CanisLucidus

Wow! I saw the entries late last night and I felt extremely happy (those emotions again!), I just couldn’t hide the smile from my face when I went back to the kitchen, I had to drink some tea to make my face muscles relax.

Very very cool! Congrats on the lds! It sounds like a great experience! I like very much how you went with the flow here, and your subcon led you through a number a different places and you made the most of it in each.

I like how you made your own matrix movie, and showed those T-800 who’s the boss. The dream with the purple sky and the stalagmite cave also sounds fascinating…and congrats on TOTM of course! That peeing all over part was extremely amusing, lol!

By the way why do you keep phasing through walls? I think after reading so many of your entries I’m gonna pick up the habit as well (did that already once on Thursday). Nothing wrong with that of course, will give me more practice working with the void.

Excellent job CL!

Originally Posted by NyxCC

Wow! I saw the entries late last night and I felt extremely happy (those emotions again!), I just couldn’t hide the smile from my face when I went back to the kitchen, I had to drink some tea to make my face muscles relax.

Very very cool! Congrats on the lds! It sounds like a great experience! I like very much how you went with the flow here, and your subcon led you through a number a different places and you made the most of it in each.

Ha ha, thanks! I love the fact that you were hit with the same cheek-stretching grin that came over me the morning after all this dreaming! <-- me afterward! Seriously, that's a really nice thing to say.

It was quite the journey and the scenarios were all over the place, but it gave me lots of raw material to work with. One thing that's nice about having so many close together is that when you wake up from one and think, "Oh if only I'd done X" or "why didn't I remember to try Y?" those thoughts can kind of stay with you into the next dream.

Originally Posted by NyxCC

I like how you made your own matrix movie, and showed those T-800 who’s the boss. The dream with the purple sky and the stalagmite cave also sounds fascinating…and congrats on TOTM of course! That peeing all over part was extremely amusing, lol!

Heh, that peeing thing was so funny to me too. It felt like I just kept going and going but my bladder would never actually empty. You can imagine how frightened I was about what might be going on back in waking life. I think part of what made me want to maximize that dream is that I wasn't sure that waking up was going to be very much fun.

Originally Posted by NyxCC

By the way why do you keep phasing through walls? I think after reading so many of your entries I’m gonna pick up the habit as well (did that already once on Thursday). Nothing wrong with that of course, will give me more practice working with the void.

Excellent job CL!

I got into the phasing habit because I love to get outside in dreams. I had a number of situations in the past where I would get stuck in a building and spend a lot of time looking for doors and exits. This is particularly true if you're getting a lot of false awakenings and now you need to get out of the house again. I picked up phasing through glass on my own but walls did not come naturally to me. Alyzarin helped tutor me on this, though, and now I do it all the time.

It's interesting how often it throws me into the void these days. I think that I don't put much energy into visualizing the new scene and so a reasonable percentage of the time, I wind up in the void. Fortunately, I've grown to be a big fan of the "void", so this hasn't bugged me. I think, though, that with more focus on visualizing that next dream scene, it could even be a direct teleport. But now I'm stealing material from the next podcast... =D

It was quite the journey and the scenarios were all over the place, but it gave me lots of raw material to work with. One thing that's nice about having so many close together is that when you wake up from one and think, "Oh if only I'd done X" or "why didn't I remember to try Y?" those thoughts can kind of stay with you into the next dream.

Yes, it is very interesting how if you manage to have lucids so close together your memory keeps up this continuity of tasks, so it makes it easier to resume with whatever you planned to do. Any idea how long this whole session of 5 lds lasted, and the usual question – you journaled after all five ended without interrupting this time?

I got into the phasing habit because I love to get outside in dreams. I had a number of situations in the past where I would get stuck in a building and spend a lot of time looking for doors and exits. This is particularly true if you're getting a lot of false awakenings and now you need to get out of the house again. I picked up phasing through glass on my own but walls did not come naturally to me. Alyzarin helped tutor me on this, though, and now I do it all the time.

It's interesting how often it throws me into the void these days. I think that I don't put much energy into visualizing the new scene and so a reasonable percentage of the time, I wind up in the void. Fortunately, I've grown to be a big fan of the "void", so this hasn't bugged me. I think, though, that with more focus on visualizing that next dream scene, it could even be a direct teleport. But now I'm stealing material from the next podcast... =D

I now understand what you mean and agree that this is a very creative way to get out, especially if your are stuck in a building that feels like a maze or you just don’t want to waste precious ld time. After reading the explanation, me and my subcon feel even more interested in trying this again, although I still need to work on my handling with the void and not waking up reactions.

Thinking about it as a means to teleport seems to be the right attitude when working with this scenario. This concept can be very helpful so that I get less interference from my analytical mind that may be thinking “Nooo, the dream collapsed and now I am going to wake up”, to think instead “This is just a portal to the next place/dream”. Now, I’m paraphrasing what has already been said but that’s exactly what my mind needs to hear.

Yes, it is very interesting how if you manage to have lucids so close together your memory keeps up this continuity of tasks, so it makes it easier to resume with whatever you planned to do. Any idea how long this whole session of 5 lds lasted, and the usual question – you journaled after all five ended without interrupting this time?

I journaled a good bit in between. I definitely journaled after "The Torrent" and of course after "The Substitute" (the final dream). I believe that I also journaled after "Menthol and Marriage, the Sequel". "Metroid", I did not journal until later. I woke up for a while after "Terminator Locker" but I'm not sure whether I dragged out of bed and actually wrote it down. These weren't full versions, by the way, but tags and dialogue. I generally try to get tags down that'll help me recall the details of the dream and I try to write dialogue as fully as I can.

I now understand what you mean and agree that this is a very creative way to get out, especially if your are stuck in a building that feels like a maze or you just don’t want to waste precious ld time. After reading the explanation, me and my subcon feel even more interested in trying this again, although I still need to work on my handling with the void and not waking up reactions.

Thinking about it as a means to teleport seems to be the right attitude when working with this scenario. This concept can be very helpful so that I get less interference from my analytical mind that may be thinking “Nooo, the dream collapsed and now I am going to wake up”, to think instead “This is just a portal to the next place/dream”. Now, I’m paraphrasing what has already been said but that’s exactly what my mind needs to hear.

I went through exactly the same thing with the void. That whole deal. I associated it with the impending end of the dream, but over time I started realizing that it wasn't true and in some part I was helping make this come true. Once I started believing that it was just a transition to the next scene and that I could almost always hold onto my dream body, I had a lot more success.

By the way, we recorded a Q&A episode of the DreamViews podcast last night where I mentioned this exact discussion! (Came up in the context of the interplay of teleportation, phasing, and the void.) I managed to remember to attribute it to you.

I journaled a good bit in between. I definitely journaled after "The Torrent" and of course after "The Substitute" (the final dream). I believe that I also journaled after "Menthol and Marriage, the Sequel". "Metroid", I did not journal until later. I woke up for a while after "Terminator Locker" but I'm not sure whether I dragged out of bed and actually wrote it down. These weren't full versions, by the way, but tags and dialogue. I generally try to get tags down that'll help me recall the details of the dream and I try to write dialogue as fully as I can.

Wow! You already know how impressed I am with you being able to do all that and fall back to sleep and ld. You are doing a really great job there!

I went through exactly the same thing with the void. That whole deal. I associated it with the impending end of the dream, but over time I started realizing that it wasn't true and in some part I was helping make this come true. Once I started believing that it was just a transition to the next scene and that I could almost always hold onto my dream body, I had a lot more success.

I am very happy we are having a discussion about this. The ld dream ends/new one begins is relatively new to me and I had noticed this during my two recent DEILD chains. Your quote is very similar to what Xanous said to me a few days ago. He even managed to notice this transition from dream to the next during non-lds and applied the same logic to lds. Interestingly, this transition is something my body knows how to do rather well, but once I get my mind involved things become a bit of challenge. With regards to that, I totally agree that it depends a lot from your reaction in the void whether you wake up or not. The best solution possibly is to become so immersed in the dream world, expecting to go back that you totally forget about real life (because we already know what thinking about the physical body can do). All right, we got the theory right, now all I need is tons of practice.

By the way, we recorded a Q&A episode of the DreamViews podcast last night where I mentioned this exact discussion! (Came up in the context of the interplay of teleportation, phasing, and the void.) I managed to remember to attribute it to you.

That’s cool, I’m looking forward to listening to it soon. Happy you got inspired by our discussion, and thanks for mentioning me (although I'm not sure if I contributed with anything).

Wow! You already know how impressed I am with you being able to do all that and fall back to sleep and ld. You are doing a really great job there!

Thanks! I think that this was an area that I got very lucky on. Because I do prioritize journaling my LDs really highly and it's often led to insomnia when it hits too late in the morning. But if it's still dark out and I can manage to keep my excitement under control, I still have a chance.

I also have to be lucky.

I am very happy we are having a discussion about this. The ld dream ends/new one begins is relatively new to me and I had noticed this during my two recent DEILD chains. Your quote is very similar to what Xanous said to me a few days ago. He even managed to notice this transition from dream to the next during non-lds and applied the same logic to lds. Interestingly, this transition is something my body knows how to do rather well, but once I get my mind involved things become a bit of challenge. With regards to that, I totally agree that it depends a lot from your reaction in the void whether you wake up or not. The best solution possibly is to become so immersed in the dream world, expecting to go back that you totally forget about real life (because we already know what thinking about the physical body can do). All right, we got the theory right, now all I need is tons of practice.

I think that you're going to find that all of those DEILD skills you're building are going to apply so well to growing comfortable in the void and making full use of it. I kind of think of WILD, DEILD, and navigating the void as different versions of similar skills, each less challenging than the last. It's all about making (or maintaining) that connection to the dream world through a brief period of darkness.

You are right on with getting immersed in the dream world. In the void, you've got a little less "world" to work with, but I find the dream body to be plenty. But as you said, it's all down to practice after that. I certainly know I could always use more! But even though I'm a long, long way from having it mastered, it's encouraging that it becomes easier and more natural over time.

That’s cool, I’m looking forward to listening to it soon. Happy you got inspired by our discussion, and thanks for mentioning me (although I'm not sure if I contributed with anything).

Great, I hope you enjoy it! And believe me, I learn a ton from these discussions!

Ah, I get it. Arnold Schwarzenegger was both Terminator and Conan the Barbarian. Coincidence? I think not.

Ah, I get it. Arnold Schwarzenegger was both Terminator and Conan the Barbarian. Coincidence? I think not.

Ha! You're right! I've got to wonder if that's where it came from...

"Conan" got his nickname because he's kind of a badass and used to have long hair, earning himself the nickname "Conan the Libertarian".

Originally Posted by CanisLucidis

I think that you're going to find that all of those DEILD skills you're building are going to apply so well to growing comfortable in the void and making full use of it. I kind of think of WILD, DEILD, and navigating the void as different versions of similar skills, each less challenging than the last. It's all about making (or maintaining) that connection to the dream world through a brief period of darkness.

You are right on with getting immersed in the dream world. In the void, you've got a little less "world" to work with, but I find the dream body to be plenty. But as you said, it's all down to practice after that. I certainly know I could always use more! But even though I'm a long, long way from having it mastered, it's encouraging that it becomes easier and more natural over time.

Originally Posted by NyxCC

That’s cool, I’m looking forward to listening to it soon. Happy you got inspired by our discussion, and thanks for mentioning me (although I'm not sure if I contributed with anything).

Great, I hope you enjoy it! And believe me, I learn a ton from these discussions!

Hey, I finally managed to reply. Lol! And listened to the podcast too. I really like the way it complements a lot of things that we have been discussing and helps solidify the appropriate void behavior. This needs to become a habit for the mind. You and OB really have got me excited about this phasing through things stuff, and I just feel like I want to do more of it, doesn’t matter if I get into the void and who knows how I will cope from there. But yeah, really good job with clarifying things. I will go on to give some feedback there as well.

Awesome, I'm so glad that you're pumped up about phasing now! And you are exactly right. Whatever situation you find yourself in, you will be fine and you will learn from it. As far as I can tell, the only true trap in lucid dreaming is to waste time on stuff that doesn't matter, doesn't make you happy, or doesn't enrich your experience. Everything, it seems, is down to practice!

Very well said, CL! And for the kind words and motivation as usual!

I love the action dude. Very cool with the T800 and the Max Payne bullet time. That's one of those dreams that just come on their own and you couldn't ask for anything cooler.

Thanks, man, I dig a good action LD, too! I think it's funny that this is the second time my subC has put the Dirty Harry .44 in my hand, but a blend of that, some bullet time, and some Terminators made for some good fun.

I'm curious. Were the shot loud or mute or something in the middle. I'm always curious how things sound in dreams.

Ooh, good question. They were audible but my memory of them now is being fairly soft, if not outright wimpy-sounding. Certainly far quieter than an actual .44 in an enclosed space!

Thanks, I'm glad that you made me recall that detail before it was forgotten.