Blue_Opossum

Morning of September 28, 2014. Sunday.



This was an extended version of a long-recurring dream scene of looking in a mirror and deliberately trying to change my appearance in various ways even though I am only semi-lucid.

This is a rather unusual state of semi-lucidity which often involves an intense “forced frustration” and somewhat of a need to instigate distortion or alter imagery without being more aware of the virtually infinite possibilities of the dream state when fully lucid. (By experience, I have learned that there are at least three very distinct types of in-dream lucidity, probably more when breaking down the more diverse nuances.)

I look in a dresser mirror in a somewhat dark room (just with enough light to see most details of my face but in shadow) and attempt to force different perspectives and to distort how I appear in the dream (which is otherwise amazingly realistic and mostly consistent throughout). Based on my reflection in the mirror, I appear to move close to and fairly far away from the mirror even though my physical body remains in the same place in-dream (about the center of the room). This changing “zoom in and zoom out” perspective (which has also occurred in different dream types) and different range of views does not at all seem unlikely in-dream (it is probably number four on my list of recurring dream aspects that seem familiar and likely in reality, but cannot be). I also try to force a mock fear, due to the sort of tingly energy it creates (have done this in semi-lucid dreams since early childhood), but am unable to strengthen it, and no other beings are there except for me even though I change my appearance somewhat as a sort of pretense, but nothing dramatic ensues. Sometimes I had done it by lowering my eyebrows and squinting yet focusing on the immediate foreground (near my nose) so that my view is pair-of-eyes-shaped, with the idea the eyes-shape is from another being just in front of me (this being something I learned in a dream in 1972, age eleven, when I deliberately tried to create more energized nightmarish states but was usually unable to - however, this also resulted in the zooming in and out perspective which I did not realize was otherwise not possible in actuality, therefore not recognizing the dream state).

Prior to this, there was also the typical cleaning dream, where I “polished”, refurbished, and “mentally repainted” aspects of the room. In this one, I also find various items under a rug including dust and old food scraps. I clean the room as thoroughly as possible.