Moonwatcher

EXT. FAIRGROUNDS - NIGHT

I run my hands over a scale model of a city park on a hill. Fuzzy green grass, modern white architecture. The model is partially mushy and partially solid; my hands slip through the atomic lattice in some places but encounter rigidity in others. This serves as the dream sign, I suppose, because I am lucid. Except this time I don't remember the aha moment of recognition, only a constant knowledge of my conscious state. (Is that good?)

I see my doppelgänger and run to him. He does not particularly resemble me, but I know somehow he is a second "instance" of myself--congealed from the implicate order, the collective unconscious (however these things are done). I grab him by the shoulders and exult, "I'm dreaming! And I'm going to dance with a pretty girl!"

I leave my double standing bewildered on the fair grounds and begin dancing in place to conjure up a partner. It takes a while but eventually she's there. She is shy and doesn't want to dance at first, preferring to remain seated. With gentle persuasion, she rises and I lead her by the hand to the speakers where the music plays. There are no other dancers, but I waste time looking for the perfect patch of pavement on which to begin dancing with my new girlfriend and we never get started because my alarm clock wakes me up.

I curse the clock. But the lucidity and purposeful dreaming lasted a relatively long time compared to earlier dreams. I'm improving my stability!

Lesson: In dreams, as in life, don't waste time waiting to find perfect conditions—create optimum conditions if possible, or make do with what's available in the moment.