Thread: I'm new, and I have a couple of questions...

Originally Posted by Phoenix

I've been coming here for a little while, and I just started working on my ability to lucid dream a few days ago. At the moment my dream recall is absolutely horrible, so I'm working on that before I start attempting to have a lucid dream.



Anyway, I have a couple of questions I would like answered, if it's not too much trouble...


For anybody who has tried the HILD method, does it also work well to increase dream recall? I was thinking of trying that soon, but I don't think it would be worth the time just yet if I still couldn't remember my lucid dreams.

Secondly, for the VILD method, am I supposed to imagine the reality check succeeding or failing?

Hello Phoenix, welcome to Dream Views!

HILD should work well for dream recall. Personally, I don't have much success with HILD, but it helps me a little. Just replace the "I will LD" part to "I will remember my dreams".

For VILD, you want to imagine yourself realizing you're dreaming. So failing the RC. You want to imagine your reality check telling you you're dreaming. Otherwise, you wouldn't become lucid even if your visualization became a dream.

Good luck with your attempts!

Originally Posted by webmaster

Hello Phoenix, welcome to Dream Views!

HILD should work well for dream recall. Personally, I don't have much success with HILD, but it helps me a little. Just replace the "I will LD" part to "I will remember my dreams".

For VILD, you want to imagine yourself realizing you're dreaming. So failing the RC. You want to imagine your reality check telling you you're dreaming. Otherwise, you wouldn't become lucid even if your visualization became a dream.

Good luck with your attempts!

I agree, and yes, welcome to dreamviews!

Oh, okay... thanks for the help. I suppose I'll try the HILD technique to improve my dream recall tomorrow, since I was planning to get to sleep soon and I still haven't memorized all the steps involved.

From what I've read of VILD, you aren't actually supposed to visualize the reality check, but start the visualization over again just before you actually do the realy check. Since with VILD, the goal is to get a dream to start where the visualization leaves off, you'll atually be doing the reality check at the beginning of the dream instead of just imagining it, making it more effective, and increasing the odds of becoming lucid.

Even though I'm unfamiliar with HILD and VILD doesn't work for me, I can't contribute to your questions; but anyway, welcome to Dreamviews! Enjoy yourself.

Hey there, welcome.

HILD is just a form of self hypnosis. It can be used for any number of things, from lucid dreaming and dream recall, to improving self confidence. It's all about the suggestions used.

Hey Phoenix, welcome to DV I myself have never tried either of those methods but all i can suggest to you is to stay focused and determined and try to not let too much pressure get to you because that pretty much kills your chances of lucid dreaming. If you fail when attempting just see it as part of your journey towards having daily lucids

Well, thanks for all the advice and suggestions. I haven't gotten around to trying the hypnosis technique yet, because there are two things I'm not really sure about... first, how long would it typically take to get through everything? It's rather difficult for me to find a time where I can count on not being disturbed for a while, so I haven't been able to give it a try yet. Secondly, what would be the best time to perform the HILD technique? The tutorial says doing it before sleep is best, but I wasn't entirely sure if that meant immediately before sleep, or some time before sleep.

Originally Posted by Phoenix

...first, how long would it typically take to get through everything?

When I do it, I usually do so for an 30 minutes to an hour. If you're listening to a recording, they usually run from 10-30 minutes.

Secondly, what would be the best time to perform the HILD technique? The tutorial says doing it before sleep is best, but I wasn't entirely sure if that meant immediately before sleep, or some time before sleep.

I'd recommend doing so when you're already in bed, ready to go to sleep. At least, that's the way I've always done it.