WILD (Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming)
You can find some great introductions to the fundamentals of the WILD lucid dreaming technique, with a few simple google searches. However, the root idea is that when falling asleep or ideally falling back to sleep after you’ve been sleeping for a while, you prep your mind for the lucid dreaming adventures you’d like to have. This is often easier said than done, especially for those new to the concept. With that in mind, I’ve decided to share a script I’ve developed to help guide the conscious mind directly into a lucid dreaming state.
The Cup Script
In order for this script to work, it’s essential to visualize each step mentioned below. Simply repeating the words will not work, you have to be able to “see” them. It is also essential, as mentioned below, to vary the solutions to each of the steps. If you do this regularly, the varied solutions will keep the script fresh and prevent you from inadvertently taking a lazy mind into the dream with you.
1. Your Hands
With your eyes closed and lying in bed, imagine your hands in front of you. See them. Move them. Open and close them. Now, with your hands in front of you, imagine a table that is just out of reach. Sitting on the center of the table is an empty cup. You are too far away to simply reach out and grab the cup. Without moving toward the table, you must retrieve the cup. How will you get the cup?
- Remember that this is your world and anything is possible. Be sure to use a different method, each time, for retrieving the cup (stretchy arms, telekinesis, conjure props.) Once you have the cup, move on.
2. The Cup
You’re holding the cup in your hands. You look down into the empty cup. You need to fill the cup with a liquid. The type of liquid doesn’t matter, it just needs to be filled. As you gaze into the bottom of the cup, you realize where and how you can fill it.
- Remind yourself that this is your world and anything is possible. Use a different method, for filling the cup (a nearby beach, river, toilet). Once the cup has been filled, move on.
3. The Puddle
The cup is full. You can feel the weight of it in your hands. Being careful not to spill the liquid, look for a good place nearby to pour out the cup. The place you’re looking for needs to allow the liquid to puddle at your feet.
Pour out the liquid to create a large enough puddle to stand in. Now stand in the puddle and think of a place you’d like to be. Know that when you arrive you will still be fully aware.
Stretch your arms out to your sides and begin to spin. Spin faster and faster until the world blurs around you. Know that when you stop spinning you’ll be in the new location and ready to explore. Stop abruptly and as the world comes into focus, you will find yourself there, remembering that you’re dreaming and that this is your world, where anything is possible.
Hacking Your Mind
This script takes advantage of the following known mind hacks:
- Interrupting Shifts of Consciousness: You are far more likely to have a lucid dream after waking up and going back to sleep, simply because you’ve interrupted your dream cycle. Your waking mind is able to shift right back to REM sleep, especially if you’re waking up 4-5 hours after falling asleep. The border/distance between these two states (waking and dreaming) is narrower in this case.
- Dreams are Inherently Visual: When falling asleep, the mind is already working in a visual language. Using a script like this allows us to inject our own visuals and guide our mind in the direction that we’d like to go. Obviously the script would need to be altered for those who are visually impaired, but the core concepts should still apply.
- Intent: It cannot be overstated how powerful intent is when trying to induce/initiate a lucid dream. Using a script like this, or other WILD or MILD techniques, you can use intent to brute force the mind into a lucid state. Intent alone often leads new lucid dreamers into having their first lucid dream.
- Physicality: You may wonder why I end the script with a spinning technique. Spinning physically roots the mind/body to the dream. In fact, anything you can do physically within the dream world will help to solidify your place within that world. I have found that the act of stomping, clapping, or spinning will almost always prevent a lucid dream from fading and keep you from waking up. In particular, spinning utilizes the physicality hack, while also providing a perfect way to transition in/out of dream scenes. This is because, while spinning, the dream scene itself is in a less “stable” state of blurry flux that can easily resolve into something entirely new. If you find that spinning disrupts the dream too much, you can try stomping in the puddle while looking down at the water with the intent that when you look up, the dream scene will have changed to the desired location.
I hope you find this script useful along your path toward lucidity. If this script has helped you, or you have suggestions that could make the script better, please reach out and let me know.