Thread: The SSILD test. - 30 days.

Addendum on Day 7:

I should add that on two awakenings I was able to do maybe 3 short cycles instead of just 1 as I usually did the last couple nights, and I think I had better logical thinking in the dream as a result. In 2 dreams I was reading about LDing, and in another the text on and in a book kept changing, and didn't make logical sense, and I noted this in the dream, but never became lucid. And another point where I was having trouble falling asleep, and my body felt weightier on one side than another, for some unknown reason. I remember thinking I read something like this can be used to induce "OBEs" (which I think are just a type of LD), but I still felt awake at that point and was too distracted by random thoughts to do the cycles, and didn't really remember what to do, so I did nothing.

Day 8

I did the cycles sitting somewhat in bed with my head against the headboard, and this seemed to help me finish them. Staying up about 5-10 minutes beforehand seemed to help too, the one time I did it, otherwise random thoughts were really distracting. However I still got no results, and had low dream awareness as the previous days. I am wondering if maybe I tried too hard - I had 6 awakenings and did the cycles on each one, plus when going to sleep, but I must admit I got sick of doing it after a few times and probably didn't do it very good later on. Tonight I will set my alarm for just twice, and stay up for 10 minutes before each time, any other awakenings that occur I will try a MILD mantra and get back to sleep quickly.

Attempts: 7; Lucid dreams: 2; Non-lucid FAs: 2

lucsande,
Good to hear the sitting in a chair idea worked. I wondered if it might cause FAs in the wrong location. You were really close to having a lucid dream! Just keep it up, you'll have one soon I'm sure.

Originally Posted by Matt1

Addendum on Day 7:

I should add that on two awakenings I was able to do maybe 3 short cycles instead of just 1 as I usually did the last couple nights, and I think I had better logical thinking in the dream as a result. In 2 dreams I was reading about LDing, and in another the text on and in a book kept changing, and didn't make logical sense, and I noted this in the dream, but never became lucid. And another point where I was having trouble falling asleep, and my body felt weightier on one side than another, for some unknown reason. I remember thinking I read something like this can be used to induce "OBEs" (which I think are just a type of LD), but I still felt awake at that point and was too distracted by random thoughts to do the cycles, and didn't really remember what to do, so I did nothing.

Day 8

I did the cycles sitting somewhat in bed with my head against the headboard, and this seemed to help me finish them. Staying up about 5-10 minutes beforehand seemed to help too, the one time I did it, otherwise random thoughts were really distracting. However I still got no results, and had low dream awareness as the previous days. I am wondering if maybe I tried too hard - I had 6 awakenings and did the cycles on each one, plus when going to sleep, but I must admit I got sick of doing it after a few times and probably didn't do it very good later on. Tonight I will set my alarm for just twice, and stay up for 10 minutes before each time, any other awakenings that occur I will try a MILD mantra and get back to sleep quickly.

Attempts: 7; Lucid dreams: 2; Non-lucid FAs: 2

lucsande,
Good to hear the sitting in a chair idea worked. I wondered if it might cause FAs in the wrong location. You were really close to having a lucid dream! Just keep it up, you'll have one soon I'm sure.

6 awakenings? Be careful, that's a strong sign of them being the super-realistic FAs we have been talking about all along!

Originally Posted by CosmicIron

6 awakenings? Be careful, that's a strong sign of them being the super-realistic FAs we have been talking about all along!

I wish they were, but I have the DJ entries to prove each one. I get so many awakenings by setting alarms, but I usually wake up before them anyway, knowing it's coming. I used to experiment with EILD and I found that too many awakenings or for too long really hurts recall and dream awareness, and I think that's what happened last night. I've learned that sometimes less is more.

BrandonBoss, how many cycles are you typically able to do before falling asleep?

Day 33

Another lucid and at least ten more false awakenings.

Here's the account: Lucid Dream 38 - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

Attempts: 17, Lucids: 11, OBE's: 1, FA's: 30, HI's: 2

Day 6

Wasn't planning on attempting this last night, but I woke up an hour before my alarm so why not. It was extremely difficult for me to stay focused on the cycles, but I managed an FA where I became lucid.

Attempts: 2, Lucids: 2

it seems to me one can become really good at LD if we get used to RC at each awakening..

Attempt 3

This is going nowhere. I woke up at 3am, got out of bed for a bit, came back and maybe did like two cycles before falling asleep. I remembered three or so dreams that night, but I noticed no difference in them. I need to extend my WBTB time a bit, I think.

Lucid: 0
False Awakening: 0

Originally Posted by VagalTone

it seems to me one can become really good at LD if we get used to RC at each awakening..

Only if you are using method that induces FAs.

No lucid tonight. Almost though. I started realizing things were off right before I woke up and told the DCs that I had to get up and go to work, so I guess part of me knew I was sleeping. I am going to drink some water tonight to force me to get up. I keep falling asleep in the middle. :/

Originally Posted by Frobthebuilder

Attempt 3

This is going nowhere. I woke up at 3am, got out of bed for a bit, came back and maybe did like two cycles before falling asleep. I remembered three or so dreams that night, but I noticed no difference in them. I need to extend my WBTB time a bit, I think.

Lucid: 0
False Awakening: 0

Try to get more sleep first. Extend it by one hour and see if there is any difference.

Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

Only if you are using method that induces FAs.

No lucid tonight. Almost though. I started realizing things were off right before I woke up and told the DCs that I had to get up and go to work, so I guess part of me knew I was sleeping. I am going to drink some water tonight to force me to get up. I keep falling asleep in the middle. :/

Yeah, the last two days I also got very close at realizing I was dreaming, except for me during my regular sleep session.

The first time, I actually plugged my nose. It was inconclusive, though, because I couldn't feel it enough either way. So I did it a second time, and then was standing there trying to figure out if it was a positive or negative result, when I woke up. So a few more seconds and I probably would have had it.

The second time, I think people were talking about lucid dreaming, or something else which could have triggered lucidity but didn't. So it's neat, because these are starting to happen automatically without techniques.

Day 9

No results, but a poor night to try. I woke up after only 4 hours to do it and had to get up less than two hours later. I didn't get to do as many cycles as I had hoped either. I also took a nap, no results, but it was a late afternoon nap. I did find though that having no fan for the nap helps keep me from falling asleep sooner than I like, I was pretty happy with that SSILD attempt for the nap, so I will have to turn the fan off tonight for the WBTBs. Maybe I will be able to finally do some attempts I am happy with.

Attempts: 8; Lucid dreams: 2; Non-lucid FAs: 2

Originally Posted by Venryx

The second time, I think people were talking about lucid dreaming, or something else which could have triggered lucidity but didn't. So it's neat, because these are starting to happen automatically without techniques.

Lately this happens to me like 1-2 times per night. Probably would make an excellent dream sign, but these same dreams are ones where awareness is really low (read: I am too dumb to notice). Not sure if SSILD is causing dreams to be on this subject, probably just coincidence.

Day 34

Didn't try today.

Attempts: 17, Lucids: 11, OBE's: 1, FA's: 30, HI's: 2

I have tried SSILD 2 times. i had a bunch of FAs ( in which i got lucid* ) and a DILD last night.

First time i couldnt get back to sleep, but after reading tutorial again i know i was putting much effort.


Thank you CosmicIron for your tutorials and dedication !

* @ BrandonBoss: it explains my last post

Day 10

Ah, never mind the turning the fan off thing. Every time I do this I don't sleep deep enough or something, and wake up soon after. And I still am needing to work a little on that balance of sleepy and wakefulness for doing the cycles.

BUT - I have results! 2 FAs. One tactile-only where I was plugging my nose and breathing, and one right after where I thought I woke up from trying to do something with the previous one. Wasn't fully lucid, but close.

Attempts: 9; Lucids: 2; FAs: 4

Originally Posted by Matt1

Ah, never mind the turning the fan off thing. Every time I do this I don't sleep deep enough or something, and wake up soon after. And I still am needing to work a little on that balance of sleepy and wakefulness for doing the cycles.

Don't worry about it. I leave my fan on *every time*, and it's been working just fine.

Originally Posted by Matt1

BUT - I have results! 2 FAs. One tactile-only where I was plugging my nose and breathing, and one right after where I thought I woke up from trying to do something with the previous one. Wasn't fully lucid, but close.

Attempts: 9; Lucids: 2; FAs: 4

Great! For me the false awakenings just kept multiplying... once you get used to catching them, you can get lucid a lot more often. (I'd say the majority of my lucids from this technique are now from FA's where I do reality checks)

Day 7 and 8

Didn't attempt.

Attempts: 2, Lucids: 2

Can someone tell me what SSILD is please

Originally Posted by OwenRutherford

Can someone tell me what SSILD is please

See main thread: Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD)

Originally Posted by Venryx

Don't worry about it. I leave my fan on *every time*, and it's been working just fine.

Even while you do the cycles?

Originally Posted by Matt1

Even while you do the cycles?

Yep.

Originally Posted by Frobthebuilder

Attempt 3
This is going nowhere. I woke up at 3am, got out of bed for a bit, came back and maybe did like two cycles before falling asleep. I remembered three or so dreams that night, but I noticed no difference in them. I need to extend my WBTB time a bit, I think.
Lucid: 0
False Awakening: 0

I think the reason it isn't working for you is the same reason it wasn't doing me any good the last several days, which is: falling asleep too soon. You could try:

-Make sure you wake up and move around enough so you don't fall asleep too fast.
-Make sure you get a decent number of cycles in and that they are long enough.
-I think too that if random thoughts from drowsiness interrupt too much during the cycles, the cycles don't have much effect.
-And you don't have to fall asleep while doing the cycles, you can do like 6 or 7 (of decent length) and fall asleep afterward thinking about something else.
-You can also do the cycles laying in a position you don't typically sleep in, so you don't fall asleep too fast: i.e. on your back if you typically sleep on the side or on your stomach. Then you can turn over and go to sleep after the cycles.

Just thought I'd share this comment from the dream journal about how I do SSILD. Hope it's helpful.

It's basically the way CosmicIron suggests in his most recent SSILD guide: Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD) Official Tutorial

I start out doing them for about 5 seconds each, and then each time I extend it by about 33%. So by the end of 7 cycles, it's something like:

Cycle 1: 5, 5, 5
Cycle 2: 7, 7, 7
Cycle 3: 9, 9, 9
Cycle 4: 12, 12, 12
Cycle 5: 16, 16, 16
Cycle 6: 21, 21, 21
Cycle 7: 28, 28, 28

Of course, this is just a rough estimation, even my multiplication above wasn't accurate. In reality, I do it differently each time, depending on how much feedback I'm getting, how tired I am, etc.

But I usually end up doing it for around 3 to 5 minutes. And no, I don't fall asleep while doing the cycles. I used to do that, but then I found out it actually works better if I just do it correctly for a short period of time, and then get into a comfortable position, relax, and just fall asleep thinking about whatever I feel like. This is nice, because I really enjoy thinking about stuff while in bed. (I like to analyze events and ideas, and in bed there are no distractions)

In retrospect, it takes only a few minutes for me to fall asleep, and I either find myself in a false awakening, find myself in a dream and become lucid, or just have a vivid non-lucid dream, (although these are becoming less common now).

EDIT: The hardest part for me with this technique at the start, is that I had trouble letting go and falling asleep without continuing to do any cycles. It made me feel like I was wasting time and not using it to improve my chances. (in fact, I kind of cheated and kept doing them anyway) But the cool thing about this technique is that I've learned it works just as well without continuing all those cycles, and you can fall asleep way faster if you don't do them. Although, I don't think it really hurts to, so if you feel like doing extra cycles, feel free to do so but you'll probably be staying awake longer. I guess that would fine, actually, since that way you can test it for yourself and find what works for you, i.e. the optimal number of cycles to do, by cutting it down gradually.

Day 35

No attempt.

Attempts: 17, Lucids: 11, OBE's: 1, FA's: 30, HI's: 2

Originally Posted by Venryx

Just thought I'd share this comment from the dream journal about how I do SSILD. Hope it's helpful.

It's basically the way CosmicIron suggests in his most recent SSILD guide: Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD) Official Tutorial

This is an excellent instruction. Can I use it and add it to the Q&A section of the tutorial?