Increasing Awareness
  
  . .▪ Self Hypnosis
  
  . .▪ Before Bed

.

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WILD

"WILD" is an acronym that stands for "Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams." This method of attaining lucid dreams will allow the dreamer to pass directly from waking life to the altered state of dreaming, seamlessly.

These techniques almost always take advantage of the weakened barriers between waking and dreaming that occur after sleeping until REM periods become active. The dreamer is usually expected to wake after 3.5 to 7 hours of sleep, then do a set protocol that is designed to allow for a fully conscious transition into the dreamworld.


There are two basic categories of WILD: mental, and physical.



Mental WILDs:

Mental WILDs are all in the dreamers head. They use psychological processes to "trick" the dreamer's mind into falling into the mental state of dreaming.
This type of WILD can be further broken down into two smaller subdivisions.

__

. . . "Quick"

. . . Quick WILDs rely very heavily on "runoff" REM. They are characterized by the dreamer waking up at night without any type of alarm system (random awakenings), and then lying perfectly still or only moving very slightly. The dreamer then begins a mental protocol that will last until the dreamstate is entered. Often dreamers report that it can take as little as ten seconds to begin a dream using these techniques.


DEILD: "Dream Exit Initiated Lucid Dream"
One of the oldest versions of quick WILDing, the dreamer simply wakes, and then either waits for REM onset, or begins an extremely simple protocol to keep the mind conscious.
Two popular tutorials on this method are:

• Dream Reentry by: Ev
  And
• DEILD by: Klace

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Visual WILD
Another quick form of WILDing, the dreamer wakes up without the use of an alarm clock, lays as still as possible, then begins to "walk through" a vivid mental scene. By walking through this scene and stimulating as many senses as possible (ie. the feel of the wind on your face etc), the dreamer's imagination and dreamstate will merge, causing a lucid dream.
Tutorials:

• "VILD" by: arby
  (Note: this type of WILD is best referred to as "V-WILD," or "visual WILD." VILD is a method of incubating lucid dreams that comes from a much earlier source.)
  

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Tactile WILD
This purely mental method of WILDing should not be confused with its physical WILDing cousin. To begin a tactile WILD the dreamer must first randomly awaken during a night of sleep, lay perfectly still, then use their imaginations to "feel" some tactile sensation on their bodies. Imagination will then blend with the dreamstate, and the dreamer will fall into a lucid dream where he or she is actually feeling said sensation.
Tutorials:

• Paradigm Shift by: ParadigmShift

.

__

. . . "Slow"
. . . Slow mental WILDs are characterized by their often exponentially longer completion time when compared to quick ones. Where a quick WILD relies primarily on "sneaking into" the dreamstate and is much simpler and easier, slow WILDs rely mostly on dreamer finesse and mastery of a mental technique.
To do a slow WILD the dreamer often sets his or her alarm to wake about three hours before they normally would. The dreamer then stays up for a period of time to awaken the conscious mind, then lays back down and does a preset mental protocol until they enter the dreamstate. Using this method of dream entry it can take anywhere from 15 to 120 minutes to actually begin a dream (usually the more experienced one is in the given protocol, the shorter it takes to enter the dream).

The benefits of using this rather than a quick WILD are many. Slow mental WILDs use alarm clocks to wake the dreamer, this means that if one is proficient enough in a given protocol (if you can enter a lucid dream with it on any night you try), they will be able to reliably induce a lucid dream on any night they choose. Using quick WILDs one is never guaranteed a random awakening, and the use of an alarm clock wakes most dreamers past the point of easily reentering the dreamstate.


Original WILD
Created by Stephen LaBerge, this was the earliest known way of passing directly from waking to dreaming. To use this technique the dreamer wakes after 3.5-8 hours of sleep, stays up anywhere from five seconds to an hour, then lays down and focuses on their breathing.
Popular Tutorials:

• The Five Phases of WILD by: Seeker
• How To Fail A WILD by: AllInYourHead
• "Clairity's WILD Technique" by Clairity
  
• Guide To End All Guides: WILD by: BillyBob
• WILD by: GestaltAlteration

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HIT: "Hypnagogic Imagery Technique"
Also developed by Stephen Laberge, this technique calls for the dreamer to watch either his naturally occurring "hypnagogic imagery" (vivid random mental imagery that occurs just before sleep, also known as "HI") until it coalesces into a fully formed dreamscene, or the dreamer can watch a static mental image (ex: a cup) until a dreamscene forms around it. This is best done either in the mornings, or late at night after sleeping for some time.
Tutorial:

• HIT by: Howie
  and
• "Inducing Trance to WILD" by: Sythix
  

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Physical WILDs:

Physical WILDs rely on objects, sensations, or movements that do not take place solely in the mind.
As with mental WILDs, this can be broken down into two subdivisions:

__

. . . "Quick"
. . . The embodiment of WILDing at its simplest, quick physical WILDs take very little mental discipline to accomplish. They rely completely on the extremely weak barriers between waking and dreaming that are experienced during an unplanned late night awakening.


FILD: "Finger Induced Lucid Dream"
Created by the Dreamviews member Hargarts, FILD is a method of WILDing in which you wake randomly during the night without the use of an alarm, then lay perfectly still and begin to almost twitch your index and middle finger. By passively sending signals to your hand, your mind is able to remain conscious as the dreamstate forms around it. Using this technique it should take about five to ten seconds to enter a dream.
Tutorials:

• FILD by: Hargarts
  and
• FILD by: Swikity

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. . . "Slow"
. . . Slow physical WILDs are the same as slow mental WILDs in many ways. First the dreamer sleeps for 3.5 to 8 hours, then wakes via alarm clock and stays up for five seconds to an hour, then lays back down and does a protocol. The difference between physical and mental slow WILDs is that during a physical WILD the dreamer focuses on something that is outside of the body.


FAT: "Focused Attention Technique"
This is a method created by another Dreamviews member that involves holding a small object and focusing ones attention on it until the dreamstate is entered. This technique is best done after sleeping for some time and then waking up for a short period.
Tutorial:

• FAT by: Damascus

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DILD

"DILD" is an acronym that stands for "Dream Initiated Lucid Dream." This refers to a wide variety of techniques that are used to make the dreamer become aware of the fact that he or she is dreaming while in the dreamstate.
The difference between WILD and DILD is that with WILD you pass directly from waking to sleeping without losing consciousness, whereas DILD is when you go to sleep, lose consciousness, then later become conscious while still within a dream.

There are many techniques that one may use to become lucid within dreams, yet all of these can be divided into two very distinct categories: WBTB, and Other.



WBTB:

WBTB is yet another acronym that stands for "Wake Back To Bed." Originally this acronym was used solely for a very specific technique of DILD induction, but recently it has expanded to simply refer to the act of waking up after 3.5 to 7 hours of sleep with the intent to go back to bed.
The reason for doing a WBTB is so that when you go back to sleep a dream will start after a very short period of time (as compared to the hour or two it takes for dreams to start at the beginning of the night). Also, the longer you sleep, the longer your REM periods become. Its generally accepted in the lucid dreaming community that longer REM periods allow for longer, more stable, lucid dreams. Along with this, its also generally noted that most people have DILDs after about four hours of sleep. This is probably due to increased logical functioning as REM periods extend.

Doing a WBTB takes advantage of all of these properties of sleep, along with adding an extra burst of consciousness that will carry over once the user of the WBTB goes back to sleep using his preferred method of DILD induction.


Traditional WBTB: "Traditional Wake Back To Bed"
Pioneered by Stephen LaBerge, a traditional WBTB is when you wake up after five hours of sleep, stay up for 30 minutes to an hour, then go back to sleep while thinking intently about lucid dreaming. Some people find that they must only stay up for a far shorter period of time or they will be unable to fall asleep again.
Tutorial:

• WBTB by: Lucid83

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Chanting
Chanting WBTBs originated from the early days of traditional WILDing. Sleep for 3.5 to 7 hours, wake up with an alarm clock, stay up for 10 seconds to ten minutes, then lay back down and chant "I'm dreaming" in your mind until falling asleep. This technique will cause the dreamer to carry over his or her chanting into the next dream. They will be chanting in their minds one moment, then pass out, then suddenly become aware of the fact that they are in a dream chanting "I'm dreaming." This induction method is often mistakenly thought of as WILD though its not; the period of unconsciousness in between waking and dreaming makes this one a DILD.
Tutorial:

• None

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Dream Incubation
Though not strictly limited to WBTB, dream incubation's power to induce lucid dreams increases many fold when combined with it. Dream incubation is the act of pre-creating a dream scenario or scene before actually entering the dreamstate (ie. creating the scene or scenario while in waking life, then having said scene or scenario come up in a later dream). To induce a lucid dream using this method the incubator must either fashion a scenario wherein a dream character informs them of the fact that they are in a dream, or create a dreamscene where they will see something that will remind them of their dreaming state (a "dreamsign").
Tutorials:

• VILD by sparky
  and
  
• SCILD by thedogsmeow

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Other:

There are a great many ways to induce lucid dreams without ever having to wake up at night or interrupt your sleep schedule in any way. The following techniques are used to increase your chances of having a random lucid dream. Though eventually it is possible to start having lucid dreams on every single night by using the following techniques, in the beginning results could be sporadic and random. Generally the longer one stays with any given method, the more often he or she will become lucid in their night time dreams.


Traditional DILD
The traditional way to induce a random nighttime lucid dream is through the use of a dream journal, reality checks, and "dreamsigns." First of all one must catalog all of their dreams in a journal every morning after awakening. Next, reality checks should be done throughout the day whenever the dreamer sees anything suspicious or "dreamy" (or if they see one of their dreamsigns). After about a week of keeping a dream journal go back through it and look for any recurring themes (for example: maybe most of your dreams take place at your work). After you find these themes, begin to reality check every time you think about, see, or interact with them -- treat these themes as directly relating to dreams, they are your dreamsigns.
Tutorials:

• Dream Recall Tutorial by wasup
  and
• Reality Checks by Demerzel

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Increasing Awareness
Similar to the traditional DILD induction, this technique calls for the dreamer to increase his overall awareness of reality. This increased awareness of reality then carries over into the altered state of dreams, inducing lucidity.
Tutorial:

• Dream Yoga by BillyBob

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Self Hypnosis
These types of techniques use the power of hypnotism to induce lucidity.
Tutorial:

• HILD by Gothlark

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Before Bed
These are a series of techniques that are done just before bed to increase ones cognitive abilities when dreaming.
Tutorials:

• MILD by: GestaltAlteration
• CDFILD by: Gothlark