Thread: What simple little techniques do you PERSONALLY use in order to reach lucid state?

Depends on the method you're planning on using. Don't be afraid to try WILD even while still a novice, just make sure its during a WBTB. You may also have a completely different experience when having a WILD than most tutorials describe. I have little to no hypnagogic imagery or hallucinations, lately it doesn't seem like I even get vibrations very much, I just suddenly am seeing when i know I'm sleeping and I get up out of my bed and it's a lucid dream. I'm mostly a WILDer but lately because I've done a lot of WILDs I can sort of naturally DILD just because I know what it feels like to dream.

So in short, you need to assess what kind of dreamer you are, what method you plan to use, and present yourself with an effort that is relaxed but open-minded towards different possibilities other than just what the tutorials say.

Also, it doesn't hurt to have some apple juice, peanut butter, or a banana about an hour before you go to sleep.

what are the differences between WILD and WBTB?

Originally Posted by WBTB tutorial

WBTB stands for Wake Back to Bed and is exactly what it sounds like. Because dreams are made of what is on our mind, waking up before a dream and thinking about lucid dreaming has proven to be an effective method of increasing chances of having one. WBTB, in itself, is not a lucid dream induction technique, more of a lucid aid. It is usually coupled with another type of induction technique. Because REM cycles get longer and more vivid as the night goes on, this takes advantage of the longer ones by injecting the thought of lucid dreaming into the brain right before a long dream, increasing the chances that thoughts of lucidity will come out in the dream.

WILD (wake initiated lucid dream) is a technique to enter the LD. Check out KingYoshi's tutorial on it.

random tip, and this might only work for me: when the vibrations stop, you are dreaming. i always say this to myself before i try to WILD. when i WILD my eardrums vibrate after a while (it actually hurts). when the vibrations stop i am always in a lucid dream. if i don't wait until they are done to open my eyes i open my real eyes. one time, even though the vibrations had stopped, i thought i was still awake and had a false awakening. i kicked myself for that one after i woke up for real.

I've been looking at my hands a lot recently, hoping to notice them in my dream and trigger lucidity! I do a lot of random clock RC's with time and whenever I strike up a conversation with someone, it seems to me that most of our dreams involve talking to somebody, so if we RC whenever we are communicating with someone it might make us realize we are dreaming. It's just a new thing I am trying out! -Chase

A combination of using mantras beforehand and incubation/visualization of what I would like to dream about. usually my dreams offer up obvious leads to help me realize im dreaming.
Ex: DCs telling me im dreaming,
or seeing signs saying things about dreams.

DC telling you that you are dreaming? Sweet...

While laying in bed (During WILD) I often vividly imagine myself clapping my hands, running or lifting my arms. Eventually I end up doing it in a dream or I lift right out of my bed within a dream.
That's mostly how I get lucid these days. Unless I have a delightful DILD

*Moved thread to a more fitting place*

I've always had an easy time achieving lucidity with the WBTB technique. I combine it with MILD to get lucid.

Well last night, I did what someone else said, I repeated "I am lucid dreaming" last night as I went to bed. As I was doing it, I visualized myself becoming lucid, doing what I wanted, etc. And I had 2 LDs last night.
Something else, is listening to music before bed (normal music), that helps me get relaxed, therefore, autosuggestions work better. Doing RCs at odd events. Just things like that

oh! also! I am very intruiged in the subconscious mind, so I do a thing where I visualize myself putting things in my brain (I made a thread about it) and there is an old thread called NST I think (named subconscious technique) where you literally talk about your subconscious as a person. For mantras I say "my subconscious will tell me I am dreaming" etc.
A tip with mantras:make sure you mix them up! I find that mantras and autosiggestion don't work as well, if I use it for days in a row. You have to switch them up and use different ones, different times.

I cheat... I queue up a song 6 hours into my sleep, except when the moon is full!

Originally Posted by kitty200049

random tip, and this might only work for me: when the vibrations stop, you are dreaming. i always say this to myself before i try to WILD. when i WILD my eardrums vibrate after a while (it actually hurts). when the vibrations stop i am always in a lucid dream. if i don't wait until they are done to open my eyes i open my real eyes. one time, even though the vibrations had stopped, i thought i was still awake and had a false awakening. i kicked myself for that one after i woke up for real.

I can second this, but the vibrations need to be pretty intense for me. None of the 'half vibrations' have ever gotten me lucid. You'll know when you get the real thing! I only get them in wbtb though as well

Originally Posted by IAmCoder

I cheat... I queue up a song 6 hours into my sleep, except when the moon is full!

Does this work for you often?

Right now I'm attempting to use MILD, even though WBTB has only worked before.... but I'm still new to LDs so I need to expand on what may or may not work.

The mantra that I am currently trying to use as my last waking thought is something help me realize its a dream, then do a reality check, and then remember to anchor myself in the dream to increase stabilization and clarity... something like this...

"i know I AM DREAMING, do a REALITY CHECK, and ANCHOR yourself to STABILIZE LUCIDITY"... i repeat in my head and emphasize the the words in caps

Right now I have a method that I use that is almost 100% reliable. I stand duty in the Military, and on my off-going days I wake up at 7(after 5-7 hours of sleep) work till 9, then head home and usually take a short snooze until noon to recharge my batteries. I use DEILD method. I set my phone to wake me up about 20 minutes after laying down, then hit snooze 2 or 3 times and turn the alarm off. Most of the time i'll wake up shortly after that, and i'll lay completely still and feel myself falling asleep. Hold on to my conscious thought and wait for my dream to form. It takes a little bit of practice waiting on your dream to form and getting your "eyes to open". I can usually chain DEILD after that, and have several false awakenings. ALWAYS make sure to check if your dreaming after waking up. False awakenings can be VERY VERY convincing. You'll want to punch yourself after you really wake up for not checking.

Originally Posted by IAmCoder

I cheat... I queue up a song 6 hours into my sleep, except when the moon is full!

what song? and I second Jay, does it work?

I've been more analytical of my surroundings lately. I'll take an extra moment to look around and see if everything looks like I remember it when I walk into a different room or outside/inside. I'll look at papers on my desk or the calendar often to make sure I can read the words properly. This seems to have triggered a few lucids for me lately.

lately the thing that feels easiest and most powerful is simply to break up your sleep in a wbtb style and force yourmind to wake up slightly each time before returning to sleep

Originally Posted by whiterain

lately the thing that feels easiest and most powerful is simply to break up your sleep in a wbtb style and force yourmind to wake up slightly each time before returning to sleep

My 2 year old does this for me! lol.

Originally Posted by whiterain

lately the thing that feels easiest and most powerful is simply to break up your sleep in a wbtb style and force yourmind to wake up slightly each time before returning to sleep

This is almost the same thing I do, and it works all the time. When you get used to it, you don't even have to RC because you watch the dream form.

Originally Posted by Seraphik

This is almost the same thing I do, and it works all the time. When you get used to it, you don't even have to RC because you watch the dream form.

it may seem like you are messing up your sleep cycles, but if anything it actually seems a much more natural way to sleep for me. if your out sleeping in the wild, chances are you will be disturbed alot. i saw a tribal program the other week where the guys barely even slept in their treehouse, just sat up dozing and chatting the night away. the odd thing is i did this for years, like i was practising even before i knew about the possibilities of dreaming, or consciously had any idea of what i was doing and how it would end up. there are so many odd ways in which i seem to have been guided into dreaming/meditative practice without knowing, that it just feels like it has to be so much more than just coincidence often

Deep meditation before trying to fall asleep and i have an alarm that goes off at different times during the night to wake me up during my rem stages.