MILD: mnemonic induction of lucid dreams

MILD was developed by Stephen LaBerge and has the most support behind it of any induction method. It trains prospective memory: the ability to remember to do something later.

The method

As you are falling asleep, or better, after waking briefly in the night:

1. Recall a recent dream in as much detail as you can.
2. Find the point where you should have realised. Something impossible, or something that always happens in your dreams.
3. Repeat an intention, meaning it rather than reciting it: next time I am dreaming, I will remember that I am dreaming.
4. Visualise yourself back in that dream, noticing the sign, and becoming lucid.
5. Repeat until you fall asleep, or until the intention is the last thing in your mind.

Why it works

You are not trying to control your sleep. You are setting a memory cue and rehearsing its retrieval, which is a normal and well-understood cognitive operation.

What makes it work better

• Do it after a brief wake in the night, ideally 4 to 6 hours in. MILD combined with WBTB is substantially more effective than MILD alone.
• Fall asleep quickly afterwards. Lying awake for an hour rehearsing costs more sleep than the attempt is worth.
• Keep a journal. MILD depends on having a recent dream to work with, and on knowing your own dream signs.

Expectations

Most people do not succeed on the first night, or the fifth. Log attempts in the lucid tracker. It records technique, so you can see what works for you rather than what works in general.