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    CanisLucidus

    The Souvenir

    8 Comments
    by
    CanisLucidus
    , 06-15-2013 at 06:29 PM (665 Views)
    Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

    Lucid #105: The Souvenir

    I'm walking along the sidewalk of a street near the neighborhood where I grew up, contemplating a job opportunity. I've been offered a job as muscle in a mobster casino. The pay is less than what I'm making now but it's all "tax free", if you know what I mean. I feel like this is a strange thing to be thinking about, and when I also notice that gravity feels a bit different, I become lucid.

    It's early morning and the sky hasn't hit full daylight yet. I decide to head for my childhood home, making my way quickly along the street by jumping along in 30-foot segments. I take a right, proceed for a bit, then a left, all along familiar roads. I know that my old home is just the next block over, so I fly over a couple of houses and land on the next street over.

    My childhood home is here but it's different. It looks almost dilapidated and the windows are all dark. The parts of the house that were brick are all siding now. I prepare to go inside but then I stop myself. What am I looking for in there? I can't think of any reason to go inside.

    I try to remember what I wanted out of this dream. I remember that I'm trying to meet Art at the Alamo. Then I remember how NyxCC teleported by turning a model of a scene into a true, immersive dream scene. I decide that I'll try conjuring a model of the Alamo and then attempt to teleport into it.

    Reaching my hand behind my back, I imagine that there's a model of the Alamo sitting in it. But my mental image of what a "model of the Alamo" would look like is very vague and keeps changing. First it's a small ceramic, then it's a larger, hollow tin thing with no bottom and sharp edges, then it's tiny and solid stone. I check my hand but see nothing but an insubstantial outline that evaporates the moment that I look at it.

    Okay, no good. Hand behind the back again, and this time I envision a ceramic souvenir, rough and unfinished on the bottom. I feel it taking shape but as I'm trying to focus, a strong wind picks up and tickles my hands and forearm. The souvenir disappears from my hand before I can look at it.

    Frustrated, I gaze up at the sky. It's growing darker, like a storm's approaching. I think that this could be a fun time to try flying, but     the dream ends before I get up into the air again.

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    Updated 06-15-2013 at 07:35 PM by 57387

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    lucid

    Comments

    1. NyxCC's Avatar
      Congrats on the ld! A very good try to go to the Alamo using the model. I wonder what would have happened if you had allowed the wind to lift you up and pretended the model was somewhere on the floor and you were looking at it from afar? Come to think of it this makes for a good advanced TOTM.

      I am impressed how good MILD works for you. My visualization skills still need to be developed so that I can properly incubate my dreams.
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    2. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Thanks, Nyx! Yeah, I still think that the model idea has tons of merit. Never expected to get hung up on the conjure, ha ha... your idea with the wind is perfect. See, I really believe that co-opting the flow of the dream and just moving with it is by far the easiest way to "exert" dream control... because there's very little "exertion" involved at all.

      In fact, why not just think that wind is offering me a shortcut to what I want? What I love about approaches like this is that you don't have to negate anything. Negation is tough in dream control, I find, because you have to stop thinking about a thing or drown it out with lots of other thoughts or ideas. If instead you make an ally of it, it's a big win.

      Thanks on the MILD! I'm struggling with a bit of a dilemma, since this dream and most of the recent LDs have been SSILD. SSILD seems to, at the moment, give me a higher rate of lucidity. But with MILD I can incubate dreams way more effectively. When I was doing MILD I got lots of NLDs that contained either Art or the Alamo, but with SSILD those have dried up, at least for the past several days. So, still figuring out the pluses and minuses of each tech.
      NyxCC likes this.
      Updated 06-16-2013 at 03:35 AM by CanisLucidus
    3. NyxCC's Avatar
      Thanks, Nyx! Yeah, I still think that the model idea has tons of merit. Never expected to get hung up on the conjure, ha ha... your idea with the wind is perfect. See, I really believe that co-opting the flow of the dream and just moving with it is by far the easiest way to "exert" dream control... because there's very little "exertion" involved at all.

      In fact, why not just think that wind is offering me a shortcut to what I want? What I love about approaches like this is that you don't have to negate anything. Negation is tough in dream control, I find, because you have to stop thinking about a thing or drown it out with lots of other thoughts or ideas. If instead you make an ally of it, it's a big win.
      Very well said. I totally agree with you, I am all for working together with your subcon and using whatever the dream comes up with to your advantage. And being postive about it helps a lot, it's not that things are not working, but they are just adjusting for the execution of the task to be more interesting.

      I think I am too straightforward irl and this transfers to my lucid dream way of thinking especially after a coffee. For example, I come up with an idea irl and decide this is the way to execute it, being very strict on the detail. But if you think about it, the dream world is the land of endless opportunities and there are probably millions of ways to do things, if only I allow myself to loosen up a bit and let my subcon lend me a hand. After all it comes up with all kinds of fascinating non-lds with very little involvement on my side. It will be interesting to see if we will be able to give up some control and exchange it for creative solutions from the subcon.

      Thanks on the MILD! I'm struggling with a bit of a dilemma, since this dream and most of the recent LDs have been SSILD. SSILD seems to, at the moment, give me a higher rate of lucidity. But with MILD I can incubate dreams way more effectively. When I was doing MILD I got lots of NLDs that contained either Art or the Alamo, but with SSILD those have dried up, at least for the past several days. So, still figuring out the pluses and minuses of each tech.
      I don't know how much time it takes you to do those techs, but have you considered doing a shorter WBTB and mixing MILD and SSILD? I have done that two times plus latte and got short DILD on the 8th and the WILD on the 11th. My MILD is not really MILD but some verbal description, mix up of mantras, DS and task review as if I am cramming for an exam, and I throw in a bit of visualization. Then a few SSILD cycles.
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    4. Sibyline's Avatar
      Gravity felt different?

      That out of the way, I just thought of something silly but possibly useful. I once went to Prague, and I bought a little guidebook with pop-up maps. So I would open the book, and famous landmarks would pop out of the map. So I was thinking that maybe next time you might find such a map in your pocket. You never know...
      CanisLucidus likes this.
      Updated 06-16-2013 at 08:50 PM by Sibyline (Don't get the Prague edition, m'kay?)
    5. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by NyxCC
      Very well said. I totally agree with you, I am all for working together with your subcon and using whatever the dream comes up with to your advantage. And being postive about it helps a lot, it's not that things are not working, but they are just adjusting for the execution of the task to be more interesting.
      Exactly! It's not that you can't wrestle the dream into submission if you really want to, but I find that a little more finesse leaves you free to tackle bigger problems. At least at my level of dream control, I have to put some thought into how I want to do things yet still not become so obsessed that I fritter away a whole dream on something that's secondary.

      Quote Originally Posted by NyxCC
      I think I am too straightforward irl and this transfers to my lucid dream way of thinking especially after a coffee. For example, I come up with an idea irl and decide this is the way to execute it, being very strict on the detail. But if you think about it, the dream world is the land of endless opportunities and there are probably millions of ways to do things, if only I allow myself to loosen up a bit and let my subcon lend me a hand. After all it comes up with all kinds of fascinating non-lds with very little involvement on my side. It will be interesting to see if we will be able to give up some control and exchange it for creative solutions from the subcon.
      I really get that. I don't know if that's normal for everyone but it's very normal for me in LDs. If I'm not at the higher levels of brain functioning, I tend to come straight at a lot of problems that would do better with more subtlety. I've gotten better and better over time at learning to employ more "dream jiu-jitsu" by instinct but it seems to require lots of practice. And lots more to come!

      Quote Originally Posted by NyxCC
      I don't know how much time it takes you to do those techs, but have you considered doing a shorter WBTB and mixing MILD and SSILD? I have done that two times plus latte and got short DILD on the 8th and the WILD on the 11th. My MILD is not really MILD but some verbal description, mix up of mantras, DS and task review as if I am cramming for an exam, and I throw in a bit of visualization. Then a few SSILD cycles.
      Thank you, Nyx, I love this suggestion! I could still be "WBTB"ing for the same length of time, just spending more of that time MILDing or incubating. I think that I'll probably have to do this sitting up, since without a long WBTB I tend to be so sleepy that I can't make it through my SSILD cycles. How do you tend to do it? Is it an eyes closed, meditative kind of thing? Or are you awake and feverishly studying text and documents related to your goals?

      If I could find a way to do what you describe that would let me be really awake when it was time to SSILD, that may be my way of getting the best of the MILD and SSILD worlds!
      NyxCC likes this.
    6. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by Sibyline
      Gravity felt different?

      That out of the way, I just thought of something silly but possibly useful. I once went to Prague, and I bought a little guidebook with pop-up maps. So I would open the book, and famous landmarks would pop out of the map. So I was thinking that maybe next time you might find such a map in your pocket. You never know...
      Thanks! I'm slightly more mindful of gravity ever since Hukif explained to me that this is the primary way that he becomes lucid. He has a deeply-ingrained habit of constantly checking the feel of gravity and comparing it to what he knows it "should" feel like. I don't hit it nearly as often as he does!

      That map idea is great! I've not seen one of those before, but the idea of a pop-up book for grown-ups is perfect for an individual of my maturity level. That is a really slick idea for a teleport. Can you imagine if you got really familiar with your Prague guidebook and could call it to you in an LD and use it as a route to any place you liked there? Too cool.
      Sibyline likes this.
    7. NyxCC's Avatar
      Thank you, Nyx, I love this suggestion! I could still be "WBTB"ing for the same length of time, just spending more of that time MILDing or incubating. I think that I'll probably have to do this sitting up, since without a long WBTB I tend to be so sleepy that I can't make it through my SSILD cycles. How do you tend to do it? Is it an eyes closed, meditative kind of thing? Or are you awake and feverishly studying text and documents related to your goals?

      If I could find a way to do what you describe that would let me be really awake when it was time to SSILD, that may be my way of getting the best of the MILD and SSILD worlds!
      Ok, let me describe the program and what I ideally aim for:

      Desirable prerequisite1: a good night’s sleep the previous day
      Desirable prerequisite2: allocate appr.8hrs to sleep

      WBTB time: I am recently relying on natural wakes so my WBTB time varies betw. +4hrs to +6hrs, ideally I aim at +5 hrs as this gives me the ideal mix of sleepy/wakefulness

      WBTB time out of bed: 5-10 mins (anything beyond that and I risk starting the dialogue and having insomnia)

      During the time out of bed, visit the restroom of course, take supps, quietly repeat to myself the mantras, may take a look at something I printed – like goals, a picture of a place I want to go, object to summon, etc. (enough to keep me awake but no stuff to cause too much thinking) I am not sitting when out of bed, just walking around.

      Back to bed: mantra, DS review/task review (in mind), MILD, SSILD, or just struggling to fall asleep and have a lucid. The struggling to fall asleep part may include following breath much like during mediation, noticing HI lights, or simply rolling over like crazy.

      Depending on level of sleepiness four scenarios are possible:
      1. I do the WBTB (out of bed) for too short and fall asleep before I have the chance to do mantra/MILD/SSILD in bed (usually no LD)
      2. I do the WBTB for too short and fall asleep during a brief induction session (chance of LD)
      3. I do some optimal WBTB time, an optimal amount of induction, it still takes me a while to fall asleep, but it is fine (LD highly likely)
      4. I either do optimal or too long out of bed WBTB, while back in bed the internal dialogue turns on full power, I do some induction (optimal or less than optimal) and spend the rest of the time trying to fall asleep having super heavy insomnia (still a good chance to have an ld)

      So I have noticed that insomnia/less amount of sleep go hand in hand with lds to an extent. We already know all that and it makes sense that you need to activate your brain a bit to get that awareness. Generally, I tend to fluctuate between two states – some insomnia + ld or lots of sleep/sleepiness and no lds. Naturally there are some exceptions, but you can easily understand why ld-ing day after day may be a challenge. We need some time to recover.

      That’s of course much longer of an explanation than you asked for but it gives you an idea of the whole picture, plus someone else might be lurking around wondering about it as well.

      PS: let me know if you try that with both MILD & SSILD, it will be interesting to see if there is any increase in lucidity.
      CanisLucidus and Sibyline like this.
      Updated 06-18-2013 at 08:53 PM by NyxCC
    8. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      That's an outstanding explanation, Nyx! Thanks so much for writing that up. This really parallels what I do pretty closely but you focus more on MILD vs. the time I spend surfing DreamViews or reading. (I may also lean more toward falling asleep too fast vs. toward insomnia.)

      You're right about sometimes needing to just recover. The night before I plan on doing some serious LDing (weekends or if I'm going to be taking any supplements), I like to get a really good night's sleep and I keep WBTB pretty modest. It does lower the odds of lucidity a bit, but going into the night with a store of good sleep AND then making sure I've got enough time for a proper WBTB/induction, then plenty of REM.

      The one alteration I may need to make is to MILD sitting up out of bed. When I crawl into bed, it's very difficult for me to finish all of my SSILD cycles properly! I'll let you know how it goes when I try it!
      NyxCC likes this.