Thread: Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD)

i for my part do it most of the time like this: on my back short and long cycles then turn to side slowly with as less effort as possible and repeat some more long cylcles with less attention so i fall asleep while doing them

Originally Posted by RelaxAndDream

on my back short and long cycles then turn to side slowly with as less effort as possible and repeat some more long cylcles with less attention so i fall asleep while doing them

Yep, me too!

Hi!
Yesterday night I've tried this technique, it was totally new for me (even if sometimes when I have problems to falling to sleep I use a similar technique, but I never spotted the relation with the LDs). I had a very strange experience:

I woke up in the middle of the night after some hours of sleep, I've done the cycles (brief and normal ones) but i think I got caught up in some kind of hypnagogic hallucinations or maybe a dream itself. Basically at some point I was convinced of doing the cycles but I was actually seeing images of planets and galaxies, traveling back and forth between them. For the all time that I was seeing these things I was actually convinced that I was awake doing the normal cycles before getting into sleep, just like it happens when you see or do something odd in a dream but in the narrative of the dream itself is a perfectly normal thing.

At some point I saw the word "sleep" in my visual field, and I moved it in a infinite symbol shape hoping that this could help me to relax and finally fall asleep. It was a feeling quite intense, and I actually woke up from this dream/hypnagogic state, hearing a loud noise in my right ear (a mixture between a scratchy noise and a popping one, like when there is a changing of pressure on a plane for example, but louder), and feeling almost all my body caught up in vibrations.
I've tried to relax and get back to sleep but it only woke me up.
I've done the Reality checks but I was really awake. Sadly I didn't had any LD during the night, I think that I was awake for part of the night (I've kept doing RC regularly to be sure of it) or if I was sleeping I don't remember the dreams, which is something odd because I always remember my dreams.
I've also tried the technique this afternoon for a quick nap but still no luck, I will try again this night.
I feel that there is a real potential with the SSILD, I hope I will be luckier this night and the next ones.

A couple of questions, that are not clear to me: is it better to do only one induction per night (meaning a whole set of 4-6 brief cycles and 3-4 normal cycles), and whatever happens just go to sleep and hope for the best? Or to do the cycles until fall asleep?
And also, is it better do it one time per night, or multiple times if, like in my case, someone is used to woke up multiple times during the night?

Gonna try this tonight! Wish me luckzzz

Originally Posted by Chocodile

Hi!
Yesterday night I've tried this technique, it was totally new for me (even if sometimes when I have problems to falling to sleep I use a similar technique, but I never spotted the relation with the LDs). I had a very strange experience:

I woke up in the middle of the night after some hours of sleep, I've done the cycles (brief and normal ones) but i think I got caught up in some kind of hypnagogic hallucinations or maybe a dream itself. Basically at some point I was convinced of doing the cycles but I was actually seeing images of planets and galaxies, traveling back and forth between them. For the all time that I was seeing these things I was actually convinced that I was awake doing the normal cycles before getting into sleep, just like it happens when you see or do something odd in a dream but in the narrative of the dream itself is a perfectly normal thing.

At some point I saw the word "sleep" in my visual field, and I moved it in a infinite symbol shape hoping that this could help me to relax and finally fall asleep. It was a feeling quite intense, and I actually woke up from this dream/hypnagogic state, hearing a loud noise in my right ear (a mixture between a scratchy noise and a popping one, like when there is a changing of pressure on a plane for example, but louder), and feeling almost all my body caught up in vibrations.
I've tried to relax and get back to sleep but it only woke me up.
I've done the Reality checks but I was really awake. Sadly I didn't had any LD during the night, I think that I was awake for part of the night (I've kept doing RC regularly to be sure of it) or if I was sleeping I don't remember the dreams, which is something odd because I always remember my dreams.
I've also tried the technique this afternoon for a quick nap but still no luck, I will try again this night.
I feel that there is a real potential with the SSILD, I hope I will be luckier this night and the next ones.

A couple of questions, that are not clear to me: is it better to do only one induction per night (meaning a whole set of 4-6 brief cycles and 3-4 normal cycles), and whatever happens just go to sleep and hope for the best? Or to do the cycles until fall asleep?
And also, is it better do it one time per night, or multiple times if, like in my case, someone is used to woke up multiple times during the night?

Your attempt sounds pretty promising. dont know if it was HH or really a dream with your planets but what you describe after waking the hearing of stuff. thats good you can go from there directly into a dream. dont move dont play attention to it just focus your intent that and stay aware so when the dream starts you notice. you can think about the previous dream too.

you can try motionless RC. like closing your throat/trachea (like when one sniff back ones snot) and try breathing or you might try to levitate or something. so if you are still awake you dont ruin your attempt and are more awake again.

with me ssild gives me a lucid or atleast very vivid detailed dreams

to your questions:

-i for my part do it most of the time like this: on my back short and long cycles then turn to side slowly with as less effort as possible and repeat some more long cylcles with less attention so i fall asleep while doing them
--> aim is here to really fall asleep so do the cycles with a minimum of effort just that you dont start thinking random staff and pass out unconscious. but when you fall asleep really fast afterwards you might dont need to do them while falling asleep...

-in my opinion ssild costs some effort because you need to be awake enough and the cycles need some time. i did it multiple times a night already. there is nothing wrong with it as long as you have enough time to sleep and can concentrate on it.

there is no right or wrong this is a "basic technique" you can fit into your needs and lifestyle. some people do just the short cyclyes some people stay with one sense like seeing.
Try yourself out and note the results. i did this and felt that and the result was that. next day same but different and so on. so you get more intimate with your sleep and falling asleep that is important

Originally Posted by MadzAssassin

Gonna try this tonight! Wish me luckzzz

Good Luck

Originally Posted by RelaxAndDream

Your attempt sounds pretty promising. dont know if it was HH or really a dream with your planets but what you describe after waking the hearing of stuff. thats good you can go from there directly into a dream. dont move dont play attention to it just focus your intent that and stay aware so when the dream starts you notice. you can think about the previous dream too.

you can try motionless RC. like closing your throat/trachea (like when one sniff back ones snot) and try breathing or you might try to levitate or something. so if you are still awake you dont ruin your attempt and are more awake again.

with me ssild gives me a lucid or atleast very vivid detailed dreams

to your questions:

-i for my part do it most of the time like this: on my back short and long cycles then turn to side slowly with as less effort as possible and repeat some more long cylcles with less attention so i fall asleep while doing them
--> aim is here to really fall asleep so do the cycles with a minimum of effort just that you dont start thinking random staff and pass out unconscious. but when you fall asleep really fast afterwards you might dont need to do them while falling asleep...

-in my opinion ssild costs some effort because you need to be awake enough and the cycles need some time. i did it multiple times a night already. there is nothing wrong with it as long as you have enough time to sleep and can concentrate on it.

there is no right or wrong this is a "basic technique" you can fit into your needs and lifestyle. some people do just the short cyclyes some people stay with one sense like seeing.
Try yourself out and note the results. i did this and felt that and the result was that. next day same but different and so on. so you get more intimate with your sleep and falling asleep that is important

Good Luck

Thank you very much for your advices, I'll try them!
I've tried to remain still and calm after waking up from the "vision" of the galaxies, but this days I'm so excited by this technique that I can barely contain the enthusiasm, so I'll try to be quieter the next time that happens

I've tried the SSILD again the past night. I had a LD but what happened it was a very strange and new experience to me: during an usual dream I found myself in a bathroom of an old building, at some point I became lucid (I don't remember if something in particular triggered it or if it just happened) but then I became aware of my body in the real world.
I'm not sure if I was aware of it for the whole time and the dream itself was some prolonged HH like the night before, or if I became aware of it just after gaining lucidity (it's hard to explain or even realise it), but at that point I was in my bed, with my eyelids still closed and the dream I was having it was similar to a projection on my closed eyelids. It also became an old black and white movie, similar the ones of the world wars.

This is something new to me, I was living only the visual experience of the dream in a very clear and detailed way, like watching a movie (but not with my mind's eye as when day dreaming), while becoming aware of my physical body. Also, the black and white thing is new, I've always dreamt in colours, I don't know if it was some way with which my mind tried to make sense of the fact that I was "watching a dream" with closed eyes.

Furthermore when I woke up in the middle of the night, after one of the dreams, I also had auditory hallucinations, like if someone was speaking to me (I've done a RC just to make sure that it wasn't just a FA), sadly I don't remember what the voices were saying.

Very strange and interesting! It seems like that I have to calibrate better the sensory systems, or something like that, but surely this technique is having an effect on my dream consciousness and I'm very happy to continue to experiment with it.

I've always been shy of really using this because im living in a noisy environment (major road right next to me).. but the success of others in this thread is intrigueing. how are my chances? should I try to blend out all the traffic noise? should i embrace it? any tips?

Earplugs and embrace. It's a good technique, use well, enjoy.

I've been reading this thread for a little bit (only on page 4) and have been using the technique for the past two weeks. Last night I had two lucids. One was a FA, which I cought with a RC (a first for me). I find it a great technique for me so far as I naturally wake up in the night but don't like to do a full WBTB as it can lead to me not being able to fall back asleep. I have been simply getting confortable when I awake and going through the steps until I fall asleep. It has the added benefit for me of helping me fall back asleep. Thank you OP.

Wow, I tried SSILD this afternoon and had, I don't know exactly how many LDs... it was like my mind was super mindful and I could recognize the dream state as I was completely awake. I tried the nose RC and could feel my breathe flowing normally even though my nose was completely close... incredible..first attempt great success... thanks Iron

Today my second success...I'd say a DILD obtained thanks to the SSILD cicles done just before my afternoon nap. In my dream i was trying to get asleep in a terrace on the fifth floor and thought that would have been much better to stay on the ground floor to not risk to fall from the balcony, when out of the blue, I realized I was dreaming and then I threw myself from the terrace becoming immediately lucid...wow.. I put my finger through the other hand tasting the beautiful sensation to be ...pierceable ahahahahha

I'm using this technique yet and I can say that it works each time I use it.
I think it works because it makes me more aware during the follow dream.
For example, last night I dreamed about a my friend who told me "oh my god how is it you are so tired?"
"why" I asked,
"you seem to be sleeping"
"bu I AM sleeping" I repied...
Then I went to a place very distant from there and then, when I was about to go back to the prior location I realised that it was very distant fron there, almost half hour walking.
So I told myself "I will open my arms and fly to the place"..
Once I opened my arm, I felt I wasdreaming and that those weren't my "real " arms, then I clapt my hands and become completely lucid.
My lucidity will last half hour and i was completely aware...
So I think that now I can dream bein aware of my situation when I was about to fall asleep, that's the magic.

I tried the SSILD technique last night and had success! Since I had a few shots throughout the night, it seems that performing the cycles laying on my back worked best. The experience of this LD definitely had characteristics of a typical OBE experience - begging in a life-like recreation of a portion of my home - yet began with a suddden heightened sense of awareness within a 'dream state'. I would say it very closely resembled many of my WILDs in the past.
A questions I had was that of short experiences - is it common for people to wake after 30 seconds, or experience shorter LDs with this technique?

Originally Posted by Oneirin

A questions I had was that of short experiences - is it common for people to wake after 30 seconds, or experience shorter LDs with this technique?

Oneirin: No, not at all, but even when you do think you are waking up, watch out for those false awakenings! @Laslappas - Nice! It sounds like you are taking to SSILD like I did. I still use it half the time after WBTB.

Edit: I guess if your first experiment with SSILD coincides with a short LD (coincidence only), it can affect your schema. See the first link in by signature, just in case. Even though you are definitely not a newbie, it can be a helpful reminder to even the more experienced.

Hi everyone !
I'm here because I discovered the SSILD technique yesterday and I tried it, first you need to know that I never had any LDs I'm keeping a DJ since last week and I tried WBTB / MILD techniques during this week.
I wanted to use SSILD to do a DILD because I read that WILDs were difficult to do as a begginer so I started the cycle and pretty fast I feel my heartbeat going up and my breathe changing so I kept doing the cycle and I started seeing images but I think the problem is here I read that a lot of people are seeing one image and they can do something like zoom in but I saw like flashes and different images and I tried to focus on one of them but when I did that I felt that I was awake so I tried to calm down a little bit and did the cycle again but the same thing happened I feel like I'm losing control when images starts to come in my mind have you any suggestion or am I doing something wrong ?

Originally Posted by Raziiel

Hi everyone !
I'm here because I discovered the SSILD technique yesterday and I tried it, first you need to know that I never had any LDs I'm keeping a DJ since last week and I tried WBTB / MILD techniques during this week.
I wanted to use SSILD to do a DILD because I read that WILDs were difficult to do as a begginer so I started the cycle and pretty fast I feel my heartbeat going up and my breathe changing so I kept doing the cycle and I started seeing images but I think the problem is here I read that a lot of people are seeing one image and they can do something like zoom in but I saw like flashes and different images and I tried to focus on one of them but when I did that I felt that I was awake so I tried to calm down a little bit and did the cycle again but the same thing happened I feel like I'm losing control when images starts to come in my mind have you any suggestion or am I doing something wrong ?

I've recently started doing SSILD, you must not focus, relax yourself, and just let it happen. You will know its working when your mind starts to wonder, if your mind wanders, pull it back and finish what you have left and fall asleep as quick as possible.

I had some progress last night, woke up at 5 hours of sleep, done SSILD fell asleep quite fast then I ended up in a false awakening later on.

Originally Posted by JoshMcNaught

I've recently started doing SSILD, you must not focus, relax yourself, and just let it happen. You will know its working when your mind starts to wonder, if your mind wanders, pull it back and finish what you have left and fall asleep as quick as possible.

I had some progress last night, woke up at 5 hours of sleep, done SSILD fell asleep quite fast then I ended up in a false awakening later on.

How can I do the cycle I mean look at the colours ear sounds and feel things in my body without focusing on it ?
And is it normal to feel my heartbeat goes up ?
Do I need to use mantra while doing it like "when I dream I realize that I dream" ?

Originally Posted by Raziiel

How can I do the cycle I mean look at the colours ear sounds and feel things in my body without focusing on it ?
And is it normal to feel my heartbeat goes up ?
Do I need to use mantra while doing it like "when I dream I realize that I dream" ?

No, don't use a mantra unless you're trying to WILD or MILD. Look on the blackness behind your eyes, if you see images or patterns, jusy simply observe it. Same with feeling and hearing.

Yes, heartbeat is normal when one is falling asleep.

Ok thank you so I need to stop doing the cycle before sleeping ?
Because when I did it I felt like it was impossible to sleep while doing it, I kept seeing images and I was awake I knew it.
By the way I feel like it's the same with every techniques, I tried MILD but when I try to fall asleep while thinking of my mantra I basically cant sleep.

Originally Posted by Raziiel

Ok thank you so I need to stop doing the cycle before sleeping ?
Because when I did it I felt like it was impossible to sleep while doing it, I kept seeing images and I was awake I knew it.
By the way I feel like it's the same with every techniques, I tried MILD but when I try to fall asleep while thinking of my mantra I basically cant sleep.

Last night, I found that's it's best to fall asleep while doing the cycles. You might of had a false awakening, did you do a reality check?

then try to adjust your focus. as i did my cycles i did it this way: i did a WBTB so i felt the right amount of wakefulness so i dont fall sleep immediately with the touch of the pillow but not to awake to not fall asleep at all. no daytime worries or thought should come up, all you shout focus and have in your mind should be your last dreams you recall and lucid dreaming intention you want to have after your wbtb. i normally sleep on my side. so i lay down on my back.i breath deep and slowly similar like you would when you sleep. i relax my body, with every breath i "fall deeper into the bed" and more tension of my muscles release.i then start the cycles. fist some fast ones then the longer ones. i dont count time or something just do it naturally. like josh already said dont evaluate or expect something. just cycle. when you "see" dont move your eyes just watch the back of your eyelids. when you hear just listen what there is. it might be nothing or the street or your breathing or a fan or the refrigerator. dont focus on something just "hear". then you feel. feel your body on the matress or your hands or the blanket on your body. and again dont evaluate the feeling just observe it and notice the fact there is.
after i finished the cycles i turn as slowly and with minimum movement to my side so i can fall asleep. i continue doing my cylcles but this time with less effort and less focus. i drift off but in the end fall asleep while doing the cycle and not thinking about lucid dreaming day time problems or anything. i just am in the moment and conscious and drift to sleep.

same with mantras. when i do mantras i do them at the beginning with more concentration. i tell the words clearly and consciously in my mind. after some time when i see that i set my intention and am focused i let off a little of the focus and the effort. i start to "mumble" when you want to call it like that. i let go and now WANT to fall asleep (but dont focus on it because then again you wont fall asleep). after some time i dont do the mantra actively or consciously and its more like an echo in the back of my head. with this i fall sleep and again the last thing i think of or did is to set my intention.

in all the books is written "your last thought should be your mantra or lucid dreaming while falling asleep" this is how you do it. you let go slowly until you drift to sleep. when you focus to much you cant fall asleep when you are not focused enough at the beginning your thoughts drift of after some seconds or minutes and you fall asleep unconsciously with thoughts about some fantasy, daytime worries, work/school, or more general the past or the future without active intention in lucid dreaming instead of beeing in the moment and notice what is and observe while you/ your body fall asleep and have a strong intention in being lucid.

and when you feel your heartbeat going up it might be because you are to exited about what might happen. you constantly evaluate and wait for something to happen. everytime you see something you get to excited and wake yourself up. just be equanimous and be in the present moment. dont worry or be to excited what will be or was just be and observe... (sounds super cliche and zen but actually its all about that)

Originally Posted by JoshMcNaught

Last night, I found that's it's best to fall asleep while doing the cycles. You might of had a false awakening, did you do a reality check?

Yeah I did some reality checks and I was awake but one time I breathed while pinching my nose and the air entered a little bit, I thought I was doing it wrong so I did it again and the I wasn't able to breathe maybe I woke up between the 2 I dont know

Originally Posted by Raziiel

Hi everyone !
I'm here because I discovered the SSILD technique yesterday and I tried it, first you need to know that I never had any LDs I'm keeping a DJ since last week and I tried WBTB / MILD techniques during this week.
I wanted to use SSILD to do a DILD because I read that WILDs were difficult to do as a begginer so I started the cycle and pretty fast I feel my heartbeat going up and my breathe changing so I kept doing the cycle and I started seeing images but I think the problem is here I read that a lot of people are seeing one image and they can do something like zoom in but I saw like flashes and different images and I tried to focus on one of them but when I did that I felt that I was awake so I tried to calm down a little bit and did the cycle again but the same thing happened I feel like I'm losing control when images starts to come in my mind have you any suggestion or am I doing something wrong ?

@Raziiel as you mentioned, DILD is a great way for a beginner to start and what you were reading about people zooming in to the images is more of an advanced WILD process. My suggestion is to continue through the cycles, not worrying about how much you are or are not focusing on the imagery popping up, and you will either fall asleep doing the cycles or you will complete the cycles and get into your favorite sleeping position like RelaxAndDream suggests (and maybe do a few more lazy cycles) and fall asleep. This will often result in a DILD. It is also okay to find your own way to tweak it that fits you, like many of us have, but that is completely up to you. Good luck!

Thanks for all your advice guys, from what I understand I'm going to relax myself a little bit more and try to just see and ear what's happening but not look or listen to it and when I'll feel that I'm falling asleep I'll just try to sleep and stop cycles