The Labrynth of the Mind

Challenge Course Level 1

I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Since it is the middle of the night, I think it is probably a good idea to do a reality check. I plug my nose, and find that I can still breathe. I pinch my nose harder to be sure, but since I can still breathe I realize that I am dreaming.

I look at myself in the mirror for some reason (I don't exactly remember what the mirror had to do with it) then I go out into the sunroom. It is now daytime, and I think of what I should do. First, I try to summon monsters to fight, but nothing happens. I try this once or twice with no luck, and then walk into the kitchen. I remember the challenge course, and realize that this is a great opportunity to try it. I try to create the first chamber around me, and end up using a technique of walking out of the kitchen into the pantry, but with the idea that the next room will be the first chamber of the course. At the same time, I seem to be a little outside of the dream, because I can imagine my surroundings a bit more freely (at the cost of some vividness of the dream).

I find myself in the chamber, but already standing on the ledge that is supposed to be high up above me. The chamber is like a large cavern, possibly with water and plants but at least very much like a cave in nature. Across the cave from me on the wall is the door to the next chamber. It it smallish, and square, more like a large window. It is also higher up on the wall than I imagined, and already opened. Around here I either wake up or lose lucidity.

Boats and Computers

I am driving somewhere at night. I have to park my car some distance from where I am staying, and walk along a partially wooded path. I start down the path, but then I realize that I could just as easily be driving my car down this dark path. I turn around and head back to the car, just making it as I hear some voices nearby...

...Somehow I find myself on a boat, in some marshy area. There are places where there is open water, and I am discussing how the boat is built so that one can use it even in the shallow, overgrown areas. In one area I stop to fish...

...Somehow I find myself in a store, and my father is looking at computers. He either wants to buy one, or wants to find a good video game to play. This becomes more involved, but I don't remember all of the details.

Mars

I am getting out of a car, going towards a school. I am talking with someone about Christmas stocking candy. I think there is significance in what we are saying, and there may possibly have been a big voice in the sky saying "stocking candy". I have the impression of something like that although I can't quite remember.

We go into the school, which turns out to be my old high school. We are getting ready to go on a field trip to the planet Mars. I decide to go to the library and find a book about Mars, preferably a science fiction story by Edgar Rice Burroughs (who wrote several series of science fiction stories that partially inspired Star Wars). The librarian shows me a small cart of books, which seems to be the only books that one can check out. There are lots of books on the other book shelves, but we don't seem to be able to check out those.

I walk down the aisles, which turn into the aisles of some store. There is shiny tinsle on some of the shelves, and other Christmas like things. As I continue walking, I find myself outside, following a small creek. I am in a kayak on the creek. As I paddle, the creek widens out. It looks familiar in a way, and I realize it is the upper end of a small river that runs into a nearby lake. I have a feeling that there may be a waterfall up ahead, so I decide to beach my kayak and get out. I get out of the current, and look back the way I was headed. Sure enough, there is a large waterfall ahead. It is rather scary to look at, considering how close I was to it. I quickly pull myself to shore by a kind of plastic lining to the creek. I start to walk back to where I started, knowing that it will likely be a long walk. But it's better than getting killed.

Frustrating

Well, I had typed up two dreams here, but eventually got timed out of my session. It's been a while, and I forgot that when that happens you lose everything you typed if you try to post. Now I am debating whether to type it all up again or not. Nah, here's a brief summary:

1st dream:
Colonists leave their little community for the outside world. People are on a boat in a small pond. I get in the boat also, and there is an end of the pond surrounded by a wall covered in liquor and lottery tickets.

2nd dream:
My brother and I walking along a river watching out for snakes. Then we look for indian artifacts but don't find any.

Before bed I took 800mg of valerian and 0.25mg of melatonin.

Fragments from early REM period

I am walking around the halls of my university. There are a lot of people in the halls with me. I believe that I am on my way to class...

... I am part of Uru again. There is a linking book somewhere, I think...

... I am looking at a computer screen. There is a picture of something entitled "dreamsign". It looks like the logo for one of the filmmaking companies. The kind of Celtic looking thing. As I look at it, it looks more like the Yeesha symbol from Uru...

Going to my Grandparents'

I am on my way to visit my Grandparents' house. There seems to be a time constraint on this, and my mother and I are trying to figure out the best way for me to get there. In the end, we decide that I will drive part way there, and when I am almost to their house to park the car and take a ferry across a small lake along the way. Somehow I think that this will be cost effective and possibly save time. I will call and schedule the ferry while I am driving.

Former Workplace

My mother and I are at my former workplace (a toy store) looking for a specific toy. We look in a few places for this thing (some kind of military hovercraft) but can't find quite what we are looking for. Then I remember that it is probably in the action figure section. I take her over to that area, but when we get there we see that all but one of the shelves are missing. I ask one of the current stockers what happened to the other shelves. He doesn't know (he is new). I ask another employee, but he doesn't know either.

Lucid at the Fair

I am walking down the road in the middle of our county fair. It is late in the season, and there are not many people visiting. Many of the stands are closing up for the year, and I look as I walk for familiar games and people. I am in my uniform (as though I were there to staff the public relations booth as I did when I was a park ranger). I am not there as a park ranger, but I have some other reason to go to the fairs. I think how nice it is that I get to go back to these old familiar places, and walk down the road feeling at ease.

I try to think of why I am at the fair. I can't exactly remember. Then I remember that being at the fair is a dreamsign. I stop walking, and turn to look behind me. Things look OK, but I am beginning to realize that I am dreaming.
I try to justify my being at the fair, but I can't. "So this is a dream," I say.

I look up at a concession stand to my right. As I do, I become aware that the dream is losing realism. I am in danger of losing the dream, and consider either preparing for a DEILD or hoping to WILD when I wake up. Then I decide to try my Dream Posession technique to stabilize it, and attempt to summon Monk. I am vaguely aware of somebody's presence at my side, and try to take posession of their body. This is partly sucessful, and I blink a few times to try to get the vision clear.

I decide to fly, hoping this will further put me in the dream. I float up into the air, and then come down through the top of the concession stand. There is a woman working in there. She is not overly beautiful, but she is pleasing to look at. I decide to kiss her, and do so. Around here I loose the dream.

Archaeology

I am with one of my colleagues at an archeological excavation. We are back at a rockshelter where we were two years ago, and are at first digging through snow. My colleague, Dr. B., points to a birdbath in the middle of a field and tells me how much he dislikes it. Then he describes a statue that used to sit in it, and how much he hated that. I think the birdbath is kind of attractive, and like the idea of the statue.

We continue digging through the snow. We try not to make too many footprints in it, but Dr. B. seems to be making a lot. Now the snow is moss, and we are removing layers of it. Now we are no longer excavating, but pulling weeds. And now we are digging through dirt looking for trash.

There is a lot of trash in the dirt, and we move down a line sorting through rubbish to throw away. I come across a pile of items, with some electronic equipment and stacks of old records. I am happy with this find, since I get to keep whatever I come across.

Finally! New content!

I am playing Myst Uru. At the same time, it is real life. It begins to rain in the Cavern (from here on out I will write as though everyone knows what I'm talking about, even though they probably don't). Apparently, it has rained in the cavern on previous occasions, but this is a hard rain. More like a storm. And it continues for quite a while. Suddenly, a Bahro swoops down out of the sky and attacks two fellow explorers. They are killed. Then, while the rest of us continue to contemplate this, the Bahro return and kill three more exlporers. Everyone goes into a panic! I run towards the Hall of Kings, hoping to hide in the shelter. I know this is a little futile, but it is better than being out in the open.

Other explorers had been chatting, even when the first Bahro attack happened, but now they too begin to realize that something different is happening. By this time, I make it to a flea market someone has set up outside the entrance to the Hall of Kings (obviously not there in real life, another one of my dreamsigns). I decide to try and hide among the clutter. All the while, the rainstorm continues.

The Dukes

I am with my family at Lake Erie. My father and brother take our 14 ft aluminum boat out, even though there seems to be a storm (maybe this is part of the above dream). My mother and I go out on a small inflatable raft not much bigger. As she starts the outboard motor we have fixed to this raft, I look back at my father and brother, a little worried. The waves are really big. Then our own motor revs up, and we are zipping along top speed through the storm.

We come to a cove, full of dead trees and debris. I warn my mother to slow up a bit, but she doesn't want to. Then we go over a large tree, and come down on the other side with a noticeable crash. We keep going a bit longer, but I can feel the air leaving our raft. We have been punctured.

Mom steers us to shore, and gets out. However, before I can get out the raft sinks. All of this occurs within seconds, before I have a chance to put on my life jacket. Fortunately, I am somehow able to climb from the bottom of the lake up to the shore.

Standing on the shore, I see two people chasing after us. It is Boss Hogg and Roscoe P. Coltrane. I now find that I am one of the Dukes of Hazzard (I used to dream this all the time. I don't know why). Bo, Luke, and I run up the shore, until we cross into Canada. Boss and Roscoe catch up, but I warn them not to come any farther.

"Not unless you can extradite us," I say.
"Roscoe, arrest them anyway!" Boss orders. "They don't need to be extradited from Canada!"
"You'd better not," I warn, "Unless you want to be in a lot of trouble."

Boss Hogg seems to fall for the bluff, but Bo and Luke and I decide we had better seek asylum from the "Governor". We walk to the governor's office from where we are, to find that the governor is none other that Huey Hogg, Boss Hogg's nephew. We speak to him through a small window, and explain our case.

"Suppose you started out in another country," I say. "In, to be exact Hazzard County. That's in - wait a minute, what state is that in. Hmm, Wyoming? No, it has to border Canada."
"Hazzard County's in [Wisconsin?]" says Huey, "and don't you forget it!" (I don't know why I couldn't remember Hazzard County is supposed to be in Georgia)

The dream gets a little off track here. Bo and Luke and I have to wait outside a while in folding chairs, and then Bo and Luke go into a warehouse to check on some illegal activity while I act as lookout. As I'm sitting there, I see a "Journey Cloth" (from Uru) on the wall of the warehouse in front of me. Even in this dream, the Journey Cloth seems so wildly out of place that I blink and rub my eyes. Then I get up closer to it, finding out that it is in actuality only a metal cover to something.

I sit back down, and look at a television. The Dukes of Hazzard are on. Not only that, but the episode playing happens to be the one I am living out right now. The episode seems to be a condensed version of the "real" thing, so I see the ending on TV before it happens. I suddenly realize what I am supposed to be doing.

At that moment, Boss Hogg and Roscoe show up. I have a vague impression that it is a little odd that I should be here with these people at all, but shrug it off. Then Boss and Roscoe disappear, and it's night. I know that Bo and Luke will get into trouble in the warehouse and I am supposed to rescue them. I try to run, but obviously that doesn't work. I walk down to the warehouse and see a dark van show up. A few hoodlums get out and enter the warehouse. It is some smuggling racket run either by Boss or Huey. I enter the warehouse behind them, knowing I have to warn some people inside. I am forgetting who at this point, other than Bo and/or Luke. I see some guy who winks and gives me a thumbs up. Thinking this must be a signal, I say "we've gotta warn Bo and Luke and get out of here!". He nods, and says he will.

Talking about my dream (lucid, sort of)

I "wake up" from the Dukes dream, and decide to post my dream journal on Dreamviews. While I'm typing, I question reality and discover I am dreaming. I have a hard time holding onto this, though. I try various things to anchor myself, but it doesn't help too much.

New Job

I get a new job, working for a rotund and rather gruff man. He is not exactly mean, but when he gives me a vague job to do and says to have it done by tomorrow I get a little nervous. The job involved copying text from greeting cards, but I don't know how or what to copy the text to.

On the positive side, my job seems to involve working with a beautiful nude model. I don't have any idea why, but I have her pose while I take a photograph. Then, working together, we use a computer to copy text from the greeting card onto the scene she was poing in front of. Then we put her picture in front of the text.

We realize that we can't see the text now. I make a text box on her torso (now it is partly on the computer and partly in real life). The text box is too small. I try to resize it by hand. Now it is big enough, but it covers too much of the model. I reposition it a little so it only covers her stomach area. Then I accidentally do something, and it resizes the model. Now she is really skinny and out of proportion. Fortunately it is not too hard to reset this.

Now one greeting card is finished. I still have a whole stack to do "by 3:00 tomorrow afternoon". Well, at least I know how to do them now.