Thread: Oneironut's Dream Journal

Playing Possum
Thursday, December 21, 2006

The family gathering is more enjoyable than I thought it would be. We’re all in the living room of my uncle’s house, talking about nothing in particular, eating, passing around photos, watching television. I’ve got the couch all to myself, within arm’s reach of the snack trays, and I’m feeling wonderfully lazy.

Then some hyperactive teenage girl bursts into the room, looking like she crawled from the pages of a 1950s yearbook. She isn’t family or even a friend, so who the hell let her in? The girl starts clapping her hands and announces that we’re going to play a game now, so everybody follow her! The rest of the family reluctantly obeys. I turn over on my side, curl up, and pretend to sleep.

Only when the noise dies down do I turn back over and continue enjoying the afternoon, although it’s not much of a family gathering anymore since I’m the only family left in the room. I occasionally see the others through the window as they go running around in the backyard, the girl leading them along and chattering nonstop. I have to repeat my possum routine more than once when the mob circles back to the living room.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Ye Olde Treasure Hunt - 12:41 a.m.

Without using my arms or legs to swim, I streak like a rocket along the ocean floor. I must be close to land because the water is only a couple hundred feet deep at this point, light blue and crystal clear. I come across an old shipwreck covered with coral. The entire wreck is as large as a toy model. I stick my fingers in what openings I can find and manage to pry out a few tiny wooden chests, but there’s nothing in them but scraps of parchment and flakes of rust.

After searching a few more wrecks with similar results, I suddenly hit an air pocket and fall a few feet to the sandy bottom. The air pocket is perfectly square; it’s as if I’m standing in a room where the walls and ceiling are built of shimmering water. The air pocket starts to rise to the surface, carrying me along with it, and I hear a disembodied voice speaking in what sounds like 19th Century English. The voice orders me to cease plundering the shipwrecks and concentrate on my other duties.



The Ghost of Christmas Presents Past

I’m lying on the floor in the doorway of my home office, with my legs in the office and the rest of me in the hallway. My father steps over me and sits at my computer desk. He’s talking about my life and the person I am. I can’t make out his words clearly, but I get the impression that what he’s saying is positive. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2 starts playing on my computer.

I stand up and walk into the living room. There’s an elaborate Christmas display in the corner by my couch, with a tinsel-covered tree and lots of fake snow. Looking out the window, I see my home is now on top of a hill, and spread out below is a small one-street town. The one building that stands out to me is an old-fashioned diner decorated with Christmas lights.

Turning back to the living room display, I’m delighted to see that it’s been decorated with many toys from my childhood. There’s the Incredible Hulk, Luke Skywalker, Yoda and many others, looking just as new as the day I received them.



Star Wars Beach

With their trademark hum, lightsabers clash as I fight for my life against Darth Vader. Even though I’ve gotten used to Vader after years of movies, comics, and toys, he’s actually scary as hell when he’s right in your face and trying to cut you in half. My lightsaber blade is the same red color as his.

A pair of stormtroopers armed with lightsabers enter the fray on Vader’s side, which I find hilarious because they don’t know how to use those weapons and will likely kill themselves before they even get close to me. I quickly dismember one myself and use Vader’s own lightsaber to kill the other by parrying one of his attacks so that his blade goes slicing through the trooper’s neck.

After a brief exchange of blows, I finally manage to kill Vader. Standing over his smoking corpse, I wonder if I’ve become the hero or just another villain. The Emperor suddenly appears, cackling at me and giving the same tired old speech about “fulfilling your destiny,” blah blah blah. I consider fulfilling his destiny—from the neck up—but I’m sure he’s prepared for that and actually wants me to try it. Instead I just ignore him and walk out of the room.

I find myself on the main street of Laguna Beach, California, where I lived as a boy. Although all of the landmarks look just like I remember them, it’s as if the Star Wars universe has been slapped over the city. The crowds of pedestrians are a mix of regular people, droids, and aliens. Looking up, I see an extra sun and several moons, including a planetoid that looks just like Earth and takes up most of the sky.

I slept very soundly last night and can only remember a few fragments:

1 - I'm in a high school class with R sitting at the desk next to me. I'm so happy to see her again that I don't mind being back in school. The teacher hands back our tests. I can't tell exactly what grade I received, but there are a lot of marks on my paper and they don't look good.

2 - I'm at a casino where some sort of flashy game show is being filmed. I start hopping from table to table, making a mess of everything and waiting for someone to try and stop me. Nobody does.

3 - Some tough-looking teenager keeps threatening me. I try to ignore him, but he keeps showing up wherever I go. I finally slam him against a wall, lift him up by the neck one-handed, and make some harsh threats of my own while he gasps for air.

Excessive Force
Sunday, December 24, 2006

It’s the classic “there’s somebody outside trying to get me” scenario. The phone doesn’t work and I can’t get the door to stay locked. I finally decide to make a run for my car. The coast appears to be clear when I step outside. Just when I reach my car and start to open the door, my attacker appears on the other side. He’s a vague figure with a nondescript face, but there’s nothing vague about the shiny nickel-plated pistol he’s holding.

We’re too close for him to miss, but thankfully he does exactly that, not just once but several times. Without thinking, I tear off my car door, dodge around to my attacker’s side of the car, and fling it at him like a frisbee. The door spins low and clips him in the ankles, sending him to the ground and the pistol tumbling to my feet.

I quickly pick up the gun and approach my attacker. I don’t want to shoot him; I only want to incapacitate him enough for me to get away. Just as he’s getting back to his feet, I pistol whip him twice in the face. As he falls back to the ground, I realize I hit him too hard. His already nondescript face is now little more than a bloody pulp. I feel a little guilty about this, but only a little.

Like the SW dream. I've never encountered Vader in a dream yet, not that I can remember. I'd love to face off with him some time. And using a car door as a weapon? Genius. I'd never have thought of that. Great dreams man.

Originally Posted by Vex

Like the SW dream. I've never encountered Vader in a dream yet, not that I can remember. I'd love to face off with him some time. And using a car door as a weapon? Genius. I'd never have thought of that. Great dreams man.
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Thanks! The car door trick will be a tough dreamsign to recognize because I, you know, do that sort of thing every day.

Star Wars Beach[/b]

Too cool....Great dream. I love SW dreams but don't have them nearly often enough. It is somewhat satisfying to read about others' SW dreams...but I am still a bit envious.

I tear off my car door, dodge around to my attacker’s side of the car, and fling it at him like a frisbee. The door spins low and clips him in the ankles, sending him to the ground and the pistol tumbling to my feet. [/b]

Also very cool.


Haha...I see that Vex made comments on the same dreams. Either we think alike or those are the two very most interesting things you've dreamed lately.

Hi Twoshadows, good to see you back on Page 1 with the rest of us fanatics.

Originally Posted by Twoshadows

Too cool....Great dream. I love SW dreams but don't have them nearly often enough. It is somewhat satisfying to read about others' SW dreams...but I am still a bit envious. [/b]

Thanks, I think that one came about from a clever video about Darth Vader that I stumbled across recently. If you haven't seen it, it's pretty funny and worth a watch: Vader Sessions

Also very cool.
Haha...I see that Vex made comments on the same dreams. Either we think alike or those are the two very most interesting things you've dreamed lately.
[/b]

I vote for "both of the above."

All of the above and it may be a classic case of great minds thinking alike.

Vex - Haha, true, true.

Pen Name
Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The small town bookstore is flooded with customers. I’m standing behind the counter and watching the scene as an outside observer, but when I see the staff can’t handle the crowd I step up to help.

The next person in line is a strange little man who’s just staring off into nowhere. After I try to get his attention several times, he tells me in a quiet voice that he’s looking for the Book of Genesis. Instead of just directing him to the bibles, I actually try to do a title/author search on the computer, but I get tripped up over what exactly I should type into the author search box.

Hmm...recall seems to be declining a bit. I only remember a fragment of a dream taking place in a classroom that was half school and half work. My boss was the teacher, and she was giving me a whole bunch of work tasks while everybody else took a test.

I think I'm falling into my old trap of trying too hard and thinking too much. When I first experimented with LDing and dream recall years ago, I learned that too much conscious intent (especially at night) hindered rather than helped me. Techniques like MILD and WILD were a total washout. My methods then were a lot like the classic creative process: saturation during the day (study and practice) and incubation at night (stop thinking and do nothing), hopefully leading to illumination (dream recall and LDs). I realize now that I've been overdoing the saturation phase and have substituted the incubation phase with even more saturation. Time to adjust my methods and get back into my old habits.

I'm not going to count this as a lucid entry, but early this morning I had my first real brush with lucidity in many years. Almost missed it completely, too, because it was sandwiched between two very nonlucid dream scenes. Thankfully it was a vivid enough image for me to remember it after I woke up.

As I indicated in my previous entry, I changed methods yesterday, or rather I went back to the old method from my LDing heyday. It basically involves nothing more than thinking "This is a dream" consistently during the day, a much simpler version of the old Tibetan method of perceiving everything as a dream (in other words, an experience created by your brain). Reality checks as a means of inducing LDs does not work well for me; I'm such a heavy daydreamer in RL that it's just not in my wiring to question the odd nature of what I'm seeing while dreaming. But if I can get myself to say or think "This is a dream" while I'm dreaming, that's usually enough to become lucid. Reality checks are only a means of confirmation before I go do something that could embarrass and/or kill myself.

Today's entry does not count as fully lucid, but it's still a promising step forward. And as far as I can remember, it's the first time I've said the L word in any dream.


Boing!
Thursday, December 28, 2006, 5:30 a.m.

I’ve been running around a live-action version of a first-person shooter game when I find myself in what looks like an open air basketball court in the middle of a mountainous jungle. The sky is vividly blue and filled with billowy white clouds. I suddenly think to myself “this is a dream” and jump a few feet into the air. I keep jumping and telling myself “this is a dream,” going a little higher each time. At one point I jump a full twenty feet, tell myself “this is a lucid dream,” and start spinning in midair. But the full significance of what I’m saying and doing never hits me, and the scene soon changes to me beating up an obnoxious cowboy in some honkytonk bar.

Very good. That sounds very close to me. I hope you continue to get good results from this new (old ) method.

and jump a few feet into the air. I keep jumping and telling myself “this is a dream,” going a little higher each time. At one point I jump a full twenty feet, [/b]

And that is so fun to do in a dream. Very cool.

Originally Posted by Twoshadows

Very good. That sounds very close to me. I hope you continue to get good results from this new (old ) method.

And that is so fun to do in a dream. Very cool.
[/b]

Thanks! I almost have more fun running and jumping in dreams than flying. With a few exceptions, flying feels fake to me, obviously due to my lack of waking experience.

Ugh, very little sleep last night. All I could dredge up was a school dream full of almost every cliche you can think of. At least the bully didn't show up to pound the stuffing out of me.

In the past two days I've gone back through my DJ and listed the dreamsigns for each entry. There are some very clear trends to start paying attention to. I now have hardcopy on my bedside table to review during the day and before I sleep.

I'm so annoyed over having yet another school dream that I didn't even want to try for a creative title.


Yet Another School Dream
Friday, December 29, 2006

I’m back in high school, I’m late for class, and I have no idea what that class is or what room it’s in. But at least I have some iced tea in a clear plastic container that’s about four feet long. Awkward to carry, but great value for the money.

I randomly choose a classroom and it happens to be the correct one. Based on the posters on the walls, I’m guessing history. The only empty desk is sandwiched between Brian and Robert’s, old friends from high school and two of the greatest smartasses that ever walked the earth. As I sit down I remember all the stealth jokes these two played in past classes and realize I’m not going to be very productive today. Especially since I don’t have my textbook and can’t even remember if there was an assignment due.

Originally Posted by oneironut

Thanks! I almost have more fun running and jumping in dreams than flying. With a few exceptions, flying feels fake to me, obviously due to my lack of waking experience.
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I have flown in so many dreams now--that the flying sensation seems so real to me. When I think about flying I feel like I have very real memories of flying...just like I have real memories of riding a bike. Intersting how certain things that you experience over and over in a dream become almost a real memory.

Originally Posted by Twoshadows

I have flown in so many dreams now--that the flying sensation seems so real to me. When I think about flying I feel like I have very real memories of flying...just like I have real memories of riding a bike. Intersting how certain things that you experience over and over in a dream become almost a real memory.
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I agree that practice makes perfect in dreams as much as real life. Just in this past month of journaling and trying for LDs, I had a flying dream that felt considerably more "real" than such dreams usually are for me. I think that once I get back to LDing regularly, I'll be clear-headed enough to convert some real life experiences--taking off in a plane, riding a roller coaster--into more realistic flights.
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Ok, yesterday I put together a list of my most frequent dreamsigns...then proceeded to ignore them throughout the night. Today's entry was very surreal and disturbingly violent to me, but still noteworthy because it's the first time I've taken an animal form without feeling like I was just a man in a funny costume.

A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
Saturday, December 30, 2006

The elevator’s metal door is not polished enough to provide a clear view, but I can see enough to realize that I’m a giant wolf. The blurry reflection in the door is tall and heavily muscled with pointed ears and a long snout. I’m standing upright on my rear paws.

The elevator door opens at the ground floor to reveal a man waiting to get aboard. Tearing through him with a snarl, I sprint across the lobby and out into the night. The landscape is all rolling green hills. There are dozens of bonfires scattered about, with human figures gathered around each one. Alternating between running on all fours and running upright, I move from bonfire to bonfire attacking anything around me. The human figures are more like illustrations than living beings. Their skin rips like paper and their bodies contain only a thick liquid that has the color and consistency of paint.

I eventually find myself in a small wooded clearing. Another group of these strange artificial people is waiting for me; their elaborate designs suggest they are authority figures of some sort. They are not afraid of me, and in fact appear quite angry. As I approach them, they tell me that my actions have upset a vital balance in the world. A part of me is saddened by this news. The rest of me is still hungry.

I think that once I get back to LDing regularly, I'll be clear-headed enough to convert some real life experiences--taking off in a plane, riding a roller coaster--into more realistic flights.[/b]

Yes! I know that has helped me. I even made a list of them a few months ago in my dream journal. I think this link will get you to the right page. If not, it is the Sept 17th entry 6:32am.


http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/index.php?...0422&st=150

A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing[/b]

That was a pretty interesting dream. I have yet to experience something like that. Bet it was pretty intense.

Originally Posted by Twoshadows

http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/index.php?...0422&st=150
[/b]

Heh, scrolled right past it before I remembered to adjust time zones. Great entry, although your cave story put knots in my stomach (reminded me of an unpleasant hike from the summer). I can see now why you experience flying so vividly in dreams. The recent dream I mentioned was very much like a jet taking off: flying low to the ground, then suddenly accelerating and angling up into the sky.

That was a pretty interesting dream. I have yet to experience something like that. Bet it was pretty intense.
[/b]

It was, and unsettling because of the violence (even against "fake" people). Still, having the strength and natural instinct of a wild animal was not unpleasant. I'd like to have a similar dream again, only with the violence limited to rabbits and squirrels. Woof!

Well, it looks like I've finally had my first true LD in years. Granted it lasted only a few seconds, but it was the first time I became lucid by noticing a dreamsign rather than mindlessly thinking "This is a dream" out of habit. As happy as I am, I'm even more pleased that I don't have to spend my Sunday doing yard work, after all.


Sorry, Wrong House (LD)
Sunday, December 31, 2006

The sun is just starting to rise when I glance out my living room window and see a strange man approaching my door—a neighbor, I assume. I don’t want to talk to anybody this early in the morning, so I go to use the bathroom until he leaves. The toilet looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in months.

After doing my business, I go back to the living room window. The man is gone, but it’s now light enough outside that I notice the front yard is yellowing and covered with weeds. I start to get depressed about the hours of yard work I have ahead of me when it occurs to me that something is not right. This can’t be my front yard, or even my house, because I sold them both and moved out of state months ago. I realize that I must be dreaming, but immediately wake up.

congrats!



hey we both had an LD this morning!

Originally Posted by BPolar

congrats!
hey we both had an LD this morning!
[/b]

Thanks, and congrats to you too! Hope yours lasted longer than mine, haha.

Helloooo!

Congrats on the lucidity and Happy Newyear to you too.

Your dreams are always a wonderful read.

Thanks Vex, that's always nice to hear.

-----
Another dream about school today, and again I missed the obvious dreamsign (along with several others) even though I think about it often during the day. It's annoying, but I figure the more annoyed I get, the more determined I'll become to notice it in future dreams.

Also, I've started keeping a goals list in my offline journal, which I'll include here as well. At this point I only have a pair of goals in place at any one time: a deadline to have my next lucid dream, and a simple task to perform. My goals are modest for now; the flying-kung-fu-extraterrestrial-sextravaganzas will have to wait.

Goal 1 (12/31/06): Have my next lucid dream by 1/7/07.
Goal 2 (12/31/06): In my next lucid dream, spin and tell myself "This is a dream."


Bad Chemistry
Monday, January 01, 2007

The heavy blanket wrapped around me makes it difficult to walk, but I manage to be only a few minutes late for class. The instructor is my old high school chemistry teacher. As he lectures and draws a complex diagram on the blackboard, I find an empty desk and try to fold up my blanket as inconspicuously as possible. The teacher stops his lecture, walks over to my desk, and hands me a note. I can’t entirely understand what he’s saying, but it’s something about the school office not being able to find my student records.

Returning to the blackboard, the teacher starts asking random students to contribute information for the diagram. Everybody he calls on easily provides answers to his questions. I study the diagram and can’t understand a bit of it. I hunch down in my seat and prepare for the inevitable humiliation of being called on.

The scene suddenly changes, and now I’m sitting at a desk on the opposite side of the classroom. R is sitting at the desk behind mine. She gives me a friendly smile and that helps calm me down. The teacher is now a short woman I don’t recognize. She’s dressed in a white lab coat, and her hair is so thin that I can see she has an oddly shaped skull. The teacher announces that we’re going to take a quiz, but we’re free to use our textbooks for it. I don’t have a textbook with me, of course. My desk is very dusty and covered with litter. The teacher comments on this, but I try to laugh it off and point out that the dust was there to begin with.

Another sudden scene change. R and I are walking across the schoolyard together. We enter another classroom where I find my chemistry textbook. Now that I’m better prepared for the quiz, we start back to class to take it.