DILD Lucid Dreaming Techniques
DILD Lucid Dreaming, as opposed to WILD lucid dreaming, involves using techniques that bring you directly from the dream state to lucidity. In other words, the dream starts first and then you realize that you are dreaming, as opposed to WILD lucid dreaming where you maintain lucidity from a wake state to a dream state. Whether you try wake induced lucid dream techniques or dream induced lucid dream techniques is a matter or preference – one is not somehow better than the other overall, but some people find it easier to do one or the other. In this post we cover DILD lucid dreaming in detail, including techniques, positives and challenges, and tips.
DILD Lucid dream techniques
DILD lucid dreaming techniques often revolve around the simple question “Am I dreaming”. Since you have not gone directly from being awake to realizing you are dreaming you need a trigger to help you see that what is happening is a dream. Practicing asking yourself “am I dreaming” so much during the day that you can’t help but also find yourself asking that in a dream works for many. You need to look around and concentrate on the question as you ask yourself whether you are dreaming. Fully wonder as you look around and notice whether it seems you are dreaming or not. Even though you may feel quite sure that you are definitely awake, this habit must be deeper than just asking the question and moving on. The process of truly considering the question, even for 5 seconds or so, gives you the depth that will make it a real part of your life that can carry into your dreams.
DILD Lucid Dream Signs
Pairing the above question with knowing about dream signs is a cornerstone way to practice DILD lucid dreaming techniques. Dream signs allow you to notice distortions and unreal events and images in your dreams. These dream signs become a trigger also and practicing looking for them while awake can carry over to the dream when suddenly you realize that something is not how it should be and you must be dreaming. Some examples of dream signs include seeing a distorted reflection in a mirror, having the wrong number of body parts (especially fingers), jumping too high when you try to jump, and seeing people and other perceptions change and distort if you look at them for too long. Just by looking around as we suggested in the last paragraph and knowing a few specific dream signs to look for you may at some point find that you realize you are dreaming!
DILD lucid dreaming techniques are simple but they require a lot of repetition and practice. You’ve probably noticed that things that occur with frequency in your waking life often get carried into your dreams, and in the case of DILD lucid dreaming you want to be sure that that happens. You may even want to formalize things by counting how many times you look for a dream sign or ask yourself “am I dreaming” and make sure the number is quite high.
DILD Lucid Dreaming advantages and disadvantages
As compared to wake-induced lucid dreaming, dream induced lucid dreaming or DILD have some clear advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of DILD is that you get as many tries as you have dreams that you can remember the next day. In other words, you may not be prompted in your first dream of the night to look at a dream sign or ask yourself “am I dreaming?”, but with DILD lucid dreaming techniques you still have a chance with subsequent dreams. That is not true of WILD techniques where your best and sometimes only chance is with 
your first dream of the night where you transition from a wake state to the dream. The other main advantage is that some people find that dreams that are well within REM spell last longer and are more dream-like, while dreams that happen first thing or even after you wake yourself up in the middle of the night sometimes are not truly deep dreams and it is easier to wake up from them.
The disadvantages of DILD lucid dreaming techniques when compared to WILD techniques are often related to a matter of preference and results. Some people have a much easier time with techniques that take them directly from a waking state to the dream, and this may be particularly true of lucid dream pursuits during naps. In other words, despite the advantages listed above, some people feel that WILD lucid dream techniques are easier to use.
The bottom line when it comes to the advantages and disadvantages of DILD lucid dreaming techniques is that it is often a matter of preference as far as the techniques themselves and how much success each one brings. Keep in mind that you can certainly try both types of lucid dream techniques ast the same time anyway!
DILD Lucid Dreaming Tips
Here are some further tips that may help you pursue successful DILD lucid dreaming techniques:
- It is perfectly okay to be trying some WILD lucid dreaming techniques and DILD lucid dreaming techniques at the same time. The only caveat is that some ways of pursuing WILD techniques, such as waking yourself up in the middle of the night or trying these techniques during naps, may interfere with your normal sleep and therefore your chances at using DILD lucid dreaming techniques successfully. That said, there is no reason why you should not try.
- Make sure that you are truly considering your surroundings when asking yourself “am I dreaming”, and one way to do this is to concentrate on one or two lucid dream signs only. For example, every time you have an opportunity to look at your reflection, whether in water, glass, or a mirror, take the time to really look at yourself while asking “am I dreaming”. Or deliberately look at your hands many times while considering whether they look right and stay looking the way they should.
- As always, make sure you are doing everything you can to remember your dreams. Unlike WILD induced dreams which may be easier to remember, DILD lucid dreaming can happen at any time of night.
- Lucid Dreaming Supplements may be more effective with DILD lucid dreaming techniques than WILD lucid dreaming techniques since
they sometimes take a little while to be effective. Of course we suggest you try to have at least a few initial successes with lucid dreams before you try supplements, but after that you may find that ingredients like Calea Z and Galantamine can help with DILD lucid dreaming techniques - Lucid Dreaming Aids such as binaural beats and isochronic tones are not helpful for DILD lucid dreaming given that you are already asleep, but other aids such as lucid dreaming masks can be quite helpful. These masks are designed to detect when the wearer is in REM sleep and at that point they send a signal in the form of a light or a sound. As with supplements we suggest that you have some initial success before you try a lucid dreaming mask so that you don’t feel dependent on it.
- DILD lucid dreaming techniques are best used when you can truly get a good night’s sleep. While we have mentioned before that you can certainly be practicing both WILD and DILD lucid dreaming techniques at the same time, you may find that if you are doing WILD by using naps that your nighttime sleep is disrupted. While you can use DILD every night, they may be most successful when your sleep is deep and you can sleep through the night. This sets up regular REM cycles which are vital to these techniques.
- Our last two tips have to do with what to do if you find yourself lucid after using DILD lucid dreaming techniques. First, make sure you relax and at least while you are learning be calm and passive as you watch what is around you. DILD lucid dreaming is more sudden and perhaps more exciting than WILD lucid dreaming, so you need to be sure your excitement does not wake you up. Second, notice and remember the trigger – what exactly promoted you to know you were dreaming? Use that exact trigger the next few days because that could be your main sign.
DILD Lucid Dreaming Summary
DILD lucid dreaming may seem a little harder than WILD, but in fact it is likely a matter of fit. Some people find that these techniques just seem to work better, or that their experiences are deeper and more vivid with these techniques. The good news is that you do not have to make a choice and can certainly be trying WILD and DILD lucid dreaming at the same time. In fact, you may find that once you are successful at one the confidence and experience you gain makes the other more successful too.
As always please use our comments section to describe your own experiences. This can be quite motivating to other readers. And if you have other tips please share them. Also, we will try to answer any questions that come up, and explore new ideas related to DILD lucid dreaming that people submit.