Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (Ssild) Ld4All

This method be used without the 4-5hrs of sleep? Also if I were to awake 4-5 hrs into my night how long do I need to be awake untill using this method. All in all I'm excited to go home and try it, I think I'll use it as my primary when I initially go to sleep, I work nights so I don't know if that might enhance it.

lucky1990 wrote: Cosmic.iron, This may be connected or unconnected from this technique, but how do I keep my cool while experiencing Sleep Paralysis? ------- SP is nothing to be afraid of. For us LDers it's actually a blessing. Of course, if you experience SPs frequently then it's probably a health issue. You might need to improve your physical condition as well as adjusting your schedules. One more thing to note: do not mistaken OBE sensations with SP. It is not unusual to get an OBE when doing SILD. When that happens you will experience vibrations, ringing noises, falling sensations, and etc. Don't be afraid. It means you are succeeding! Synergy86 wrote: This method be used without the 4-5hrs of sleep? Also if I were to awake 4-5 hrs into my night how long do I need to be awake untill using this method. All in all I'm excited to go home and try it, I think I'll use it as my primary when I initially go to sleep, I work nights so I don't know if that might enhance it. ------- Without 4-5 hours of sleep the method will not work very well. In general, 5 to 10 minutes staying awake should be enough. Any longer than that may cause difficulty to fall back sleep. I personally just get up to empty the bladder, then go back to bed immediately. <mod>Double post edited together. Please use the edit button instead of stacking posts. </mod>

report cosmic.iron! Huge success! This has been my first lucid dream in a long time. Tough my situation was kinda strange, in that I almost skipped a night the day before, then I only slept from 4am to 8:45am and got up for class. After that, I got back to my place at 4pm and just went to sleep again, by accident. Not sure at what time I began sleeping but it was at least later than 4:30pm and I woke up by 7:30pm. Then I eventually went to sleep about at 2:30am. This is where the quest begins, as I went to sleep because I was kinda tired. I lay in my favorite position for comfort, and while I had completely forgotten about SILD, I noticed that my eyes weren't really "seeing" anything. Yes, my eyes saw absolutely nothing. It wasn't darkness, but then it became so when I noticed it. Then I realized I was seeing nothing with my mind, not with my eyes per se. This realization for some reason made the sight go back to normal and then I was watching my closed eyelids, and that's what made me recall SILD. I decided to do it, and that it was better to ignore the eyes as I had accidentally done the eyes part, or so I thought. For some reason, I just felt like moving on to breathing, because I could. Then I almost dozed off, but noticed I was once again seeing with my mind, but this time it was a dream image that I was interacting with using dream hands. I often think of this when I go to sleep, but the realization that it was there broke it. I was now uncomfortable, and thought, as much as I shouldn't move for the falling asleep value, I wanted to be comfortable, as SILD stresses that above all. Also I just wanted to. I switched position, and then focused on noises. I heard normal ambient sound, tough nothing in particular or nothing interesting. I planned on doing more repetitions, but I fell asleep during the sound one. Now I was in the dream, and it felt real time, tough I was not lucid, it was just a dream. Thing is, I did not recall this as if I slept and then woke up with a random memory out of nowhere from waking up (what bad recall usually manifests itself as) Instead, it's like my conciousness stream went from awake > dream > wake up. So going one I eventually realize the dream is a dream, tough not sure how, I do. I do not wish to go into to many details about the dream in this long enough post, but will skim over it. I decide to use my newfound freedom and power to explore the world, but then the dream develops a plot and someone wants to catch me. I fear that if I am caught something bad will happen to the dream world (which is nonsense) or that it would wake me up. So while I still retain weak lucidity, I run from my pursuers, who anyway either find me or are alerted of my doings by the citizens of my dream. I still keep my lucidity, reminding me I am dreaming, and mostly trying to escape by way of mirrors, but am always interrupted. There was a moment where I felt the dream was really long and I wanted it to end, as much as I realized it was a ridiculous statement. Mostly because I had fear of not recalling clearly the many events that happened in this seemingly super long dream. There was a moment when I might have almost lost lucidity, or maybe I did, don't know but then woke up by a snore of myself. I was still in the dream mindset, so I checked if it was a false awakening while realizing the vast difference between this weak but long dream and waking life. After confirming my waking status, I was still kinda doubting if I was awake, but eventually got convinced because of the vast difference in sensations and my constant room plus lack of powers and reality checks. So I then try to chain dreams but since I already moved a bit after waking up I think it failed. Or maybe my REM was pretty long alright. Also after having woken up my body felt kinda numb. But overall success! I will continue to try this wonderful thecnique. And for anyone who asks, I'm no expert, but I think the most important thing in this technique is to fall asleep comfortably! Current LD goal(s): achieving a steady sleep schedule, then getting proper dream recall

Okay, I attempted this with a nap (even though I'm not good with naps) and I was EXTREMELY close to a LD, in fact the closest I personally think I've ever been. I pretty much performed a WILD using these steps, and it put me in such a trance that I quickly saw a dreamscape forming before me; a very vivid and colorful forest. Either that or it was very detailed HI, I couldn't tell the difference. Unfortunately, excitement got the best of me, and I snapped out of it. Anyway, I had yet another quick question: When you say to "find the most comfortable position," does that mean it is alright to change position after performing the reps, or am I supposed to stay in that position and fall asleep? I was confused when attempting it during a nap because I loved the feeling of the trance I was in and I didn't want to ruin it. I performed the reps on my back but I usually sleep on one of my sides. Current LD goal(s): Question my subconscious

I've tried this technique and I've advanced a lot. When I looked at my eyebrows with my eyes closed I started to feel weightless, so I began to focus on my body feelings. Then I started to feel like I was swimming in the air. I was so tired that I fell asleep afterwards. And when I woke up the first thing I did was to write my "trick" in my DJ. I have to say that this technique is the best I've tried for a beginner like me. Current LD goal(s): Fly among the clouds.

Hello all, first post: So I'm adapting to polyphasic sleep and learning LD at the same time. I started 3 days ago, napping every 2 hours, 20-40 minute naps (oversleep at least once a day). During this time I experienced my first WILD, and I'm not exactly sure what I did to make it work ... I'd been reading on the technique and it just worked; I was completely lucid as I rode a shopping cart around the grocery store and used the power of my mind to influence the actions of all the people there. Since then, no success. I am extremely comfortable with sleep paralysis, have extensive meditative experience, and find that the one thing that's bothering me is saliva in my mouth ... this isn't something I notice while sitting, but laying down it feels like I might choke. Suggestions? Back to the topic: The reason I am commenting is that this technique is similar to meditative techniques I've been taught where one scans the body from head to toe, observing all sensations (visual, auditorial, and touch-sense). To answer the person who asked about the body-scan, I recommend thinking about touching every surface on your body with an area roughly 5cm in diameter (smaller will take a long time), starting either at the head or the feet and working your way to the opposite end. If you find that you are able to scan the body quickly, try working with a smaller focus area - maybe 2cm in diameter instead? (I think in terms of fingertips, and usually work at 2 fingertips width starting from the head and working to the toes). Don't forget the skin behind the ears, the ridges within the ears, the armpits, the parts of the body that are against the surface on the ground, behind the knees, and the skin between the fingers and the toes. I'm going to try this technique in 1h, then every 2h after that. I'll post in the morning to keep from clogging the forum : ) Current LD goal(s): gain lucidity

ParanoiDave wrote: When you say to "find the most comfortable position," does that mean it is alright to change position after performing the reps, or am I supposed to stay in that position and fall asleep? I was confused when attempting it during a nap because I loved the feeling of the trance I was in and I didn't want to ruin it. I performed the reps on my back but I usually sleep on one of my sides. ------- ParanoiDave, it is okay to change positions. In fact that's what I normally do. I like to sleep on my left side. When I'm working on the exercise I lay flat, then upon finish I roll to the left side so I can quickly fall asleep. It is important that you feel comfortable in either position though. Zzz wrote: I have to say that this technique is the best I've tried for a beginner like me.------- Thank you Zzz, glad it helps. When you felt you were swimming, which actually happens quite commonly among people, you should have stopped the repetition and focused on increasing that sensation. My own experience is when this swimming sensation occurs, it will eventually rock you back and forth so hard that you literally get ejected out of your body! Very cool trick! thebotanyofsouls wrote:To answer the person who asked about the body-scan, I recommend thinking about touching every surface on your body with an area roughly 5cm in diameter------- Thanks thebotanyofsouls, the advice you gave on how to scan for body sensations is very useful!

I came across something quite interesting the other day while reading a book. its a induction for hypnosis that came about quite sometime ago by the wife of one of the most famous hypnotists around, betty erickson. For the most part you focus on visual, audio, touch a few times similar to sild, but first you focus on external factors. The shirt on your back for touch, something you hear, back of your eyelids or object if eyes are open, then move onto internal, see something you imagine, feel something you imagine, hear something you imagine. Thought it might give you a few ideas on improving or perfecting your sild method. I am sure you can find more info about it on google if you are interested.

cosmic.iron wrote: My own experience is when this swimming sensation occurs, it will eventually rock you back and forth so hard that you literally get ejected out of your body! Very cool trick! ------- This is exactly what happened to me last night although I wasn't doing SILD, it was just luck, I guess. Quick question, what if you fall asleep during the repetitions? Is that a problem or does it only depend on how many repetitions I was able to make before falling asleep?

mattias wrote: cosmic.iron wrote: My own experience is when this swimming sensation occurs, it will eventually rock you back and forth so hard that you literally get ejected out of your body! Very cool trick! ------- This is exactly what happened to me last night although I wasn't doing SILD, it was just luck, I guess. Quick question, what if you fall asleep during the repetitions? Is that a problem or does it only depend on how many repetitions I was able to make before falling asleep?It's perfectly okay to fall asleep while doing it . Although it probably means you are too tired, and that could have an impact on the result.

Well, my adaptation continues, slowly. I can tell my circadian rhythm is being broken up, and I am starting to REALLY crave naps at certain times of the day (like now). but I still can't get SILD/WILD down. Here's the standard experience (they are all unique, but this is the common trend) lay down. relax tension from my jaw, from my shoulders, from my hips, from my feet. focus on the back of my eyelids for 1 breath, then listen to sounds for 1 breath, then observe sensation throughout the body for one breath. Repeat this cycle with 2 breaths, three breaths, four breaths, so on. By four breaths per sense I am "comfortably numb"/experiencing mild sleep paralysis, and I continue on. Thoughts will come in, I bring my attention back to the breath and then continue the cycle where I left off. By 6-8 breaths per sense I am fully paralyzed, observing steady tingling sensations, and there is 0 hypnagogic imagery behind my eyelids - just pretty colors. I hear a high pitched ringing noise, but it's not overwhelming. my senses will begin to draw inward for a second, but snap back out with the next breath ... this goes on and on until my alarm rings and I got very little rest. Suggestions on how to get from there to the senses draw inward/hypnagogic imagery/crazy ringing sound/amazing vibratory sensations? Current LD goal(s): gain lucidity

My feeling is you are doing it too rhythmically. Don't count the breathe. You don't want precise timing. The idea is to do it in the most relaxed manner... let your mind drift... Even though the duration of each repetition does not need to be the same -- as you drift away the later repetitions might take seem forever LOL, you don't want this intentional shorter-to-longer progression. About the various sensations, if they happen vividly then you should pause and focus on increasing them. Ignore the minor ones though! The idea of SILD is to prep your mind/body for phase entrance AFTER you fall asleep. WILD during the repetition stage is only a side-effect and should not be sought after. Do SILD in the most relaxed manner, don't spend too much time. Let's it do wonders for you after you fall asleep. SILD should not cause you sleeless nights. If it does, then you are changing it to a different technique. Hope this helps.

cosmic.iron wrote:Interesting question! When I wrote "head to toe" I wasn't really being literal... but you did raise a very valid question and your findings might have some significance! I'll go back to my forum and ask them to do some experiment on this. ------- An update regarding this... I think it's not so much the order in which you do it (going from head to toe, from toe to head or whatever) but just finishing the cycle appropriatly... It for me feels more natural to treat the head as the final point so when I reached my head for me the cycle was finished...wich caused me to fall asleep deeper... The head to toe failed for me because I didn't see my toes as an (appropriate) end point...so that when I reached my toe it didn't feel like I finished the cycle... But last night it did work...it doesn't even matter which point you choose for that matter...as long as you treat that point as the final point (and so reaching it finishes the cycle) it seems to work... So it is more something like: Everytime when I reach point X (f.e. head) --> Cycle finished --> Fall asleep deeper... I see it is used in a self-hypnosis technique too...I guess that is what actually is going on...lol... I hope I explained it clear enough...if not...say so and I will give it another try...

hey! i've read this thread and tried SILD out this night and it worked! the result was one DILD, medium-lucidity. i woke up in a middle of the night and did the 3 exercises for two times.then i fell asleep. i had those strange dreams, I've seen a few aurora borealis in the air, and i thought this is strange, i live in Slovenia, aurora borealis does not appear here. so i did a RC and it worked definety gonna try this again tonight! thanks for the technique and welcome to the forum! Current LD goal(s): have as many as possible

thebotanyofsouls wrote: By 6-8 breaths per sense I am fully paralyzed, observing steady tingling sensations, and there is 0 hypnagogic imagery behind my eyelids - just pretty colors. ------- These pretty colors are probably hypnagogic imagery, but just the early stages. You usually start out with colors and patterns which then start turning into more defined shapes and then full scenes. And ok, I guess I should try to find a balance between falling asleep during the process and taking long to fall asleep after ir . I ended up trying it a bit this morning, but I mixed in some MILD too. Plus I did a WBTB and ate a banana, so all of those might have helped my lucidity (I didn't wake up right away, so that's cool!).

mattias wrote: thebotanyofsouls wrote: By 6-8 breaths per sense I am fully paralyzed, observing steady tingling sensations, and there is 0 hypnagogic imagery behind my eyelids - just pretty colors. ------- These pretty colors are probably hypnagogic imagery, but just the early stages. You usually start out with colors and patterns which then start turning into more defined shapes and then full scenes. And ok, I guess I should try to find a balance between falling asleep during the process and taking long to fall asleep after ir . I ended up trying it a bit this morning, but I mixed in some MILD too. Plus I did a WBTB and ate a banana, so all of those might have helped my lucidity (I didn't wake up right away, so that's cool!).mattias, so it worked! Yes, mixing in MILD and WBTB will definitely increase your chance with SILD, or you could say vice versa, LOL.

I ended up trying a bit more MILD/SILD and when I got to the hearing part I heard music vividly . I've heard HH music many times but I never enter a dream with it, I guess it's because it's not that simple to associate it to a dream scene. So this time I realized that and stoped focusing on the music and imagined the sound of my hands rubbing and hitting a surface, and I entered a LD from there I'll keep trying this mixture of MILD and SILD plus WBTB whenever I can/remember, since I bet more practice will give me even better results.

So, I thought I'd check in and post my progress. I think I'm using the WILD technique more than SILD, although I am very aware of the sensations within my body and check in with it very regularly (not counting breaths though - thanks for that tidbit!) as I go about this. Last night I had the most intense not-quite-step through experience I've had since my first WILD! I was taking one of my late night naps (1am) and I was listening to a sleep induction track (gnAural has a couple of powernap tracks that work well for learning to nap), and the colors were just SO BRIGHT! I kept feeling lighter, and lighter, and the world outside just felt less and less distinct, and wow, the pretty colors ... and then I was looking at my hands. I made them do a tai chi holding ball in the space, had a smile (not sure if I actually smiled) and then the wake-up cycle started, so I let it go. Excited to get back to that place though! I think I'm making progress. gnAural has by far aided my progress in learning to nap, and thus make it deeper into SP and experiencing hypnagogia. Highly recommended - I made a 20 minute nap track for it, and if napping is a skill you'd like to learn, PM me and I'll send you the link for it. FYI mattias, I wish I could click like on your avatar : ) Current LD goal(s): gain lucidity

ShaneTheShaman wrote: Just one question, when you say to scan your body, do you mean to stay in a still position and feel the senses on your hands and toes, or do you actually wiggle your toes and move your hands? ------- Actually you can do either. Wiggling will probably create better result, but may wake you too much. You need to find what best suits you thebotanyofsouls wrote: fun fact: that meditative exercise, applied for 10 years straight and using increasingly smaller focus points, was how the Buddha finally attained enlightenment - it's called vipassana meditation, and is very useful for beginning and experienced meditators alike. ------- That's very interesting! I need to check that out!

This technique is great. The first time I used it yesterday I had two lucid dreams in one night (that's super good for me) and a false awakening that I nearly caught. I recalled other more vivid dreams as well. I'm gonna use this again tonight. Thanks! Current LD goal(s): Create a song in a dream and bring it into the real world.

I finally used this properly and had success with it. After waking up a second time I was able to easily induce a WILD as HI came on during the vision part. I will say this, it felt a lot like I had been using a relaxation technique. In the end, I think that is what SILD really does. It relaxes your body and mind making active techniques easier, and also adds to your general awareness which seems to help with passive techniques. I'm still not prepared to call this a holy grail or miracle, but I will continue to use it because it does seem to help with very little effort. I'm sure I'll report back later Current LD goal(s): Defeat Xander in our lucid duel!

I've had some pretty intense hallucinations (visual, feeling, sound) when using this technique while lying on my back. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of getting into SP as I don't want to have demons sitting on me So my question is: does this technique require you to lie on your back / does it loose its effectiveness if lying on your side or stomach? For some reason I only expect to get into SP while lying on my back. Thanks.

thaifly wrote: So my question is: does this technique require you to lie on your back / does it loose its effectiveness if lying on your side or stomach? For some reason I only expect to get into SP while lying on my back. Thanks.SPs do not always occur when using SILD so don't fear too much -- it might be a different experience next time. As for your question, it doesn't matter what position you use to sleep. Just use one that's comfortable, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep right away without completing at least a few cycles. Rhewin wrote: I finally used this properly and had success with it. After waking up a second time I was able to easily induce a WILD as HI came on during the vision part. ------- Glad it worked, Rhewin. Your observation makes a lot of sense. I look forward to hear more your feedbacks.