Thread: Finger Induced Lucid Dream (FILD)

If you chose this option, you most likely wake up after a dream naturally.
This is what I use, and there isn't really much to explain from here.
When you wake naturally, you can follow the directions in the post entitled "What Now".

Search "What Now" in your browser to continue. (no spaces)

This could be either a very time-consuming process, or it could be a breeze.
This could also be done several ways, but I perfer my own "Water Technique".

Place a glass of water (Juice sometimes works better) on a nightside table, or on the headboard of your bed.
Just make sure it is somewhere that you can easily grab it in the middle of the night.

Make sure you're thirsty when you go to bed, as this is exactly what this technique works on.
When you go to bed, take a big sip of your water/juice.
This will feel really refreshing.
While you are starting to sleep, you should feel a temptation to take a sip of your water/juice.
You can go ahead and do that, but just don't drink it all.

Now in the middle of the night, usually during your REM period, you will wake up to take a sip from your drink.

You can now move on to the next step.

Search "What Now" (no spaces) to continue.

All you really have to do here is set your alarm a few hours after you go to sleep.
The REM period ranges from person to person, but it is usually somewhere in between 4 and 6 hours into your sleep. Thats only when it starts though.

Just set your alarm to whatever you find works best, and then you should be able to move onto the next step.

You will find the next step on the following post.

Alright, you have successfully awaken from your REM period. Good job.
Now comes the easy part.
Some people say that you can't move at all.
This would help, as it would get you to sleep sooner, but that isn't really an option if you set your alarm.

There are two types of FILD that you can do:

For the first one, all you have to do, is flick your fingers together. I usually flick my index finger and my middle finger against each other back and forth. This stimilates a part of the brain that keeps your mind awake, but your body asleep.
After a while (sometimes as little as 10 seconds, other times as long as a few minutes) you might start to see some changes in your breathing, or that your eyes are flying around in your head. You may also see some visions flowing past your eyes.
Stick with this a little while, until you are sure that you have entered a dream state.

For the second one, you have to move your fingers ever so slightly. Its like your playing two keys on a piano, but very slightly and slowly.
Some people stretch their fingers out while doing it.
This is wrong, as your fingers have to be relaxed so they are a bit bent like in the picture below:

Correct:


Wrong:




Reality checks have to be a little different in this process, as if you aren't really dreaming, and you lift your head up to do a clock reality check and your still awake, then you have just kissed your LD goodbye.

I find the best RC for me is a breathing one.
Basically close off the nasal passage in the back of your throaght and breathe through your nose. It seems that there is a muscle that stops you from breathing through your nose when this happens. I have also noticed that this muscle automatically blocks the nasal passage when you swallow. Its hard to explain, but you should know what I mean.
Thanks to Marvo for posting that in another thread.
And remember, False Awakenings are very common with this kind of lucid induction, so be sure to lots of Reality Checks.







FAQ

How fast are you supposed to flick your fingers?

You don't really flick them as much as you slowly move them up and down.
For example, place your index finger and your middle finger on two keys on your keyboard.
Barely alternate moving them just enough so that the keys only wiggle a little bit.
This makes you concentrate on your fingers more.

Would it also work if i moved my foot, or must it be a finger?

Probably not.
You couldn't get the correct feeling while using a foot.
I mean, if you have both of your arms cut off, sure you could try it. But I would just stick to what is known to work.

what exactly do you mean by "get up"? Do you mean just open my eyes, or just sit up, or actually stand up?

When "get up and turn off your alarm" is mentioned it means to simply turn off your alarm.
It doesn't actually mean to get up, walk around a bit and then turn it off.
You want to stay as sleepy as possible.

ok, so if you do a reality check, and you are in fact dreaming, what do you do?

First thing I usually do (since its usually dark in my room) is I try to make it daytime.
Then I usually increase the clarity of the dream by rubbing my hands together, then I fly out the window.

when you slip into a dream, your dream will start with you in your room in your bed?

What you've described is a False Awakening.
They are very common with this method.

One of a few things will happen:

-The most common is that you will do a reality check, while in your bed still, and you will find that you're dreaming.
-You will wake up in the room that you fell asleep in. The room looks the exact same as when you fell asleep. Can trick you into going back to bed.
-You could have a False Awakening in somewhere totally different from your room, such as your class room.
-You can enter a dream scene if you get into it enough.
If your thinking about your classroom the whole entire time your doing this, you could very well wake up in your classroom. The tricky thing is that you aren't lucid at this point, and everything seems so realistic that your body will just take it as normal. Thats why you have to trian yourself to do reality checks whenever you see something out of the ordinary, or throughout the day.

One thing I don't understand, how can continously moving your fingers get you into a LD so fast?

Immagine this:
You have already entered your REM state. You wake up in the middle of the night and you are very tired.
If you go back to bed, you will fall asleep within seconds.
Same thing happens if you are trying to FILD.

Is 10:15 to 3:10 enough for the REM cycle to began?

Usually, the REM period takes about 4-7 hours to start.
It can differ from person to person though, as mine starts less than an hour after I fall asleep.
You be the judge.
If you can remember any dreams from that night when you wake up, you have already entered your REM state.

I tried FILDing when I was just going to sleep and as I did I saw some interesting HI. As I continued, I felt like my body was going to sleep and the HI got more vivid. But I opened my eyes because the HI was seemingly taking a long time to form into a dream scene. Any Suggestions concerning that?

Just be patient. When it starts taking that long, try to kind of step into the images.

I do the reality check, it succeeds, but the I can't seem to get my eyes open. It's such a struggle to open them in the dream that I'm afraid I'm not actually asleep and I'm going to ruin it for myself. Anyone else run into this?

Just try to open your eyes. If your reality check proves your dreaming, then there shouldn't be any problem with opening your eyes.
Just try to immagine them opening, as Marvo said.

Now would this work good for naps in the afternoon too? Becasue you usually go right into REM then also.

Yeah, it should work. I've never tried, but you can usually enter REM quite fast during naps.
But the thing is, it might take a really long time.

so do you actually tap your fingers against your leg or whatever or do you just keep your hand resting on its back so that the fingers hit nothing?

Whatever works best for you. I usually do it against my matress so I can feel my fingers moving slightly. I find this works for me, so thats why I use it. You might work differently.

I set my phone to go off at 4 in the morning and vibrate while its in the pocket I'll be laying on, will that be enough?

Should do it. Depends how deep you sleep.
And did you try my water method?
That trained me to get up originally.

How do you do FILD, when getting waked up by an alarm?

Getting woken up by an alarm is pretty much the same. Just turn off your alarm as usual. The only reason it is better to not use an alarm is because it is easier to fall back to sleep.

Lay in bed for a while until you know that you are almost 100% going to fall asleep in a matter of seconds.
Then you should start moving your fingers.
It works a lot better if you move them very slightly, as I find that it it makes your mind concentrate on it more.

I tried it last night... with an alarm clock. The alarm clock woke me, but I thought I was still dreaming. By the time I realized I was awake, I was too awake. Any suggestions?

Just make sure that once you hear the alarm go off, you fly up and shut it off.

I tried the one with that glass of water last night. I woke up too late though, it was like 5:30 and already light out. Maybe I just have to be more thirsty?

It being light out isn't always that bad.
It makes it so if and when you have a FA, you won't wake up in complete and total darkness.

The thirstier the better.

which do you find more effective, the thirst one or the alarm clock?

I automatically wake up at the end of dreams but if I were to use one, it would be the water one. I find the water more effective, but if you are a super deep sleeper, then an alarm clock would be better.

when is the right sleep stage to do this in?

The correct stage to do this in is during your REM pattern. Your REM pattern starts after about 5 hours of you sleeping. For me its about 2-3, but apparently I am very different from most people because of how soon it starts.

How long does the REM state last after you enter it?

The REM period lasts for a bizzarely huge ammount of time considering how long it takes to get into. You can enter the REM stage hours after you get up. For example, today I had an LD in school.

Is there a tutorial on how to train yourself to wake up after a dream?

Im not sure if I wake up actually after a dream or not. Its hard to tell since Im already in my REM cycle. Maybe it is technically at the end since I rarely re-enter a dream.
I doubt there are any tutorials, but being a super light sleeper helps.
And try the "water method".

when I wake up, I always feel to awake to be able to fall back asleep in 1 minute or less... how can I correct this?

You dont have to be super sleepy. Just lay there for a while and when you feel yourself slipping away, then start.

Swikity, have you tried FILD in the afternoon? Do you think it can be done? Like, go to sleep for 10 minutes, have a little alarm wake you up, and then go back to sleep again, doing FILD?

It worked, but I had to sit there for a very long time before I got sleepy, then I started moving my fingers.
It works better after you wake up because I can usually fall asleep in an instant when that happens.

For the record, if you didn't read my topic on it, LDing at school=bad.

A few have mentioned blocking their airways with a muscle at the back of the throat - how do you do this?

I have tried, but it is something Ive never even been aware of. Are there other RCs that can be used when motionless?

Yeah, it seems some people just dont get it.
I tried to explain it to my sister and she didnt know what the hell I was talking about.
I think I developed the ability because of all the nosebleeds I used to have.

Have you ever opened a stinky garbage can, and you start breathing through your mouth to avoid smelling it. It should sound like your nose is plugged when you talk.

It is the flap of skin that protects your nose from squirting out liquid every time you swallow.
Im cant explain it better, sorry.
You don't actually try to breathe.
You try to get air into your lungs while still blocking off your nasal passage.

I'm sorry I'm being so thick with this method, but what kind of reality check are you referring to here; nasal passage block? I'm still not seeing what purpose consciously blocking off your nasal passage has.

lol.
When you block off your nasal passage, you cant breathe through your nose.
Same thing for a nose RC.
The idea is that if you are able to breathe you are, in fact, dreaming.

Its pretty much the same as a nose RC, but altered so you dont have to lift a finger, therefore you don't get thrown out of your sleep.

How do you do Realitychecks? what are they? what if you try one, but dont know how, and if that happens, are you stuck in a dream until someone wakes you up?

And, do lucid dreams exhaust your mind?(like, you get less real sleep)

A reality check is a sort of test you can do to see if you are dreaming. I dont think that would happen.
I mean, I have been unable to awaken before, but it has never been due to improporly doing a reality check.
Having sex in your dream should wake you up if you get too worried.

RCs include:

-Looking at a clock, remembering the time, then looking back. If you're dreaming, the time will be different.

-Plugging your nose and trying to breathe. You should be able to breathe in a dream.

-Anyways, lightswitches dont work in dreams. Keep that in mind.

But just because one of these tests pass, doesnt mean you should jump off a roof yet. You could just have a burnt out light.
Try doing something impossible first. Like, levitating for example.

And no, you feel perfectly normal after an LD. Like you would any morning.

Hello. What the hell is firmware.

Uhh...
Wrong forum lol.
This is for lucid dreaming, you probably want some sort of PSP forum.










Credits:
Tons of thanks to Marvo for helping out with this thread.
He also made the example pictures of the hand.

Thanks to all of you for reading this tutorial, and asking questions!

Nice tutorial, Swikity. I'll try it.

And I think I was the one who mentioned the blocking-airways-from-inside method. Somebody said it before me though. Don't remember his name.

That sounds pretty good... I've never heard of it before. How fast are you supposed to flick your fingers? Must get pretty tiring after a while...

Yeah, it does get pretty tiring after a while but once that happens, you can start tapping your fingers in a different way.

I usually tap them at a medium speed, sometimes to a beat.
Sometimes, if you get really into it when you are nearing an LD, you can start to hear the beat.

Also, like I stated in the first post, this method is awesome because you don't enter SP.
Since I find SP scary (), this method is best for me.

Thanks will try this !!!

I've heard you should move you fingers so slightly that they barely move, only get tense. It's like moving them inside your brain.

I've heard you should move you fingers so slightly that they barely move, only get tense. It's like moving them inside your brain.

Yeah, i remmeber a guy in this forum (way back or soemthing when he had an army guy blowing a whistle as an avatar) posting info about FILD.
On your keyboard, press a key down so that you can feel it wobble. Do not apply any force (or very little for that matter), just give gravity a little push in the right direction. Im guessing that is how much you move your fingers, right?

Yeah, exactly.
Just do it so you can just barely feel your fingers moving in your head.
Just enough so you can feel it.


Woa! 69th post! THAT MUST MEAN SOMETHING!

so, i believe i may have had my first LD last night by using FILD!

i usually wake up after having dreams.. so this seemed like a perfect method. tried it last night & within (what seemed like) seconds, i was in my LD.

my only problem was.. i remember trying the spinning method and then doing a RC. i could control some aspects of the dream but not all. i would shout out loud for things to appear but they wouldn't. after becoming frustrated my LD faded.. any comments or suggestions?

This seems perfect for me, as the thought of SP scares the hell out of me.

Going to try this tonight, but a question first. Would it also work if i moved my foot, or must it be a finger?

I'm definitely going to try that tonight!

I'm definitely going to try that tonight!

And I'm no expert, but PSdream, you may not have really believed that what you wanted to be appear would appear and your frustration ended the dream

or you were just shouting and not putting alot into it

for some reason I must of accidently made a double post, sorry

I tried this last night. I went to bed at midnight, got up at quarter after five, then did this for 15 minutes before giving up. All I got was a small dream where a malevolent shadow appeared and I woke up.

Nullbyte, if you fail the two first times, just give it up. The point is, go get up, shut off your alarm, and get directly back to bed. Relax for less than a minute, and then attempt it right away, for maximum 30 seconds. Once you've performed the technique, get up, and do a reality-check. And I mean, do many of them. Do 3 atleast. If you're still awake, go back to bed, relax again for a minute, and attempt the technique once more. If you fail, go to sleep, maybe set your alarm for 30 minutes later and then try again, if you feel like it. You should not use more than 4 minutes on this. Make sure, that you don't do any moves, like walking around. The main point is to be as relaxed as possible, so that you don't wake too much up.


Good luck

edit: by failing the two first times, I mean as in attempting the technique at the same night. You can keep doing this technique, since pretty much everybody can do it. It's just a question about correct execution.

Originally Posted by Marvo

Nullbyte, if you fail the two first times, just give it up. The point is, go get up, shut off your alarm, and get directly back to bed. Relax for less than a minute, and then attempt it right away, for maximum 30 seconds. Once you've performed the technique, get up, and do a reality-check. And I mean, do many of them. Do 3 atleast. If you're still awake, go back to bed, relax again for a minute, and attempt the technique once more. If you fail, go to sleep, maybe set your alarm for 30 minutes later and then try again, if you feel like it. You should not use more than 4 minutes on this. Make sure, that you don't do any moves, like walking around. The main point is to be as relaxed as possible, so that you don't wake too much up.

Thanks for the advice! When you say "get up and do many reality checks" what exactly do you mean by "get up"? Do you mean just open my eyes, or just sit up, or actually stand up? Also how long should I tap my fingers together before getting up and doing the reality checks?

Thanks for such great feedback, guys

@Cammy: I would just stick with my fingers. I find it harder to make such slight movements with my feet.

@PSDream: Yeah, what Hero said. Just make yourself certain that when you open your eyes, whatever you want to happen will have happened.

@nullbyte: When he says get up, he probably means move as little as possible to do a RC.
The less movement the better.
Tap your fingers only for about 40 seconds tops.
You might start to feel wierd near the end. You might notice changes in your breathing, images flowing past your eyes, your eyes flying around in your head, or nothing at all.

ok, so if you do a reality check, and you are in fact dreaming, what do you do? do you immediately get up? or stabilize lucidity? what seems to work best?

Originally Posted by Tavasion

ok, so if you do a reality check, and you are in fact dreaming, what do you do? do you immediately get up? or stabilize lucidity? what seems to work best?

First thing I usually do is rub my hands together to increase the clarity of the dream.
Then Ill try to turn it daytime.
Then I change the scene or fly out my window.

I tried this technique, and I think I did it, but once again, my brain tricked me. I got up, turned off my alarm, and got back to bed again. Then I relaxed for a minute. Even at this point, images of zerg-hydralisks were passing by my vision. I started to tap my fingers. Then I got up and thought "Didn't work" and got back and did it again, whereafter I fell asleep. I felt a bit weird.

I always forget to do the damn reality-checks
I'll try again tonight

Originally Posted by Marvo

I tried this technique, and I think I did it, but once again, my brain tricked me. I got up, turned off my alarm, and got back to bed again. Then I relaxed for a minute. Even at this point, images of zerg-hydralisks were passing by my vision. I started to tap my fingers. Then I got up and thought "Didn't work" and got back and did it again, whereafter I fell asleep. I felt a bit weird.

I always forget to do the damn reality-checks
I'll try again tonight

Haha, someone's excited about the announcement of the new game.



So let me get this straight -- when you slip into a dream, your dream will start with you in your room in your bed? Otherwise I don't understand the "get up and do a reality check" comments.

Well, you do it for 10-60 seconds, and then you do the reality-check, with your eyes closed, while still in bed. If it doesn't work, relax for a minute, without falling asleep, and try once more. Closed eyes through the entire thing. If you find out, that you're dreaming, try and open your eyes, without using physical strength. Imagine that your eyes open up.

And yes, I'm quite excited about that certain game I also saw some zerg-lurkers.