Best method for a beginner?

I'm sure this question has been asked a million times, and I tried the search feature but I didn't get a satisfactory answer.

What is the best method for a beginner? I realize there probably isn't a definite best way to do it, but could you maybe recommend a good way to try?

I've been reading a lot of info on this forum but I feel a little clueless of where to start.

I've tried the FILD thing a couple times, and I think one of my problems is that I simply can't fall asleep very quickly. It takes me like 10-20 minutes to fall asleep no matter what time it is, even if I wake myself up in the middle of the night.

I also tried the WILD, and I feel like I got close cause my eyes were watering and twitching and it was really hard not to swallow...it was intense. But I don't know what to do when this happens.

Sorry if this seems to be asking a lot, but I need some help.

Thank you :D

Well The famous one is DILD=doing reality checks I am sure you've heard of this one.
Also try autosuggestion=telling yourself what you want before you go to sleep.
So you could do:i will realize i am dreaming the next time I dream
Or:I will wake up after my dreams-for recall

Hope I helped I might try that autosuggestion myself. . .

Aww! You're a lot like me. It takes me forever to fall asleep, even though I just got a new pillow. Autosuggestion doesn't really work for me because if I keep telling myself to remember my dreams, I never fall asleep... then I fall asleep immediately after I give up, and don't remember anything the next morning xD

Try to remember what your ultimate goal is. Become aware in a dream. Stay more aware during your normal life by questioning reality, asking yourself if it is all a dream, and doing RCs. Then, try to become more aware of your sleep. Pay attention to when you naturally wake up during the night. Try to remember all your dreams and midnight awakenings.

I think your best basic strategy is tons of Reality Checks paired with a Wake Back To Bed. When you go back to sleep after your WBTB, try a casual MILD or Autosuggestion type excercise. Tell yourself you will become lucid, and picture what it will be like.

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Originally Posted by simo

What is the best method for a beginner? I realize there probably isn't a definite best way to do it, but could you maybe recommend a good way to try?

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I'd say try reality checks and WILD... For the WILD, just give it a try each night, leaning on the side of falling asleep rather than staying awake trying. Then you'll have the reality checks to fall back on if the WILD doesn't work, and you double your chances of getting a lucid. If you want you could also try WBTB (wake back to bed), which also goes well with WILD, although you might want to pick nights where you can sleep in for the WBTB.

no matter what techniques you try, i would assume that DILD is going to be what gets you lucid in the first place, because after a while, even when the techniques you do consciously aren't working, eventually something will just click and you'll realize that you're dreaming randomly (thus, the DILD) if that makes sense. For a beginner, I don't think I'd really be able to say which technique would be best for you, because everyone is different. As a beginner, you should be trying out all different kinds of techniques to see which one works best for you, but you have to be able to do it in a smart way and know what you're doing. For example, if it takes you a long time to fall back asleep, then FILD might not be for you. If you get a lot of sleep and can afford to wake up for a couple of minutes in the night, then WBTB might be a good choice. If you're good at visualizing, MILD. If you're good at controlling your thoughts and feel confident enough then possibly WILD (this is actually not always the technique that beginners start out with but my friend is a beginner and WILD is her best technique. So you never know.) While it is important to ask people questions and get as much knowledge as you can, the best person to help decide what's best for you is yourself. It may take a while, but you need to figure out how to do things, not only choosing your technique but if necessary, tailoring the techniques that have already been made to fit the way you sleep and dream.

Thanks everyone, you have given me some quality advice.

The search function can sometimes be stressful :shock:

Unless you've ever done it before, I'd recommend putting off WILD attempts until you are more familiar with lucid dreaming itself. Attempting a WILD can sometimes be exhausting (as you get less sleep than you normally would), demoralizing (if you keep failing since you don't know what you should be doing, and which can prevent you from seeing LDing positively), and sometimes even disconcerting if you get into sleep paralysis and are not prepared.

For a beginner, I'd recommend even forgetting that WILD exists. Focus on simple things like Dream Recall. How many dreams do you remember a night? How much detail? Have you figured out what your dream signs are?

Start doing reality checks when you become familiar with the sorts of crazy situations that you often experience in your dreams. Get in the habit of doing true state testing whenever you wake up, turn on a light, look at a digital clock, hear or read 'reality check' or 'lucid dream', have a strange coincidence occur, think of something happening and then notice that it happened (dreams follow this trend very often, so when you get those 'haha-I'm-psychic!' moments, RC!). On top of all of these, work out your dream signs, and reality check whenever the concept of your dream sign enters your mind. If it's something difficult, try print out pictures or leaving slips of paper around with just the name of your dreamsign on it (embarrassment, David, chainsaw, etc.)

On top of these, try to use MILD and autosuggestion. It is not enough to use autosuggestion. I for one am always saying, "Oh, I'm just gonna check my email, then I'll start my homework!" After 5 hours of chatting and playing on DV and other sites, I tell myself... "Oh, well, just a few more minutes, then I'll get around to it..." so clearly, telling myself, "Oh! I'll just lay down now for a nap, and when I'm dreaming, I'll realize I'm lucid!" really doesn't mean anything. Try to establish enough self-discipline, if you don't already have it, for these techniques to be meaningful.

Get enough sleep. At the very least 7 hours.

On top of these things, the other best thing a beginner can do is read everything that you can about lucid dreaming. There are years and years of conversation stored on these forums. Read it all! Learn things you never thought to ask, explore different viewpoints, consider dream control, why it works, how we think it works, how to do it. Read all the different techniques and advice from other members, and try to customize what you think will work for you!

Good luck :)

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Originally Posted by Shift

It is not enough to use autosuggestion. I for one am always saying, "Oh, I'm just gonna check my email, then I'll start my homework!" After 5 hours of chatting and playing on DV and other sites, I tell myself... "Oh, well, just a few more minutes, then I'll get around to it..." so clearly, telling myself, "Oh! I'll just lay down now for a nap, and when I'm dreaming, I'll realize I'm lucid!" really doesn't mean anything. Try to establish enough self-discipline, if you don't already have it, for these techniques to be meaningful.

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That's a great point :D Didn't Laberge have a whole section in ETWOLD about training your willpower? Maybe we should make a new tutorial with similar advice.

:D As much as I'd like to, I can take no credit. I never use autosuggestion, and I felt like I should have, until I read it somewhere on here and realized it probably wouldn't have done me any good anyway. When it comes to self-control and etc.... oh man do I lack! But for people who try it and don't get results, they may be weak willed and/or completely lack discipline like me and that may be the problem. Best to at least make people aware.

I actually skip over a lot of EWOLD when I am reading it, since I prefer to just state test to catch DILDs. I'll try to look through it though and see what he says.