Reverse MILD - Need Helpers

Hey, i've been doing alot of talking to AdamA recently about lucid dreaming and stuff and i was telling him how every night as i go to sleep i go over my goals, i say in my mind "tonight i will have some vivid dreams" and "tonight i will recognise dream signs" etc etc, this is a form of MILD correct, and i've always been unsucessful with this, my recall is on and off with it so i asked him for some advice and he said that he just goes to bed, doesn't repeat his goals like i do and it works for him, so that got me thinking about MILDs and its effect on people. I thought back to a previous night in which i had my fourth lucid and observed what i did before going to sleep, on that night i had been doing alot of science revision for an exam the next day, so it was pre-occupying my mind however i was put at ease when going to bed because i felt confident about it, i repeated my goals to myself but i fell asleep farly quickly and didn't finish. This leads me onto the next observation i made.

I believe that some people when trying to MILD before going to bed put added pressure on themselves by repeating the words to themselves because last night i tried an experiment, i went to bed and i did not utter my goals, i already knew my goals so i just went to bed. I woke up to remember about 5 dreams which is incredibly rare for me. It may be just a placebo at this stage however i would like to take this further and see if i can come up with a solution for those who find that MILD has a negative affect on them; their recall deteriorates or fluctuates and they lack many lucid dreams. I do realise that MILD works for alot of people but this could help those that it does not seem to be working for.

Basically what i am trying to do is prove that for some people MILDing can have the opposite effect on them and reduce their chances of lucid dreaming due to added pressure. What i have in mind is for some participants who have found that MILD offers bad results for them come and try this experiment that i am trying at the moment so that i can get an idea of how it affects others when not MILDing.

What i would like you to do is set aside 4 nights, on the first night try MILDing by uttering your goals out loud or in your head whilst in bed and about to go to sleep. In the morning when waking write down how many dreams you remember. Then on the secnd night just go to bed, no MILD, just straight to bed. Wake up in the morning and note down how many dreams you remembered. Then repeat the above for the third and fourth day and note down what you found. Then come on here and post your results, i'm trying to find out if MILDing can put added pressure on you when your trying to lucid dream and has a negative effect. And i'm finding out if by not MILDing you can remember more dreams or more vivid dreams.

If this works i am hoping that people will find that when they don't MILD they remember more dreams or have more vivid dreams because they are not putting pressure on themselves to have a lucid dream. It's just an experiment so that i can find out the effects MILDing has on people. Thanks alot, any comments are appreciated. I'm looking for people to conduct the experiment with me, please let me know if you are willing. :)

The MILD technique is more complex than just saying "I will recognize dream signs tonight." Read Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen Laberge

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Originally Posted by ataraxis

The MILD technique is more complex than just saying "I will recognize dream signs tonight." Read Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen Laberge

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I have done, i'm talking about really really basic sort of stuff, just repeating to yourself making your intentions clear, maybe i should have put "a simplified form of MILD", sorry about that.

the very first couple of times I was doing MILD I was definitely adding pressure to it all. However I've since found it works well at putting me to sleep without thinking about other things. By simply focusing on my goals and repeating them in my head, I fall asleep with these thoughts alone. It seems to have paid off as I had my first LD this afternoon. I can see how it would certainly add pressure to some people though, and ultimately hinder their ability to have an LD.

My experience with MILD had been that it was most effective if I state my intentions after I awake from about 4 or so hours of sleep, and not right before bed. It worked a lot better in the beginning of my LD experiences.

As for putting pressure on oneself, it depends on a person's psychology how they'll react to it. I'm something of a control freak and I put too much pressure on myself through MILD. I tried very intense focus -- "I WILL recognize my dreamsigns. I WILL LD. I WILL do this and that during the LD." Well, I LD'd but didn't achieve my goals and woke up with a 'bad feeling' that persisted for about 2 days. Then I went LD-less for about 3 weeks. I had to back off and do something more like self-suggestion to get my LDs to resume.