Once you have started a dream journal and developed your recall to the point where you can fairly reliably recall a couple dreams most nights, you are ready to begin working toward that magical moment when you will realize you are dreaming and become lucid. There are many methods available to that end. The MILD method is quite effective and is beneficial as a starting place because of the skills you will practice. MILD was codified by Dr. Stephen LaBerge in his book, "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming".
Before beginning to practice this or other techniques, you should have a couple weeks' worth of dreams recorded in your journal. Look over your dreams for recurring themes or situations. These can be events, feelings, locations—anything that seems to pop up often in your dreams. You then want to start looking for these or similar situations in your waking life, asking yourself each time you recognize one of these Dream Signs whether you are dreaming or not. You should do a Reality Check each time to see whether you are dreaming or awake. A couple common Reality Checks include pinching your nose and seeing whether you can still breathe through it or trying to poke a finger through the palm of your other hand. The practice of recognizing Dream Signs and doing Reality Checks is likely to get you lucid eventually on its own, apart from other techniques.
The MILD (Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams) method:
- Expect to wake up directly from a dream and be able to recall it. When you do wake from a dream, lay very still and recall it as thoroughly as you can.
- Return to sleep expecting to remember that you are dreaming. Use mnemonic repetition, reminding yourself over and over that you will remember you are dreaming after you fall asleep. Keep your mind very focused; if you drift into other thoughts, bring yourself back to your mantra. Imagine yourself in the dream you just woke from and becoming aware that you are dreaming.
- As you imagine yourself back in the dream, imagine looking for one of your Dream Signs and recognizing that you are dreaming.
The whole idea with this method is to set your mind through mnemonic repetition to remember something at a future time—specifically to remember that you are dreaming once you return to sleep.
If these short tutorials have been helpful to you, please consider registering here at Mortal Mist and reporting your successes in the "Lucid Dreaming Experiences" forum. You might even consider starting your own Dream Journal (DJ) here so where others can enjoy and benefit from your experiences.