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Recent Lucidity
1/09/10 9:30AM:
The night before I was discussing Lucid Dreaming with some friends at an art
gallery. I hadn't had much lucid activity in some time. In the
morning I think I woke up but didn't get up or open my eyes. After a while
I felt a shift to what I guessed was an alpha state - very peaceful. At
that point I decided to try entering lucidity from this semi-conscious state.
I walked toward a dream scene. Shortly after I found myself drifting
slowly down from high up near the side of a tall hotel on the beach. As I
came down to land on the sand I had already started to plan some dream play.
I took off flying. Soon I was floating in a lake surrounded by rough
shoreline and random wooden docks and gazebos. I moved to the shore as I
wanted to see the level of detail in the sand and branches on the banks.
The detail was incredible - further re-enforcing the fact that lucid dreams are
actually more complex and realistic than the world we consider real. I
walked through fields in between people who could not see me and then flew off
some more. At some point I became aware of my body again sleeping in the
bed and strangely I felt the presence of two spirits one to my left and the
other talking gibberish directly behind my neck at my right. What this had
to do with anything is still beyond me. I was a bit concerned, but
eventually pulled myself back into the dream state and after a while had brought
myself away from the external stimuli from my body and to a completely internal
environment again - then I flew off and started spinning to prove release from
my body. If you are still accepting stimuli from your sleeping body it can
inhibit your ability to move in your dreams. This is why people have
trouble running away from danger in dreams, the intensity wakes them slightly
and they realize that their body's movement is impeded - by the bed, sheets,
pillow, natural sleep paralysis etc. After I awoke, I tried to re-enter
lucidity, but was already too awake. Maybe another time.
1/28/07 7:30AM:
I was planning on getting up early to go fossil hunting, but I forgot to set my
alarm. About 6:30 I woke up and then decided to sleep in some more. I
started having autonomous visualizations of myself walking in a field as I was drifting back to
sleep so I thought maybe I could go lucid. I was awake in my bed and then
I was on the edge of a shallow lake that
entered a network of other bodies of water separated by islands of trees.
I raised my arm and I could see my dream hand. I mentally pushed upward
and easily left the ground and began flying low over the water. One more
mental push and I was flying high with good velocity. As I lifted higher
into the air I could see green pastures below - large patches of green with
scattered groupings of trees. Then something unusual happened. I was in two
places at the same time - lying in my bed and flying over fields.
I can only remember one other lucid period in recent years. Too much
stress and less than optimal sleep patterns had robbed me of lucidity.
This lucid period was not only very welcome, but established a new level of
lucidity for me. At the same time I was soaring over trees and fields, I
was also completely conscious of petting my cat back in regular space.
I had joined a conscious thought process with a completely lucid dream
experience - essentially joining two levels of consciousness directly or perhaps
successfully dividing my consciousness into two controlled independent paths.
Lucid Dreaming is generally a connection of the conscious and subconscious mind,
but this was even more. I hope this is the start of a whole new series of
dream experiences.
A Dream across Time - 2007:
I suddenly found myself on a city street, strangely familiar, yet very distant
in my memory. There was a carnival nearby with a ferris wheel, a
stair leading down to a subway platform and many small shops. I felt
strange, like I had never felt before - awake or asleep. looking around, I
got the distinct feeling that I was somehow transported back in time.
Everything looked like pictures I had seen and faded memories from my childhood,
but not at all like the cities I was used to. I felt like this was not a
dream at all - it was like somehow I knew - I was actually back in time. I
found a newspaper stand and picked up the top copy. I nervously rushed to
the date - and then I saw it - 1969. I walked through the streets for a
long time and then i felt compelled to try calling my parents. I was in
New Jersey in 1969 and they would have still been living there. It was
right before we moved to Florida and I was excited to see what they would think
about my current dilemma. Would they believe me or dismiss my call as the
ravings of a mad man? Then I started to wonder how old I was at the moment
- was i a child or an adult. The thoughts drifted away as I found their
phone number and then found a phone. I called, but didn't get through.
I again wandered for what seemed like days. For some reason, i began to
doubt that I could ever return to my life. More time passed and I began
trying to plan for my new existence. I started looking for money and food
and then began to consider different ways I might earn a living.
Eventually, even though I never expected to return, I was back in my room - in
2007. How long had i been there? I tried to remember details that i
might look up to see if i perhaps was really back there - in time - but nothing
seemed definite enough to prove anything - the names of magazines, streets and
stores quickly faded.
i still wonder sometimes, what would have happened had my call went through.
If I could have then asked them today, would they remember a strange call years
ago from someone claiming to be their son - from the future.
Other Lucid Dream Accomplishments - Newest to Oldest
Dates and Times Unknown:
Always a part of our popular culture is the action of pinching yourself to see
if you are dreaming. I decided to try pinching myself while lucid
dreaming - and it hurt - a lot.
I was standing on a cliff screaming into the air - WAKE UP! ... WAKE UP! I
wanted to wake up and I was lucid, but I couldn't wake up.
Eventually, after a lot of loud screaming from that high cliff top, I woke up
uneventfully. This was the first time I consciously woke myself from a
dream state - if that makes any sense?!?!
It is common for me to awaken several times into what I believe to be my wake
state only to find that I am still dreaming. But one time I was four
levels down. It was like being in a movie. I would wake up and start
going about my business and then suddenly wake up again. After that
dream I was still wondering if I was really awake for some time.
I achieved complete day light luminosity inside a dream room. One way I
could always tell I was dreaming was the dim light in the rooms I was in.
A test I used to use was to turn on a light switch. If nothing happened, I
was certain I was dreaming. This time I was actually able to brighten the
room to day light conditions. I actually felt my pupils constrict from the
rapid brightness.
My bedroom on the 2nd floor overlooks my courtyard where I have a lot of tall palm trees.
One morning I was dreaming that I had floated out through my glass doors and was levitating
high above my courtyard near the rustling palm
branches. I remember how peaceful it was floating out there listening to
the palms blowing in the breeze. Then I opened my eyes to find myself
lying in my bed. But my consciousness was extended outside and the
sound of the palms in the wind was still all around me. As I became more
awake I could feel myself slowly retract inside the room through the glass doors
and inward toward my bed. As my consciousness retracted, the sound
of the rustling leaves became quieter and quieter. Weird, huh? But
cool.
In a lucid dream one time, I was in my room and everything looked perfectly
normal except it was again a little dim. I saw a lamp fall off my book
shelves and watched and heard it hit the ground. When it hit, I woke up.
Funny thing, a small lamp had fallen off my book shelf. I wondered - did I
create the whole dream after I heard the lamp fall?
Seeing my dream body in a mirror was quite an accomplishment. It meant
establishing a stable image of my current dream position in reverse across a
stairwell in an antique mirror. Illuminating the image was tricky - it was
still pretty dim.
Seeing my dream body was strange the
first time. I looked down at my body and could see my hands moving in
front of me. It was probably similar to a baby first realizing he has a
physical body.
In one dream I was being attacked on a dock - I became lucid and shot
yellow-pink bolts of electricity from my fingertips. I think I
borrowed the appearance of the bolts from Ghost Busters. Another time someone was yelling at me
in a dream - I became lucid and mentally slid him under a car.
I flew right through a wall for the first time - what a strange feeling.
One of my favorite Lucid dreams started with me walking down a street near my
grandparents house. It was a quite and peaceful night. I suddenly
realized I was dreaming. At that instant, a small point in space formed in
front of me. It expanded until it completely enveloped the entire scene. As it
expanded, everything I could see became more colorful, more clear, than even
real life. As soon as the street had achieved a surreal level of
clarity, I lifted off the ground and flew down the street. Later I
realized that Lucid Dreams were actually more real than "real" life because you
are not only experiencing the surroundings, they are actually connected to you -
perfect alignment of the internal models and the external experiences (since the
experiences are actually internal too).
I achieved such an extreme velocity, I felt
like I was spinning.
I accomplished high level flight in Superman fashion.
I achieved low level flight usually using swimming type motions.
Later, using different techniques and the 8:00AM effect, I was able to actively
trigger lucidity.
My initial periods of lucidity while dreaming were spontaneous and I can't
remember exactly when it first happened.
Sleep Paralysis
Prior to my experiences with Lucidity, I used to have incidences of what I later
found to be associated with sleep paralysis. These experiences go back to my early childhood
and often included hypnagogic imagery, mixing of dream and reality elements,
varying degrees of paralysis and often were accompanied by a mysterious blue glow.
I also have intermittent sleep apnea and remember even having some incidents as
a child. I was
sometimes afraid to go to sleep - now I understand why - many adults are
frightened by spontaneous consciousness altering experiences - I was only eight.
Sometimes I would notice the sleep paralysis after some regular sleep. I
would open my eyes half-way and could see the room, but I couldn't move much.
Other times the paralysis would take effect as I was going to sleep - I could
feel it sucking me in and I would try to resist it by moving a bit. After
it had a hold on me, i would strain to break free - trying really hard to wake
more and move my arms or sit up. After finally breaking free of the
paralysis, the blue glow would form in front of my closed eyes.
The blue glow would lead to more images - sometimes of complex and ancient
golden machinery. After watching shows of the various different machines
(the images would arrive in the glow and then fade - awaiting the next one) I would drift into a very peaceful alpha state.
I became very comfortable with the whole experience in my teens. So I
began to experiment with different levels of consciousness (never drug induced)
and eventually learned that my breathing and heart rate were normal during the
otherwise unusual experiences - my ears would sometimes pop and I would feel
vibrations and hear loud rushing noises. Many people have wondered if I
use drugs to create my artwork and gain insight into complex philosophies - but
as you can see, I have no need for drugs - I have plenty of natural ones already
in my head.
Later I learned I wasn't alone. Sleep
paralysis is a natural mechanism that inhibits body movements during dream
states - everybody experiences sleep paralysis every night. The
thing that made me different, was that I could gain full consciousness during these
periods of sleep - where you can't move at all or much. But even that
state is more common than people think. It may also be linked to people's
claims of being kidnapped by aliens. The experience seems real and is very
strange - often accompanied by visions of people in the room and other
intermingling of conscious perceptions and subconscious creations.
One time in
college, I fell asleep in the back of a physics class. My eyes were half
open and I could see my professor writing on the black board, but at the same
time I saw and heard the door swing open and a strong wind blew loudly into the room.
It was like a train going by. I broke out of the sleep paralysis and
slowly opened my eyes the rest of the way and looked around a quiet uneventful
room. At first I was surprised that no one else had heard the roar.
Non-Lucid but Amazing Dreams
Machine
The field was open, quiet and warm. A gentle breeze blew across
the white sand and the scattered patches of thin grasses. At first I barely even noticed
the small pieces of machinery partially embedded in the sandy areas. As I walked, the
pieces became more numerous and then larger. After about a half hour I noticed in the
distance that the appearance of the landscape made a noticeable change. As I approached I
could make out some shapes, strange shapes. Then I was there, in the middle of nowhere,
standing on the edge of a gigantic copper machine embedded in the ground and extending to
the horizon. Huge gears rose up covered with a black sandy grime. Ancient pipes ran across
the ground and then back down deep into the ground. Giant conveyors of ancient metal lay
stiff sloping down deeper into the machine. There were oil cans scattered about. I poured
oil onto the gears of the conveyor and then walked along casually lubricating various
parts until the cans were oozing only a black grunge. I heard a screeching groan deep
behind me and turned to my surprise to find a set of gears turning directly in front of
me. On all sides I heard fluids rushing through pipes. Oil spurted out between two plates
under my feet. Then the plates slowly shifted sealing the life of the machine inside. The
conveyor plates began to move down at an angle into the unknown depths. As the plates
moved down sealed perfectly against a cover, a lid opened on the newest plate revealing a
stern looking chamber. It was the perfect size for a human to lay in. The conveyor
stopped. I was compelled to enter. After I laid down the lid closed over me locking out
all light and the sound of the breeze. I felt the conveyor start to move again and heard
whines coming from deep below. I felt the pressure in the chamber increase. I lifted my
arms to feel that the lid was slowly pressing down on me. I began to panic turning my head
to the side as the thick metal plate pressed down on me further. Then suddenly it stopped
and the angle of my descent changed slightly. The side of the chamber lowered a small
amount and I saw light enter. I scrambled to release myself from my tomb. The side lowered
more and I squeezed out and fell on a smooth metallic floor. The conveyor continued on. I
stood up in what appeared to be a large mall. There was a high ceiling and store fronts.
Everything was closed and the ceiling was flatly illuminated as if the whole surface was
producing light. The doors and windows all had a strange finely machined look to them. All
the angles were perfect, all the seams flawless. As I appreciated the workmanship I
noticed movement to my side. The wall was moving, not in one plane, but in many. It seemed
to be collapsing into many perfectly aligned plates that moved in a swirling pattern. It
was then that I realized I was still in the machine and I was in trouble. Huge parts of
the mall were disappearing as the plates shifted and swirled. Other sections opened in a
flurry of living metal. I can't express how perfectly everything changed, how the pieces
left one perfectly meshed position and moved forth to enter into another. The plates never
changed their shape, just their position. The mathematics involved to create such a
flowing mechanical metamorphosis were unearthly and obviously very old. I ran and jumped
as empty spaces were consumed by metal. The changes happened faster and faster and
sometimes I could barely keep up. My mind became intensely alert as I realized that one
slight misjudgment, one mistake and I would be sliced and compressed. I felt a hum in my
head and hurled myself over a wall of moving plates. I landed on another smooth surface
and found a strange optical device. I immediately attached it over my left eye as if I
knew what it was for. I began to move faster, think faster. I could barely stand the
murmur building inside my head like hundreds of unintelligible voices shouting calmly at
me. I ran as fast as I could as the entire chamber behind me was collapsing into a small
hole which soon filled in and became solid. Several small holes were expanding in bands in
front of me. I jumped up them like steps toward a lighted tunnel. When I entered the
tunnel I felt accelerated and in a rush of wind found myself pulled out of the screeching
chasm and plopped onto a flat blackened platform. My heart was pounding and my ears were
ringing. A strange hazy blue glow enveloped my sight and I sat for a moment. In the blue
glow beautiful golden machines appeared crystal clear in my sight and then faded into the
blue. I removed the optical device, but the hallucinations continued. After the glow faded
I looked around. The platform went on into the distance and looking up I could see
nothing. The voices were still quietly calling in my head and I felt very anxious from my
ordeal. I put the device back over my eye and began to walk along a silver seam in the
floor...
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