Threecat's Dreamtime

Not much this week due to illness. Haven't tried inducing since last week, but had a near miss last night and an LD this morning:

I am on a college campus, inside a coffee shop. I am eating something in line and not paying attention. Suddenly it is my turn to get coffee. I apologize to the barista for not being ready and he walks away from me. I try locate the decaf. I see the dispenser for decaf coffee and ask if it is dark roast. He says that it is. I order a coffee and then hand him a plastic coffee cup/thermos I have picked up from inside. It is full of Cookie Crisp cereal (apparently what I was eating). He looks inside the mug, and then dumps all of the cereal into a trash. I am a bit shocked, as I did not expect this. I go back to the displays in the story, looking for another bag of cookie crisp. I find one, but realize that I had emptied a bag into the mug without paying for it. I decide to steal this bag since the barista ruined my opportunity to eat the other one. I shove them in a plastic grocery bag I am carrying.

I return to the counter. The barista says I look familiar and asks where he's seen me before. I agree and say he also looks familiar but that I don't know. He asks if I went to a lecture the previous day. I say I didn't. I ask him if he's a lucid dreamer.

"Yes," he says.

"Oh, cool," I say. "How long have you been lucid dreaming?"

"Since he walked in the door."

I stare at him for a moment before nose pinching. Seems I am awake, but I check my watch anyway. It is spazzing out and being weird. Could be a dream. He comments on me looking at my watch, saying, "Oh, that's one of the ways you check to see if you're in a dream." I look suspiciously at him and say, "This is a dream, isn't it?" He makes some kind of noncommittal gesture.

I look around at my surroundings. Everything seems very normal and very real. This seems like reality. I then realize that if I wake up in a few minutes I will be sort of pissed. I think back. When was the last time I went to sleep?And then I remember. I fell asleep at home. This is definitely a dream. Elated, I fly easily into the sky. The dream is providing me with good flying energy, and I am soaring higher and higher. I look down, and survey the ground below me, before diving headfirst at the ground. The street scene has become an ocean, and I dive beneath the waves. It unfortunately does not feel very real, and the dream begins breaking up. However, I continue flying along, hoping the visuals and tactile sensations will return. I wake up.

Feel WILD set in, roll off of the mat. Am falling/flying for some time, but keeping my mind blank as I do. I am soaring around a house (my mom's house?), and the characters from the Simpsons live inside. I try to enter via a window, but accidentally break a window with my head. Scene instantly becomes hyper-realistic (not cartoon-like anymore) and the characters vanish. I have the feeling that, like a big oaf, I ruined this part of the dream. I walk inside the house.

Inside, I try practicing my dream control via perspective by crushing my bedroom door frame top to bottom. Nothing happens. I attempt a few more times, but still am unsuccessful. I leave the house and wander about. Yep, it's out in the country, just like waking life. I think how I will write down in my dream journal that this was a very long, very stable, very boring LD. Not much going on, and no DCs around. I decide to relax and see what "dream memories" come up (such as why I might be here, etc.). I wake up. Do some MILD and back to sleep.

Walking with my sister-in-law to a school for young kids. I am examining a wall mural the kids have done. I realize that it has something to do with Theravada Buddhism. I suddenly think, "The girls go to a Buddhist school?" I nose pinchand can breathe. My sister-in-law confirms my suspicions and says that the curriculum here is inspired by Theravada Buddhism; the kids are taught to be mindful of their one precious human life. Excited, I decide to see what the inside of the school looks like. I find a door and open it. Behind it is another door. This is funny to me, and undeterred, I open this door as well.

Inside, people are eating food and talking. I see a coworker eating. I look around, trying to decide who to talk to. There is a large man, with no shirt and a hairy chest, sitting in a sauna-like area and talking on a phone. This guy seems fairly impressive, so I decide to talk to him. He sees me waiting, then puts his phone away and greets me. I say I have a question about dreams, from a Theravadan perspective. He nods, then seems to consider my statement carefully. He then says,

"Well, suppose you have a tikkoku. That's kind of like a cocaku. You see?"

I say I don't quite see. I then think that I will tell him he is dreaming. He tells me he is unable to lucid dream.

"Pinch your nose!" I say. He shoves his finger up his nose perversely, and then begins tugging at his nostril. He becomes smaller and more imp-like. My own nostrils start to feel affected, and I realize he is just my own mind being overactive. My body unaccountably becomes aroused, and seeing this, the DC lunges at my crotch. Sigh. I hug the DC and tell him it's OK. He calms down quite a bit. I blank my mind and he stops moving altogether. Can't remember how but I soon wake up. Lie still and DEILD into next dream.

Mario Bros. screen with Bowser, too. I know it is a dream, and begin my slow fall (something that happens often to me during WILD and DEILD). I hear water (currently in darkness) and begin imagining a beach (trying to create scenery). I also begin imagining the opening scenes of FFVIII, along with the theme song, Liberi Fatali:



Scenery generates into a desert canyon (pretty close, sand, right?) with shallow water flowing along the sad swiftly. I am carried along on into a gorge/cave. Above, I see a hole in the ceiling, and fly up to investigate. Halfway up, I realize I am effortlessly flying, and begin to fall; I climb up a bit, and then fly the rest of the way. The hole is too small to get out of, so I begin scooping the rock away with my hands. I hear an evil laugh above; outside, there is a stormy sky, with a gray dragon flying above me. I feel terrified--at the dragon, at the feeling that the dream wants me to fight the dragon, and that the floor of the cave is so far below me. I remind myself that this is just a dream but it is not helping much. However, I decide to fly up and face the dragon. I am trying to get out of the hole when I wake up, heart pounding and very relieved. MILD and then return to sleep.

I am at work. A coworker comes up to me and asks me if I got an email. I say I did not, and ask what it was about. He says something that I can't understand. I ask him to repeat, and while I understand more, I still can't quite catch his meaning. I say, "something else someone wants me to do, right?" concerning the email. He looks embarrassed. Turns out the email concerns him getting promoted. Whatever. I reenter my work area, and food is laid out for everyone. A coworker has already begun eating. This seems vaguely against the rules, and I am about to reprimand her when I realize I'm dreaming. Sweet! I pop a piece of fried tofu into my mouth. I also shout, testing out my dream voice. It re-echoes oddly in my head. I wake up.

FA. I "wake up" on my sleeping mat, nose pinch and can breathe.I head into the dining room, where I attempt to fly through the ceiling. Not working too well, as I bang my head against the ceiling. I decide to just relax. I start to phase through head-first, but then get too excited that I am "really doing it" and get pushed back. Decide to phase through the front door and head out. Not sure what happens, but I wake up and

DEILD:

I roll off of my mat and fly through the transition, before slamming into a classroom. The lights are off, and the class is watching some movie. I see the teacher sitting at her desk, and thinking it would be funny to scare her, charge forward on all fours towards her. Not sure what happened, but I think I pull back at the last minute. I look around, and realize all of the students are kid-versions of people I knew in high school. I see some girl and give her a high-five!

I head out through the door, and find myself in some back hallway. I am able to fly up into the air off and on, rising and sinking, but all the while reminding myself that there is nothing here, and nothing really to do. I see some light fixtures and feel like pulling them down, so I "grab" them from a distance (using perspective) and rip them down. I then see a large ventilation thingy, and decide to crush that between my hands. I steadily press my palms together; at first, it seems as though it is not working, but then the entire structure collapses in on itself, and glass shatters. Pleased, I set off into the mall.

Lots of DCs, lots of people I know (I pass another old friend, whom I pat on the shoulder and say hello to). I end up in a food court area, with lots of food sitting out. I reach for a molten lava cake (a small cupcake), and cram it into my mouth):



Amazing. Very chocolatey. I eat it very slowly, not wanting my mouth in WL to start moving and accidentally wake me up (a problem in the past). In response to my care, the cake begins to glue my mouth shut. I also get some cake on my face. I ignore both of these effects, and continue my explorations in the clothing department. I begin looking for a DC to have sex with. I pass a few unsuitable candidates. I leave this area, and head out behind the mall (outside) behind some dumpsters. As I get farther from the mall, I find a girl lying on her back, smoking a joint. She is a cute girl I knew in high school (and whom I have not thought of in years). I lie down next to her and take her in my arms. She seems happy to see me. The dream ends.

Wake up around 2-ish, decide to induce. I practice MILD, then follow it up with SSILD. I suddenly "come back to myself," as though I had been in deep thought. Am I dreaming? I nose pinch and can breathe easily. Lucid. I get up off of the floor and fly up to the ceiling. I pass right through and into darkness. I fly through darkness for a bit, before imagining that things are brightening up around me--things do begin to brighten up. I realize I am flying over snow. I see the snow and think it would be fun to transform into an arctic fox (in dream remember sivason talking about this in his DJ). I touch down on the snow and begin running on all fours. I then attempt my transformation. I do feel some sensation in my body, and think it might be working, so I life a hand up out of the snow to check. Nope, still a hand! I wake up.

I sit like this for some time, and finally settle for lying supine. I notice the clock reads 3:00, which isn't as early as I thought. I feel some relief. I notice, however, that this guy wants to come into the upstairs bedroom with me:



No thanks. I manage to shut the door on him, though he does try to open the knob. I lock it, then examine the wooden door. It is flimsy wood, but I feel confident he can not get through. It then occurs to me that I might be dreaming. I nose pinch. Lucid. I open the same door (the xenomorph is gone) and I try flying down into the kitchen; however, I just fall. Some DCs are here but I ignore them, and head towards the front door. The house has become my house growing up. I think about phasing through a window, but then decide not to. I think decide to phase through the front door. I am having difficulties so I just open it and go out. I continue to try to fly, with minimal to no success. A dog runs up to me and I befriend him. I try to remember the TotMs but cannot. I wake up, and DEILD, but can't remember the dream later.

I wake up and DEILD again, into a blackness. I wait for the dream to appear. Suddenly, a cartoon bobble-head pops into existence, along with an interactive computer screen. I click a button with my finger, and make a "click-click" sound with my mouth before realizing that sounds stupid. The screen adjusts to show characters talking with each other. I try to focus on the action. Some bobble-headed kids hanging out by a trash can (?) or maybe in a kitchen, discussing something. I realize, however, that I would like to be in the cartoon, so begin stretching the screen with my finger. I manage to make the screen surround me almost entirely, but am still not able to merge with the cartoon. I then notice there are viewing options. An interactive porno would be just the thing, I think, and begin searching through the selections. I find a good one but then I wake up. Try to DEILD again, and seem to have transitioned, but when I check, I am fully awake. I get up and start the day (yuck).

Wake from an NLD. I lie still and wait to DEILD. Body begins to roll to the side, which signals beginning of REM sleep. I roll off of the mat and fall through space. Eyes flicker open somewhat, and I can see stars in a black sky. I accidentally open my WL eyes, though, because I can suddenly see light streaming in from beneath my sleep mask. I close them and wait for my "dream eyes" to open on their own. They do, and I see I am flying swiftly over a dark, deep purple ocean. The stars are still out. I can feel the wind on my face. Ahead of me, on the horizon, a white number one appears.

Memory is fuzzy here. Certain I did not lose consciousness, but unsure of how narrative unfolded entirely. I land down in the water, and there is some sort of game being played by a bunch of DCs. I try to persuade one of them that she is strong enough to lift me up and throw me out of the water. She says she is not. "Oh come on," I say. "Look at those triceps!" She laughs and tries to throw me. She just sort of pushed me out of the water. She says she can't. "But really," I say, "You can." I'm trying to get the dream to bend to my will a bit! She tries again (and throws me a bit higher) and reiterates that she can't do it.

I mess around for a bit more (can't remember what I was doing--interacting with DCs, asking questions and what not, and I specifically remember rubbing my hands to stabilize--and then it occurs to me to complete the tasks of the month. I think about what the tasks are, and remember the leaf task. I am in a back yard. I begin thinking I will materialize the leaves by pretending they are on the other side of a wooden fence. I say, "You're around this fence!" and run around the fence. I briefly see the outline of what looks like a pile of leaves, but then that pops out of existence. I try two more times, and nothing happens at all.

I run around for a bit, thinking I might find a pile of leaves somewhere. Nope. I then think to call for help on my phone, and pull it out of my pocket. I figure it will take too long to punch in the numbers though and toss it away. Instead, I head inside to get help from a DC.

Near me is a blond girl. She attempted to assist me earlier in the dream, but I rebuffed her because DCs are too unreliable. I now ask her if she knows where any leaves are. We go inside the house, and she nods and points to some storage boxes. One of them is black and I open it up. Inside there are only Christmas lights. "These are just Christmas lights," I say, and then get annoyed. This always happens. DCs always trick me and waste my time. I run out of the house. The DC runs after me, trying to get me to come back. I ignore her. Looking around, I see a bunch of leaves lying around on the grass. I think I might be able to rake them up, but then pull an Ophelia and scoop some up in my arms. Some of them are crackly, but others are rotten and gross. I make a very small pile. I look at it and decide I'm not jumping in that.

I try to think of the other basic. Oh yeah, tell a kid they are dreaming. I am on a path in the woods, and a jogger is coming towards me. She is a kid, maybe like a high school student, but I check just to be sure:

"How old are you?" I ask.

She stops running and faces me. "16."

"You're dreaming!" I say.

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to hit you," she says.

I back off, and she continues jogging.

I continue on the path until I find a small cabin/mobile home (don't ask) in the woods. Inside are some DCs. More conversation that I can't remember. However, I hear voices up inside a treehouse-like loft. They are discussing someone messing up their abilities to dream. I ascend the wooden ladder up, and see two people I know semi-well from WL. However, I understand that they are DCs and not their real selves. They are crouched over a dream journal. When they see me enter the room, the girl (it's a girl and a guy) moves to cover up the DJ so I can't read it.

"It's just me," I say. "The dreamer." They are smiling now in a mocking way. I sort of lose it here, and demand to know "why you guys (meaning DCs in general) always tease me?"

"Because we can," the girl responds.

"But lots of dreamers get help from their DCs. They teach them fun things like how to fly. You guys always try to trick me."

The girl now laughs and says, "You can't even fly."

I get mad and grab the guy in my fist. He instantly turns into a small, faceless rag doll. The transition was seamless and sort of shocked me. The girl disappeared altogether. I fling the doll down on the ground and leave.

Back in the house, I remember the advanced task--cut off your hand and serve it up for Thanksgiving dinner. I look around and see a half-eaten plate of food: there is some cornbread there and some other stuff I don't remember. I realize that if I hadn't scared the DCs away I could have served them my hand. I leave and begin running back to the first house (where I tried to complete the leaf task.

Once inside the original kitchen, I approach the block of knives. They all appear to be light, serrated blades, and I am not keen on sawing through my wrist. I am hoping for a cleaver, and find a small one, but it is not heavy enough. I finally settle on a knife that probably does not exist in WL, but resembles a butcher knife. I RC to make sure I am dreaming. I then (to be honest, fearing the pain) test the knife by slicing into my index finger. I don't feel anything, and think maybe I missed (lol). However, a line appear on my finger, and I start bleeding. The dream quickly fades and I wake up.

I am a small duck dressed in a trench coat and sunglasses. I am a bounty hunter, and am after some guys hanging out inside a night club. It is daytime outside My awareness is positioned outside of my body. I enter the club, and exit carrying some stuff I stole from them. I then get into the car I own in WL, where my awareness now enters my body. I am trying to back up, when one of the thugs moves his car to box me in. I turn the wheel hard, ride up and over the car beside me (not possible at all in WL) and in the process, tear the head off of a thug who was trying to climb in through the back window.

I become lucid, as this is ridiculous and could never happen in real life. I continue driving my car down the street. I am now driving down some hallways (almost like I am in the back of a kitchen or something) and I realize the car is gone. I think to myself, Oh, I'm running now but then have a flash of insight--I'm not doing anything--I'm lying in bed. I also realize I have no body and really haven't had one for quite some time. Furthermore, as I am dreaming, there is really no reason to get a body anyway.

At this point, I decide to test my bodiless-ness and pass through a set of push doors. I bang my forehead against the door, and then just raise my hand and open it! I remember my discussion with dutchraptor and Sensei about pain in dreams, and realize that--as usual--I do not feel any pain from knocking myself in a dream.

I reach an open area, where I am looking down at a helipad. The helipad is about forty or fifty feet below me, and there are numerous helicopters on the ground, propellers spinning. I think that I might jump down into one of the propellors, but then change my mind, as I really have no wish to test being chopped up (dang it!). Instead, I decide to use this high point as a jump off for flying. I leap into the air, but just fall (very swiftly) to the ground. I hit the ground and then fall down on my butt.

I now stand up, look around, and just lift into the air. I fly higher and higher, really not even trying now to do anything, and travel perhaps several hundred feet into the air (that's advanced, right!? ). I then look around, and my body begins to fall. I am momentarily scared, but then remember that I'm not really doing anything, nothing is happening, and there is nothing at all to worry about. I relax, and just hang in mid-air. I then accelerate upwards again. As I am thinking these things, I realize my body is moving of its own accord, flying this way and that. I think this is kind of neat and just observe my body flying. I then relax again, and I this must trigger something with my WL body because I wake up.

On a side note, this dream has caused me to think more about meditation in dream, and has prompted me to concentrate more on my daily practice of sitting, as well as begin to integrate sitting more into my dream practice.

Haven't been around much due to work--it's a 60 hrs plus gig, so not much time for the good stuff. However, here are some of my offerings from last week

(??): I am in a car, flying high above the street. I realize immediately that I am dreaming, and that this is a dreamlet. Despite this knowledge, I nosepinch anyway and lose the dream.

From now on, if I know (and I mean really know) that I am dreaming, the hell with those reality checks. That's the devil tryin' to get in my head!

Not sure what my deal is lately! Recall has been low, and dream awareness has been low as well. Woke up around 5:00 AM, didn't remember any dreams. Also couldn't find my sleep mask. Walked all over the house, looking in the office, living room, and even kitchen and dining room. Wtf. I test my state, as I am really hoping I'm dreaming. Nope, just me and no sleep mask. I go back to bed, perform MILD (using seven affirmations instead of my normal 21), wrap a shirt around my head, and fall asleep.

I am in a living room with my grandfather and uncle. A baby is here, and the baby is insulting my grandfather. He keeps laughing (not at all in character for him). The baby then apologizes. Something suddenly seems off to me.

"That's weird that the baby apologized," I say to my grandfather and uncle. They just stare at me.

"Isn't that weird?" I ask. Can't remember what happened after that, but almost certain I state tested.

I am in my mother's house with my sister and one of her friends from childhood. We are all kids again. For some reason, I think that I am dreaming. Instead of nose pinching, like I normally do, I decide to phase my hand through the wall as a test. It fails (the wall remains solid) but my hand becomes transparent. I now decide to nose pinch. I can breathe, but think that maybe there is a second nose, or a part of my nose that hasn't been pinched yet. I double pinch my nose with my other hand. I'm dreaming!

I go up to my sister's friend and invite her to go flying. She agrees (I think) and we set off. I try to phase through the glass door but can't. I just open it and head out onto the back patio. I try to fly but cannot. I decide to walk up into the sky, using invisible stairs. I am heading up, step by step, when I suddenly fall back to the ground. I continue to try to fly (even reverting to swimming motions) but keep failing (in part because I am afraid I will fall into the pool). The dream finally (mercifully) ends.

I haven't been very lucid in my lucids lately. I think part of this has to do with returning to work--I'm often wrapped up in material thoughts as opposed to dream thoughts. Looking forward to finding that happy medium: the one where I'm not thinking about work at all, and thinking entirely about dreaming!

That being said "gentle MILD," as I have been calling it, seems to be doing alright as an induction method. I wonder though if it is also partially responsible for my drop in dream awareness?

Woke up around 6:00 from an earlier dream cycle, DJed a bit, and then worked on MILD for several minutes. Here was the result:

I am at a dreaming convention or conference. I am walking around, maybe ordering food or looking for the restroom. I pass a man who seems a bit shady and scary. I am walking away so as not to cause a conflict when I decide to confront him, because this is just a dream. It now fully strikes me that I am dreaming. I nose pinch. I walk back to look for the DC, but cannot find him. Oh well.

The dream was long, so some material was lost. I decided to scope out the restroom; inside, under the stalls, I see dirty work boots. I turn around and look for the women's restroom. I can't find it. I laugh at my dream's attempt to thwart me.

Outside, I am walking across a plaza when I see a friend of mine from WL. She is quite pretty in this dream, and I decide to walk with her. I put my arm around her shoulder, and then when she does not reciprocate, I put her arm around my waist. She seems quite happy to be walking with me. I stroke her hair a bit, but firmly decide this will not be a sex dream. We chat a bit (can't remember about what) and make our way back indoors.

We are now seated in an auditorium. I remember that I want to start interrogating the subconscious more. I decide to start with her.

"You do realize this is a dream, don't you?" I ask.

"Yes."

"So why exactly am I in your dream?" I then correct myself: "What I mean to say is, why are you in my dream?"

She begins to answer. I suddenly realize I wanted to do the task of the month? What were those tasks? She is talking but I don't hear her now. I begin trying to pluck out my eyeball. I focus on this very carefully, and try to phase my fingers through my face to get a better grip. I'm not having much luck, and I think to myself, I am not tearing my eye out of my face, even if I am dreaming. I decide to do the basic instead.

I turn to my friend and ask her to tell me a word in a different language.

She says some gibberish. "And what does that mean?" I ask.

She suddenly laughs. "Oh my god," she says. "I've got my words mixed up!" She then gets up and starts walking off, laughing. I look around for someone else to help.

I see a gangster-looking fellow sitting near me. I decide to ask him.

"River," he says.

"Ok," I say, a little peeved that this is an English word, "but what does it mean?" I ask.

"Vitherur," he says.

"Virrerrur?" I ask? I'm having trouble understanding his accent. He nods and says, "Vitherur."

"Vitherur," I say. He nods again. I consider asking him to reconstruct the order, but figure the information is the same: vitherur = river. I then decide I am going to fly. I have the slightest moment of hesitation, but then decide that no, even my abilities at flying are not stopping me from flying today. I easily lift into the air and begin soaring around the auditorium. The ceiling is high and so it is easy to get some good height inside the room. As I am soaring about, I think to myself that this is why I enjoy lucid dreaming. What better way to spend the morning? Triumphant orchestral music begins to play, and I fly around, turning over and over in the air. I see a young boy I know in WL flying as well, moving some electrical cables to prepare for the show. I fly past him, smiling.

I now decide to land and go into the back room. On the way, I see some items stacked on a shelf--maybe plates or bottles--and I sweep them to floor because this is a dream and I can do that. I marvel at the realistic clattering sound they make as they scatter on the floor, and the tactile sensation I get on my hands. I decide to attempt Photoshop TotM. I will the room around me to become purple, but realize it already is purple. I then decide to change it to sepia, based on another member's dream journal (can't remember whose at the moment, sorry!). Nothing happens. I shrug, and decide I may need a schema to assist me (such as a laptop). I head back out. As I am leaving, my flip-flop comes off (?) and I am about to turn around and get it when I remember I'm dreaming and say fuck it, and walk out with only one shoe on.

The auditorium has turned into a dimly lit hallway. Ceiling fans circulate at high speed. I try to fly but just fall to the ground. I don't mind much. I begin walking down the hallway. The light slowly fades though until it is almost completely dark. I hear a sound now--growling and teeth--and some animal attacks me in the darkness. I begin petting him vigorously, telling him he's a good boy (dog activated in my mind quickest). It begins to pant and then it licks me. I am still roughing him up happily when I realize I'm squeezing my pillow. I wake up to write this all down. Hit the MILD again but can't get back to sleep.

Fragment 1 ,12:33 AM: Dreamer is teaching me how to WILD. A neat SL where I am "aware" that I am in a NLD. Driving in a car, with brightly-colored backgrounds to the environment. Dreamer's main advice seems to be relax and have fun. Dog bark and shout in WL from the street wake me up and out of this. Believe Xanous here as well, but not sure.

Fragments 2, 5:28 AM: Dreamer is teaching the whole DV community how to WBTB and incubate dreams. At some point I am nervous about my dream practice, but then decide that whatever I am doing is probably OK. More here but C/R.

Lucid, 8:45 AM: I am walking between classes back in high school. I am outside, and walking along a sidewalk outside. I glance at my wristwatch and realize it is 6:40 pm. I am confused, as I am not sure how it can be 6:40 at night while I am at school. I nose pinch and can breathe. I become lucid, but do not fully understand what is going on. I am under the impression that my WL body is asleep somewhere on campus (maybe I took a nap somewhere?) and that I will be late for class if I don't wake up. I try to wake up a few times (by "opening my eyes") and fail. I am surprised, b/c this has not failed me in the past.

Before I try to wake up, though, I decide to enjoy the dream a bit. I attempt to fly, and C/R whether or not I manage to do so. However, I do climb up a metal radio tower of sorts, and consciously make my body lighter in order to pull myself through the air and not damage the thing, fragile pieces of tower. In dream, I think I am adjusting gravity, lol. I try very hard to remember where I have fallen asleep, or what waking life looks like at the moment, but cannot.

FA: I "awake" from this dream into a world more populated with DCs, but same landscape. I am no longer a student at the school but am now a teacher (wtf?). I hear a PA announcement telling me to come to the dean's office. I follow, and am met by someone who demands to know where I have been. I explain that I fell asleep "up in some damned tower" and am told my picture needs to be taken. A ceremony is going on, and I am asked to partake in it. A special, heavy jacket is placed on my shoulders. However, the people involved soon find out I am not a Christian and take the jacket back! I don't care though and just wander off. Another announcement comes over the PA and says employees cannot leave until 4:30 pm.

Fragment 3: My stepfather taking family out to eat. My mom narrates this dream, explaining how he has exerted control over us using his wealth and influence (). He says something nasty to me, but I do not respond, as I am conscious of eating the roast beef dinner he has just paid for.

Fragment 4: A man is teaching children to LD. He explains that a good reality check for children to do is to stop breathing, and wait for a superhero to rescue them. He advises parents to keep a good watch on their child though, as sometimes a superhero will not arrive and the child may die. He demonstrates by saving a child who is currently not breathing (and obviously not being rescued via dream!).

Lucid
DV Member
FA

5:17 AM: I am making a t-shirt for my club. I want it to feature quotes from Metallica, and I feel our members will like this. I show some designs: it is a chessboard with the words RED and BLACK stenciled on first row of squares. Writing is in red and black, lol. I know I will have to pay for this, especially to use Metallica's words and music, as they are so serious about being reimbursed (Napster!). A club member discusses the pros and cons of the project. In particular, he discusses how many people we are trying to reach are not being so due to poor storytelling skills on Sensei's part. Sensei favors good vs. evil conflicts, with good always prevailing. My club member (a WL friend) gives an example here discussing the merits of a literary work, in particular, a work in which Tannhauser (in this work, evil) has his "flesh tanned" at a Christmas dinner (some kind of medieval punishment). He then becomes a good guy and wins "the curried Christmas turkey breast" in some sort of competition (a joust, maybe) and defeats someone evil in single combat (swords). The idea is that Sensei's rigid preference for good over evil is excluding people from the club. Due to Sensei's popularity, this literary work is not nearly as damning as the club member hoped it would be. It is also expressed to me that I should use different Metallica material as this is the last time I will be combining Metallica and club slogans, for some reason (I've chosen stuff from Kill Them All but now consider whether it would be better to use Garage Inc. or And Justice for All. Multiple WL friends appear in this dream.

7:11 AM: My father and I have a heart-to-heart (day residue). He is writing a blog about President George W. Bush leaving office; president is spelled "presdent"-- I sigh at my father's poor spelling! He calls my mother and begins talking on the phone. He is trying to explain about new cellphones, but uses a lot of technical jargon to sound smart. She says, "Speak English, man!" He then suggests taking a Vicodin to "calm herself." I shake my head. He sees this and asks what is wrong. I tell him he is being really rude. He hangs up on my mom; he does not think he has been rude. I put it to him this way: "If someone told you to take drugs every time you got annoyed, you'd be pissed." He still is not getting it. "Dad, I need to say this," I say, and make it clear I don't want to be interrupted. I then have a personal conversation with my dad that I would rather not relate on the Internet!

1st fragment: I am riding my bike at my workplace. My boss is discussing new for the fiscal year with a bunch of suits outside in our courtyard. I am riding around them on my bike, not a care in the world. I am surprised at how light I feel, and jump the front tire over concrete steps and bumps. I notice that I am not riding my wife's bike, and am surprised--the tires are different. I also realize I have no helmet on and decide to be extra careful while riding. I almost fall from the bike from riding down too steep an incline, but manage to catch myself very lightly. Again, I think this amazing, but don't make the connection

2nd fragment: I am with my wife. She is hiding folded up dollar bills (day residue) in the little door of the car gas tank, for if we ever need money for gas. I begin to tell my sister where the money is, then decide not to.

FA: I feel I have woken from all of these dreams. My wife awakes, excited. "Did that really just happen!? Did I really dream that!?!?" she asks. "Tell me that was real!" She is crying happily as she gets her DJ out. I assume she has had some poignant experience and I say nothing, so that she will not be distracted and forget. She then gets up and uses the RR. I am worried she will forget her dream before writing it down; I don't want her to lose her dream and be sad.

(WBTB and WILD attempt--7:30ish)

8:29 AM: I am riding in the car with my mom on the interstate. I suddenly become cognizant that I am dreaming. I nose pinch to confirm. "Isn't it funny," I ask her, "that none of this is real?" I then nose pinch again (just to be sure--leaping from a speeding vehicle is almost never a good idea) and then open the door. The pavement and road shoulder are moving incredibly fast. I just step out, and the world slows down around me; I land safely on my feet. I manage to fly around a little bit! I get up in the air, and say "Look, I am higher! I'm higher!" Each time I say this I am lifted higher into the sky, or rather, the ground drops farther and farther away. It comes into my mind that I am tricking the dream (doh!) and the ground resumes its normal position. I am messing around with flying some more when I remember my 3-step task. I reach into my pocket and summon my cellphone; it is there. I open the lock screen and read some texts; some stuff from my dad, but all gibberish. I toss the phone away. I approach the wall of a building and phase my hand through; it passes through like a ghost, which has never happened before. I am already phasing my body through the wall, and the normal feeling of passing through jello or plasma or whatever returns

Inside is an odd shaped room--sort of bottle-necked with a square body and long-necked hallways. I can't remember exactly what occurred in this room, but I know I did not encounter any DCs or eat anything . . . lol. I see a mirror and wonder if phasing through a mirror is a task (old TotM, I believe--heard about it from podcasts). I phase through (a first for me, actually) but C/R what was on the other side. I suddenly realize I've been running about for a bit and have not seen any DCs--I forgot about my mom at this point. I leave this building and decide to summon a WL friend. "Jane (not her real name) be around this corner!" I say. I run around the brick side of the building, onto a cement patio with a picnic table. Sitting on the picnic table is my friend. She appears for a moment, and then changes into an old crush from high school. She looks really good and I almost lose it, lol. Her DC is stable, and looks exactly as she does in WL, except for dream glamour that always makes distracting DCs incredibly beautiful. We have a conversation.

"Hey (insert my WL name, lol,) it's really great to see you! you look good!" she says. She is wearing short shorts and her feet and legs are sandy, as though she's been walking at the beach. "You look good, too," I say, though I am cognizant that she is not real. She notices me oggling her and offers to have sex with me (which started out as one of my NL goals in several lucid dreams). I begin to comply, but then back away. I say, "I've been trying really hard not to get distracted during dreams, so I think I won't this time." She smiles and gives me a thumbs up. "Good job," she says, and then begins talking about her life and stuff. Admittedly I lose interest at this point and begin thinking about the tasks. I realize I should listen attentively (dream yoga and all) but then think, "I don't have time for this." I interrupt her: "What are some good lucid tasks for me to accomplish?" She sits for a moment and thinks. "How about flying?" she asks. I groan. "I'm terrible at flying." I look at her. "Do you know how?" She smiles and nods. "Show me, please!" I say. She holds out her hand and I take it and we walk out to an open area. I am very excited: I am finally going to get to advanced flying, and my crush from high school is going to teach me. Sweet! She looks up into the sky and then jumps. Nothing happens. She tries a couple more times and shrugs. I leave, annoyed, and decide to find someone who does know how to fly in this damn dream.

I run about the dream landscape, doing lots of high jumping (onto the backs of cars, up onto buildings and such). I find a hotel that seems to have people in it. I enter; it is packed with DCs. I look around at all of them: who would know how to fly? I ask one. She gives me a weird look and says she does not know how. I see a headless woman carrying a tray of something; surely a headless DC would know how to fly? I approach and ask, and she replies, "Um, I don't think I want to buy any," as though I am a salesperson. I ask a man and he looks disgustedly at me and says, "Oh, a dream question." I finally look around and shout, "Quiet!" Everyone stops talking and looks at me. There is still music and laughter coming from the ball room. "Tell them to be quiet in there too," I say (C/R if they shut up or not, lol). I say, "Who in here knows how to fly?" The DCs look around at each other. Finally a girl my age raises her hand and says, "I do." She asks me if this is the only way "Santa will bring me wings for Christmas" (A DV reference). She agrees to show me, and then proceeds to waste a lot of dream time screwing around, looking out of windows, rummaging through stuff. I keep asking her to hurry, because the dream will end soon, and she tells me to be patient or something. At some point, I begin to feel odd tactile sensations--someone brushing my hair, and tickling my body. I am not sure if these are random dream sensations or my wife trying to wake me up IRL. I move away from the area I am standing in and the sensations fade. I realize the dream will end soon and I quickly try to scan back through the events, in order to remember the dream better. As I am doing this I wake up. I think to DEILD, but then realize I will forget this dream (In all, this LD lasted about 45 minutes!)

3rd fragment: I am trying to open a car door. The handle snaps off in my hand. I flip it around and put it back on backwards; the handle works fine even though it isn't installed properly. I realize this is odd and wake up.

4th fragment: I have a somewhat lengthy dream, but am under the impression that I am merely deep in thought. In the dream, I am teaching a class on lucid dreaming. My students and I are back in the previous LD environment, with one of my WL friends leading the pack, lol, explaining what she wants to see in a dream. I look out of a window and tease them by saying, "I think I see a rat catcher!" We are walking through a beautiful wood-floor home, with many staircases and sunlit hallways. My high school crush passes again, and we meet eyes. She pats my stomach as she passes. I am suddenly aware that I am actually dreaming, and not merely deep in thought imagining myself to be dreaming, but I run out of REM time and wake up.

4 fragments: 2
3 dreams: 3
1 LD: 5

WBTB (sako!): 2
WILD (unsuccessful): 1

Basic
RC/stabilize: 1
Interact with dream character: 2
flying: 4
basic summoning: 4
Gain invulnerability: 4
Hand through object: 4
Use electronic device: 4

Advanced
Phase through object: 8

Three-step task
Summon phone, hand through object, walk through wall: 30

I am getting 73 total points. Let me know if this is not correct!