Thread: flying, waking up, choosing your dreams' characters...

When I was young...probably around 5 or 6 years old - I started flying in my dreams.

It wasn't controlled -- so to me it was just luck of the draw -- some nights i got lucky and had a flying dream...other nights i had nightmares and other nights i just had plain non flying dreams (there were the times i didnt remember my dreams at all as well, of course).

At first, it ranged from flying around the city or my neighborhood, to flying around the inside of my house while everyone else was asleep.

In the very beginning, I had to flap my arms in an odd way after getting a running start and if I was outdoors I could fly as high as I wanted, but once i stopped flapping my momentum would dwindle and I'd start to fall back to earth...flapping again would put me back on an ascent but it was slow and i had no real flying speed at all. It was kinda like the flight pattern of a hot air balloon and my flapping arms acted as the hot air.

As time went on and i got older, my flying dreams became more frequent but my abilities while flying were still limited. I'd try the superman flying pose but i'd gain no speed and it would frustrate me (but i'd still try).

If i ever tried to lift someone to save them or just show them what it's like to fly, i'd be weighed down and move even slower, finding it harder to 'take off' and so on.

Soon, other things began happening in my dreams --- i learned how to wake myself up from nightmares. If i was being chased by a monster or a ghost or if i was having an unhappy dream that i wasn't enjoying, i'd simply close my eyes really really tight (comparable to when you're awake and you close your eyes so tight that you almost see stars) -- and when i reopened them i'd be opening them in real life and i'd be awake.

Once i learned that and ever since i can't say i've had any nightmares because i'd actually enjoy the scary ones, due to the fact that i knew i could wake myself up whenever i wanted. As i got older (and braver) i'd literally taunt my nightmare -- allowing whatever was chasing me to catch up to me and then shut my eyes JUST before it reached me -- and so on.

Eventually, I didn't even have to flap my arms to fly -- and my speed began to come under my control with almost no limitations whatsoever. Soon, I was able to lift others in my dream and the more i thought about my flying dreams during the day, the more likely i was to have one that night.

Not too long ago (within the past 2 years) i decided to talk to my family about this and to my complete surprise, they didn't believe me. i just didnt get it because i had been self aware while dreaming for as long as i could remember and i guess i had just assumed it was a common thing with everyone.

I started talking about it more and more to whoever would listen and to this day have not met anyone who is as in control while dreaming as i am.

It's cool to know i've got this weird but VERY satisfying ability -- yet somewhat frustrating to not have anyone to talk to about it who can actually relate to me.

However, something interesting began to happen to me in my dreams AFTER i started talking about it.

I actually began to control myself in every single dream i had -- i began flying in every dream at will -- i was literally in control of myself as if it was real life except i had the ability to do whatever i wanted without consequence.

It seemed the more i talked about it in real life, the more powerful i got in my dreams. In the past year i've made more progress than i've made over the past 20 years. I can now transfer my flying ability to anyone else in my dream simply by touching them and choosing to fly.

At first i'd have to hold their hand but now all i need to do is touch them to get them off the ground and then they just need to fly near me.

Soon after i was in a dream and i was driving a car with some passengers (friends and family) and we needed to get somewhere fast -- i think we were being chased actually -- and i decided that i should just make the car fly so we could all get away -- i leaned back in my seat and gripped the steering wheel as hard as possible and the car took off -- everyone in the car was surprised as was i (at first) and for a while i had this ability in multiple dreams until one night i was dreaming that i was in a car but i was in the passenger seat and we were being chased, so i simply reached over and instructed the driver (cant remember who it was) to slam on the gas while i pulled back on the steering wheel and VOILA -- we were flying.

Now here's another piece of the 'control' puzzle that i'm a bit confused about because i was able to do it only once and since then haven't been able to make it happen...

My Grandfather died last March -- he was more than just a Grandfather to me-- and still is really -- my best friend -- mentor -- idol -- teacher -- everything...he meant the world to me when he was alive and now that he's gone i think about him even more than i did when he was alive...

Anyway -- when he passed i was there holding his hand while he took his last breath -- it was a very deep experience -- i dont think i fully understand the impact it had on me yet -- but what i do remember is that i had a dream soon after he passed away during which i clearly remember saying outloud (in the dream) that i wished he was there and BAM -- there he was...

I'll tell the story:

I was running VERY fast and eventually flying (of course) through some sort of an industrial area covered in dry dirt -- big machines everywhere -- it felt like a race but i dont remember any competition -- when i eventually turned around and raced back through the area until i came upon an airplane hangar that seemed abandoned --

I remember thinking that i expected zombies to show up at some point in time because of the way the area looked so desolate and just covered in dirt...it was sunny out but the sun was setting so it really felt like a desert type of landscape...and of course -- zombies began appearing -

I proceeded to kill them all one at a time, aware that i was dreaming as usual, taunting them by letting them get close and then just 'willing' them away with a swift kick or punch or whatever...soon though they began to swarm and i remember a LARGE much scarier, much stronger zombie-like monster coming at me with his minions all around him and i just decided at that moment in the dream that i didnt want to fight anymore so i turned my back on them, allowed them to knock me down and they began stomping on my back, pushing me deeper and deeper into the dirt.

I didnt really worry and in the dream i actually felt comfortable being covered in dirt. However, i began to get claustrophobic and short of breath in the dream and said, "I wish Gramps was here to give me my spinach."

-- When i was really young me and gramps used to play 'Popeye' in the morning whenever i slept over his house -- we'd have an imaginary can of spinach that we'd wrestle each other to get to -- whoever reached the bedpost that the imaginary can was sitting on would begin humming the tune to Popeye and start beating up the other...

So yea -- i said outloud in the dream that i wished he was there to give me my spinach and lo and behold, i lifted my head out of the dirt and there he was -- kneeling right next to me with a can of spinach in his hand.

At the time, i was just thankful to see him with the super power giving spinach -- i ate it and proceeded to kill the big zombie dude as well as the rest of his minions and that was that.

i picked up my grandfather and suddenly left my body -- almost as if i was watching a movie of myself -- and as i carried him towards the sunset the dream faded and i woke up, practically in tears.

since then i've had a dream or two with him in it, but i dont believe i actually WILLED him into the dream on purpose...

and to be perfectly honest it's been several months since i've seen him in a dream...

from this site, i'm understanding more about how to control the dream scenario and characters in it -- but does anyone have any advice how i can improve my chances of getting him to appear more often?

In response to the flying questions of others -- try watching Peterpan -- try playing video games that have characters that fly -- or watching movies about flying characters -- then in your dream -- if you can -- try flapping your arms -- try getting a running start -- try whatever feels natural to you in the dream as a method of flying -- i guess the most important part is realizing that you're in a dream and that anything is possible...good or bad -- once you get that down, it's just a matter of practice. I've made the most progress in the past year just by talking about my previous experiences to others during the day -- it'll happen -- promise.



- Joseph Andrew