CILD – Chakra Induced Lucid Dreams

Chakra Induced Lucid Dreams, CILD, can be an effective way to start Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams. With a CILD, you aren’t actually relying on a symbol to become lucid once you’re already dreaming. Instead, you actually start out in a lucid dream because you’re slipping into sleep while remaining conscious.

It sounds strange, I know, and it’s a hard practice to grasp for some. However, it’s also a very effective way to start lucid dreaming. Here’s what chakras are and how CILD works.

What are chakras, anyway?

In traditional Indiana and yogic medicine, chakras are essentially centers of energy in the body. The seven chakras run from the top of the head to the feet and represent places where energy comes from in the body. Each chakra, according to yogis, is related to certain functions of the body. The Saharara, the Crown Chakra, for instance, is associated with pure consciousness. The Manipura, the Solar Plexus Chakra, is associated with metabolic and digestive activities.

How CILD works

There are a couple of different chakras associated with dreaming and lucid dreaming in particular. The Throat Chakra, Vishuddha, is associated with sleep, waking, and the frequency of dreams. The Ajna, the Brow Chakra, which is also known as the Third Eye, is linked with visions, sleeping, and waking, as well.

In one type of CILD, you simply focus your physical eyes on your brow, where your Third Eye resides. This technique works best if you’ve been asleep for five or six hours already so you can get through delta sleep. Wake up after this amount of time, and then settle comfortably by looking up with your physical eyes to your third eye until you fall asleep. You should fall asleep within about three minutes, but if not, you can un-focus your eyes and try again.

As you’re falling asleep, visualize that you’re having a lucid dream. This method may put you into a Wake Initiated Lucid Dream, where you essentially step straight from the “real world” into the dream world without ever losing consciousness.

Even if you don’t experience lucid dreams when first using this technique, you may end up experiencing out-of-body dreams when you have a false awakening, which can be very exciting. When they first use CILD, some people simply experience dreams that are more vivid or real than usual.

Some add in other yogic techniques to this basic practice of CILD. For instance, you might use the throat chakra by practicing yogic breathing and repeating “ah”, the seed-syllable associated with the throat chakra. Sometimes, they do both yogic breathing as well as visualization before bed and upon waking early in the morning to experience lucid dreams.

These visualization techniques can help build up your intentions to have a lucid dream. They should always be combined with a repeated resolution or phrase that says you intend to have a lucid dream. When combined in this way, visualization, yogic breathing, and repetition can lead you into some very wonderful lucid dreams.

Does it work for everyone?

CILD doesn’t work for everyone, as most lucid dreaming techniques are different for each person. You may need to work for a while to get the breathing pattern down, and you also need to concentrate hard as you’re visualizing. However, this technique can be learned with repeated practice.

One thing I really like about CILD is that it has benefits even if it doesn’t induce lucid dreaming right away. Like many yogic practices, CILD focuses on letting go and relaxing the body and mind. Incorporating this CILD practice into your everyday life may leave you feeling centered and calmer, even if it doesn’t work to get you dreaming lucidly right away.