If you've discovered lucid dreaming through the channel Explore Lucid Dreaming,
you've almost certainly been taught incorrect information.
This is bad for you; and bad for your understanding of lucid dreaming.
In this series of videos, I aim to correct those mistakes,
and share everything wrong with Explore Lucid Dreaming.
Hopefully, this will put you back on track, and give you a more honest, educated and realistic
understanding of lucid dreaming -- and increase your chances of genuinely experiencing a lucid dream.
Just because you discovered lucid dreaming through an unreliable source,
doesn't mean you have to be as wrong as him.
Today, we'll take a detailed look at the MILD technique.
This is one of the easiest and most reliable lucid dreaming techniques.
So, what exactly is wrong with Explore Lucid Dreaming's explanation of MILD?
Let's jump in.
Firstly, he doesn't actually know what MILD is.
MILD is the mnemonic induction of lucid dreaming.
Embarrassingly, Explore Lucid Dreaming even pronounces this wrong,
as "memonic" -- when the "m" should be silent.
In his four-minute video, Explore Lucid Dreaming says the following.
I'll be quoting the video in his style rather than using a clip,
just to avoid any copyright strikes -- which is exactly the sort of thing he might do when being criticized.
"All you have to do, is repeat a phrase or a mantra over and over, as you're drifting off to sleep.
"For example, 'Tonight, I will have a lucid dream'."
And that's his full explanation.
There's absolutely no further development of the technique other than this.
The rest of the video is nothing more than hype, and claims of getting lucid instantly.
Sadly, this isn't even close to the truth.
MILD is a far more in-depth technique, which has been developed, tested and studied
by lucid dreaming pioneer Dr Stephen LaBerge, and can be found on page 63 of the classic
lucid dreaming textbook "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming".
Notice, also, that Explore Lucid Dreaming has borrowed heavily from this name,
in an attempt to add credibility to his work.
The reality is he has no connection with LaBerge, and no authority to teach lucid dreaming.
MILD is one of the few lucid dreaming techniques to have been scientifically tested,
and proven to be effective. More on that in a moment.
The word "mnemonic" refers to memory, and is the core principle of the technique.
Simply repeating a mantra is not engaging the mnemonic systems --
and ignores the defining principle on which the technique is named.
The full technique, as laid out by Dr Stephen LaBerge, is as follows.
Step 1: Set up dream recall.
Before going to bed, resolve to wake up and recall your dreams
during each period throughout the night, or the first dream period after dawn,
or after 6am -- or whenever you find convenient.
Step 2: Recall your dream.
When you awaken from a dream period, no matter what time it is,
try to recall as many details as possible from your dream.
If you find yourself so drowsy that you are drifting back to sleep,
do something to wake yourself up.
Step 3: Focus your intent.
While returning to sleep, concentrate single-mindedly on your intention to remember
to recognise that you're dreaming. Tell yourself,
"Next time I'm dreaming, I want to remember I'm dreaming".
Really try to feel that you mean it. Narrow your thoughts to this idea alone.
If you find yourself thinking about anything else, just let go of these thoughts,
and bring your mind back to your intention to remember.
Step 4: See yourself becoming lucid.
At the same time, imagine that you are back in the dream
from which you have just awakened -- but this time, you recognise that it's a dream.
Find a dreamsign in the experience, and, when you see it, say to yourself,
"I'm dreaming", and continue your fantasy.
Step 5: Repeat.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until your intention is set.
Then, let yourself fall asleep.
If, while falling asleep, you find yourself thinking of anything else,
repeat the procedure so that the last thing in your mind before falling asleep
is your intention to remember to recognise the next time you are dreaming.
As you can see, there's a lot more to MILD.
It's a simple but powerful technique; but the power lies in the subtle details --
all of which Explore Lucid Dreaming completely fails to share.
The core principle of MILD is prospective memory -- that is remembering to do something in the future.
To share MILD without including the memory aspects is the same as serving someone
a cup of boiling water and claiming that it's coffee.
MILD can be used to induce either of the two types of lucid dream.
These are known as Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams -- WILD --
or Dream Initiated Lucid Dreams -- DILD.
In reality, DILDs are a more common form of lucid dream,
so it's best to expect a DILD.
So, let's move on to the second way that Explore Lucid Dreaming misled you in his video.
The second reason Explore Lucid Dreaming has misled you
is with his hideous video title and the excessive hype.
The video has the horribly clickbaity and misleading title
"How to Lucid Dream Tonight! 46% Success Rate! Control Your Dreams".
Firstly, MILD is very unlikely to give you lucid dreams tonight.
In fact, the 46% in the title does come from a scientific study --
but it's not an honest representation of the findings of that study,
or what you should expect from MILD's real-world success rate.
The reality is that the 46% comes from a small and not particularly clearly defined study
conducted by Dr Denholm Aspy at the University of Adelaide.
In this study, subjects were taught a number of lucid dreaming techniques;
and the success rates reported are for the combination of these techniques --
not one single technique. For the sake of clarity,
I'll read the explanation of the study from the university's own website.
Bear in mind that this, unfortunately, has been written in quite a vague language,
and doesn't really clarify the results of the study in any really useful or meaningful way.
The article reads as follows:
"The study involved three groups of participants,
"and investigated the effectiveness of three different lucid dreaming induction techniques.
"Number 1: Reality testing. Number 2: Wake Back to Bed.
"Number 3: MILD.
"Among the group of 47 people who combined all three techniques,
"participants achieved a 17% success rate in having lucid dreams
"over the period in just one week -- significantly higher compared to a baseline week
"where they didn't practice any techniques.
"Among those who were able to go to sleep within the first five minutes of completing the MILD technique,
"the success rate of lucid dreaming was much higher, at almost 46% of attempts."
Okay. So, this really isn't a clearly defined study, and ignores factors such as the participants'
previous ability to lucid dream. But, what this study does show
is that under the highly motivated environment of a lucid dream study,
subjects who had been trained, and were using all three of the combined techniques
of reality testing, Wake Back to Bed, and MILD,
were able to lucid dream with a success rate of 17%.
That number jumped to 46% providing that they fell back to sleep, after performing the Wake Back to Bed technique,
within the first five minutes of initiating MILD.
In real-world conditions, this number is likely to be considerably lower,
and will rely heavily on your prior knowledge of lucid dreaming, your motivation,
and how thoroughly you've invested in the three techniques,
the volume and time scale of your reality testing, and timing of your Wake Back to Bed.
So, to sum up: Explore Lucid Dreaming doesn't know what MILD is.
He doesn't know how to pronounce it; he doesn't share anything close to the full technique;
and doesn't give an honest account of the research, or the results of that research;
and has misled you into thinking it will give you a lucid dream tonight, and as
an incomplete and stand-alone technique.
The MILD technique is a really fantastic technique to induce a lucid dream.
And, as you see in the study: Normally, lucid dreaming techniques are combined to increase effectiveness.
Hopefully, this video will have clarified exactly what MILD is, and how you can use it.
It's normally at this point in a video where people would say "Hit 'Subscribe'", etc.
But, what I'd recommend is: If you're subscribed to the Explore Lucid Dreaming channel,
to pop over there and unsubscribe. As you can see,
this basic foundation of lucid dreaming has been completely misrepresented.
And I want you to ask youself: If he gets basics like this wrong,
can you really trust anything he's telling you about lucid dreaming?
What else are you missing out on? What useful information do you need to know that he's not sharing?
I know that hype is really exciting, and it gets you really enthusiastic about learning to lucid dream --
and he's really good at hype!
But hype can be misleading -- and it's especially dangerous when it comes at the cost
of misinformation or a lack of true, detailed understanding.
I don't like to be critical, but I love lucid dreaming,
and I really want you guys to have the best information available on the subject.
I don't want you to waste your time chasing false or incomplete information.
And to Explore Lucid Dreaming, if you're watching this video:
Please take responsibility for your audience's education.
Lucid dreaming is amazing. We have to share it in an honest, realistic and complete fashion.
And this goes for all lucid dreaming teachers.
Hold yourself to a high standard. Get your facts right. Treat your audience with respect.
I'm Daniel Love, The Lucid Guide.
And, until next time, stay lucid!