Senses Initiated Lucid Dream Ssild

Hello everyone, this is my first post here, although I have been reading the forum for several months now . I became interested in lucid dreaming about 8 months ago without much success. I tried different techniques, but until Two weeks ago I had only 5 LD, 1 min each. Two weeks ago I learned SSILD and since I had five additional LD and dream recall improved dramatically! (love you Cosmiciron!!). Without a doubt I'm going to practice this technique. One problem, I'm not sure its even related to the technique, my LD are very short, ten to fifteen seconds! It's so frustrating. I read the guides on the stabilization but still no improvment. Do you think my problem is related to SSILD ( had much longer dreams when Dild) ,I'd love to hear your opinions, thanks.

Originally Posted by Elrond: Hello everyone, this is my first post here, although I have been reading the forum for several months now . I became interested in lucid dreaming about 8 months ago without much success. I tried different techniques, but until Two weeks ago I had only 5 LD, 1 min each. Two weeks ago I learned SSILD and since I had five additional LD and dream recall improved dramatically! (love you Cosmiciron!!). Without a doubt I'm going to practice this technique. One problem, I'm not sure its even related to the technique, my LD are very short, ten to fifteen seconds! It's so frustrating. I read the guides on the stabilization but still no improvment. Do you think my problem is related to SSILD ( had much longer dreams when Dild) ,I'd love to hear your opinions, thanks. -------- SSILD is known (in my opinion) to give very short lucids. But if Cosmic keeps using this technique, there must be more to it. You could try to PM him, maybe? Also, welcome to Dream Views!

Originally Posted by AstralMango: SSILD is known (in my opinion) to give very short lucids. But if Cosmic keeps using this technique, there must be more to it. You could try to PM him, maybe? Also, welcome to Dream Views! -------- thank's sure hope ill be able to have much longer dreams with ssild, i love this technique.

Originally Posted by Elrond: thank's sure hope ill be able to have much longer dreams with ssild, i love this technique. -------- Not sure if CosmicIron will be back. I have had long LDs (and many medium length LDs) the same night I used the technique. I think it just takes most people time and experience to increase their average LD time, regardless of the technique. Originally Posted by LFairweather: Ive tried this technique and the first night i tried, it worked (realised i was dreaming) so i will definitely pursue this technique further. However, since then ive struggled to find the balance between being too awake and consequently taking ages to fall asleep again, or being too sleepy, and struggling to do the cycles properly. What are your thoughts on this cosmic iron? -------- That is something that takes trial and error (and struggle for some including me early on) to find that balance. The good news, and others have confirmed this, is that when it does take longer to get back to sleep, the odds of having an LD go up...assuming that you stay on track and don't get frustrated and assuming that you do get back to sleep of course.

Originally Posted by fogelbise: Not sure if CosmicIron will be back. I have had long LDs (and many medium length LDs) the same night I used the technique. I think it just takes most people time and experience to increase their average LD time, regardless of the technique. -------- Whoa, really? I thought it gave short lucids for some reason haha. So it's not the technique but it's the other factors, like stabilisation and awareness?

Originally Posted by AstralMango: Whoa, really? I thought it gave short lucids for some reason haha. So it's not the technique but it's the other factors, like stabilisation and awareness? -------- Sorry, I just saw your post AstralMango...yes, that is definitely what I think. Of course if you have that idea already lodged in your subconscious then you might be better off using other methods that you find successful. Good luck! Originally Posted by LFairweather: Just had a false awakening after trying this last night.... I love this technique because it always produces some sort of result for me. I dont usually have any false awakenings so that was a new experience for me. -------- Nice, and with practice, you can catch the false awakenings, you can turn them into lucid dreams!

Originally Posted by Bobblehat: I've always wondered if, when it takes you ages to get back to sleep after SSILD, it's the WBTB that's led to success rather than SSILD technique. -------- What the bloody hell has that word got an apostrophe on it for? -------- maybe, although that doesn't explain the results when you fall asleep really quickly.

There are some that pose that SSILD is in fact just WBTB. WBTB can give results too, falling back to sleep quickly. The power of intention/expectation perhaps, or maybe there really is something to it. I know that SSILD for me unless I'm really careful to remain relaxed results in me being very very wide awake. So that says something about its WBTB efficacy. An activated brain is a brain that is way more likely to be lucid when dreaming, assuming you can sleep.

hi folks, been trying the SSILD technique for less than a week now with minor success. The first night I had my False Awakening and 2 days after I had a dream where I was in a dream that I realized I was dreaming. I mean, I was dreaming that I was dreaming. Weird I know and lasted only a few seconds but maybe that was semi-lucid. Nothing since then. I've only read upto page 27 of this thread but I would like to know if I am doing SSILD right. When I do the fast cycle steps, I just zoom through them without attempting to drift off. When I do the slow cycle steps I focus on my senses initially and then LET my mind drift off. I mean I stop focusing on the senses and let my mind get clear. Is that ok? I've noticed when I keep focusing on the senses, I generally dont drift off since I'm paying attention to something and my mind is occupied. I've also noticed that even with that method I take about 2 mins to drift in a step even though CosmicIron specifies only a minimum of 30 secs. I realize its only a min but i'm not sure if 2mins is too long. Thanks for any help....

Hey, satsujin. For the slow cycles, I would probably attempt to do it "drifting off". You don't have to, but I think the purpose of the slow cycles is to get you into a relaxed state. I mean I stop focusing on the senses and let my mind get clear. Is that ok? -------- If you mean stopping the cycles and trying to clear your mind? Not the right way, no. When doing cycles, you do them "lazily and without thought" so your thoughts start to wander as you're doing them, which is the effect you're after. I'm not sure about the 2 minute thing - since some people are have different way of doing techniques - but I would suggest experimenting and see how less or more time can be effective for you. Hope this helps a bit.

First off, thanks for your reply and your like AstralMango! A couple clarifications if you please though... Originally Posted by AstralMango: Hey, satsujin. For the slow cycles, I would probably attempt to do it "drifting off". You don't have to, but I think the purpose of the slow cycles is to get you into a relaxed state. -------- If you mean stopping the cycles and trying to clear your mind? Not the right way, no. When doing cycles, you do them "lazily and without thought" so your thoughts start to wander as you're doing them, which is the effect you're after. I'm not sure about the 2 minute thing - since some people are have different way of doing techniques - but I would suggest experimenting and see how less or more time can be effective for you. Hope this helps a bit. -------- After I sent my earlier post, I tried to do the slow cycles while staying as focused as I could. I noticed I was still drifting off but only for a few seconds at the most before snapping back into focus. Is this more like what I'm supposed to do? Before my technique WAS lazily and without thought meaning i wasnt really focusing on the senses at all and when I drifted off then I might have drifted off for 15-20 seconds(approx. since I was drifting off at the time .) Is this too much or is the few seconds of drifting off and then snapping back into focus on the senses okay?

I should mention that when I say I tried the method the other way yesterday, I was talking about trying it while wide awake in the afternoon. When I tried it yesterday night after my WBTB I drifted off for a couple times for much longer. Only a couple times though, certainly not during each step. When I tried this with the prior method, I drifted off for about the same length of time but more frequently too. Is this ok? Also, I had trouble last night in the getting back to sleep stage. I had seen part of the South Park movie and the songs kept repeating in my head while I tried to doze off. No lucid dream either but this was only my first trial using this method. As long as you ok this method, I'd be willing to try for at least a month.

You tried it in the afternoon? How did that go? I think what you're describing is perfectly fine (I am no master at this technique so I could be wrong). And I think you could trial this technique out if you want to. It's gotten me a lucid before and it's proven to work well for others.

Originally Posted by AstralMango: You tried it in the afternoon? How did that go? I think what you're describing is perfectly fine (I am no master at this technique so I could be wrong). And I think you could trial this technique out if you want to. It's gotten me a lucid before and it's proven to work well for others. -------- Tried it in the afternoon just as a test to see if I could properly focus on the senses. Didn't try to go to sleep after that. And like I said, when I tried it at night I had trouble falling asleep prolly cos of all the chatter in my head. Is fpcusing on your breathing as a method to relax the mind a good idea after SSILD? I seem to recall CosmicIron saying that you shouldn't mix SSILD with other meditation techniques..... I am also considering drugs like Galantamine but will try for a natural method first for at least a couple months. Drugs could be risky for me since I'm an epileptic. Btw, just out of curiosity, is your unusual username based off some weird dream you had? Like you dreamt you had an astral body but it was the body of a mango?

Originally Posted by satsujin: Btw, just out of curiosity, is your unusual username based off some weird dream you had? Like you dreamt you had an astral body but it was the body of a mango? -------- Heh, no. I just made it up out of the blue. Astral for astral projecting, and Mango 'cause mangos are goooood.

I may be doing SSILD wrong or it just may not be for me. After all the experimentation I have tried, I have discovered the following: -Doing SSILD on my back(unusual position), I am now unable to sleep quickly after it is over -Doing SSILD on my belly(normal position), I fall asleep while doing it within 1 or 2 slow cycles -Doing SSILD half on back for 2 slow cycles, and half on belly for 2 slow cycles I am unable to fall asleep quickly I haven't checked HOW long I am unable to sleep. It just feels long while I am lying in bed. Also, I only do four slow cycles in any position. Should I do more? Maybe keep doing until I fall asleep? Any suggestions?

Hmmm, there's probably a very good reason SSILD has not been working for me. I just noticed you need to wait 4 to 5 hours before trying it. After going to bed at 10:30, i usually get up once around 1:00am and again at 5:00am. I've always tried the method at 1:00am so now I'll wait for my second awakening before attempting it. Wish me luck...

Originally Posted by satsujin: I may be doing SSILD wrong or it just may not be for me. After all the experimentation I have tried, I have discovered the following: -Doing SSILD on my back(unusual position), I am now unable to sleep quickly after it is over -Doing SSILD on my belly(normal position), I fall asleep while doing it within 1 or 2 slow cycles -Doing SSILD half on back for 2 slow cycles, and half on belly for 2 slow cycles I am unable to fall asleep quickly I haven't checked HOW long I am unable to sleep. It just feels long while I am lying in bed. Also, I only do four slow cycles in any position. Should I do more? Maybe keep doing until I fall asleep? Any suggestions? -------- could try staying awake and out of bed for a few more minutes and then do the cycles in your normal sleep position. Should be up for 5-10 minutes before returning to bed.

^^ It all depends on the person. I wake up quickly: a bathroom visit and a quick voice journaling can be enough to wake me up almost fully. So any extra time spent out of bed runs a huge risk of being wake for potentially hours. So every person should tune the WBTB time so that they can still fall back to sleep relatively quickly. The entire point is to grab some awareness/wake up the brain a bit, and that could run from 30 seconds to 45 minutes, entirely dependent on the person.

Originally Posted by FryingMan: ^^ It all depends on the person. I wake up quickly: a bathroom visit and a quick voice journaling can be enough to wake me up almost fully. So any extra time spent out of bed runs a huge risk of being wake for potentially hours. So every person should tune the WBTB time so that they can still fall back to sleep relatively quickly. The entire point is to grab some awareness/wake up the brain a bit, and that could run from 30 seconds to 45 minutes, entirely dependent on the person. -------- yeah for sure, I was just going on his paragraph and how he mentioned only being able to get 1-2 cycles in before passing out in his normal sleep position. figure if he stays up for a couple more minutes maybe that will buy him enough time to get the cycles in and then immediately pass out, which is ideal.

Not wanting to be rude but when you read the OP this method is the Holy Grail which allowed hundreds (thousands ?) of people to lucid dreams with some highly percentage rate. But on every single forum Cosmic Iron has posted his method, this is always the same case scenario : no one really succeed, you have tons of pages of people asking how to do it correctly because they can't LD with that method. This method is not genuine for me and do nothing at all. Too many people struggling with too few having constant results.

Seems a pretty accurate assessment, Baron Creepyphoto. One of the problems is, SSILD seems to have some effect, but nobody knows why it works (I've had sporadic success, btw). With MILD you can kind of see why it works, but with SSILD it's all guesswork - unless we assume it's just a short and fancy way to do WBTB and nothing else.

I would like to argue that point. Ive tried 5 or 6 techniques now, and SSILD has been the only one to work for me. Again, i have no idea why it works but im guessing the idea of stimulating your senses before re-entering a dream keeps them stimulated in the dream which makes you more aware. Ive had several Lucid dreams with this method, and i think the only problem is getting the balance between falling asleep before completing any cycles and completing all the cycles but not falling back asleep. if I get that right, i would say ive had a 70% success rate with this method.

I currently feel that this is the short answer: -Finding a way to do SSILD while falling asleep (but not so quickly that you don't at least get a few solid cycles in) is a key. -Combining it with day practices like RC's and RRC's! -After having the previous RC's and RRC's in place, giving it a solid 2 weeks to see some kind of results. -You might want to avoid this or any WBTB technique if you have trouble getting back to sleep (or save it for when you can sleep in). It has worked well for me.

I've noticed that the last few times I've tried it, SSILD has helped me to go "a level deeper," and closer to the transition. The key is remaining relaxed while doing it, especially the visuals stage, and on the body stage, imagining that it's not my waking body I'm feeling, but my dream body.