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    1. Bold Talk

      by , 03-18-2014 at 04:50 PM
      Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

      Lucid #194: Bold Talk

      I have a false awakening where I really need to pee and I head into a darkened restroom with urinals along the wall. It looks like something that you’d find in the lobby of a nice hotel or a fancy restaurant. I remember that I fell asleep at home, so this all seems really odd, but when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.

      I start using the urinal for a bit when it occurs to me that I might be dreaming. Everything feels oddly realistic, so I stop, suddenly afraid that I’m wetting the bed. There’s a single sink in this restroom with a mirror over it. I walk up to the mirror and see my bleary-eyed self staring back. I bring up my hand for a nose pinch and so does my double. When I breathe right through my pinched fingers,
      I’m finally sure that this is a dream.

      I walk out through the restroom door into a sports stadium that seems to be made up of a bunch of crisscrossed steel girders. On the outside of the stadium I can see huge red letters that are backward (from my perspective) and seem to spell out something like “B E A R S”. I look closer and now the letters are oriented to face me and spell “M E T S”.

      Taking a glass door leading outside brings me to a large, covered pavilion filled with DCs standing around chatting and holding fountain drinks. I decide that I want another crack at Task of the Year, so I try to take command: “Listen up everyone!” They all stop what they’re doing and turn to face me. “You will all help me do task of the year.”

      I get this sudden feeling of paranoia and add, “And none of you will attack me!” Agh, shut up, man, nobody’s thinking of attacking you! The DCs return to going about their business and walk past me, the pavilion area quickly thinning out until there are just a handful of people in there beside me. I start trying to work a magic lamp summon for the Aladdin Task of the Year but
      the dream collapses before I have any success.
    2. This Life or the Next

      by , 09-08-2013 at 06:49 PM
      This is the first of two lucid dreams from the morning of September 6, 2013.

      Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

      Lucid #143: This Life or the Next

      I'm sitting on a carpeted floor with my oldest son E. There's an IT guy here that I used to work with (who we'll call "Nick Burns"). The interesting thing is that Nick Burns is trying to sleep hanging upside-down from a light fixture like a bat. I believe that he's doing this in order to induce a lucid dream. I tell E that it's not necessary to go to such lengths in order to have a lucid dream.

      Talking about lucid dreaming makes me wonder whether I'm dreaming, so I nose pinch and
      become lucid. I get moving immediately, walking to the adjacent room, which is nearly featureless apart from a deep, square-shaped window. It looks like it's daylight outside, and I'm up a bit off the ground, maybe the 4th or 5th story. I phase out through the glass and the scene changes to nighttime. No, it's daylight, I think and the scene changes to early morning.

      I'm flying over a quiet town where all of the buildings are one or two stories, all shorter than the one that I just emerged from. The oddball in this whole scene is some kind of football stadium. (American football.) I fly toward the field to find a football game going on. I want to change the scene to the Colosseum, and I have this idea that I'll start reciting a line from Gladiator to help the scene form the way that I want. As I'm flying down toward the field, I recite Maximus' badass line to Commodus about how "I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

      By the time I land on the field, I've transformed into a full gladiator outfit and I'm holding a gladius. The football players on the field mill about in confusion. I announce that "this place needs to turn into the Colosseum." I wave the gladius around my head a little bit for emphasis. The football players seem a little put off by this and begin to wander away from the field.

      Nearby there's an old man in thick-framed glasses holding a microphone. Over the microphone, he declares that "there's been a little problem on the field, folks." The scene isn't transforming the way that I want, so I focus on the ground, thinking that I'll turn it to sand and work from there. The floor of the football stadium is made of some kind of bright blue carpet. I rub my hands over it for a while, willing it to become sand, but it stubbornly refuses.

      I stand up, wondering what to do. A young woman, short, Hispanic, mid-20s, walks nearby. I'm trying to formulate some kind of leading question to get her to help me but the fact that I am confused and the fact that she is distractingly good-looking are making it tough for me to know what to say. Plus I'm self-conscious that I'm dressed as a gladiator. I'm too tongue-tied to say anything. As she walks away, I examine my surroundings again and notice that the stadium has transformed into an open-air restaurant, putting me even further away from my goals.

      Okay, new idea. I step outside to a quiet street with a trickle of pedestrian traffic. I imagine that the Colosseum is over the next line of buildings, then I start flying again. As I'm gaining altitude, though,
      the dream ends.
      Categories
      lucid
    3. The Rodeo

      by , 07-24-2013 at 05:08 PM
      It's been a while since I had a WILD and this one had by far the most violent transition I've experienced yet. Kinda cool!

      Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

      Lucid #124: The Rodeo

      I've been awake a while post-WBTB and I feel anxious "Am I ever gonna sleep?" thoughts creeping in. I roll to my side, relax my mind, and try to focus on hypnagogia while counting backward in a style like "100... I'm dreaming... 99... I'm dreaming..." Around the low 90s, I feel something like a thump in my head and then a loud crackle of electricity, followed by the sensation of shaking. My WILD transitions are usually very low-profile, so this surprises me. The whole thing is jolting but more exciting than unpleasant. I try to stay relaxed, prepared for the possibility of more weirdness.

      Now everything is dark and I hear voices whispering in my ear. It's a bit creepy, but I know that this is normal and that I'm probably beginning to dream. I imagine myself oozing out of bed OBE-style. My body stretches like a piece of rubber, my feet meet the floor, and I'm standing in my bedroom. I'm wearing my orange-tinted safety glasses instead of my sleep mask, so it's really, really obvious that this is a dream.

      Everything is dark, jumpy, and unstable. My body is moving too quickly and I keep crashing into things. I look at myself in the mirror and I can make out the shape of a man but visual quality is so low that I can't see much beyond that. I drift into the master bathroom and run straight into the counter. Then I float back to the master bedroom, going too far and wind up standing right over Wife. I reach down and touch her hip and shoulder and try to get myself anchored, but when she stirs I feel bad thinking about her DC waking up to see a creepy ghost looming over her.

      The whole scene feels only half-painted. Okay, let's just get out of here. I run for the window. The shutters are closed, but I dive through, phasing into the void and then immediately rubbing my hands together to keep things stable. I kneel down and touch the floor, which feels like it's covered with dirty industrial carpet. I try to shift this toward being the sand of the Colosseum's floor, and as I keep touching it, it starts to feel more and more like a really dirty carpet. Hoping this is close enough, I start to imagine the arena all around me.

      Now I can see my hands brushing over patterned, dimly illuminated carpet. The lighting is poor, and without thinking I look up to see that I'm inside a dark, empty stadium. I can't tell where the light's coming from but just at the edge of the light, I can vaguely make out empty stands. I remember podcasting about low light and I try to use my own advice of imagining how bright it is, but can't find any light source. I look hopelessly up at the ceiling, feeling embarrassed that I can't even make my own suggestion work.

      Okay, next idea, also from the podcast: quit worrying about it. I jump up and start flying around the stadium, looking for people in the stands. There -- a group of 3 or 4 about halfway up. I keep circling, spotting more and more people. And as I look for them, the light in the scene grows to accomodate my expectations. After doing this for a while, there's a healthy crowd gathered in the stands and the scene is well-lit. Happy with this change, I land to find workers scurrying back and forth on the stadium floor preparing it for some kind of event. Everyone's in Western wear, and when I check, the crowd is too! It looks like they're putting on a rodeo in this stadium.

      An announcer, a man in his late 40s with a bushy mustache and a cowboy hat, is under the spotlight and speaking into a microphone to warm up the crowd. I forget what he says, but they think he's great, and they cheer wildly at his words. I approach him and he holds the microphone up to me. "Uh," I say. "I want to turn this into the Colosseum."

      He replies into the microphone, warmly but firmly: "No can do, boss." The crowd applauds. I think about forcing the change anyway, but I feel overwhelmed by the scope of the task. I just can't seem to build up the confidence that I need. I wander out through an exit hall, leaving the rodeo behind me.

      I'm outside now and it's night. I walk through a narrow street, emerging near a restaurant patio. I'm close to the ocean. I see the water and I can hear the sound of the surf. Nearby a woman talking on her cellphone glances up at me, gives me a nod of acknowledgement, and walks away, still talking. I walk along the oceanside road for a little while, coming to a shopping center. A dark-haired woman in her late 20s approaches me. "Hi!" she says. I notice that she has a somewhat upturned nose. I also notice that I'm finding her very cute.

      "I'm looking for the Colosseum," I tell her. "Can you show me where it is?"

      "Oh, I'm really sorry! I have no idea where that is."

      I feel discouraged and stuck. I tell her about my Colosseum goal and she nods along with my explanation. I no longer know what my plans are for this dream. Somehow I wind up telling her that I want to kiss her, she says go ahead, and so I do. As I'm kissing her (eyes open, dream stabilization style), I see three younger girls ranging from maybe 8-14 or so watching us with expressions ranging from horror to mild amusement. I notice that these three have her same upturned nose. Are they her little sisters? Her kids? Feeling embarrassed and a little confused, I pull away. "Bye!" she says brightly, and the four of them wander off together.

      I continue through the shopping center, coming to a slightly darker hallway with shops on each side and a planter with a large palm tree in the middle of it. I hear Indian music coming from somewhere down the hallway, and as I walk toward the music,
      the dream ends.
    4. Myst

      by , 07-22-2013 at 02:48 AM
      I tryied playing some Myst during my WBTB and it seems like it had a serious influence on my dream content and possibly my lucidity.

      Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

      Lucid #122: Myst

      I'm walking through an underground chamber with smooth stone walls and a very high ceiling. I hop up onto a ledge and start walking along it when it occurs to me that I'm probably dreaming.

      The environment looks very sharp and my awareness feels high. I take the time to assess the visual quality of the scene -- it's completely lifelike. I walk on the ledge, which wraps around the entire room before leading me out through an exit door.

      I'm in a narrower hallway now. There's a low tunnel on my right and I decide that it will lead me to the Colosseum for Task of the Year. As I'm watching it, though, I feel like the ceiling of the tunnel has gotten lower. Before I can dismiss this idea, it totally takes over and the tunnel's floor and ceiling close together, sealing it off completely.

      I move on, passing through another broad, high chamber like the first one. This leads into a rougher-looking tunnel that cuts back and forth several times at 45-degree angles, very different from the clean, precise right angles of the earlier rooms.

      The tunnel opens up at the end and I can see what looks like the inside of a baseball stadium. It's not exactly the Colosseum, but I feel like I can make it work. I manage to get just into the stadium area but
      the dream ends.
    5. The Cestus

      by , 01-06-2013 at 12:47 PM
      Nowhere near a success, but at least the Task of the Year is on my mind!

      Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

      Lucid #53: The Cestus

      I’m in a bathroom, looking for a stall to use. I don't feel desperate, but I'm not being very careful as I swing one open. Inside I find a guy standing there peeing right into the drain on the floor. I bleat, "Sorry! Sorry!" as I try to hurriedly close the door. But unfortunately, the stall door has completely disappeared, leaving me no escape from this excruciating situation.

      I’m embarrassed for him peeing into the drain like a barbarian and I’m embarrassed for me throwing open the door like an idiot. I stand there marinating in the awkwardness for a moment before it becomes so painful that I have a false awakening into...

      ...the same bathroom.
      I don't buy that I woke up in a bathroom, and I become lucid. The bathroom is empty now and I’m standing by a sink looking into a mirror. I note that the stall doors are all closed again and that I badly need a shave. I cannot handle the idea of leaving a bathroom without washing my hands, so I'm glad that the faucet works. I don't see soap anywhere but fortunately I manage to get over this.

      I head outside into the hall and it looks like the hallway of a dark hotel, deep blue carpeting and flickering fluorescent lights. I can go left or right and I choose left. When I head to the left, though, I see a writhing black cloud of smoke at the end of the hall. It looks like the smoke monster from Lost. I mutter, “I’ll pass...” and head back the other way down the hall.

      The electric lights flicker for a moment and then the whole scene starts to darken and press down on me. I rub my hands together and the details feel real, down to the deadlift calluses at the pinky, ring, and middle finger joints. When I do this, there’s an electric crackle and the lights come back on. I walk for a long way down the hall but somehow it just seems to get longer and longer. I want to either find a DC for basic Task of the Month or get to Rome for the Colosseum battle Task of the Year. I start to feel fretful that I'm going nowhere and the scene
      fades to black.

      I feel it coming, though, and I relax and prep for DEILD. Another scene begins to form. I’m walking through a concrete structure that looks like a parking garage or the innards of a stadium. I’m wearing something like a cestus, a nasty-looking, studded leather wrapping around my hand. This isn’t the Colosseum, but I feel like I can turn this into the “Europe” Task of the Year. I’m armed and the location seems like something I could massage into the Colosseum with a little effort.



      But I notice that I feel like I’m no longer able to breathe. The breath simply doesn't feel like it's coming anymore. I know it has to be an illusion but the sensation is terrifying. I try to relax and wait for this to play itself out but some part of me panics and
      I wake up.

      Updated 01-11-2013 at 06:42 PM by 57387

      Categories
      lucid , false awakening , task of the year
    6. Turtles All the Way Down

      by , 12-26-2012 at 05:16 AM
      This was the second of the three LDs I had early Christmas morning.

      Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

      Lucid #49: Turtles All the Way Down

      I'm sitting in a large classroom with a bunch of friends and coworkers. The teacher hasn't arrived, but it's all right -- we're seated at long desks that are covered with candy like turtles, caramels, M&M cookies, miniature pecan pies, Reese's... all kinds of goodies. Everyone is stuffing their face and having a great time.

      I suddenly have a false awakening into a small dormitory room with a cot. I feel like I'm late for something so I spring right up and walk out the door, emerging in the same classroom that I just left. Everyone is still feasting.

      I sit down next to my friend "Leroy" and tell him and several other friends and coworkers nearby that "You're not going to believe this, but I had a dream that this would happen. The classroom, the candy... everything!" Everyone seems happy to hear this and they plow into the turtles, caramels, and other goodies with even greater abandon. It suddenly occurs to me that
      this is also a dream, and I could keep "waking up" into this room of candy forever.

      I turn to Leroy and tell him that this is a lucid dream, inviting him to follow along. He eagerly hops up and we stride out into the hallway. I hesitate for a moment when I realize that I forgot to try any of the food, but decide to focus on getting outside.

      We get to a set of automatic doors and I imagine that outside these doors is the Great Pyramid. As I approach the doors, I catch sight of the Pyramid... it's just through the door, stretching so high that I can't see the top. But as the doors slide open, the Pyramid suddenly changes into just another generic city building. I feel a little surge of emotion but it dies out quickly. We keep going.

      Leroy and I turn right and continue down the street past some food carts. I see people from my past and I explain to M who they are and why they're appearing in the dream. "That girl across the street? That's JG. I went to middle school and high school with her but haven't seen her since graduation. I still run into her brother sometimes." Now JG's brother appears. "Oop, there he is."

      There's a stadium up ahead and to our left. I tell Leroy, "That's the stadium from when we were in school but it looks like I've placed it next to a side street like the one by my high school stadium." I turn to look at Leroy and see that he's trailing far behind, looking lost and unfocused. I realize that I'm not giving him much attention and it's probably time to cut him loose. It isn't long before he fades entirely from the scene.

      I reach a parking lot from which I think that I see the Pyramid on the far horizon. I leap up into the air and start floating but can't seem to get any forward momentum for flight. As I will myself to fly forward, a counterwind blows against me, and I totally lose my cool. It's only seconds before
      the dream collapses.

      Updated 04-25-2013 at 03:49 PM by 57387

      Categories
      lucid , false awakening