lucid

Hi. I'm Jakro. That's it, let's go into the dream... No, really maybe you want to know briefly who the hell is this.

I've been dabbling with lucid dreaming since about 2005, but only started it taking more seriously in 2009. At first my results were encouraging, peaking in July 2009 when I had 8 lucid dreams in a month. I was like "holy shit, this is awesome, and it's only going to get better. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm like "what happened? It was supposed to be awesome!" During the past year my total lucid count was 14. That's pathetic! Worst thing is, that they've all been short and poor in quality. My last quality LD was probably back in 2009. So what did really happen?

Simply put I started coasting more and more and didn't put in as much effort as in the first few months. I was lazy. I've not made concerted effort for lucid dreams in a while. I've kept dream journal and still am keeping, but my recall has been only so-so. The times I've actually put in some effort have been mostly frustrating due to lack of results.

But that's about to stop. This year, I'm going to have my best year of lucid dreams ever. To support that effort I'm starting to write a DJ here as well. I've been lurking in Dreamviews for quite a while, occasionally posting here and there, but not really being active. I have had a DJ in my own forum in Finnish, but I'm going to make a habit of writing here as well every evening to get my minds focused back into lucid dreams in night.

For the most part I'm going to write last night's dream here, but I still have often nights, where I don't remember much. So then I'm going to instead revisit some of my "classic" dreams from over the years put them up on here.

We'll start with one of those right away, as I didn't remember much from last night.

Jakro "Classics" - My First Recorded Lucid
Date: January 31th, 2009
Lucid: Yes
Method: WILD

It's funny that my first lucid was WILD because I've only had three of them over the course of last three years. This is not really that special dream except that it was, you know, the first one. There have been some short ones before that but I've not recorded them, so this is what you get.

What happened prior it was that I was seriously sleep-deprived from staying up over 24 hours. My sleeping rhythm was completely upside down, so I had to stay up for a long stretch to fix it. In the afternoon I tried to watch soccer while tired, but fell asleep. I woke up four hours later and get up to move to bed to get the rest of my sleep in. I had been reading about lucid dreaming a lot and I was aware of WILD technique. I knew that I was so tired, that nothing was going to stop me from falling asleep (and given that it was still kind of early to go in bed, I wouldn't even had minded if I wouldn't), so I tried my hardest to stay conscious through the stages of falling asleep.

Luckily for me they were pretty short and I did indeed fall asleep. The hypnagologic stage was short and I soon found myself in my bed in complete darkness. I had stayed calm, but a bit excited during the experiences in the hypnagologic state, but I didn't know whether I woke up or not. I had felt shaking during the hypnagologic state and then as it ceased I had seen pictures and thought to myself that "I'm totally tripping balls" (that's the exact wording on my journal).

But yeah, I was laying in my bed in dark room. I got up and felt how everything seemed real enough. I tried turning on the light. It didn't work. A-ha! I had just read that often in people's dreams lights don't work. I was becoming increasingly sure that I was indeed dreaming. But I'm always very careful with this, as the stuff you often do in LDs is either illegal or lethal, usually both.

Not this time though. Looking at the clock and away and then seeing the time transform completely confirmed for me that it was a dream, but I wasn't prepared for this. I didn't expect to become lucid so soon after starting seriously trying! I was so in awe of the dreamworld, that I mostly just observed. Not that there's anything bad in that, I've done that often since and it's fun on it's own, just to look at the vast and complicated world and detail that your brain has created.

As for reality checks, I wasn't done though. I did one final test - the nose test. All the doubt faded... Well, almost all. I ventured to our kitchen and everything looked like there someone was amidst of cleaning the room. Everything was stacked up in one place. I went to my parents bedroom, still not 100 % sure that I was indeed dreaming.

I walked into the room. My sister and my mom were there. They were watching television. Both of them had matching camouflage jeans on and I've never seen anything like that on either of them. My sis was also a few years younger than what she really was at the time. 0kay, finally I was sure that I'm dreaming, stuff like that just doesn't happen. Then I woke up.

Nothing spectacular in the end, but an encouraging start to my lucid dreaming journey that stalled a year later and started stagnating. I have some more awesome dreams to share later and hopefully I'll start dreaming ones as well. Anyway, I'll go to sleep now. This post at least put my mind into the right place for sleeping.

The beginning started out non-lucid. I was in this prairie with a big house at the end. My brother was there, so was my mom and quite a few other people I didn't know. At one point, the house caught on fire. All of us got out, that I noticed. Then I saw a friend of mine, which I know from school, didn't make it out. I ran inside to find him on the floor covered in burnt remains of the house. I moved them over, he wasn't moving or breathing. I checked his pulse, he was dead. I dragged him outside and I did a reality check. I could still breathe through a pinched nose, it was a dream. ([Note] While I was out for new years I was doing reality checks every so often. I also went to bed with the intention of doing a reality check in my dream.) I tried to revive him with some special power, but failed. (Yep, I really need to practice passive control. Active control is hard with zero practice. ) Then I went into another dream which is in my next post in my DJ.

2nd Dream of 2012
1st Lucid Dream of 2012

I am at my grandma's house. I'm in the bathroom. I realize I am dreaming. I think about how I am there and older nightmares about my aunt and uncles death and finding their coffin stuffed in a room. I realize this might happen so I jump out of a window into a pool. The dream the. Starts to destabilize.

LD from 11-6-07


Dream 1 (mini LD):

I became lucid. I don't know what triggered it, or what I was doing before I became lucid. I just knew that I wanted to find a mirror. I don't remember if I wanted the mirror because of last month's mirror task, or if it was because I kept telling myself that to do the gender change dream I needed a mirror to see the changes.

I knew I was wearing tan pants in the dream. So as I looked in the mirror, I was expecting to see tan pants. And sure enough, there they were, but they didn't seem to fit me right. I looked somewhat misshapen.

I looked at my face. I looked more like I did when I was younger and wore my hair with more natural curl. My hair was also longer than it is now. I think I was wearing my orangish long sleeved shirt (the one from my old avatar).

I stared at myself for a moment, not sure what I should be doing. And then it was too late. The dream faded.

It's a while ago that I'm here so I think it's a good think to post a little lucid dream at first action in the new year .

I awake early in the morning in the sleeping room from my childhood. I stand up wide awake and a very clear view up and walk to the window where I see the moonlight. On the way I see both cats from my childhood (Wuschel and Peterle) one walks away, the other sleep on the carpet .

By the window I stand in a very deep yoga position, look throught the window to the fullmoon which is so great how the window (2m x 2m) . I meditate in the moonlight and when I realised, that my body move oddish I realize that I'm dreaming .

I was in my computer room on the couch reading a textbook, from what I can remember I was waiting for somebody. I don't have great recall at the moment so everything is pretty vague. I remember that I looked at the words on the page and realized that they were like "blablablabbl kdjfksdfksd kdfskd blabalbalkfsjdkl sdkfskd ? dkfjs kfjks m!!!!" and stuff like that. I was like, "oh this is weird, maybe it's a dream" so I performed a reality check by seeing if my fingers would go through the palm of my hand. They did, and I realized I was dreaming.

I immediately got up and walked around my house, trying to summon someone that I like. I was like, "okay, when I open this door she's going to be in here." "okay, when I walk around the corner, she's going to be here." Nothing worked and it frustrated me, so I angrily walked to my room and sarcastically remarked "a demon's going to come out of the ground and eat me." And to no surprise, that worked. -_- I just remember that I was engulfed in darkness and then I "woke up" into another dream.

(actually I cannot remember if I woke up into reality and was so tired that I immediately fell back asleep or if I woke up right into the second dream)

In the second dream, I was non-lucid. I went around telling people that I had a lucid dream. One of them asked how long, and I replied with 8 minutes. So I either estimated or it was actually 8 minutes, which actually sounds pretty accurate. I checked facebook and my surname was changed to something strange, and everyone was questioning me about it. I then woke up into reality.

1) I was a loner type character, went to the Red Bird Bar. (Reason for the name is because I read an article about Angry Birds just before bed )

2) Playing DnD with people from my group, and others from college. Non-existent books. Demons?

3) Driving around with an old friend (and others I cannot now identify) on a futuristic Earth. Pass by a factory, a farm, each belching out smoke to the point that it covers the entire area like a mist. The farm was simply a group of wooden, organic looking structures and it ran off oil... Some technology had allowed this, and we were talking about how it was poisoning the planet. I became LUCID somehow...

Next thing I knew, I was in a large building, white interior, and it turned out to be a theatre, with a Moulin Rouge-like production going on. Trying to get backstage, I was cut off by a woman in a sparkling blue dress. For some reason I left the building, only to return later looking for someone.

Old LD from 10-21-07


Dream:

I remember I saw my older sister that has cancer. I went up to her and said, "S, how are you doing? How are your legs doing?" [In real life her legs hurt so bad that she's now on crutches or in a wheel chair.]

She talked to me for a few minutes about what the doctors had been telling her. She had all her hair, unlike in real life.

The next thing I remember is that we are now in this park with the rest of the family having a picnic. I remember flying up to these powerlines and then back down.

Doing this made me suddenly lucid. I went up to my sister and said something like, "Oh my gosh, S, I'm lucid! I'm going to take you flying with me."

I took her arm and lifted her into the air with me. I said, "Let's fly to the mountains over there."

She said, "I'm not sure I can make it that far."

I said, "I think you can-- you're with me. But I'll stop when you need to."

We flew out of the park and over the Safeway parking lot and over the stores.

I noticed that music was playing really loud and was distracting me from the experience. I believe the band was INXS. For some reason I was sure that this music was playing in real life. I thought to myself that I needed to try to turn off the music with my real body while still remaining in the dream.

I could feel what I thought was my real body reaching out and turning the knob on my car CD player. [Goodness know what I thought I was doing having my real body asleep in a car] I got the music turned down most of the way, to the point it didn't bother me as much.

We flew a little ways further and then the dream faded.

I thought I had awakened in this motel room where my family was suppose dto be staying. I was disappointed for not being able to fly to the mountains. So I concentrated on getting back into my dream.

Suddenly I was standiing in the Safeway parking lot next to my High school best friend M and her boyfriend.

I told them that I was dreaming and going to fly to the mountains that we in front of us. I invited them to fly with me. But I think only the boyfriend followed.

When I got to the mountains, I was alone. I flew to the rocky ledge and touched the rock face. The rock was a brown color and very rough.

I suddenly thought about the Tasks. At first I thought that being in the mountains made it impossible to do the Tasks. Then I thought, "Well I could just make a mirror appear right here."

But then I thought, "Nah..I've tried that one twice now. I want to do the Haunted House one again since I only did that one once."

I flew along the mountain side looking for an old house. I then saw ahead of me a place where the mountain went in. I knew it was a cave. I suddenly thought, "Wouldn't it be so cool if the haunted house was in the cave?"

I got close and I indeed saw that it was a cave. I also saw that the front of the cave was built in. I saw it had shutters (for some reason I felt it had to have shutters to qualify as a haunted house). I flew to the entrance. It was actually built with very nice dark polished wood.

I went inside and started to look around. My first thoughts were that I wanted real ghost in this house not just decorations. The inside of the house seemed small. Around me everything was built out of the same beautiful dark polished wood. On several of the tables and other flat surfaces there were large white candles.

I flew to the back of the house and waited for something else to appear, but at the point the dream started fading again.

I ended up "waking up" in the same motel room. I had been sleeping on the floor. I tried to stay motionless so that I could try to reenter the dream. But then other people inthe room started talking and made me fully "wake up". I went into the motel's bathroom and saw that there was something in the tub that looked like spilled arpicot jam.

At that point I woke up for real, and felt that I needed to write this down.

Catching up...

Old LD from 10-05-07

I had a couple of lucid dreams this morning. I did an unintentional WBTB.


I was dreaming that I was about to see a circus. But the longer we waited to see it start, the more I realized that this wasn't going to be a very big circus. In fact it looked like they were going to use teddy bears for on of the acts. I wondered if they had any live animals at all.

At some point we moved to another part of the area. The circus still hadn't started.

I don't know what triggered lucidity, but I had wandered off and was starting to walk through the city...and I was lucid.

I looked at all the buildings. I wanted to really remember the details. I looked at a sign for a gas station. At first I thought it said "Tiffany's" in large red letters. I thought that was a strange name for a gas station. I looked at it again. This time I saw that it really said "Tiffy's". That seemed to be a more fitting name.

I tried to think of a cool task to try. I suddenly rememberd that one of the suggested tasks that I wanted to try was to find a newspaper and read it's headline.

The gas station would be a perfect place to find one. I ran to the doors. At first I saw a phone book and was tempted to open it and try to read it. But I decided that I really needed to do the newspaper first.

I saw the racks outside the doors that usually have newspapers and ads. The first three things that I saw looked like newspapers, but at a closer look they had people on the front making out. I figured it was some sort of porno. So I kept looking. I couldn't find any newspapers.

Finally a Mexican guy walked out of the doors and I saw that he had a newspaper. I asked if I could look at the headlines. He acted like I was very rude for asking him. But I said please again, and kind of helped myself to pulling the papers toward me so I could see. He didn't like it but he let me.


Unfortunately when I looked at the pages, I could see that it wasn't actually a newspaper, but some sort of sports magazine. I was disappointed.


I believe at this point I had a FA and I went on to other dreams.



But at some point I was lucid again.

I remembered that I wanted to try the Mirror Task again. I hurried into my bathroom. It was dark. I tried to flip the light switch. But it wouldn't work. So typical.

But I could still see a little. I could tell it was my reflection in the mirror. I reached out my hand and tired to touch myself.

I bumped the glass.

I tried again. I bumped the glass.

I remembered how last time I flew through the mirror to the other side. I backed up and dove toward the mirror. But instead of going through, my head bumped off the glass and I fell back into the bathroom.

I was in an office complex where my company's building joined with a governmental department next door. In search of a bathroom, I wandered to the other building attached to mine and saw Nancy Pelosi, who worked there. Though we've met before, she didn't recognize me, so I took the opportunity to get her to say something stupid. We talked about how the elevators and floor line up in our two buildings, and she mentions something about how doors and Muslims are involved in a complex liberal conspiracy. I tell her it sounds ridiculous and ask what her evidence is. She walks away, telling me to say hi to [my husband's name], showing she did recognize me after all.

Feeling silly, I wander back over to my office on my side of the building. My coworkers and I are sitting around, drinking and socializing. I see an ex-colleague and we have a friendly chat. Then, feeling sick, I take off all my clothes and lie down on the ground, and immediately wonder if that looked too dramatic and people will think I merely want sympathy.

Then, I was in bed in my childhood bedroom, and I noticed my vision was fuzzy and wavy. I decided to do my LD reality check and examine my wedding ring. Success! The bands were moving around, so I knew I was dreaming. I did a few other standard reality checks: tapped the palm of my left hand with the forefinger of my right, and it went straight through my hand! I also jumped in place - yep, jumped too high for RL. Definitely LDing.

So, what should I do next? I was still in my bedroom and worried that my sleeping body may be mirroring some things I did in my dream, so I decided to stay there. Sex with a friend came to mind, so I tried to create a friend in my bed. But, it really didn't work well - only parts of the person were visible at a time, and it never looked like them. I gave up and decided to just masturbate in my dream to see what it felt like. But, as I laid down in bed, I felt a sharp pain: I'd laid on a stiff comb, whose bristles were jamming into my back. I felt the dream fade as the pain continued. I desperately yanked the brush out and spun in place to get the dream back. I spun and spun and things stabilized temporarily... but then they became fuzzy again and I woke up.

Note: This happened on a Saturday nap after I'd already been up and around. Was very tired from the day before. I really am not good at conjuring up specific people in my dream. This is the first successful use of my wedding band reality check, which I've been doing several times a day since I joined DV.

i am in my home, in the TV room, i don't remember when i got lucid but i am standing on my balcony with semi conscious mind, i wanted to jump so i jumped but as soon as i hit the ground i woke up, i then immediately closed my eyes and i am now back in the dream lucid, i found my self lying on the carpet i got up and head to the balcony again i crossed the safety grill but at the moment I really feel doing a reality check, i wanted to be sure that i am dreaming so i came back in the room and double looked the wall clock, the time changed on the second look so i confirmed my dreaming state, i again head to the balcony, i am three stories up, i am looking down at the road it is dark out side, the street is lonely and i am thinking of free falling but i am afraid even though i know that this is just a dream but the thrill is soo real that i am having difficulty is deciding to jump, then i abandoned free falling idea and thought of floating down but then the dream faded and i woke up..

Old LD from 10-3-07

I did WBTB with a little B6....


Lucid Dream with Advanced Task attempted:


I was in my church. I had just tripped over a ironing board that an older lady was using to iron her clothes. It suddenly seemed weird to me. I said to her, "This is just like something that would happen in my dreams."

As soon as I said that I knew I was dreaming. I remembered the Advanced Task of Pulling my reflection out of a mirror. I looked around for a mirror. The only thing that came close was a picture hanging on the wall. The glass was very refective. I figured that this would count.

I looked at my reflection. At first I could see an older man with grey hair. I didn't think this was any good, so I got closer to try to make it look more like myself.

This time I saw myself. I had shorter hair that was slightly curly and I was wearing some strange black and white patterned shirt. But I decided that would work for me.

I reached out my hand. It bumped the glass. I tried again--and once more it couldn't get throught the glass.

I thought, "Shoot, this isn't working. I need to think of something totally different to make this work."

I wonderded if it would count if instead of pulling my reflection out of the mirror if I could join it on the other side.

I figured it would count as the goal seemed to be to just end up on the same side of the glass as the reflection.

I backed up from the mirror and took a run at the picture. As I got close I jumped and dove straight into the picture. I went right through the glass and rammed right into the "me" on the other side. As I did I grabbed tightly onto my other self. I didn't want myself to get away. But as we fell and landed on the floor with a thud, it was too much. I woke up.

Here is a short but sweet LD that also counts as a DV member dream.

It would have been fun to become lucid and say "hi" to Adam, since we were just a few desks apart.

10-1-07

DV Member dream and mini lucid:,

I was in class with Adam. We kept passing notes to each other like we were best friends. I remember at the end I was trying to read one of the notes. And suddenly it was all gibberish. I couldn't make sense of it at all. Then I thought, "Well, of course I can't read this--this is a dream!" Then I woke up.

From 9-23-07

First of all, I woke up at 5:00, then went back to sleep at 6:00...and then slept in til 9:30...haha. I know that having a really lazy morning helped me do this.

First WILD...

I was laying in my right side in bed and not really planning to WILD. I was starting to slip into sleep. I started to picture myself looking out of the window. I realized that I was still awake yet I was seeing the window. I was totally aware of my body still in bed still.

It was then I started to feel the vibrations. It was strong and somewhat uneven, like sitting on a motorcyle. At the same time I started hearing a high pitched whistle.

I remembered my last experience while WILDing where the sound was so loud that it freaked me out. This was not that loud. I also remembered seeing that scary face last time. This time I already had an image of my window in front of me...so I saw no other HI.

I decided to try to completely enter this dream now. I looked out the window and then flew out of it. I was extremely high. I saw snow on the ground. I wanted to try to attempt the Task of the month for October (early). But I still was too aware of my body laying in my bed. I drifted back awake.


Second WILD....

I decided to relax and try again. Again I heard that whistle and felt the vibrations. I saw the window again. But I couldn't enter the dream this time.


Third WILD...


I laid in bed for a while. I wasn't really trying at this point. But I realized I was feeling the vibrations again with the whistle.

I was in a parking lot with Nick and Wyatt and Natacha. I realized that I had actually entered the dream. I felt totally in the dream this time and wasn't overly aware of my body still in bed. I decided to go and give next month's Task a try. I was outside and in a city. I felt it would be easier to start with the basic task.


And I guess I will have to wait and share the rest of this later because the Tasks aren't officially out yet for all to see.



So anyway I felt really good about everything when I woke up.




Edit:

Here is the Task part:

Third WILD...


I laid in bed for a while. I wasn't really trying at this point. But I realized I was feeling the vibrations again with the whistle. Then suddenly:


I was in a parking lot with friends. I was conscious that I was dreaming. I remembered the Find and enter the Haunted House Task and set out to find a haunted house. I was flying at this point. I was in a city that reminded me of Salt Lake City. I could see houses on a hill. I looked for one that looked old and possibly abandoned.

I finally found one that looked the part. I got closer and landed by the front door. At that moment I realized that there were Halloween decorations on the house. A family that I know (the Solomons) came up to the door all dressed in costumes.

I suddenly felt a little angry. They were going to mess it up for me. I didn't want this house to be a regular house, just decorated.

I had the urge to enter the house before anyone could open the door. I was afraid if someone came to the door and passed out candy to the kids I would look past and see everything normal inside.

So I walked right through the door leaving the kids outside. (This is kind of a big deal for me since the last few times I tried to go through things I failed).

It was kind of dark and eerie inside. "Good!" I thought. It was going to be haunted after all. Sure enough, as soon as I thought that, I heard spooky organ music start playing. I flew up the stairs. The rooms looked unlived in. The furiture was covered with old white sheets. I could see spiderwebs.

I flew though hallways and into various rooms. I noticed the music changed, and it sounded recorded. I even found a speaker in one corner. "But it's still scary music." I thought.


I flew down the stairs to the basement. I found it decorated with a large tree made out of what looked like wrought iron. I thought it really fit the mood of the haunted house. On the wall were some large ghosts made out of a glittery purple felt. But the lighting was low and it looked very classy.

Finally I sank down to the floor, and said aloud, "Okay...are there any real ghosts here...?"

As soon as I said that I had this creepy feeling. I looked around. I felt like I was being watched.


But at that point I woke up.

75mg vitamin B6 before bed.

My friend the spy

I am visiting with my brother's fiancee for some reason. As we are visiting, people start chasing us. It turns out that she is some kind of a spy, and there is an organization out to get her. We go running across the rooftops of some city, chased by people who are shooting.

Later on I am discussing this adventure with someone, and reflecting on how I didn't mind running along ledges and other death defying stunts when I was being chased. I also wonder if this girl has a sister that might be single.

Grandfather falling on hard times

My Grandfather has lost a lot of money somehow, and is trying to raise money. Some creepy looking guys show up, and they begin discussing the possibility of him selling the grandkids as slaves. After the creepy guys leave, I make sure that my Grandfather really isn't planning to sell us to them.

I solve a mystery

My family and I are standing outside watching an airplane. The plane is flailing around strangely in the sky, flying way up into the air and then back down. Then it starts to shake, and fall apart. It breaks into pieces, and falls to the ground. Actually, it falls into some kind of water because it creates a small tidal wave that I am concerned will hit us. By the time it reaches us though, it just makes our feet wet.

We are seperated from the airplane crash by a bunch of shelving, or something like that. As I examine all of these things, I (or we) are reminded of something that happened that is in some way related. I crawl under the shelves to examine the wreck (which is now part of a satellite), and poke around looking for bodies, I think. I don't see any, but I do find an electronic device that makes something important click in my mind. I've solved the case! I seem to recall the dream starting to get creepy around now, but when I solve the case everything brigthens and becomes cheerful. I think I become Monk again, or at least I pretend that I am. "I've got it!" I shout behind me. "Here's what happened," I begin, but I don't remember what happened.

Small WILD

I wake up in bed. As I usually do any more, I do a nose pinch RC. I can still breathe which puzzles me at first. But as I realize that I must be dreaming I also seem to become aware that I am waking up, or am awake already and I haven't even pinched my nose. I don't know if this part happened or if it was a false awakening, but I decide to try a WILD from this point. Or maybe it's a DEILD, I forget what the exact technique is here. Anyway, a dream forms around me within seconds. I find myself walking into an electronics store with a friend. I'm not very satisfied with this dream, although I don't know why looking back on it. I try to find ways to anchor myself to the dream. My friend sits down with a sort of Iphone or IPad. I look around, trying to hold on. I can't remember what happens after this.