• Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views




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    Dreamlog

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    Purpose
    Dreams, notes, and other experiments to assist in achieving high-quality lucid dreams on a regular basis.

    Terms
    Reality Check (RC): Action used to evaluate if one is dreaming. Common methods include plugging the nose and testing whether it can be breathed through, as well as inspecting one's hands for irregularities compared to waking reality.

    Memory Lapse (...): Where memory ends for a given stream of consciousness. For example, going to sleep in a dream and waking up in the dream later with no recollection of the sleep.

    Dream Initiated Lucid Dream (DILD): Lucid dreaming type that originates from the dreamer regaining awareness from within a dream.

    Wake Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD): Lucid dreaming type that originates from the dreamer maintaining awareness from waking near-directly into a dream.

    Wake Back To Bed (WBTB): Sleep cycle interruption technique used to achieve lucid dreams.

    Legend
    Blue: Denotes regular non-lucid dream recall.

    Purple: Denotes lucid dream recall (formerly Orange).
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    1. Night of Sunday 2.25.24

      by , 02-26-2024 at 11:46 PM (Dreamlog)
      Splinter:
      I'm walking a puppy with my girlfriend down a neighborhood sidewalk.
      There is more grass than there is in waking life. More like the neighborhood I grew up in.
      The puppy looks like a german shepherd. I reflect that we didn't end up getting an aussie.
      I notice that the puppy is wandering around on the grass nearby. Maybe he has to poop, I think to myself.
      On closer inspection, my girlfriend finds a splinter in his paw and then removes it.
      The puppy has since changed into a pug, but it doesn't raise any sort of alarm in us.
    2. Night of Friday 10/6/23 (WBTB Lucid)

      by , 10-07-2023 at 05:34 PM (Dreamlog)
      Went to bed around 1AM.

      Pre-WBTB


      Fragment
      Brief impression of a Punch-Out-like video game.

      WBTB
      Ratio: 6hr/20m
      Supplements: None.
      Sleep Cycle: Semi-stable.
      I got up and walked outside of for a bit, doing plenty of reality checks. I try to make the entire time outside a reality check.
      I also review my dreamsign list, trying to commit the top 5 to memory.

      Post-WBTB

      The Vanishing Plant
      I'm walking around in my living room and I do a nose RC out of habit.
      To my surprise it fails and I become lucid.
      I remember that narration is supposed to help stabilization so I start talking out loud.
      "I'm rubbing my hands, I'm rubbing my feet, I'm walking."
      I think about what I should do next and consider taking a bite out of the kitchen table, but then decide against.
      It wasn't all that exciting last time I did that.
      I recall that my goal was to try and observe my dreamworld, to gain an understanding and hopefully a feel for the 'dreamlike'.
      I leave through the front door and go outside.
      It looks near identical to reality, sunny summer day, except there is a plant nearby that is missing the bottom.
      Like in a video game where a texture is missing.
      I note that daytime/sunny is one of the top dream signs, and wonder if there are more 'missing textures'.
      I also connect this missing texture idea to my top dreamsign which is 'video-games or inspired by a video game'.
      "I'm walking around, I'm observing the dreamworld, I'm rubbing my hands," I say outloud, attempting to stabilize again.
      I decide that I want to go somewhere more interesting, so I close my eyes and attempt to transform the scene into something else.
      I think vaguely about changing the season into fall or winter.
      I open my eyes with hope, but the scene only changes slightly. Objects have changed position, but no theme change.
      I recall flying through the neighborhood some more, but my lucidity fades.
      ...
      Later I'm in somebody else's house, lucid and looking around.
      There is a woman I don't recognize, vaguely Hispanic looking.
      "Is there a portal around here?" I ask.
      She replies in the negative.
      Despite this, I open a closet nearby and try to imagine a green swirly portal inside.
      Nope, just closet.

      ...
      I'm at a sleepover at work with my coworker JM.
      Apparently we have to sleep there because there is a test we are running.
      We have sleeping bags setup on the production floor.
      I feel as sense of awkwardness because there are people around us working and I wonder if I should be doing the same.

      Recorded on waking at 9:15AM.

      Notes
      I'm going to start a series of 4 tests for the 6hr/20m/none configuration with this being #1.
      Initial impression is my control and dream length were lesser compared to 6hr/10m/8mgGal (Galantamine). This could be unrelated to the configs, and due to the currently only semi-stable sleep cycle.
      I want to test whether galantamine is needed for more vivid dreams, and also if my 10m WBTB wake time is limiting my lucid dream experience.
      I know that changing multiple variables at once isn't the best science (but I intend to test more configurations later).
      General guidance for WBTB seems to recommend much longer than 10m, so I perceive a likely improvement by making it longer, hence earlier testing of this configuration.

      Updated 10-08-2023 at 10:58 PM by 99808

      Categories
      lucid
    3. WILD Success Again! Night of Friday 3/31/23

      by , 04-01-2023 at 06:04 PM (Dreamlog)
      Pre-WBTB

      Fragment
      I'm in a labyrinth maze. Viewpoint is from above.

      Fragment
      The Youtuber ProJared and somebody else is giving an apology speech on Distractible. It's a video, and Distractible is apparently a streaming platform like Spotify. I'm looking up what their policy is. My girlfriend SB says that they don't have a policy.

      Post-WBTB

      Actually woke up moments before my alarm went off. That's pretty neat. I took my supplements, used the restroom, and wrote down this entry. I slept just about 5 hours and 45 minutes, so in theory I should be entering REM cycle 4 at its' end. Maybe unstable dreams then? Hope not. Maybe I can get into REM cycle 5 from the get go after that.

      I tossed and turned for quite a while. I was worried that I had wasted my time and the timing reset on the supplements (once a week for Galantamine if not using Piracetam). My phone goes off (who the hell is texting me at 7AM, savages) so I put it in airplane mode. That'll show 'em.

      Supplement Interaction Gone Wrong
      I'm tossing and turning in bed and I notice that I'm feeling nauseous. I fall over the side of my bed and struggle to get my vision into focus. Something must have gone wrong with the supplements and the alcohol. I feel drunk. SB is outside our room calling out to me.

      "I have four parents here!" she said.

      She probably wants some help hosting, I think.

      "Wait four? Are any of our friends there?" I ask.

      She replies in the negative. Great. So there are four people there that I probably don't know terribly well that I now need to entertain. And I feel drunk. I decide that the best thing I can do is try to sleep it off and then go help, so I get on the bed and rollback over.


      Post-WBTB

      Thank god. I'm awake and I feel better. There hasn't been an alcohol-supplement interaction. Nobody is visiting us at 7AM. I can resume my WILD attempts. I'm very relieved about this so I relax easier. SB has gotten up to start the day so I have the whole bed to myself. REM cycle 5 here we go. Vibrations eventually show up.

      I start to see images slowly forming. I remember my past success visualizing my hands to 'grab' the dream, so I try to recreate that. I see a pinhole image at the end of the void. It looks like a beach. I start thinking about things I could grab onto. I see some streetlights. Perfect. I imagine the feeling of gripping the cold metal, and visualize my hands closing around them. I can already see my arms outstretched, and my right hand closing around the lamp.

      California Chaos
      I'm standing on a beach reminiscent of the California Boardwalk, holding onto a metal streetlight in my right hand. It's a beautiful sunny day. I've done it again! Successful WILD #2!


      Beachside Bars. Made with Holara AI.

      The first thing I do is approach a portly-looking man at a beachside bar and side down next to him. He vaguely looks like RR from work, or Carlos Mencia. I turn to him.

      "Hey man. What if I were to tell you that this was a dream?" I say.

      "WOAH. No way!" He casually dismisses the suggestion.

      "Oh yeah? Then what about THIS!?"

      I attempt to put my right index finger through my left palm to demonstrate a reality check, but I can't do it.

      To be fair, I've never actually done that before. But looking back this is pretty funny. In the moment, it was also pretty funny.

      "Okay forget that... then what about THIS?!"

      I hold up my hand and count the fingers on it...1-2-3-4-5...6-7-8!

      "WOAH. That's insane!" He exclaims.

      "I'm gonna go cause trouble if you wanna come with me?" I ask him.

      "Nah I'm good." He replies.

      I get up. It would've been cool to create chaos with a partner in crime. I forgot all about trying to summon Aeon (name I've given to the dream-guide from the Desert planet). I'm wanting to get her advice on the dream world and see if I can ask her to make me lucid whenever she sees me in a non-lucid dream. I wander down the Boardwalk and come up to some cute girls sitting at a high-top table. I figure, it's a dream I can do whatever I want.


      Spoiler for Spicy Content:


      Anyway, moving on. I continue walking along the Boardwalk and come up on a brick wall. I recognize that the texture would be good to help stabilize, so I start rubbing the wall like a weirdo for a bit. Can't recall if it did anything other than make me look like a weirdo.

      As I walked down the Boardwalk, I noticed that the dream started to fade to black. Instinctually, I started to focus on my arms, and gripping the dream. It is hard to describe, but I actively was resisting letting the dream fade. Miraculously, it worked. The dream was back, and I was still walking on that sunny day in the boardwalk.

      I come upon some stairs going down into a sewer-like structure down below. I think to myself:

      "Y'know, that seems like a great way to cause a nightmare...screw it! I'm going for it."



      The Tunnel and the Stairs. Made with Holara AI.

      I start to descend the stairs. As I go down, I think to try and summon KF from high-school. Sure enough, when I get to the bottom of the stairs, I see her but her face is obscured. The bottom of the stairs reminds me of the bottom of the wells from the Forest Temple in The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. KF walks by me quickly and she seems upset about something so I don't bother her. I try to project comfort and warmness her way and say:

      "Hey K, I'm going exploring, do you want to come with?" I ask.

      I don't get a reply, but she does stop and turn, and then turned back and walked away. I decide to move on.

      I find some more stairs going up at the end of the sewer tunnel. There is a great big door. I think:

      "Ah! I can use this to get to that elven forest I've been trying to get to!"

      Which actually is one of my goals and has been for some time now. Really great memories of waking life in this dream. I focus on what I want the elven forest to look like (tall grey trees as far as the eye can see, fog) and open the door.

      Sunny neighborhood cul-de-sac. Nope. Not what I want. I close the door and try again.

      Again with the neighborhood. Come on man...I try one more time.

      Still the neighborhood. Well, damn it. I guess we're going to the neighborhood. I step out of the sewer door and into the neighborhood. There actually is a grassy knoll with the great big door leading into a sewer behind me, so I give my brain consistency points for that one. Maybe that's why it wouldn't give me the elven forest, because it couldn't find a way to drop a sewer into it.

      I'm walking up to the circular end street of the homes and enjoying the sun. I have another blackout-recovery episode and save the dream. Maybe I am getting close to waking. I look around and find no DCs or areas of interest. I decide to fly. I put my arms out in front of me Superman-style and takeoff. The feeling of flight doesn't feel as robust as it normally does. More like a light pickup on the wind. The dream starts to fade shortly after I am in the air, and I don't save it this time.


      Pixar VR Concert
      I'm standing in a central plaza. It makes me think of the Nintendo Wii U game Nintendo Land. It's all in virtual reality which is pretty darn cool. There are a bunch of concerts going on, maybe six that you can walk to. Each has an assortment of characters from famous franchises from Pixar or Disney or whatever. I can't remember specifics except for Mr. Hippo from Five Nights at Freddy's. Obviously he must be the main attraction here because his monologues are bomb as fuck. Some time later there is a tank of water and I'm helping clean it up. One of the characters is awkwardly making a pass at me but I don't recall details.

      Notes
      All things accounted for, I'm pretty happy with this night of dreaming. I interacted with multiple dream characters, successfully saved the dream from fading several times, summoned a DC, had some great recall for goals, and performed a teleport (although it didn't take me where I wanted, that's still progress). That also makes 5 uses of the Yuschak Primary Trigger, after which the author suggests that the reader has enough experience to try out other supplements. I'm not sure I will, but it is something to consider.

      Conditions
      2 drinks of alcohol
      No workout, unhealthy dinner
      5hr45m/10m WBTB
      5th Yuschak Primary Trigger Attempt (8Mg Galantamine, 250Mg Choline Bitartrate)
    4. 1st Lucid of Comp! WBTB Night of Friday 3/10/23

      by , 03-11-2023 at 04:44 PM (Dreamlog)
      Pre WBTB - Winter Neighborhood

      There is some muggy jungle scene but I can't recall much else.

      I'm at a neighborhood street in the winter time. It reminds me of one I used to run as part of a route in college. Unlike how I remember, there are homeless people struggling to stay warm all across the street. The group I'm with don't have anything to give them so we feel bad.

      Post WBTB - Zoomin' Through Space and Fun at the Sand Shrine

      I take the Yuschak primary trigger supplement combo and get back to bed within about 10 minutes after reviewing WILD entry techniques. I lay down for sometime and wait for the vibrations. They eventually come and are fairly intense. I feel two waves of them, but no images ever form. I eventually slip off into normal sleep.

      I'm back at the same neighborhood but this time it is a warm summer scene with a thriving community. I'm living with some friends of S and I. Three couples. SP is sort of the mom of the group and we're following her. We are coming home from driving somewhere and get into the house. The inside reminds me of my Grandma M's house. Specifically the bar we sit down at is reminiscent. We start unloading bags and everybody gets something. I get a giant jelly candy brick. I get up to look around the house and use the bathroom. SP or one of the other girls nearly walks in on me while I'm using the toilet, but luckily I'm standing and facing away from the door. When I go back into the hallway, I do a nose reality check out of habit. I'm lucid now.

      Since a house isn't the most exciting place in the world, I decide to go outside. I leave the front door and the green grass is super vivid. I decide I should stabilize, so I rub my barefeet on the grass and the dirt. I lick the dirt for good measure and rub my hands. I do a few more nose RCs just in case. Well, if that check failed I would have looked really stupid. Oh well. Good thing I can breathe through my nose. I decided I want to fly, so I took off superman style. I hit a set of tree branches above me like a total chump immediately but it didn't hurt too bad.


      Flyin' high. Made with a combination of Bing and Nightcafe image generator AIs.

      I rose up into the sky and enjoyed the view of the neighborhood. I wanted to go explore more, but the world started to zoom out. Oh shit. It feels like I'm moving super fast. The world zooms out so far that I'm now in space looking at Earth. I think about the Outer Wilds Travelers' Theme song and laugh while saying the first few notes of acoustic guitar out loud. Naturally, the song starts to play. Zooming through space with music.

      Outer Wilds Travelers' Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR_wIb_n4ZU


      The vacuum of space. Made with Nightcafe AI.

      Into the universe I say "So, where are we goin'?" like Pippen at the council of Elrond from Lord of the Rings.

      As if in answer, a pale blue cloudy planet comes into view on the space horizon. I remark that this definitely isn't earth. It doesn't have any green on it. At this point I'm just super happy I have been lucid this long. As I'm sent closer to the planet I confirm it isn't Earth. This is a desert planet.

      My feet lithely (not a hint of my waking knee pain) land at the top of a shrine in a desert. There is a book with golden pages atop a pedestal. I see an attractive purple haired woman across the way near the top of the stairs leading down to the sand. She's wearing skimpy clothes, black leather with her chest showing. Her legwear isn't covering much either. No complaints. I get the sense that she is an experienced traveler, or she can guide me in some way.


      "Woah! This place is so vivid!" I say.

      "Yeah, it's pretty much always like that," she replies over the desert wind.

      I start to follow her down the stairs and then try to pull her closer to me. She doesn't seem into it so I back off. We continue walking down the shrine area. I look at her clothes again.


      Spoiler for Spicy Content:

      The dream gets unstable after that and I go into a false awakening. My body feels heavy. I try to rollover but still feel something like sleep paralysis. I have a few more false awakenings, but I eventually decide I really want to write down dreams, so I wiggle my toes and rollover. I wake up for real this time.

      Supplements: Yuschak Primary Trigger Combination (3rd Attempt)
      Galantamine: 8mg
      Choline Bitartrate: 250mg

      Default = Commentary
      Blue = Dream
      Dark Orange = Lucid

      Updated 04-10-2023 at 07:15 PM by 99808

      Categories
      lucid , non-lucid , false awakening , memorable , dream fragment