Exterminate

I changed my alarm back this morning from 5:15 to 5:05. I also put the 11pm a bit quieter. I got off computer at 10:30 as normal and meditated for a half hour. Turned off alarm and put on sleep mask and went to sleep. Woke up to 5am alarm. I sat up and said I would be going back to sleep very soon. I set a few intentions and tried to recall any dreams to no success. I laid still for what only felt like a few minutes. I felt some vibrations, and then I felt some more running across my body. I tried super hard to form a dream and then I remembered that was my mistake the other day. I relaxed and let it come to me naturally. I tried to tell the dream to put me at my old house.

I saw the dream in front of me, but it was like looking at a small low res screen surrounded by darkness. I knew I was in the dream already because of how colorful it was, but I wondered how I'd pull myself into the full dream. I imagined I was viewing the dream through some sort of camera. (I was wearing my sleep mask which is likely the cause of all this) I took a deep breath and put down the camera on a table in front of me and my FOV expanded completely. I was now in the dream. It was extremely vivid. I could see everything clear as day. I was at a strange house that was kind of a mix between my old one and this one. There was a barbecue or something going on because my whole family was there, including cousins. I rubbed by hands together and knelt to the ground. I felt the concrete texture and then I punched it a few times to test its solidity. The dream was so real and stable. I then remembered something about keeping lucidity by playing music in the background so I tried that to no success. I didn't think to try other methods of summoning music aside from pure will. I gave up on that and went back to the house. I said to myself the house would transform as I entered the door. It would change to the house I wanted it to be. I opened the door and found it was still the weird mix of homes instead of the one I wanted. At one point I entered the void. I do not recall if I fully recovered from it or not, but I do recall taking off my sleep mask and still seeing the void. I realized I was still dreaming and tried to bring back a dream but as I said, I think I failed.

Gah...Accomplished a lucid via WILD, but it was shortlived and I succeeded in none of my goals. Oh well, just another step towards my goals!

I also remembered another dream throughout the night. I was doing yoga with a room full of people. There was no set routine, but a few of us noticed that the majority of the people were doing a routine in sync. They were all mirroring the exact same movements at the same time, looking stone faced in a single direction. There were murmurs throughout the people that something weird was going on. I admitted I couldn't do yoga and talked to my dream crush. I can't say I fully recognize her irl. She reminded me of a mix between a previous acquaintance and an previous coworker. Both of course I had found attractive. We struck up a conversation about the yoga people and then I asked her to dance. I said I didn't know how and she got all happy. She said she'd like to teach me and she was glad I asked. She offered me her hand and I put my hand in hers, and then I put my other hand on her hip and she started telling me what to do from there. I was in bliss while the dream faded away.

Dang. I sure am lonely, but that dream was real nice. No, I do not do yoga. I am neither in the shape or is it something I am interested in. But I should probably go dancing.

Now I have had Wake Induced Lucid Dreams before, but I have been trying to have them consistently for months. Most of my previous WILDs were actually DEILDs done at the end of my sleep cycle. About a week ago I really got serious. I even started using a sleep mask, even though I sleep in a dark and quiet room. I began a steady and fairly strict sleep schedule of 11pm-7am with a 5am alarm a few months ago. Normally I just get up, record a dream or two, and go to sleep. Many times I'll skip the dream recording and regret it. A week ago I decided I would try a WILD the next night. Sure enough, the next morning I woke up 10 mins before my alarm. I waited for the alarm to go off, then I tried the technique. I laid there for what felt like hours unable to fall back asleep. Defeated, I went about my day as normal. I skipped a night and tried it again. Same thing. Woke up 10 mins before alarm and couldn't rest after turning alarm off. I didn't understand it. I wasn't turning on any lights or using my phone, I just couldn't fall asleep.

This morning however I noticed some results. Yesterday I spent some time reading some tutorials and talking with some people about the technique. I decided to stick with the current routine and hope for the best. I woke up to my 5am alarm and remembered what Gab told me. I should make sure to tell myself that I am not waking up yet, and I will soon be returning to sleep. I sat up for a bit, focused on the task at hand, and then laid back down and made myself comfortable. After what felt like ages I finally noticed my thoughts start to wander. I found myself picturing a scene of a dark road at night. I could see the tree line and the night sky. I could almost feel the ground beneath me. I was forming memories of being in the military, and that I was walking with my CO. I noted that it felt like a dream was beginning, but I couldn't see anything. As I noticed this I felt the dream was just barely visible via hallucinations on my eyelids. The dream faded away.

I then came up with a backstory for my DG. I could almost hear someone telling her what it is she must do, and where she must stay. She was being sent to a wonderland I picked out. A stable dream environment that I could always return to. This dream faded as well and I felt a very intense vibration run through my whole body. I recognized this both from prior memory and as a sign that the WILD was working. I would soon be in a full-blown reality created by my own mind. My thoughts went wild, My heart was racing, I was ready. Uh-oh...My heart was racing. I couldn't stay relaxed enough for the dream to form. I eventually got up about 5 minutes later. I did a RC to confirm I was awake. I noted the time at 5:34 and tried to rest on my side. I was hoping I could quickly reenter the dream state, but alas I could not. I fell asleep eventually into a non-lucid dream after a while.

I was with my family. We were entering a mall to do some shopping. As we walked in a guard shot at us about 2 times. We all raised our hands and surrendered. Turns out there was an active shooter running loose in the building and they were on lockdown. We didn't notice anyone outside warning us, and were supposed to keep away but we didn't know. We were told to go talk to someone behind a desk a few feet away. When we did so the man behind the counter told me I was one of two people to be given a weapon to seek and subdue the criminal in the building. He hands me this massive gun. I am really bad at guessing sizes, but I'd say it was a foot wide, 3 feet tall and 4 feet across. It was a big, bulky, beast. It had 2-3 handles to hold it. The man told me I was lucky to have received the machine gun. As he is explaining the safety measures to me I strap the gun around me neck and notice he is starting to talk in a foreign language. It sounded like Hebrew to me. The gun brushes my side and fires a single round by the man's feet. Everyone including me panic for a moment. I thought the safety was on. The shot was very loud, yet contained. It did not echo, and the damage was localized. This was a powerful gun indeed. The man scolded me and told me where to find the safety on the gun. I then went on a hunt to find the target. We also were here to talk to someone. I don't remember what it is we were supposed to talk about, but I remembered that I had no clue who it was I was supposed to be looking for. Who caused this lockdown? What did they look like? What were their motives? Were they hiding their firearm and blending among the crowd of people? I didn't even have a name.

I think I will move my alarm up a bit tonight to try to further experiment with my REM cycles.