Threecat's Dreamtime

I am a student at a prep school. I am being bullied by the gym teacher (who looks like a psychotic mix between Dolph Lundgren and Josh Hartnett He tells me he'll give me a black star--punch me in the forehead, but so administrators won't see any marks. Then he'll get some of the other kids to "beat my ass." They will "put me in a circle" and punch me.

I get in trouble for something with a friend (not someone I know in WL), and we both get sent to the principal's office. Principal is telling my friend how he will get him kicked out of this school. My friend starts crying, and asking why I won't be getting kicked out as well. The principal says the circumstances are different for me. The principal goes on, looking through some thick book, and saying things like, "Seems there is an opening at such-and-such school." I scoot my chair (it's a rolley chair) closer to see what he is reading.

It's an album of Winnie the Pooh pictures. I laugh. He sees that I've seen the album and smiles. He then kindly lectures us on behaving in class, and tells us we need to do that. I say, "I am going to shoot straight with you," to the principal. I tell him about the gym teacher's threats. He slowly transforms from a slender, bald man with glasses to a heavier, blonde-bearded guy. The bearded guy tells us how they called the gym teacher "the cheat pro" in high school because he always cheated. I ask incredulously if he went to school here. The principal says he did not. His beard has changed into some weird metal clip flapping from his chin. He also has a clip hanging from his lower lip, his ears, and maybe nose (?). The clips flap as he talks. This seems vaguely unprofessional to me, but don't notice it as weird

The principal has now changed into a woman. She says she is sure the teacher did not mean his threats, and that he has to have some way to control the class. I tell her she is wrong, and that I fully expect to be beaten up soon. I tell her I will let her know if that happens.

My friend and I are heading back to class. I realize I forgot my book bag in the principal's office. I also am trying to remember what my science homework is. I realize I have done no science homework the entire year. Does that mean I just have a zero in the class? Why didn't the principal mention my grade? It suddenly dawns on me that I might be dreaming. I nose pinch twice and can breathe. My friend is looking at me expectantly. I think to tell him this is a dream, but then remember how DCs tend to wig out on me if I do that. I say nothing.

I also realize I don't need to go back to the office for the backpack, as I can just summon it here. I reach behind me, feeling for the strap. I feel the correct texture, and pull the backpack around to me. It has some orange coloration, but it otherwise almost exactly like the back pack I have in WL. I am satisfied. I then decide to head outside.

There are many students in the main hall--everyone seems to be heading to class. I am walking down a wide staircase with students going up and down. I see a boy trying to lift a duffel bag up onto the step above him--the step he is trying to get up is somehow very high, about four or five feet. I lift the bag up for him, reasoning that this should not take too much of my dream time. He thanks me (?) and then says I should lift bags in a certain way--I should "waffle" them. Whatevs

Another student stops me, and starts talking. I stop and listen, but it comes out garbled. I ask him to repeat himself. He shakes his head, and says he was just going to "cheer me on" or something. I realize this is just a DC, and therefore is not real. "You're fine," I say to him, and continue on to the front steps of the school. As I approach, I remember to observe the dream. What would that entail here? I pay more attention. Doors are made of glass. I go outside onto the main steps.

Something is now in my mouth--I'm chewing. Two girls approach me. They want me to take a survey or something. I spit the food out of my mouth in a retching fashion to see how they will react. They just stare at the chewed up food on the ground. I wake up. Go for the DEILD but no

5:55 AM: Close to lucidity a few times (in high school again, both with people my own age and people who are not). Finally, I am driving with my wife. Not sure how, but enough weird stuff occurs that I nose pinch. I am nose pinching, and about to say that it is not a dream, when I realize I can actually breathe. I look at my wife and say, "I can breathe!" She smiles and is RCing as well. I am still not sure. Jokingly, I say, "I am going to do one more RC." I then open the car door as we are speeding along. "If this is a dream, I can jump out and be OK." She doesn't say anything. I look at my hands. They are a little off, but otherwise normal. I look away and look back several times. Finally, I only have two fingers, and one of them is twisted up like an ugly tree root.

"I've only got two fingers!" I say to my wife in a "this is ridiculous" tone of voice. "This is a dream." I then jump out of the car. I glide to a stop, as though the car was never moving at all. My wife gets out of the car too. We are in a wooded area, and there is a dirt cliff high above us. My wife easily flies up to this spot. I decide to follow, but can't fly after her. I begin practicing what I had told myself in WL: I'm flying, I think, I'm flying! It doesn't work, though, so I jump and start climbing up the dirt cliff. My wife extends her hand down to me to help me up. I wake up and then DEILD.

I roll left (not normal) and fall through space. I am in darkness for a bit, but then "open my dream eyes." I am falling through some cavernous area, with Egyptian iconography. I see a sign that looks like an advertisement for the Discovery channel. I finally land in what I think was a ruin of sorts.

I sense the gravity is low here. I moon jump through the house. Fun! I notice the house becoming more "house-like" and less ruin-like. In the bathroom, I look around the shower curtain to see who is there. Nobody. I look away and look back, expecting a beautiful woman to be there. Surprise! No, she is not there. I try this a couple of times, to no effect. I then see some shadows in the soap dish. The shadows begin to form into little silhouettes of goblins. I begin interacting with them, and begin to pretend to be mean. They respond by swinging little weapons around (I remember one swinging a tiny flail). I remember to give them positive energy. They really seem to hate it, as they begin screaming. I tickle them and they start dying. I wake up.

MILD for a few minutes then return to sleep. I am driving along a mountain path and listening to a rock song. I think to myself how this singer has a melodious voice, when I suddenly wonder if this is real or not. I nose pinch but find it difficult to breathe. I stop the car by putting my feet down and lifting the main wheel up. I then look out over a cliff at the town below. I think of how I would love to jump from here, if I could just be sure I was dreaming. I sense for my WL body.Hey, there it is! but unfortunately 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.

I am in high school again, and am walking to my bus after school. Already lucid, but not very much -- don't remember how I got there! I am walking with a short, chubby black kid. I have just done something not very nice (don't remember what) and think I need to make it up to this DC. I give the kid a big hug.

"What are you doing?" he asks in disgust.

C/R my response. I think of how I might win this DC over. I reach into my pocket, hoping for some candy. I find instead a toy from childhood:



I give this to the DC and tell him it is a chocolate bar (?) DC takes a bite and complains that it is not a chocolate bar, and that it is indeed a plastic toy. I take the toy back and try to morph it into a chocolate bar. It's outward appearance changes somewhat, but not enough to be food.

The DC then asks, "Is this that kind of candy that once I chew it, it becomes candy in my mouth?"

"Yeah, sure," I say, still searching through my pockets.

He begins eating it again.

"Oh my god," he cries, "It's glorious! It's like I'm flying through space on an imperial starship!"

I look down and see a piece of the action figure/candy on the ground. Yep, I pick it up and eat it. It tastes sweet but nothing spectacular. Definitely not flying through space. I wake up.

6:27 AM: My mom is driving me to school in the city (I never went to a school in the city!). We are running a bit late (. . . skipping some NL details, getting to the good stuff ). Once she drops me off and heads to work, I realize I have forgotten my lunch (a caramel and chocolate protein bar) and my bite guard (in case I want to take a lucid nap!). I turn and run back to the drop-off area, scanning the busy thoroughfare for my mom. Students and people are moving all over the place. I finally see her; she is moving back in my direction carrying my book bag. I think of several things to say, and one seems most appropriate: "You brought my bag." (Please don't try to make sense of this!)

She replies, "At least you said that." She seems grateful. Now that I have my things, I am heading (finally) towards school, when all of these emergency personnel get in my way. Seems there has been some sort of accident. I have to thread around behind them. As I do so, it occurs to me that I have no idea what my school is like on the inside. I know it isn't the first day, and I marvel that I have been on autopilot so much at school! I am excited to see what this new school will be like! I then nose pinch, in order to be certain I am not dreaming.

Ah, I see. I look around and notice a friend from WL. In WL he is a very towering guy, and he looks the same in this dream. I ask him, "So even this isn't real." It's more of a statement than a question.

He looks at me and nods. He then proceeds to say something deep that I have now forgotten. I decide that this DC is legit and ask him some more questions.

"Does the dream world contain stability?" I ask. "Does it contain stable locations?"

He shakes his head. "You create and control dreams."

"What is the most important aspect of dream knowledge?" I ask.

He looks at me as though he is a bit surprised or nonplussed. He then points at me, as though the answer is obvious.

"You mean controlling myself?" I ask.

"I mean controlling your mind," he replies.

We are now somehow in a small, empty diner. I ask him if he can help me control my mind. He nods and extends his hand. I take it and he proceeds to hurl me into the air towards the ceiling. I turn in the air and fall to the ground. My shin bangs one of the diner tables. This actually feels just like I imagine it would in WL--painful. I tell him so. He makes a face (like I am being a whiner) and points to a more open area.

As I am moving, however, it dawns on me that even pain in the dream world isn't real, and as I think this, the feeling evaporates. I realize I can't be harmed. In a moment, I remember Mancon's guide for flying (in particular, let the clouds suck you into the sky). I try this briefly but don't have time to work it properly as my pal has already grabbed me again and tossed me into the air. I now fly into a whirling ceiling fan and smack against the blades. This does not hurt, however.

My friend continues to sling me by my arm into the air. A voice comes over the PA telling me to come to the dean's office, but I realize I do not have to go, as I am dreaming. The theme from Mortal Kombat begins to play.





I am mid air (and mid-fan) when I awake. My heart is pounding and I assume the adrenaline pushed me out of 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!

Red: DV members
Blue: Lucid

2:10 AM: Fragment. In an enchanted garden at night. All of the creatures here (mainly butterflies) are constructs, and are designed to "find out" thing about people (listening at the proper moment, or asking particular questions). This has something to do with sleep and dreaming but C/R (can't remember).

5:43 AM: (FA) I attempt WILD, which initiates missed FA. gab sees me trying to WILD and decides to help. She explains her method of WILDing: she visualizes Naruto in meditative posture (yeah right) before a big battle. She says the moment Naruto gets into meditative posture, he begins telling her he is ready to WILD. "I can see people fighting," he says. "The closest fight is the best one!" and "I'm ready right now," and "I'm still ready" and finally, if gab misses these cues, "I've woken up!" I marvel at how easy it is for gab to WILD!

The dream transitions to a false WBTB (lol) where I am ordering pizza with Sensei and a coworker. I have to walk down a long dirt road to get to my room, but am excited about having pizza. I explain to my coworker and Sensei that I will probably not have any soda because I need to return to bed for the competition. I also look at myself in the mirror at some point. Nothing weird; I just look tired. I contemplate taking Galantamine, then remember that it was hard to fall back asleep after a lucid dream. I reassure myself by remembering that we've just purchased some blackout curtains and I can sleep as late as I need to. I then take the Galantamine (?) but cannot remember a moment later if I took it or not. I ask my coworker if I took it. He says he thinks so. I tell him this is important, and is he sure? He assures me he is certain, and says, "You took something from that bottle." I am satisfied. I ask him if he wants one and he declines, saying he has heard it is ineffective. I assure him it has worked for me in the past, though he chalks this up to my "good recall." He admits his recall is very bad. I say mine has not been so great either lately.

(WBTB, WILD attempt 2)

7:24 AM: Meeting a Tibetan medicine student in a grocery store. We have an argument about how best to induce lucid dreams. He is trying to sell me some junk medicine. He then says that "half of the mind is dark" when travelling in different countries, which is why I am not remembering dreams. I tell him this is ridiculous and that the mind is never "dark." He becomes angry and says he cannot teach me anything. I try to calm him down. "Can't we have a discussion?" I ask. "Is homeopathy always right?"

"Yes," he says. He storms off. He then returns and says he is going to inform my "carlo" (no idea what that is) and my lama as to my rudeness. He also says he is going to find "all of the people that love me" and inform them too. I begin to get angry now to the point of violence. I implore him not to contact my friends and family, and get involved in my affairs. I also explain to him that our relationship is business, so do not make it personal. "Tell me you are understanding reality right now," I say.

A child I know wants to get past me to the drink cooler. I move out of the way. I am conscious now of making a scene, and decide to walk away. I head over to the freezer section, thinking I will preemptively call my lama and inform him of some lunatic who will be calling soon. I doubt he'll be mad at all. I meet a little old lady in the freezer section, and she asks for help finding the "orange juice with sugar." I begin digging through the freezer trying to find it. She tells me she completed "three years" of something "in three days." I politely ask how this is possible, because I feel she may have dementia. She explains how her personal business fell apart due to internal conflict. Dream (mercifully) ends.

8:58 AM: At a lake with a high school friend. He sees me and asks me to come over. I do. He then ignores me to talk to someone else (rather typical of him, I'm afraid). He sees an overweight girl walk past. Apparently she looks at him, because he says to the other guy, "Do you see this girl looking at me?" They then make fun of her. The other guy says, "Tell her to go inside, turn on the AC, and press the button that says 'food.'" They laugh then. I am disgusted, because they chose to make fun of her because maybe she found my friend attractive for a moment. I wonder why I am sitting her being ignored and then it hits me: Oh yes. This is a dream. I nose pinch to RC. I am about to set off to take care of my tasks, but I cannot pass up this opportunity.

I truly look at my friend for the first time, and his eyes bug out and seems a bit cartoony. I look away and he stabilizes into himself. He tells me we are going somewhere else now. While he is talking, I am listening, and start to lose lucidity. I mentally repeat, "This is a dream" to stabilize. Lucidity returns. I tell him I'm not going. He asks why not. I say, "Because you're supposed to be my friend, but being around you is neither friendly nor fun." I then walk away. He tries to follow me, but I start running (quite elated actually) and jump high over a 9ft fence or so and easily land on the other side. Escaped!

I then set to the tasks. I attempt the basic flying task. I leap into the air, high again, and yank branches down off of a pine tree. I swim my arms a bit, but don't see any real flying. For some reason, in dream, I become convinced that I have satisfied the basic flying task, but C/R when I wake up. Oh well.

I then attempt advanced flying. I peer up at the sky. It is very far away, blue, with white clouds. It seems impossible. I tell myself, "This is just your mind. You can fly right up into those clouds." I remember StephL saying that advanced flying seemed kind of scary, and I empathize with that thought. I jump into the air, staring straight up, and fall right back down. I try a couple more times. Nope. I decide to do the basic dream control task and set off.

I run down to my school building where I went to school as a child, and see a bolt in the wall (at this point I attempt advanced flying again, but still no success). I begin to shape the bolt with my hands, expanding it, and willing it to change into something else. It transforms into a combination lock. The lock looks more like a paperweight than a real lock, but it certainly is no longer a bolt. I am satisfied. I turn to find something else to mess around with and the dream ends.

So I tallied my points and it's actually 18.5:

2 NLD: 2
1 frag: 1/2
1 lucid: 5

RC/Stabilize: 1
Interact w/ DC: 2
Basic Object changing: 4

WBTB: 2
WILD: 1

If anyone has any advice on flying and advanced flying, I would love to learn. It's one of the things I want to do more than anything, and one of the things I have been least successful at in the past. Sometimes I am OK at basic flying, but most often it has been challenging. I am much more adept at manipulating the environment.