The acronym MILD stands for Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams. A mnemonic is a memory-aid, and MILD is a lucid dream induction technique based on memory. This is why we have been improving our memories. The MILD technique is based on remembering that we want to recognize when we are dreaming. Our efforts up until now have been to teach ourselves to carry out intentions to do things in the future by mental effort alone (no written reminder notes!) and by increasing our powers of concentration. Because MILD is practiced during the night, it is very useful for producing multiple lucid dreams in one night. Each time we do MILD, our aim is to become lucid in our very next dream. If we practice MILD before each REM period, we could become lucid in four or five different dreams. MILD is the technique of choice if the goal is to learn to have lucid dreams at will, whenever we like. MILD requires concentration and short periods of wakefuness during the night, so it is best used when you have extra time available for sleep. The following steps guide you through MILD. The exercise has you first practice while you are alert in the daytime, then at bedtime, and finally after awakening from a dream in the night. This allows you to build up your skill at MILD when your mind is in the best shape—wide awake—so that you know what you are doing when it comes to practicing it when you are groggy in the middle of the night. Exercise Mneumonic Induced Lucid Dreaming 1. Daytime Practice A. Memorize a dream. Right after awakening in the morning and recording your dreams of the night before, choose one in which you would really have liked to become lucid. Memorize it in detail so that you can visualize yourself being conscious through it again. B. Pick a time to practice. Set aside twenty minutes in the day to practice the MILD technique. It should be a time when you can be alone in a quiet place, in a comfortable chair. Pick a time when you will be alert, not sleepy. C. Sit down and relax. At your chosen time, sit down and get comfortable. Do a relaxation exercise. 2. Practice MILD A. Recall your chosen dream. With your eyes closed, recall to mind the dream you memorized this morning. Visualize yourself back in it. Feel yourself being in the dream, thinking the thoughts of the dream, seeing the sights of the dream, hearing the sounds of the dream. B. Focus your intent. Concentrate on the thought/autosuggestion “The next time I’m dreaming, I’ll remember to recognize that I’m dreaming.” C. See yourself becoming lucid. Visualize yourself becoming lucid in the dream you have memorized. Feel the excitement of becoming lucid, and picture yourself doing what you would like to do once you are lucid. See yourself waking from your lucid dream at will and remembering it perfectly. See and feel yourself enjoying the lucid dream exaltation experience after you awaken. 3. Bedtime Practice
A. Memorize a dream. Just as for the Daytime Practice, in the morning commit to memory one dream from the night before in which you would have liked to become lucid. B. Prepare for sleep. When you are ready to go to bed for the night, get ready as usual. Follow your usual bedtime routine. If you wish, give yourself some time to mull over the day’s events, so you can let them go to concentrate on the MILD Exercise. C. Relax. Use the relaxation exercise that works best for you to release tension and achieve a quiet state of mind. But don’t let yourself fall asleep yet. 4. Practice MILD A. Follow the instructions for the Daytime Practice of MILD above, except continue the exercise, cycling through recalling the dream, focusing your intent, and seeing yourself becoming lucid, doing whatever you wish, wakening when you wish, remembering everything about the lucid dream, feeling the post-lucid dream exaltation after you waken, over and over again until you fall asleep. 5. Mid-Sleep Practice A. Set your intention to awaken from dreams. As you fall asleep for the night, assert to yourself that you will awaken after dreams during the night. Remind yourself that you want to recall your dreams clearly and to do the MILD Exercise. B. Awaken from a dream and recall it. When you awaken from a dream in the night, first recall it in as much detail as you can, and then write out enough of it to describe the basic events and scenes of the dream. C. Increase your wakefulness. Get out of bed. Go to the bathroom and wash your face with cool water. Carefully test reality to make sure that you are actually awake! Do some stretches to increase your circulation and alertness. D. Return to bed. Get back in bed, and read your dream report, noting any important recurring dream images you find in it. Stephen LaBerge calls these recurring dream images “dreamsigns,” and uses them as triggers for lucidity. Tell yourself that when you next see any of the dreamsigns you will recognize them as cues that you are dreaming. E. Turn out the light and relax. Do a relaxation exercise to release tension and calm your mind. Don’t go to sleep yet! 6. Practice MILD A. Recall your dream. Visualize yourself back in the dream you just awakened from. B. Focus your intent. Concentrate on the thought/autosuggestion, “The next time I’m dreaming, I’ll remember to recognize that I’m dreaming.” C. See yourself becoming lucid. Visualize yourself becoming lucid in the dream you just had. Pick one of your dreamsigns and imagine that it cues you to realize that you are dreaming. Feel the excitement of becoming lucid, and picture yourself doing what you would like to do once you are lucid. Lay it on thick, have a good time. When you’ve had
enough fun, and accomplished whatever you set out to do, see yourself waking from your lucid dream at will and remembering it perfectly. See and feel yourself enjoying the post-lucid dream exaltation experience after you awaken. D. Maintain your focus. Cycle through steps A., B., and C. until you fall asleep. Again, if the concentration keeps you awake for more than twenty minutes and this bothers you, let go and just make sure your last thought is of your intention to remember to become lucid. However, staying awake and concentrating longer may enhance your chances of having a lucid dream that night. This technique for becoming lucid in a dream is the same as becoming lucid in the waking state. The dreamsigns that are found and used in practicing Mild have a direct relationship to the major events that occur in our lives. That is, the major events that happen in our lives, especially those that surround discord, are signs for becoming aware. Discordant events that affect our lives in a major way are caused by vibrations in the dream body as they are expressing themselves. The dreamsigns, or recurring events that appear in the dream, are used to attain lucidity (awareness) within the dream. Therefore, knowing the different vibrations of the dream body as they express themselves is lucidity in the waking state. As we become familiar with the various exercises of attaining awareness and gaining control in the dream state, we can use that knowledge and apply it to our waking lives. In conscious manifestation, waking signs that occur during our day to day lives are important. By practicing applying control through intention in the lucid dream, and by applying certain exercises based on alchemy when our waking signs are present, we can move toward mastering the art of directed thinking and induced emotion.