I've given this method a go using wbtb the last 3 nights with no success :'( , although i had a FA yesterday but im not sure if that has anything to do with this method. One question , I wear a face mask while sleeping so the sunlight doesn't wake me up in the morning , will that affect this method at all or is it ok to keep wearing it?  

I find it hard to concentrate on the 3 steps and yes , I find it a little bit difficult to fall back to sleep after attempting SSILD. Any tips?  

Originally Posted by Sydney:
So last night I got the same result - I woke up after about an hour (after WBTB) and decided to fall asleep again so that I would get something out of SSILD. I did, and then I woke up in what felt like this weird feeling. I can't remember exactly the feeling, but I felt kinda heavy, and maybe I felt small vibrations. Not sure though.

This lasted about 10 seconds. I didn't want to move because I thought it was real SP, and I could have waited for a DEILD! But just like yesterday night, after the 10 seconds or so, it stopped. I'm not sure if I "fell asleep" or "woke up", but I"m pretty sure it was the latter. It was probably an FA.

It seems like I'm getting closer!  I just gotta realize those tricky FAs.
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One way to counter this kind of situation is to always do another round of SSILD.  If you are in an FA, chances are those sensations -- visuals, sounds, and body movements will become pronounced almost immediately.  

so i should just allow my mind to drift and keep bringing it back to do the exercise?  

Woo! Great success. I followed CosmicIron's advice to let my mind drift (usually I killed whatever direction my mind was going) and did the technique. It took me awhile to go to sleep. I'm talking about at least a half hour, but when it happened I didn't notice because my dream started with me lying in bed trying to sleep and giving up. I go to walk my dog and despite it supposedly being 7AM it looks more like 8AM. I notice this and do a reality check and bam, I realize I'm dreaming!

I have a question though. Personally, I felt like I was in control but there is thing that happened twice where its like it randomly cuts and that makes me question. Let me explain. I was walking with this girl and we were just wandering around my neighborhood and the next second we were wandering around a Wal-Mart. I was still lucid at that moment, but how could that happen if I was fully lucid and in control? I didn't even doubt why all of a sudden I'm in Wal-Mart.  

What are some because I've had quite a few LD's using this technique but probably only 2-3 where I'v felt I was truly in control of myself.  

Can you give us a link to this article ?

CosmicIron, there is a small Brazilian Lucid Dreaming forum and they seem to don't know about this technique around here, I wanted to ask you if I could translate it to portuguese and publish on this forum ?

Is there any name to whom I have to give the credits ? Or I just mention you as "a member known as CosmicIron from DV forum" ?  

This technique doesn't seem to be producing good consistent results for anyone.  Sure some people have gotten an LD or two, but after that everyone seems to have trouble with this technique.  

Originally Posted by rynkrt3:
This technique doesn't seem to be producing good consistent results for anyone.  Sure some people have gotten an LD or two, but after that everyone seems to have trouble with this technique.

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I completely agree. I don't mean to talk bad about someone else's technique but I think your time would be better spent on better, more proven-to-work techniques. Now, this isn't to say I think this technique is all bad, I believe it has its uses but not with the intended use of this technique. I believe the hanging onto senses is great for both dream incubation and as an anchor when you are WILDing.

Originally Posted by Rubens:
Well, I had 5 LDs and a semi-LD with it, not mentioning about 5 FA's that I lost

So, I'm an exception.
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It's highly possible that what you're having are just MILDs and nothing to do with this technique.  

Originally Posted by rynkrt3:
This technique doesn't seem to be producing good consistent results for anyone.  Sure some people have gotten an LD or two, but after that everyone seems to have trouble with this technique.

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That is simply not true. By speaking for "everyone", I assume you have collected some statistical data on a pretty large sample base, or is it just an "impression"?  As with ANY technique, to make it work consistently requires one to keep performing the technique in correct manner with some personal adjustments.  As I've repeatedly said, SSILD is not a technique that's developed solely based on individual experience.  It was the result of collaborative efforts of many people.  Thus, it never lacked clearly documented testimonials since the very beginning.  There are hundreds of first-time success stories, thousands of repeated success, and dozens of people who managed to use the technique to induce LDs/OBEs at will.  All of these mentioned can be found online, albeit mostly in Chinese.  Compared to some of the well-known techniques such as MILD, SSILD is indeed in its infancy, but it does work and there are statistics backing it up.  If it once worked for you but stopped working, I suggest you re-visit the article and read it more carefully.  You should also compare what you are doing now with the times it worked.  Of course, you are free to choose the technique that works best for you, and in no way I'm suggesting SSILD is the best solution for everyone.  

Originally Posted by mindfckk:
So basically, I felt vibrations, my heart was beating very fast.

However, after a few seconds, it stopped...

Do I have to do something while this happens??
Could you develop a bit what you mean by "hung into these sensations" ??
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That's kinda what happened to me for a couple of days. According to CosmicIron, you were probably in a False Awakening when you felt those vibrations. When it stopped, I think that meant you were "transitioning" from the dream state to real life. You just didn't notice it. So what CosmicIron told me to do was to just do another round - cycle - of SSILD. If you were in a false awakening, those senses would be intensified. You would know you were dreaming by then.

What I think he means by saying "hang onto these sensations," means like, I guess just to focus on them, or to focus on them passively. I'm not sure - CosmicIron will have to tell you that  

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
That is simply not true. By speaking for "everyone", I assume you have collected some statistical data on a pretty large sample base, or is it just an "impression"?  As with ANY technique, to make it work consistently requires one to keep performing the technique in correct manner with some personal adjustments.  As I've repeatedly said, SSILD is not a technique that's developed solely based on individual experience.  It was the result of collaborative efforts of many people.  Thus, it never lacked clearly documented testimonials since the very beginning.  There are hundreds of first-time success stories, thousands of repeated success, and dozens of people who managed to use the technique to induce LDs/OBEs at will.  All of these mentioned can be found online, albeit mostly in Chinese.  Compared to some of the well-known techniques such as MILD, SSILD is indeed in its infancy, but it does work and there are statistics backing it up.  If it once worked for you but stopped working, I suggest you re-visit the article and read it more carefully.  You should also compare what you are doing now with the times it worked.  Of course, you are free to choose the technique that works best for you, and in no way I'm suggesting SSILD is the best solution for everyone.

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I was wondering...could you link us to that Chinese forum?

Could you point us to people who collaborated on this?

Could you share some of those publications you mentioned producing on that other forum?

I think many here would like to read that info.

Also:
I don't have an accurate statistic but based on the reports we'ver gathered, the success rate is at least 50% if not higher. One thing we do know is that once you get a hang of this it produces consistent results. On the Chinese forum I worked with a smaller group of people, approximately 50, very closely, interacting with them on a daily basis. Five of them learnt to be able to succeed on a daily basis. They were complete amateurs with no prior experience with lucid dreaming. The average time for them to achieve this consistent result is about two months. Aside from these five people, all other members have experienced success, mostly within the first week, and they can average at least one or two LD/OBEs per week. The technique was first released on that forum in August last year. To date we have collected hundreds of detailed report on success.

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Throughout the years I've recorded thousands of LDs and OBEs.
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Would it be possible to share some of this research? I think it would help people greatly, particularly reading the experiences of others.  

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
You are free to believe or not believe in something.  However, calling people idiots like that will only discredit you.  You asked for evidence so I gave that to you -- more than 200 of them, collected in only a few months; yet again you accuse me of being untruthful without providing any explanation.  To me, that IS "nasty".

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Lol woah. I guess you cant see that i made a joke? I was basically making a comment on how messed up google translate is. Also i apologized once before... whats your problem?  

Alright boys, it's just a misunderstanding. Emotion is nearly impossible to read in a text-only post.

So, I also looked over that Chinese forum. Google Translate produces some fascinating results. It's amazing how metaphors don't translate well from one language to another.

Still, I could understand a lot from context, and their thread is just like ours. Some success stories, some half-success stories, and some failures. Apparently people dream the same all over the world, no surprise to anyone here.

I did notice there are only 232 posts in that thread, and even with a 50% success rate that wouldn't equal 'hundreds' of cases.

Who cares?!

CosmicIron, we appreciate your sharing this idea with this forum. Many people will find it beneficial.

For those that don't, no worries. We have a number of other methods in the WIKI and all over the forum. Nearly all of them are some variation of another method. What matters is what works for the individual to achieve good lucid dreaming results.:

- No method guarantees success with every person.

- Not every person will lucid dream.

We are all here to make our best efforts. Let's all work towards that goal and be open to new ideas.    

Originally Posted by melanieb:
Alright boys, it's just a misunderstanding. Emotion is nearly impossible to read in a text-only post.

So, I also looked over that Chinese forum. Google Translate produces some fascinating results. It's amazing how metaphors don't translate well from one language to another.

Still, I could understand a lot from context, and their thread is just like ours. Some success stories, some half-success stories, and some failures. Apparently people dream the same all over the world, no surprise to anyone here.

I did notice there are only 232 posts in that thread, and even with a 50% success rate that wouldn't equal 'hundreds' of cases.

Who cares?!

CosmicIron, we appreciate your sharing this idea with this forum. Many people will find it beneficial.

For those that don't, no worries. We have a number of other methods in the WIKI and all over the forum. Nearly all of them are some variation of another method. What matters is what works for the individual to achieve good lucid dreaming results.:

- No method guarantees success with every person.

- Not every person will lucid dream.

We are all here to make our best efforts. Let's all work towards that goal and be open to new ideas.  
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Thank you melaniebe for the clarification, which is sincere and with good intention, unlike some other previous posts.  As for the thread let me clarify a little.  The url points to a single thread which I started some time ago to collect first-time only success stories which are scattered all over the forum.  The tieba platform is technically limited, thus it's search result only includes data from the first three months and the most recent three months.  The rest of the data are simply omitted.  As a result, by the time I decided to start that thread much of the information was already impossible to find.  After collecting a couple of hundred cases we just gave up and stopped updating the thread diligently.  As for repeated successes with SSILD we see them all over the place in the forum.  In fact, one of the students alone recorded over 300 LDs in the past few months using Ssild.  Another thing worth mention is that the thread is based on my personal tieba forum which has fewer than 2,000 members.  These people followed me from the much larger lucid dream forum which now has over 70,000 members.  A lot of information is deeply burried in that forum as well.  

Hmm. I'll try this tonight, you'll be getting the results tomorrow  looks promising  

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
Usually when we wake up during REM we feel less drowsy.  As for SSILD, if you find yourself having difficulty to complete the first couple of cycles then you are too tired to make it work.  You would be better of going to sleep and do the exercise when you wake up again.  I find no difference between using alarm and waking up naturally though.  
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Ok  

Originally Posted by Freda:
They never report back tomorrow :/So sorry!  I'm going to try the SSILD this night! Promise!  

For the past 2 days I have been adjusting this tech to my personal advantages.In these past 2 days i have gotten 3 lucid dreams and about 4-5 fa's,i really recommend anyone who is thinking of trying it to try it now!  

Tried again this night, and it didn't go so well after about 2 repetitions, my thoughts started wandering, and I didn't feel like I got any proper inputs from my eyes, ears and rest-of-body... Then I just fell asleep, and woke up many times...

EDIT:  Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
This thecnique is very good at producing extremely vivid FAs.
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Hmm... I may have got some FAs... When I think about it, I dreamed that I talked to a person about my dreams that I had that night. Don't remember if it was before of after I did the SSILD..  

Ok, just read the whole thread (phew..) so I am trying this tonight for sure!  

Hey CosmicIron, I have been trying SSILD for a few nights.  I am having trouble finding the "happy medium" between being too tired and not being sleepy.  Also, even when I do find the right amount of tired-ness, it just doesn't seem to do anything.  I don't know what I am doing wrong here.  SSILD worked for me the first time I tried it, now I can't get it to do anything.  

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
Hi Dave,

You don't need to try deliberately to fall asleep. Doing that will have adverse effect. Treat the cycles as hypnosis (in fact it is), and allow that to bring you into the "trance". Many people, myself included, have discovered that the cycles can easily make us feel sleepy even when we were wide awake. That is, if you do them correctly.  Too many people try to use the cycles as way to bring out HIs, vibrations, and etc., and while they occasionally may succeed, they are doing it wrong.  Usually during the first couple of cycles, we are wide awake, and our mind haven't quieted down yet.  As a result it is very unlikely we will feel anything at this stage, and if you force it, you will end up becoming anxious!  Therefore, you should simply do the first couple of cycles as it is, without any attempt. Just do it for the sake of doing it, allow it help you to relax. As you become more relaxed, you will feel your mind quieting down, and you may begin to "notice" some sensations. For example, the darkness behind your closed eyelids may not be so dark. You may notice some lights, movements, etc. As you listen, you may notice that the outside environment noise become less distracting, and instead you start to hear the ringing noise inside your head more clearly. When you notice these sensations, don't get excited, and don't "focus" on them (unless suddenly they become very obvious). Just quietly observe them without any intent. Doing so will help you get into the trance very quickly.

Another thing you want to keep in mind is that SSILD is very good at producing FAs; therefore you need to develop the habit of doing RCs every time you wake up after the exercise. When you find yourself not being able to fall asleep, or repeatedly waking up, you should definitely do an RC since these are signs of FAs produced by SSILD.

If you post more detailed description on how you performed the technique I might be able to help you more. SSILD works! It has been a year since it was developed and we have seen huge successes, so even the slightest doubts have diminished. If it doesn't work for you, then it's something in your routine that needs some fixing. I'm here to help.

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This morning I attempted SSILD again.  I woke up at 7:00AM after 6 hours of sleep.  I stayed awake for about 20 minutes, walking around the house and such.  I went back to bed already feeling tired, but not too tired as I couldn't get my repetitions completed.  During the repetitions I felt eventually felt an odd feeling, but it wasn't very .  I am not sure exactly how many I did, but I think I did at least 4.  By then I was so tired that I stopped and rolled over and went to sleep.  I woke up at 12:12PM remembering 3 dreams, none of them lucid.  

The only slight trouble I have had performing the technique is that my eyes are very twitchy when I try to stare at my eyelids.  My eyes refuse to cooperate and move around so I can't stare.  I think this might be related to the fact that I have abnormally shaky hands, arms and such.  Anyway, it is difficult to look at my eyelids when my eyes are zooming around in random directions, refusing to stay still.  I am no sure how to make them stop, because thinking about it only seems to make it worse.  

I was thinking maybe it is possible that I am having lucids/FA's and not remembering them, so I was thinking about setting an alarm maybe an hour after doing SSILD, what are your thoughts on that?

Thank you very much for your help and I know soon I will succeed with this technique.  

Hi, I just registered to try and get some help with this technique. So far, I've had no real success with it and I've done it for about a week. I start using it, and it works for a bit. I'll start seeing mental images, hearing sounds, etc. About the time I start getting anything close to a dream, I'll completely forget I was ever doing the techniques, fall asleep, which I thought was the idea...and nothing happens. The closest thing I've gotten to lucidity was a dream about me closing my window because it was cold when it was in fact cold because I left the window open.

What am I doing wrong? I'm not really concentrating on anything, I'm doing WBTB when I have a chance, but it doesn't work during the night or during daytime naps. I do leave a fan on in my room because I find it easier to fall asleep with white noise in the background. Is this okay, or should I learn to fall asleep without it? It's also not always completely dark when I go to sleep as my curtains don't block a lot of light.  

Originally Posted by CosmicIron:
Please provide me with the following information:

1. What time did you go to sleep?
2. What time did you get up?
3. How long did you stay awake?
4. How many cycles did you perform before drifting to sleep?
5. How long did it take you to fall back sleep?
6. Roughly how long did you perform each step (see, hear, and feel)?
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1. ~9 PM (Yeah, I know, I go to bed early.)
2. Set my alarm for 3 AM
3. Just long enough to use the restroom.
4. Maybe two or three.
5. Only a few minutes. The first time I did this, I lost sleep because I was concentrating too hard.

6. I performed them as long as it felt "right." Whatever felt like 15 seconds, I did. Could've been longer or shorter, I suppose, I wasn't paying attention.