A little disclaimer: There are many similarities between SSILD and the other lucid dream induction methods such as WILD, MILD, etc. In fact, if you wish, you could label SSILD as a derivative of those methods, or you could simply write it off as an old method with a new name since the differences may be rather subtle. Also I'm not sure if this name has been taken, so if it was then please let me know so I can change it to something else.  

Update! The steps for SSILD have been revised as of January 2013.  Please check the SSILD blog for an entry that describes the latest way of executing the technique: 太玄功: Senses Initiated Lucid Dream (SSILD) Official Tutorial

Background

While teaching lucid dreaming to novices I realize that many popular methods share a fundamental problem. That is, they all require too much finesse. For example, the typical WILD techniques require proper relaxation which by itself is a difficult subject. Another example is affirmation -- how do you do affirmation effectively? We all know that simply chanting mantras will not do the trick. Same goes for visualization, breathing, and the list just goes on and on.

We need a method that is as effective as it is idiot-proof, hence the creation of the SSILD technique. A large group of people, mainly novices, participated in testing the new method, and within months we received many hundreds of reports of success. And unlike some techniques that only work for the first couple of times, SSILD users report consistent result from regular usage. Many even learned to induce LDs and OBEs on daily basis.

Theory

We do not know why exactly SSILD works. One user pointed out that the method shares some resemblance with the self-hypnosis method introduced by Betty Erickson, wife of the late Dr. Milton H. Erickson. Another theory is that by repeated stimulation of the various senses in a trance-like state, we incubate our mind and body into the right condition suited for entering a DILD, WILD, or OBE.

Regardless the theory, it is utterly crucial to keep in mind that SSILD is not strictly a WILD technique. While many users report successful LD/OBE induction from the waking state, this method is equally effective at inducing DILDs. In fact, I ly suggest users treat it solely as a DILD technique in order to use it in the most effective manner.

Step-by-step

1. The best time to practice is after 4 or 5 hours of sleep. You could also combine the practice with WBTB for maximum effect but it is not required. DO NOT do this at the start of your sleep -- it will NOT work! The only exception is afternoon naps since you enter directly into REM.

2. Repeat the following procedures 4 or 5 times. DO NOT attempt too many repetitions even if you don't feel anything. Remember you are not doing a WILD. You are simply setting things up for OBEs and LDs to occur at later point. If you repeat too many times you may risk losing sleep thus destroys the purpose.

2a) With your eyes closed, stare at the darkness behind your eyelids for 15-20 seconds. Try to pick up any colors, lights, or images, but do not strain your eye muscle. If you see nothing but darkness, that's fine. Again, we are not striving to induce dreams from the waked state, so do NOT force it. It is perfectly fine to not feel anything.

2b) Listen to the noises in your ears for 15-20 seconds. Chances are you will hear some light humming and buzzing sound. See if you can hear it more clearly. If you don't hear anything that's okay.

2c) Notice any strange body sensations such as heaviness, tingling, and movements. Pay attention particularly to the head, hands, fingers, abdomen, feet, and toes. Again, it is perfectly fine if you don't feel anything strange.

The above steps should be performed in a relaxed manner, slowly, lazily, and without any rational thoughts. The 15-20 seconds duration is for your reference only, so do NOT count in your head! Chances are, after a couple of repetitions you will begin to feel sleepy, to the point your mind may drift away and forget to continue the exercise. Congratulations, this is exactly the effect we are after! When this happens just pull your mind back a bit and resume from where you drifted away. If you lost count of the repetitions then simply do a new set. It won't hurt.

3. Find the most comfortable position and try to fall asleep as quickly as possible! The quicker you fall asleep the more likely you will succeed later in your dreams!

What's going to happen

Several things may happen through this exercise:

1. After you fall asleep, you may suddenly wake up with a strange sensation. You will feel wide awake, and your body weightless. At this point just do a reality check and roll out from your bed to begin an OBE.

2. You wake up with vibrations and other strange sensations. Hung onto these sensations will lead you into an OBE.

3. You suddenly become lucid in your dreams with no apparent reasons, or you may begin to suspect you are dreaming.

4. You have a False Awakening. Unlike the first experience, you may feel awake but still drowsy. FAs will occur frequently with SSILD, therefore you should get used to it and become good at identifying them.

5. A WILD or direct OBE. Phase entrance may occur during the repetition, with your mind still awake. When this happens, many of the sensations become amplified. You should stop doing any further exercises, and begin focusing on the sensations until you successfully enter the phase.

6. If all else fail you can try the following technique as a last resort. Upon waking up again, which you eventually will after step 3, try relax your head and allow it to sink into the pillow. If done correctly you will generate vibrations and enter an OBE from a fully waked state. This works because SSILD has prepared your body and mind to enter a phase easily. In fact if you increase the number of repetitions you may be able to do this even before you fall asleep from step 3!

About me

My personal research and practice on lucid dreaming dates back in early 90s. Throughout the years I've recorded thousands of LDs and OBEs. Two years ago I joined a lucid dreaming forum in China, and since then have become one of their prominent writers and trainers. The forum quickly grew to over 60,000 active members. This provided me with an excellent test bed for new ideas. Together we developed and refined the SSILD method more than 8 months ago. Today it is being actively practiced and improved upon by thousands of people.

Common causes for loss of sleep

Being unable to fall asleep easily after the cycles is a common problem encountered by inexperienced users of the SSILD technique, there are several possible causes:

1. False Awakening. No I'm not kidding. What you are experiencing could well be an FA and this is very common after doing SSILD. You basically just lay there trying to fall asleep while you are already asleep. One way to work around this is to do additional repetitions when you find you are unable to sleep. Assuming you are in an FA, or sometimes a light trance, then the cycling technique will usually result in very apparent HIs, ringing sounds, vibrations, or other effects. When the effects occur you can simple do an RA, and then roll out of the bed to begin an OBE.

2. You are focusing too much on producing the effects/sensations while doing the reps. Remember, WILD and OBE are by products of SSILD. They should not be sought after. When you do the cycles, do NOT expect anything will happen. You should focus on losing focus. That's the right way to do SSILD.

3. Rational thoughts entering the mind while doing the cycles. It's fine to let your mind drift to other things, but you should NEVER analyize what you are doing! Oh, do NOT count either. You don't want precision!

4. Deliberately trying to relax. Remember, SSILD is very much a self hypnosis tool, so you should rely on that to put you into sleep. Don't mix in any relaxation techniques befor or after! And certainly do not attempt to stay relaxed during the repetitions. You just get comfortable, and leave the relaxation part to the technique.

5. Interruption. This is the single biggest killer. If you are repeatedly interrupted, whether by sudden noises, discomforts, or others, you should seize doing the exercise and go to sleep right away. You can always do it again later, so do not force it.  

Hm..

This is very interesting, and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. I can see how you don't understand how it works, though. There doesn't appear to be any direct connection to dreaming at all!

Very odd. I think I'll try it sometime.  

I do this naturally. It's interesting that some people seem to need a guide, for what is instinctual in others.  

Not really... Robert Monroe, Frank Kepple, and many people also used that term long ago... and I happen to like the term in addition to lack of better terms  

Originally Posted by Indeed:
Hm..

This is very interesting, and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. I can see how you don't understand how it works, though. There doesn't appear to be any direct connection to dreaming at all!

Very odd. I think I'll try it sometime.
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LOL yeah we don't really know why it works... We can only guess.  After seeing the self-hypnosis technique from Betty Erickson, which bears a lot resemblance with SSILD, I began suspect it has something to do with self hypnosis.  

This sounds really interesting.  So, I get up with an alarm after around 5 hours of sleep, cycle through the senses and try to fall asleep, is that about it?  

This seems interesting. I think I'll try  ,,  

Waking up and laying completely still, that's called a DEILD, and it takes no special skills. No need to overcomplicate things.  

So, there is a way that this technique could help you to WILD?
But it's not exactly a WILD technique?
So to achieve a WILD with this tech, do you just keep doing the repetitions over again?
I'm kind of unsure.  

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
However, when the condition is not met, for example, when you are rather wide awake, the method will unlikely do you any good.

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Mr. Raduga says that this is a common misconception that people have that being too awake is going to reduce ones chances.  From years of seminar research and results the level of 'wakefulness' that one has is irrelevant to a successful phase entrance.

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
You can try wiggle your fingers without using muscle but that will feel genuinely fake. You then move on to stare behind your eyelids but you will see nothing but blackness. You then try squeezing your brain but that simply feel weird... Let's face it, how are you supposed to squeeze your brain? Of course, all of these become very easy and real when you are in the phase or are on the edge of a phase, but the exercise itself is not really designed to move you toward the phase. In fact, the amount of concentration demanded by the exercise will often leave you wide awake!

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The most recent research of Mr. Raduga is that phantom wiggling, swimming technique, rotation and imaging rubbing hands in front of one's face are the most effective indirect techniques.  We often are in the 'phase' state immediately upon waking.  I have many times awoken, keeping completely still, and immediately just left my physical body by getting up like I would do with my physical body.  If this doesn't happen then 'Indirect Techniques' are then necessary to move one towards the phase state.  

Originally Posted by Sydney:
So, there is a way that this technique could help you to WILD?
But it's not exactly a WILD technique?
So to achieve a WILD with this tech, do you just keep doing the repetitions over again?
I'm kind of unsure.
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When you practice the instructions you may enter a lucid dream or an OBE before going back to sleep or you may enter a lucid dream or OBE when you have gone back to sleep.  It is a WILD though many would argue that this is a DEILD method, another form of WILD.  As CosmicIron says repeat the procedure 4 or 5 times.

EDIT: Sorry for multi-posting, its late and Im tired.  

Originally Posted by MysticalSophie:
A very interesting method.
As you said, it doesn't hurt to try, so I think I'll do that =)
However, i'm a bit insecure about OBE. Although I understand the concept, it's still feel a bit weird. I never had one so maybe that's why I feel a bit unconfortable to imagine me having an OBE.

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As I pointed out earlier getting up out of my body seems just as normal as getting up out of my bed in my physical body  

Originally Posted by mcwillis:
Mr. Raduga says that this is a common misconception that people have that being too awake is going to reduce ones chances.  From years of seminar research and results the level of 'wakefulness' that one has is irrelevant to a successful phase entrance.

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I'm not familiar with this particular terminology or what is meant by "phase entrance", I'm assuming it's just a transitional stage of WILD? However I definitely to not believe that it is a misconception that it is more difficult to induce a WILD when one is more awake. Wakefulness is definitely not irrelevant. On the contrary, a successful WILD involves a pretty narrow margin of awareness in that you should not be too awake or too sleepy during the transition if you are to succeed. But I may be misunderstanding your point, if so, please clarify.  

Originally Posted by mcwillis:
1:  Sleep approximately uninterrupted for six hours
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I'd be ecstatic if I could sleep uninterrupted for 3 hours these days.

Originally Posted by mcwillis:
Hope this explains.
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It does, thank you.  

Originally Posted by nina:
Waking up and laying completely still, that's called a DEILD, and it takes no special skills. No need to overcomplicate things.

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Let me clarify, SSILD does not require you to wake up and lay completely still.  In fact if you do that you change the technique to something else and result may vary.  SSILD works best when combined with WBTB after 4-6 hours of quality sleep.  During the exercise one should feel as comfortable as possible, so if staying still makes one uncomfortable then slight movement is permitted such as scratching, rolling, etc.  

Originally Posted by mcwillis:
When you practice the instructions you may enter a lucid dream or an OBE before going back to sleep or you may enter a lucid dream or OBE when you have gone back to sleep.  It is a WILD though many would argue that this is a DEILD method, another form of WILD.  As CosmicIron says repeat the procedure 4 or 5 times.

EDIT: Sorry for multi-posting, its late and Im tired.
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If one practices each of the 3 steps (see, listen, and feel) with aggression -- intending to produce immediate sensations, then it becomes a WILD method.  I usually discourage new users from doing this as it can cause unexpected side effects and sometimes make the technique less useful.  However, more experienced users know how to adjust the level of aggression to suit their conditions, and will provide excellent results.  Below is a very unique experience recorded by one of the users in another forum.  He used the technique for active phase entrance:

I just finished a Phase session where I used your cycling technique. In about 5 minutes I felt my physical focus waning. Then the strangest thing happened. I was was doing step 3 (which is to notice any strange body sensations) and all of a sudden I had a full vision of my body. It was dark in the area and I was kind of like outlined in white energy. Then something that looked like a "pac-man" head started to gobble my toes and work it's way up my leg, it did the same to the other leg and kept going higher. Piece by piece my physical body was being devoured. There was no pain or gore, since my body was just an outline. The sensation was incredible, the next thing I know my entire body is gone and I am in a land with the most vivid scenery and colors I have been too yet. The sensations of watching my body disappearing and then leaving me as just "total 100% conscious energy" was the most exhilarating I have ever had. The mental picture of this really drove that point home.  

Originally Posted by mcwillis:
I don't want to come across as being critical or pedantic but this is WBTB by definition and the instructions could be confusing to some.

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Good point mcwillis  Now I re-read my post it was indeed confusing. LOL  

Originally Posted by Sydney:
Oh my gosh. This technique is amazing!
So last night, I woke up after 5 hours of sleep, went to the restroom, then got back in bed. I did about, 5 cycles (If I remember correctly.) Then I got comfortable and did one cycle for some reason. After a few minutes I turned over once more (now on my stomach) and fell asleep.

I woke up.. and my body was completely paralyzed! I could not move. I think I could open my eyes, but I didn't want to! I got really scared. I heard these weird wind sounds in my ears or something, and my body just felt heavy and numb (it was a bit hazy at this part, can't remember much). I just decided, "What the heck, I'm getting out of this!" (I've done this before, and I ended up in a FA) So I tried wriggling my head, then my arms, then my fingers, and finally "broke" out of SP. I lay motionless , still lying on my stomach in my bed. Then I thought to myself, "Crap. I shouldn't have done that." But then I RCed out of reflex, and what do you know, I was in an FA! I got really excited. Still laying on my stomach, I used my arms and "pushed" me out of bed. It was extremely hard to do this. It was like pushing a rusted lever or something (kind of like I was "stuck" to the bed). Then I saw it was dark in my room so I got scared once more (I'm always afraid of seeing scary things in my dreams, like weird shadows and such).

So eventually after my adventure filled lucid dream (it was pretty vivid at the start, then I kind of lost lucidity at the end), I woke up. I remember going throughout the morning, kind of sad that I didn't have any more time to use the technique in the night, because of school. Then it faded. I woke up in my bed.

I guess I missed my opportunity for another lucid dream. Tricky tricky false awakenings

I looked at my clock and, all of that happened in less than 2 hours! How awesome is that!
Definetly trying this again tonight!

Oh yeah, and what could that be classified as? DEILD? FA? Not sure. (it's for putting it in my sig )

(Sorry for the long post...)
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Glad it worked for you!   Yes, SSILD is very good at producing FAs!  As for classification, I like to call it a hybrid of WILD and DILD, or maybe self-hypnosis... who knows, LOL.  BTW, next time you find yourself stuck during an OBE, don't force it.  Start by rubbing your hands, and then imagine yourself spinning.  Once you start spinning you can get up easily.  If the room appears dark, you can try shouting "Lights up!" Or flipping light switches can also produce excellent results. Sometimes the room may not light up, but flip it a few times then something will definitely lit -- for example, the outdoors might turn to day light, street lamps might get turned on, stars may shine...  

Wait... I don't want to do an OBE, especially not by accident... Should I still use this? Could it be used only for inducing lucid dreams (through FAs I guess)?  

Yeah, I don't really want an OBE either. Is there a difference? (For me, I thought an OBE was a more vivid, realistic kind of consciousness-thingy...)  

They say in an obe there is silver chord attached to your dream body.  

Originally Posted by Chetan:
Quote from Mr Radugas book "A practical Guide book"
Pg No 16

"Dream consciousness is also considered to be a phase
experience. If you suddenly realize that you're dreaming while
asleep, then that's already the phase. You should therefore
proceed to implement your plan of action and stabilize the
state. If dream consciousness does arise, it would be a side
effect of doing technique cycles upon awakenings. This side
effect is quite common - always be ready for":
This is what SILD is about.
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Please see my previous post regarding the subtle differences between SSILD and Michael's technique.  They are similar but there are distinct differences between the two methods, especially in the way these cycles should be performed.  I'd rather say SSILD is more closely related to Betty Ericson's self-hypnosis technique.  

Originally Posted by Chetan:
They say in an obe there is silver chord attached to your dream body.
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This is typically accepted as a fact by people who practice astral projections.  However, in an OBE or LD, you often see what you want to see, and your beliefs play a determining role on that.  

Okay, thanks.  

Originally Posted by Sydney:
Yeah, I don't really want an OBE either. Is there a difference? (For me, I thought an OBE was a more vivid, realistic kind of consciousness-thingy...)

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Actually your previous experience could be classified as an OBE!  I always suspect people who say OBEs are more realistic are just bluffing.  Yes, OBEs can be realistic, but so does LDs.  OBEs can also be totally unrealistic just like LDs -- for example, very often people start from their childhood houses instead of their current one... would you call that realistic?  Indeed some OBEs can occur during NREM, but those NREM-based OBEs are often very poor in quality, nothing realistic at all.  Often people equal OBEs with "experiencing reality without physical body", and IMO that is very misleading.