Question from a Newb

Ahoy,

I am in the process of seeking my first LD and I have seen references to DILDs and MILDs and I was wondering what the difference is? They both seem to revolve around the idea of repeating a Mantra or something before going to bed, is there anything more to this?

Also, what method of LD inducement would you recommend for someone trying to have their first LD? I've been trying for about a month now, and haven't really gotten anywhere except for better dream recall. Also, how does one really become lucid? Do I have to just say "I am dreaming" while in a dream and it happens automatically? Or should I take HI induction technique?

Thanks for the help, I desparately need it.

Draxis

MILD is a technique in which you repeat a mantra to induce a DILD, and a DILD is where you become lucid within the dream.
HI induction technique? You mean WILD? The one where you go from waking to dreaming without losing yourself?

Anyway, what you should try depends, do you get SP/HH often? If not, I would go for DILD, and improving recall is a great advance, I mean, without recall even if you get lucid, what if you forget?

Also, for a DILD it is recomended to do reality checks.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I've never had noticable SP but I've had HH's before. What would you recommend for carrying out RC in dreams? I do RC every day and very frequently, but haven't had it carry over yet. I also listen to audio tapes to induce lucidity, but no luck yet.

Well, for RC there are a few favourites, being:
Clock RC, look at the time in a clock, look away and back, is the time still the same?
Nose pinch, pinch your nose, if you can still breath, its a dream.
Memory RC, "how did I get to where I'm?" "Do I remember waking up?"
And overall, just awareness is what seems to work the best.

Also, when did you start the RCs?

I started RCs about 3-4 weeks ago what I do is go:
Am I dreaming? Is this a dream?
*bite finger to see pain
*try to push a finger through my palm
*count fingers
*read text
and then say "Its not a dream, but tonight I will dream and it will be a lucid dream; vivid and controllable.

Any ideas to help me out here?

Well, you are on the right path, seems weird that it isn't showing in your dreams yet, do you do the RCs at random times? If so, maybe thats the problem.

Also, you could add another thing like saying "Tonight, when I'm dreaming, I will perform a RC"

Say, "This is a dream, this is a dream," over and over again all day. You could also try listening to my insane song on repeat as you go to sleep. It's in my signature.

I have been doing them randomly, should I not be? And I will try the "this is a dream" thing today. It almost feels as if I know i'm dreaming but not aware, does that make sense?

Well, if you do them randomly, how will your dream self "remember" to do them? Unless you do them a lot during the day.

Oh, i do them incessantly, I try to do them every 15-30 minutes. So should I change my mantra to be something like "Next time, I dream, I will do RCs"? And doing this, in combination with WBTB, it should just be a matter of time, right?