INTRO/DC-1 - The Crimson Cave

[Rozollo]

Mine is a repost from my dream journal. For the duration of the class, I'll make this my journal then move everything there. This is a short bit of several dreams (I can remember dreaming more than once, but this one dominated it). I woke up at 3:33 to the sound of the TV on in the living room. The living room is about 2 rooms down from the bedroom. Since I knew I turned it off, I checked my phone for a dream check (no other light in the bed room). The time stayed despite tests, I checked my e-mail, and that stayed too. No changes at all, and when I looked at the e-mail in the morning, still there. Confused, I went to sleep and had another dream. I woke up again (I want to say it was 4:24), and the TV was still on. I wake up this morning around 5, and the TV is off. The TV can only self-shut off if it's on a blue screen (I've tested this). Clearly, I was dreaming, but why couldn't I tell?

[Rozollo]

Assignment: Go through your dream journal and analyse where the content of your dreams comes from. Is it mostly day residue? Do you notice a lot of false memories or faulty logic in them? This was totally a false memory. Knowing I turned the TV off right before bed gave me the knowledge to at least try reality checks. I was unable to work my way into lucidity because of logic that worked within the dream. Chances are a lot of my actual reality checks were me waking up and falling asleep again, I guess. It's a confusing dream for sure.

[Rozollo]

I can remember two dreams from last night, neither even remotely lucid =( Dream 1: Vague. Something about a new software for work. - Assignment: I work with a lot of software, total Day Residue. Dream 2: Something about a 16 hour class. - Assignment: I am pretty excited about this class. I think I may have had a dream about music too, but I really couldn't remember much. Approx. Sleep Time: 6 hours.

[Serenity]

Mine is a repost from my dream journal. For the duration of the class, I'll make this my journal then move everything there. This is a short bit of several dreams (I can remember dreaming more than once, but this one dominated it). I woke up at 3:33 to the sound of the TV on in the living room. The living room is about 2 rooms down from the bedroom. Since I knew I turned it off, I checked my phone for a dream check (no other light in the bed room). The time stayed despite tests, I checked my e-mail, and that stayed too. No changes at all, and when I looked at the e-mail in the morning, still there. Confused, I went to sleep and had another dream. I woke up again (I want to say it was 4:24), and the TV was still on. I wake up this morning around 5, and the TV is off. The TV can only self-shut off if it's on a blue screen (I've tested this). Clearly, I was dreaming, but why couldn't I tell? Reminds me of when I tried to do the finger-through-palm technique and it kept failing... which confused me immensely as to why this wasn't a dream (and once again, I wasn't wearing any pants - so you can imagine the insanity this caused in me!). Sometimes, reality checks just fail. Like I can never push my finger through my palm, time stays the same, and sometimes, even writing stays the same. So, when starting your lucid journey, sometimes the beginning few lucids are trial and error to find the reality checks that work for you. I would like to point out, that it's really important to try to do two or three different reality checks When one (or two!) fails, it's always nice to have the back up. I would suggest trying something a little more physical for your second check, if you're game. Try to jump on spot, just once. You are most likely to find that you'll float back down to the ground, rather than the way jumping feels IRL If not jumping, maybe toss an object in the air, if you have one (like your keys). They should also float slower, rather than just fall.

[Rozollo]

Those are good suggestions. I am willing to bet that would have done. On the same topic, I had a dream not long ago where I heard rustling, went to investigate, was grabbed, and woke up to my fiance, terrified, telling me I was shrieking at the top of my lungs. To me, everything worked just as it should, so how would I work my way out of that? Thanks for the advice!

[Rozollo]

Much more vivid series of dreams, but I missed the transitions. In fact, I don't even know the order, but here were the sequences: - Car Ride For some reason, my fiancé and I were riding a car with my parents with two of our cats. They were sleeping when my dad stopped in the middle of the road to assist a guy who looked like a cross between my neighbor and an uncle. The dream explained away the occurrence as he was on vacation. Different in this dream was my dad's disposition towards me. In the dream, he was completely cruel, but in real life I don't think he's said anything negative to me ever. - The Love Story This was a weird one that I don't get how I missed it. I was the third wheel in a Love Story movie versus Elvis Presley. The heroine was I want to say Sandra Bullock, and I think I was supposed to be John Travolta. I distinctly remember walking with Elvis saying "You'll be dead before she's really famous." He stopped in his tracks, and the dream shifted again. - House For someone reason, we owned a larger house but never went in the back portion. When I finally did, it was terrifying. I counted an additional 4 rooms + bath that we didn't use, but it seemed intolerably dark. With flashlight in hand, which in dreams is just awful, I searched the hallway, got to the room, when... nothing happened. We discussed how to lay the room out as if nothing was wrong. - Boat Show This was the last sequence I recall. I was talking to a friend I've known for ages at a boat building show. We talked about a lot when I see a ship being built collapse. Strangest part was when the workers walked in the waist deep water, lifted the wooden boat, set it back, and went back to what they were doing. In the background, I saw a white ship named Junetown. One recurring theme in all the dreams was the emotional ties. In the first, disrespect towards my father, second love, third fear, and fourth jealousy of my friend not wanting to hang out with me. In every dream, when something would stick out that'd make me lucid, the dream would distract me. Our vehicle being different in the first was ignored for a quick 180 in the car. Speaking to Elvis was ignored for him realizing he was on his way to a young death. The larger house was ignored for the feeling of fear. The boat being in too shallow water was ignored with my friend speaking before I could think. I'd say these were 1 lucidities because I had some notion that things were off, I just couldn't break the script.

[Vesterguard]

..I think I was supposed to be John Travolta Laughed a lot reading this, epic XD

[Rozollo]

I say think, because there was this knowledge that I was. A love triangle with Sandra Bullock, Elvos, and John Travolta would be amazing to watch.

[Serenity]

For someone reason, we owned a larger house but never went in the back portion. That happens a lot in my dream houses

[Rozollo]

Sorry for typos, btw. I get really tired in the morning and hammer these out as fast as possible. I may try to focus on that house and go back. It was interesting.

[Rozollo]

Last night's dreams are just like forgotten memories already. I know they are there, but I can't pull them to the surface =\ VERY Frustrating, but I guess it's my penance for missing class, haha. Since I had no dreams to add, I'll do the assignment. Assignment: Go through your dream journal and see if you can notice any reoccurring signs that are popping up. Make a list! Bonus marks: Find out which sign occurs the most and incorporate reality checking to the sign into your daily routine. Looking at Entry one and three, it's pretty obvious my common themes are unreality being common. In entry one, I have a TV on that can't be on. I accept it because the dream laws demand I do. In entry two, dream one saw my dad act out of character, dream two saw me talking to a clearly dead king of Rock (despite what conspiracy theorists may say...), dream three saw me in a growing house, and dream four saw a boat being picked up by people. None of theses occurences are possible in the real world, so I need to continue making habitual reality checks. Currently, 4 times daily, I assess what is real around me. If I focus on things like physics, I may be able to DILD (I believe is the correct term), and achieve lucidity THAT way. Hopefully... I think I will continue my reality checks focusing on things other than me more. Normally, my checks are self-contained, which are great, but assessing the surroundings may help.

[Rozollo]

Yet another wasted night. Tried to WBTB/WILD, but I crashed in the midst of it. I had dreams, but I can't even work my way through them. I think I remember one with a girl with a backpack, but it's literally a blur in my mind.

[Rozollo]

Failed WILDing 4 times during a nap. Attempt 1: Got to sleep paralysis. While doing that, I see a coffee pot tip over with dolphins flowing out. It ends with me conscious that my body is paralyzed. I hear the TV in the living room, and I can't go deeper. I can't really even remember HOW to get to the dream phase =\ Attempt 2 and 3: Don't remember much, but I fell asleep while going lucid. Fiancé woke me up. Attempt 4: It came after long dream where I wake up in a room with an elderly H.P. Lovecraft. He wants to get a new novel published about Dagon (his first novel, to be precise), and he's weary of the process. His inner sanctum turns to me and gets me to solve it and remarked "Pray to Cthulhu you can do this." I remarked "You mean Dagon." Next scene is me buying an antique shop, and I find a girl in deep debt. I offer to make I go away, and she assumes sex. She's my sacrifice to Cthulhu. The shop keeper demands that I let him join the group. I agree, but it's implied I will kill him. I go to begin WILDing, get to paralysis, but I'm awoken before going further.

[Rozollo]

Nightmares =\ 1: I was a serial killer/mass murderer for a reason I have forgotten. I used razor blades and slit people's throats quickly. I think I also kidnapped people, and the sequence ended with what was supposed to be years later when I see the investigators talking (one looked like Donald Sutherland), and I run up, kill both, then walk off. As I walk off, I hear shouting, and I impale myself on a screwdriver. 2: I think this was an alternate ending to the previous dream where one of my friends died, and I was trying to be convinced to go with another friend to Greece where he lived now. 3: My fiancé, for reasons unknown to me, was attacked in front of my by a massive crocodile. I, alone, pull her out, and she's unconscious. The dream ends with her being revived. I'm guessing since I went to bed stressed last night, this triggered the nightmares of death. I tend to over-analyze everything since I plan my moves out, and when I do, I worry about future situations that may not even develop. For example, if I want to quit my job, I become worried over the worst case scenario (no career), so I essentially start to become absorbed with the notion that this is all I can do, ever. This notion happens for nearly everything. So, since all the dreams were about situations out of my control (I think the last dream with the crocodile had my fiancé pregnant too, which neither of us want at the moment, so that made it double out of my control), I believe that going to sleep stressed out (computer issues on every computer and phone) pushed the dream to fruition. Worst of all, in the dreams, everything felt real enough/out of control enough to be feasible, so I couldn't break the idea that it wasn't real. I woke up shaking and pretty scared.

[Rozollo]

Thinking back, I had a reality check that I missed. At some point during my murderous rampage, I shaved with my razor blades. Using a mirror (which worked fine), I noticed a patch of facial hair, passed the blade over it, and it disappeared. I never noticed that it didn't FEEL like I was shaving. Pity...

[Rozollo]

Nothing the past two nights. Tried to WILD last night but failed. No recall despite adding B6 supplements. Game over?

[Rozollo]

Assignment: Review your current sleep schedule. Taking what you know about DILDs and WILDs, which technique would best work for you for inducing lucid dreams? Bonus: Knowing this, you may want to look into signing up for that specific course when it’s offered next Judging from my sleep schedule (and practice) WBTB/WILD fits in perfectly. In fact, I was more alert today than usual. MILD and DILD will probably work as well. I plan to sign up for the WILD class as soon as it opens, and I may sign up for the MILD class too, and hopefully, that'll help me learn a thing or two.

[Rozollo]

Pretty vivid dream that I missed my cues to. I can't remember if this was after WBTB (I failed it by staying in bed instead of moving for a few minutes) then attempting WILD (lasted no more than 10 seconds, but I think I found my time). I was running on the highway to work. I work about an hour away by car, and about halfway, I realized two things: I wouldn't have time to get my car, and I didn't bring lunch. Before work, I stopped at a center with people I know, who seemed to be exercising. I asked a lot of them for a ride, and one girl sort of agreed. The dream ended before I had a chance to leave. There were obvious spots in this dream for reality checks. First, I ran a couple of miles without exhaustion. There was also a discrepancy in the time of day. It was early in the morning, but the sun shone like after noon. Finally, I was in one of my dream cities. Since childhood, I'd frequently dream of locations (always identical) where I'd go in my dreams. There are two dream cities, a dream town, and a massive dream mall. Every visit has everything as close as possible to how it was when I last visited.

[Rozollo]

Class Make-Up (Class 2): Day 2 focused on maintaining good recording practices among other things. Dream Journals aid for better recall of dreams, better lucidity, and also help plot out a good time for WILDing/WBTB. With awakening methods, it's good to test what actually works for you (natural alarms versus artificial alarms, etc.). In dreams, there are universal dream signals like lights not working appropriately, mirrors being distorted, time fluctuating, text changing, and physics being incorrect. With the use of a DJ, one can establish what naturally appears in dreams and deduce a method of reality checks from this. When recall fails, try fixating one pieces of the dream and solve it backwards. Dreams can always be remembered via dream memories or returning to the sleep position. Also, recalling early on versus after starting your day will create better recall. Assignment: Think of 2-3 goals that you would like to accomplish. They could be anything! If you need some inspiration, check out some tasks from the Task of the Month forum. How would you attempt each goal? Besides participating in the Tasks of the month, I want to accomplish the following: [] Explore an abandoned city, [] via parkour (for bonus) [] Perform Telekinesis [] Hover at first The abandoned city could be easy since I have several dream cities that I've visited most of my life. Emptying the city may require a strong mental feat, but I think that'd be the fun challenge. Telekinesis would be used by making the object float by concentrating on it to float as I would with hovering. I think achieving these challenges will allow me to achieve bigger things. Thanks for the class, Serenity. I'll add these entries to my DJ over the weekend.

[Serenity]

Nothing the past two nights. Tried to WILD last night but failed. No recall despite adding B6 supplements. Game over? I'm not tons sure about the effectiveness of B6 and dreaming. I know it's supposed to be good, but I've heard of better. If you're up to trying something different, there's a friend of mine who takes St John's Wort every night at dinner. He does about 900mg, so he says. You shouldn't do more than that, it will make you very sensitive to sunlight. However, it also works with serotonin levels which is the active chemical needed for vivid dreams. Remember that all supplements are lucid aids... they don't guarantee LD's, they just help increase the likelihood of them happening. Again, don't go randomly taking supplements without first doing a bit of research, or talk with your doctor about whether it is safe for you

[Rozollo]

I always do research, but i'll give it a look. I've had a long dry spell.