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    CanisLucidus

    Narcissus at the Symphony

    by , 11-17-2014 at 01:13 AM (860 Views)
    Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

    Lucid #255: Narcissus at the Symphony

    I’m standing in the kitchen with Wife and my two boys E and R. I feel incredibly tired, like I can barely keep my eyes open or even stand. The exhaustion gets the better of me and I collapse, falling flat on my face. “Oh my God! Are you okay?” asks Wife, rushing to my side to help me up. I feel embarrassed that I’ve worried everybody when I’m only tired… surely I could have stopped myself from falling like that!

    I stagger over to the sink, noticing that I’m wearing glasses (extremely rare in waking life.) I lean against the sink, noticing odd patterns and spots in my vision. Something’s definitely wrong with me, but I feel like it’ll all be better if I can just fall asleep. It occurs to me to look for the dream and when I hit the nose pinch reality check,
    I become lucid.

    I’m shocked that this is all a dream, and I say out loud, “That countertop right there -- that looks exactly like waking life.” I run my hands over it. It’s in a different configuration from waking life, but the texture, the look, it’s all perfect. Amazing. I catch my reflection in the mirror. I look like me, but my movements are just a bit delayed from my dream body’s movements. I wave my arms above my head and watch in amusement.

    I remember Jenkees’ dare to play an orchestral soundtrack. I raise my arms in the air, willing one to arise. I hear something! But it’s very faint, sounding like nothing more than an orchestra tuning up before a concert. Yes, that makes sense, cool soundtrack will come from doing cool stuff.

    I walk toward my den but now I’m somehow in the hall of a building, walking past a big mirror. Hey look, I’m shirtless! I look just like myself but with just that little added bit of dream buffness. I flex for a little while, shamelessly indulging in vanity. This goes on for much longer than it should and then I continue along the hall out into a balcony where well-dressed DCs go wandering by. Hey, I bet that I’m at a concert hall! I decide that I should attend a symphony concert to complete Jenkees dare.

    I find another mirror and think to summon Dreamer. I don’t want to get too fixated on immediate success, so I say, “Hey, [Dreamer], you can join me if you feel like it!” And in the mirror, Dreamer appears next to me! She sports the usual purple hair, but a heavier build than waking life. I look to my right to catch a direct view of her, but instead of Dreamer, I see my friend “Topspin”! He bears not the slightest resemblance to Dreamer in appearance or personality, being a dude of a completely different height, race, face shape, and demeanor from her. I look back and forth from Dreamer to Topspin. Both of them are smiling at me in amusement and I laugh, saying something like, “Okay, follow along with me if you like!” (Nobody does.)



    I walk further along the balcony and see a brown-haired woman in her mid-20s pretending to take pictures by forming her hand into a camera shape. She points her “camera” at me and I’m caught by surprise when it flashes and making a picture-taking noise! I laugh at this and say “Nice one!” She springs up and does these amusing, highly exaggerated photographer poses while taking a few more pictures.

    I think she’s hilarious and attractive, and I kiss her. Things turn sexual, but as we head this direction I notice that her reactions are almost precise mirrors of my own. The experience is fun but feels artificial somehow, and I decide to let the dream go in another direction. We’re on a crowded street at daytime now. I give the photographer a hug and afterward she turns around and wanders away. I start down the road, but after a little bit,
    the dream ends.

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    Updated 11-17-2014 at 01:50 AM by 57387

    Categories
    lucid

    Comments

    1. Xanous's Avatar
      Nice LD. Congrats. Is "look for the dream" your mantra? Almost got that dare!
      CanisLucidus and ~Dreamer~ like this.
    2. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Thanks! Yeah, "look for the dream" is both my mantra and my approach to daytime work. Throughout the day, I just casually think happy thoughts about lucid dream and look for the dream in the world around me. I try to keep it really light, positive, and low pressure. Basically trying to keep it really fun because I've found that hardcore day work in the style of ADA ends up feeling negative to me after a while and like way too much work.

      This is more about feeling peaceful and happy, and taking a moment to reflect on the fact that my dreams will feel very much like the present moment. So I go look! The dream may already be here.

      Hope that makes sense. I've done a slightly more detailed explanation recently that I'd be happy to run by you if you'd like!
    3. Lynxiana's Avatar
      Hi CanisLucidus,

      I love the mantra and the overall attitude about LD.
      I think I sometimes take it way too seriously and put too much pressure on myself to force LD.
      Kind of counter-intuitive to the whole paradigm of LD in my opinion.

      I appreciate your comment.

      I also like your presentation of letting people know this color is non-lucid and that color is lucid.
      It's aesthetically charming.

      If you don't mind, I'm going to borrow your presentation, your mantra, and your waking life approach from time to time and see how it fits with my LD lifestyle.

      Well done!
      ~Dreamer~ and CanisLucidus like this.
    4. Jenkees's Avatar
      Excellent work remembering that dare! Just too many distractions. It would have been funny to have a soundtrack to your flexing.
    5. NyxCC's Avatar
      Awesome ld! The mirror Dreamer summon was very neat, and you got quite interesting side effects!

      The lady with the invisible camera was super cool too! Love those things that can happen in dreams.
      ~Dreamer~ and CanisLucidus like this.
    6. Xanous's Avatar
      Yeah CL, that's pretty much the approach I tend to take to awareness practices. I hate ADA. I hate the term and I hate how it feels like work. I'm not even sure true ADA is possible for normal busy folk like us. I just like to call it "awareness practice" and do it when it feels convenient and fun. I just have to remember to do it more often. I like how you put an extra spin on it though. Link me up!
      ~Dreamer~ and CanisLucidus like this.
    7. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by Lynxiana
      If you don't mind, I'm going to borrow your presentation, your mantra, and your waking life approach from time to time and see how it fits with my LD lifestyle.
      @Lynxiana - I can't think of anything more flattering! Thanks very much for your kind words about my approach and my journaling style. That really put a smile on my face! I'm looking forward to hearing how you do!

      Quote Originally Posted by Jenkees
      Excellent work remembering that dare! Just too many distractions. It would have been funny to have a soundtrack to your flexing.
      @Jenkees - LOL. Perhaps an orchestral version of "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred?

      @NyxCC - Thanks! Yeah, this one was full of little surprises! That's why I always feel like it's not really just about hitting the goals on any particular timetable, but just seeing where things take you and training up your skills. Dreams are wild creatures, and a lot of interesting stuff happens that we'd just never planned.
    8. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      @Xanous - Yeah, this was my experience too. I feel that the name itself seems to set up a goal that is virtually impossible (or at best, severely taxing.) People have lives to lead, and giving them such a big job to do sounds discouragingly hard.

      And for sure, man, I can give you slightly fuller notes! Let me quote something I wrote on a couple of other recent comments:

      Quote Originally Posted by Look for the Dream Approach
      What I do is try to internalize the attitude that I'll have many dreams every night and that they'll feel very much as waking life does now, but that if I look for them at the right time, I can find them. And furthermore, I keep it firmly in my mind that there's great joy both in the process of seeking and finding the dream.

      Whenever it occurs to me to do so, I think of lucid dreaming and spend a moment reflecting on how happy lucid dreaming makes me while I look for the dream in what I see around me. Is it here? No? Well, it will be soon, and it'll be awesome.

      I especially do this when I find myself experiencing any slight negative feelings like stress or social anxiety. As a nice side effect, it forces me outside of my head to examine this world that I'm a part of and see whether it's all my own creation.

      I think that the joy of these moments is a big part of what's made it work for me. It feels easy, peaceful, relaxed, but with this sense of happy anticipation. Like dreams are coming very soon, and it's good to be ready. I hope that helps give some idea of what I do!
      Xanous, Jenkees, ~Dreamer~ and 1 others like this.
    9. fogelbise's Avatar
      Congrats CL on the LD!!...and your "look for the dream" awareness once again!! Lots of mirrors and mirroring as well must have been fun!
      CanisLucidus and ~Dreamer~ like this.
    10. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Thank you, fogelbise! I love those mirrors. And not just because they make me more buff, ha ha... there's always such cool stuff happening in them.

      I still need to try to remember to enter one, come to think of it! This would have been a perfect opportunity to try that.
      ~Dreamer~ and fogelbise like this.
    11. ~Dreamer~'s Avatar
      I get that tired, groggy feeling in dreams sometimes, too. It's actually been a great dream sign for me in the past!

      I am so excited to see your mantra and awareness practice continuing to cross over into your dreams! You are onto a serious winner!

      Yes, that makes sense, cool soundtrack will come from doing cool stuff.
      I'm so impressed that you just got on with it and didn't get caught up with feelings of frustration here! It's such a great practice to stay carefree in dreams!

      I love when you use the emoticon, you're always doing something hilarious! Your dream vanity never ceases to amuse me!

      Thanks for summoning me! Cool mirror effect, too.
      Hey, that reminds me of one of your very early LDs with me, where I was looking at my reflection in the mirror.
      Actually, something you did earlier in the dream reminded me of that, too:
      I look like me, but my movements are just a bit delayed from my dream body’s movements. I wave my arms above my head and watch in amusement.
      This sounds like a really nice, relaxing dream. I love that you went with whatever (or whomever) you felt like doing in the moment.

      Congrats on a great LD!
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    12. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      I get that tired, groggy feeling in dreams sometimes, too. It's actually been a great dream sign for me in the past!

      I am so excited to see your mantra and awareness practice continuing to cross over into your dreams! You are onto a serious winner!
      Cool to hear that it's not just me! I think that I've allowed myself to become so conditioned to the tired, groggy, "anything for some sleep" feeling that it's an easy one to miss if I'm not focused on it. And thank you so much! I'm really excited that I finally have daytime practices that I feel confident about. Daytime work has been a big struggle for me ever since I started, and I'm glad to have something that I feel so positive about and actually enjoy.

      I'm sure that it can use refinement, as with any technique, but I feel like this may be my base going forward for quite some time!

      I love when you use the emoticon, you're always doing something hilarious! Your dream vanity never ceases to amuse me!
      Hee hee, I guess that I am always up to something when I use that one! Man, that dream vanity has been going on forever. I've found this in some of my earliest lucids. Seriously, I remember I'd just begun in the intro class and one of my LDs in the low teens features me flexing in the mirror. It's just sad but I can't help myself!

      Thanks for summoning me! Cool mirror effect, too.
      Hey, that reminds me of one of your very early LDs with me, where I was looking at my reflection in the mirror.
      Actually, something you did earlier in the dream reminded me of that, too:
      Oh right, right! I remember that, sure! In that one, you were super fascinated by your reflection in the mirror and actually spent a good bit of time studying it. That was cool!

      Man, just had a really interesting thought... wouldn't it have been awesome if I could have looked back through the mirror to you in that earlier lucid dream! Man, that would have been so mindblowingly cool. And totally worthy of an epic soundtrack, don't you think? =)

      Okay, that's done, I have to add this to my todo list! That's too cool not to try!

      This sounds like a really nice, relaxing dream. I love that you went with whatever (or whomever) you felt like doing in the moment.
      LOL. Very nicely done!