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    CanisLucidus

    Barefoot

    by , 07-17-2013 at 10:20 PM (830 Views)
    These were the most realistic non-SSILD false awakenings I think that I've ever had. Made for a fun series!

    Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

    Lucid #121: Barefoot

    I'm dimly aware that I'm dreaming in some scene that I can't remember, and as I become lucid, I'm thrown straight into the void. I hang on for dear life and start rubbing my hands together like crazy. It feels solid and realistic and pretty soon I feel comfortable that I'm anchored pretty well into the dream.

    Right away I remember that I want to get to the Colosseum. Like the previous dream, I want to build the Colosseum scene from the void. This time I choose to do so by constructing the Colosseum's inner stone wall. I reach my left hand out and yes, it feels like it's dragging along stone. I walk along this wall, dragging my fingers upward until they reach a... ceiling? No, that's wrong. I deny the ceiling's existence and after a bit my fingers keep climbing until they reach the wall's top.

    Now I'm feeling the top and side of the wall with both hands. It feels very realistic now, and the scene comes sharply into focus. I see that I'm rubbing some isolated piece of stone that's standing in a modern-looking, well-lit library. It's very cleanly decorated and only sparsely populated with bookshelves, and two spiral staircases lead up to a second floor. I see a couple of friends standing around. Near a table is "AJ", and standing across from her is "LS". Neither notice me. Further away I spot an extremely attractive female stranger (Asian, mid-20s, long hair). I suppress a strong impulse to approach her for "that thing" and instead turn toward the glass door, phasing through to the outside.

    Outside is a plaza with a broad set of bricked steps leading down to a grassy area. At the top of the stairs to my right, two teenage girls are seated at a white metal table having a meal (lunch?) "Which way to the Colosseum?" I ask them, and one girl points immediately across the plaza, swallowing like she has a mouthful of food she wants to down before speaking. "Thanks!" I say, and start flying in that direction. I get high enough to spot a distant tower and a tree-lined street nearby, but
    the sound of a wet sneeze over the baby monitor sends me into the black. I keep my eyes closed, trying to DEILD, but I hear Wife groan unhappily, and now I don't think I can get back to sleep.

    I open my eyes and find myself lying in bed in our darkened bedroom. (False awakening.) I get out of bed and reach over to grab my journal, expecting my Kindle Fire to be on top, but it's missing. Where the hell did it go? I step into the master bathroom, close the door so I don't disturb Wife, and try to flip the light switch on. Instead the fan comes on. I try the other switch. Fan again. Come on, what the hell? I'm going to forget everything. Both switches at once, and still no light, just the fan. I hit the nose pinch and blow through. Amazing.

    I go back to the bedroom and it's brighter now. Wife's missing, and the shutters are open. I leap up, phase through the window, and perch on a dream balcony that's outside. The balcony overlooks a courtyard far below, very much unlike the geography of our real house. I fly out over the courtyard, soon coming to a forest of extremely tall trees. The trees are like pines that stretch far into the sky, coming close to touching the cloud cover. I think that if I can just get over these trees, I'll be able to look down at a huge chunk of the landscape, spot the Colosseum, and fly there for Europe Task of the Year.

    I fly higher and higher, trying to crest just over the treetops. I get close to the top but keep feeling resistance. I know that it's mental, so I keep shrugging it off, insisting to myself that I am flying higher each time. I approach a cloud and do this flailing little grasp for it. For some reason, I briefly see stars and get the sensation of my heartrate increasing. This takes me straight into...

    A false awakening in our bedroom. I look at the clock and see that the screen's completely dark. I nose pinch and blow through. I approach the window, phase through, and hop out onto a ledge. I'm over another courtyard (this one with a pool), and about 3 stories up, suddenly feeling very nervous about attempting flight. I just became lucid. Am I sure? I hit a secondary nose pinch and make sure that this feels vaguely like "dream gravity". I think about the phase and the multiple nose pinches, and decide that I should be okay.

    I'm still nervous, though, and when I jump, I float to the ground rather than fly. The landing's soft, and I'm sure that I'm dreaming, but I decide not to push it with the flying just now. I walk around the pool, scanning the crowd for a while, seeing many familiar faces -- my friend "The Dragon" and his wife, my father-in-law, and a couple of other friends that I can no longer recall. I walk past the shallow end of the pool, past where some kids are playing some game with a ball. At the edge of the courtyard is an ivy-covered archway that I'm planning on walking through, maybe turning it into a gateway to the Colosseum.

    I remember to try to summon NewArtemis. As I pass by the stairway out of the pool, without stopping, I extend my hand toward the pool, and say, "[NewArtemis], are you ready to go?" It works! Art emerges from the water, walks up the stairs, and hops out of the pool.

    Her voice is faint, but as she walks along she says, "Don't want to wear shoes. Don't like to wear shoes."

    I don't know what to make of this, so I just go back to my stuff: "The Colosseum's right through here. You ready?"

    "Yeah!" Her voice is still faint, but much more enthusiastic. As we approach the doorway,
    the dream ends.
    NyxCC, Xanous, Highlander and 1 others like this.

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    Comments

    1. Iokheira's Avatar
      Hey, you're getting pretty good with that void teleport thing! I bet you've thought of this already, but maybe instead of denying that the place you're in isn't the Colosseum, maybe just think of it as a different part? Like since the ceiling was so low you were probably in the slave area. Then a DC could come and take you up for the mandatory fight (because, why else would you be down there waiting?)

      Good for catching the weird fan thing too. What's gravity like for you? From my (limited) experience I feel like I could jump up ten or fifteen feet easily.

      And I absolutely hate wearing shoes, particularly water shoes. Good call
      CanisLucidus, NyxCC and Highlander like this.
    2. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Thanks, and what a great idea on "flowing" with things like that more! I sometimes find that I get into a very rigid mindset when I'm dreaming, for whatever reason. If I can shake that off, this sort of approach would be perfect! Love the idea.

      Yes, dream gravity to me just feels weaker and softer... more malleable, I guess is the best way to describe it. It's more like I try to compare it to waking life gravity and under scrutiny it just falls apart a bit. A while back, a very experienced LDer named hukif mentioned that this is what he does constantly is check gravity throughout the day. Now I am just not able to do that on a non-stop basis like that, but it's made for a nice backup.

      Ha, that's awesome on the shoes! I thought that was just one of those random little bits of subconscious fluff thrown in there. Cool!!
      NewArtemis likes this.
    3. Iokheira's Avatar
      I've never actively compared the two while dreaming, but it sounds like fun! I want to explore all kinds of facets like that, see what I look like, all that jazz. When I remember to do my RCs I usually bounce a little when I'm walking. If it strikes hard I take that as an indication that I'm not dreaming. There's this lightness, not exactly just gravity, but this feeling of power in my legs. Like I could just jump into space if I really wanted to.

      Do you alter gravity at all, or does it shift around on you?
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    4. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Nice, I like that subtle little walking RC that you do. All those little things that you pay attention to are great ways to stay aware of your state and really embrace the possibility that any moment you experience might be a dream. It really builds up that attitude of critical questioning that's the basis of a high rate of DILDs.

      And you're right -- you can jump into space if you really want to! I'm looking forward to the first time you go for it. Still remember my first space flight! We've both got tons of awesome milestones to look forward to...

      I don't think that I've tried to universally alter gravity so much as how I behave in the environment. I've always thought that removing or reversing gravity in the whole scene would be a lot of fun. So far, though, I've focused on what's happening to me and where I'm going rather than altering the mechanics of physics on a grand scale.
      NewArtemis likes this.
    5. NyxCC's Avatar
      as I become lucid, I'm thrown straight into the void.
      Just admit it CL, you love the void, and just can't wait to get there! And since it's a great teleport/scene builder I can understand the addiction.

      Further away I spot an extremely attractive female stranger (Asian, mid-20s, long hair). I suppress a strong impulse to approach her for "that thing" and instead turn toward the glass door, phasing through to the outside.
      Good job resisting "that thing"!

      Great dream! The pine trees description sounds really beautiful too. Wow, you are now a master NewArtemis summoner.
      CanisLucidus and Highlander like this.
    6. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Just admit it CL, you love the void, and just can't wait to get there! And since it's a great teleport/scene builder I can understand the addiction.
      I admit it... I love the void! Total void fanboy. I think that a couple months ago these trips to the void would have all just been micro-lucids. But if I can turn at least some of them into teleports I can hopefully get some stuff done.

      Good job resisting "that thing"!

      Great dream! The pine trees description sounds really beautiful too. Wow, you are now a master NewArtemis summoner.
      Thanks! I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Flipping back and forth between cool scenery and false awakenings was one of the trippier sequences I've had in a while. There aren't many times where I truly feel like I "need" to reality check, but during those it feels like a must.

      Yes, I'm so pleased with how well the summonings have gone the past few times. In a shared dreaming experiment, is this considered an unfair approach to just keep forcing the person into your LDs? IIRC, you and Xanous usually try to "find" rather than "summon", which I have to admit seems like the most "natural" approach.
      NyxCC and Highlander like this.
    7. NyxCC's Avatar
      Yes, I'm so pleased with how well the summonings have gone the past few times. In a shared dreaming experiment, is this considered an unfair approach to just keep forcing the person into your LDs? IIRC, you and Xanous usually try to "find" rather than "summon", which I have to admit seems like the most "natural" approach.
      Well, as long as the other party agrees to it, I don't see any problem. (Unless it involves riding a bike obviously).

      Haha, I guess I'm just not a handshake type of person.
      Highlander and CanisLucidus like this.
    8. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Well, as long as the other party agrees to it, I don't see any problem. (Unless it involves riding a bike obviously).

      Haha, I guess I'm just not a handshake type of person.
      Ha, bike riding! The very idea!

      What's interesting to me is that in all the shared dreaming experiments that I've read about, I don't recall partners summoning each other. It was always a lot of meeting up, almost like that's just how it's always done. The summoning sure is easier for a lazy type like myself. Especially now that summoning seems to be more reliable for me than travel!
      Highlander and NyxCC like this.
    9. Highlander's Avatar
      Congrats CL on the LD's.
      Sounds like you can turn even FA's to your advantage.

      P.S. I've had a few 'void' instances myself. I just need to work on them a bit.

      "That thing" - no comment!
      CanisLucidus and NyxCC like this.
      Updated 07-19-2013 at 09:56 PM by Highlander
    10. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Thanks, Highlander! Yeah, I think you're going to like working in the void. Once you realize that you're still dreaming, just with no particular dream scene yet constructed, the sheer potential of this is exciting.
      NyxCC and Highlander like this.
    11. NyxCC's Avatar
      @ CL

      What's interesting to me is that in all the shared dreaming experiments that I've read about, I don't recall partners summoning each other. It was always a lot of meeting up, almost like that's just how it's always done. The summoning sure is easier for a lazy type like myself. Especially now that summoning seems to be more reliable for me than travel!
      Are you talking about Waggoner's book? I still have to read it...Xanous mentioned shared dreaming was explained there. Your summon skills are very impressive, now all that's left is to teach Art's DC to teleport you or open a portal to the right place!

      @ Highlander

      I agree with what CL said. Also you are good with noticing stuff, so becoming more aware of the void and working from there may get to be easy for you.
      CanisLucidus and Highlander like this.
    12. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Yeah, Waggoner talks a lot about the dream sharing attempts/experiences he's tried, and they were actually pretty similar in a lot of ways to what you notice in these -- more like similarities and stuff popping up rather than literally playing around in the exact same dream. (This matches my expectations, too.)

      Man, you know what? That's a great idea having Art come show me where whatever Task of the Year I'm looking for is. I've used that sort of DC expectation in the past to pull me out of the void. Would be a fun thing to try for navigation, too! Lots of great stuff to try!
      Highlander and NyxCC like this.
    13. Xanous's Avatar
      FAs are a pain in the ass but I've come to enjoy them in weird sort of way... Well as long as I catch them. Cool dreaming!
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    14. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      FAs are a pain in the ass but I've come to enjoy them in weird sort of way... Well as long as I catch them. Cool dreaming!
      Thanks! Yeah, they can be so frustrating when they're so realistic that they're hard to catch, but it's also pretty amazing how well your mind can simulate what it expects to experience when you wake up. I've come to appreciate them, too, particularly because they were kinda something I'd heard about when I started LD practices but hadn't experienced myself. First one really blew my mind. Now it's something that I encounter regularly but I recall how hard it was to believe that a "dream within a dream" was really a thing!