*Completed!* The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos

https://i.imgur.com/vwMinh.jpg
OMG!!! Great job on reaching the goal! I'm sure this is going to turn into something awesome. Hopefully I will see you on Titan. :)

Good morning guys!

I don't know about you, but my dream celebration was a success, it was a great end to an already wonderful day!

To keep you all in the loop, over the next few days I'll be working my way through the red-tape and not-so-interesting chores that surround a completed campaign - all absolutely necessary stuff to set strong foundations for the coming project. This involves basic things like helping those who've had payment issues, reassessing the budget to reflect the actual number of backers (rather than the projected amount), dealing with accounting etc., planning the basics for social media and communications and all the other bits and pieces.

Once all of that is out of the way, I'll outline the basics of the plan and how everyone can be involved. I'll also be asking for your ideas and suggestions on how best to move forward and to bring all the various communities together.

Without doubt there's going to be a lot to think about and do, it'll be an exciting adventure, but as with any adventure, planning and hard work will be involved. I'll certainly appreciate any help you guys can offer.

For the time being, if I'm a little quiet over the next day or two, just know that it's all for good reasons as I do the project "housekeeping" and foundation building.

So, celebrate and have fun - and also get your thinking caps on... your ideas will be vital in the shaping of the project!

Congrats brah. Hope you make an awesome guide to lucid dreams (not how to lucid dream, but navigating lucid dreaming). I honestly don't know about making statements about how dreams work, but let me know about the things you want us to do in dreams etc. I am really excited to see what experiments and thought experiments you are running. I really want to see something awesome about visualization and incubation. Two of the main things in my path to lucid dreams.

Well unfortunately my dreaming life is in a low peak for some dumb reasons and i think it will remain so for at least 6 weeks, so it sucks that I probably will not be of much use :(

I am so happy it completed. Well done Daniel Love. Can't wait for your next book. Just curious do you consider further funding like. Pre-Order?

That's great news! I am really looking forward to the project. Your book, Are You Dreaming, is on my list of favorites, alongside Waggoner and LeBerge, so I am anxious to see what's next.

:woohoo:

@Ginsan - I'm sorry to hear that, still the project has a long lifespan, I'd like to hope that things improve for you before then! You're more than welcome to share whatever ideas you have, regardless of the current state of your dreamlife.
@Dragnets - It's a possibility, right now I'm just trying to get my head around the logistics of getting things started, once that's settled there may be all manner of different options.
@Dreaminggaze - Thanks so much, I'm really glad you found it enjoyable and useful.

@Everyone - So, to keep you in the loop, I'm still working hard on all the basics. As you can probably imagine, it's all a lot of number crunching, paperwork and general planning at this point. I'll spare you all the boring details. However, if any of you have any accounting experience and would be happy to share a little advice, that would be a very useful input and save me pulling out too much hair! My guess is this preparation stage will take several weeks of rather dull work at my end, but it's all necessary and was part of the plan, so I can do it all with a smile on my face, knowing that we're moving step by step in the right direction. It's all very important to start as you mean to go on with projects like these, as any small misjudgements at the start can grow into a tangled and frustrating web further down the line. So please, bear with me while I get the foundations setup.

In the mean time and to get the ball rolling a little, I'd like to ask you all what kind of subjects you'd like the first book to explore. This can just be a very casual discussion at this point. It will be interesting to see what you all suggest and if any consensus arises. We can narrow the focus as time progresses, but just brain-storm, have fun with it and chat amongst yourselves - be as inventive and go off on as many tangents as you like. It'll give me an interesting read between doing the less interesting preliminary work and will give us more ideas to play with when the time for really getting our teeth into things arise.

I'll get back to the foundation laying, but I'll pop in as regularly as I can once I get this initial work out of the way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DanielLove

that would be a very useful input and save me pulling out too much hair!

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Don't do it man, the hair looks so good on you :P


Well today I started tackling the problem and it will be a while until it is fully tackled, but my goal is to have optimal sleep and I am now almost sure that I will lucid dream every night when I sleep well (which happens some periods) and with your tips for reality checking, they're going to get so much better. Though it wil take some time, a month at least to see significant improvements, it will be great! I'll have tons of cool adventures and exciting, boundary-pushing and mindblowing dreams and I think you'll have yourself a skilled and ever more experienced source of information = D

I just discovered the project, how can we contribute now that the kickstarter is over ?

@gusto Daniel said somewhere in this or another thread that he would let us know.

@Gusto - I'm just waiting for the dust to settle and for Kickstarter to finish their processing at this point. While that's happening, I'm busy tinkering with the behind the scenes details and preparing so that we can all move forward. Once that's all done I'll let everyone know how you can all contribute. If you meant more on a financial side of things, a few people have suggested pre-orders, so I'll be looking into the possibility of that and/or additional donations in the near future too. Currently I'm expecting to hear from Kickstarter nearer the end of the month, by which point I should have prepared the basics - so it's a bit of a waiting game at the moment, but we're moving in the right direction :)

Hi all,

Just thought I'd drop in and let you all know I've not vanished.
I'm still waiting on Kickstarter to finalise their side of things, which is taking a painfully long time - especially when all I want to do is get things moving.

I'd quite like to work on ideas with Dreamviews members in the near future. Those of you who'd like to submit writing and ideas for the first book, drop me a message here, so I can get an idea of the numbers of DV members who want to contribute.
Also if you have skills (art, web design etc.) that you'd like to put to good use for the project, again drop a message here.

As things stand, I expect Kickstarter will have completed their side of things by Monday, after which we can really move up a gear and get things happening.

I'd love to participate, I had built a lot of momentum a year ago but during the course my schedule was crazy and I was unable to keep up with my practice like I used to. Now I'm slowly getting back down to it, but it's almost impossible to fit a wbtb into my routine waking up at 5am :huh:

So, my question is, since this looks like it'll go on for a while, can we jump in at any moment?

@Martakartus - I can relate to life getting in the way of lucid dream practices. The most reassuring message I can give you is that the skills you've already developed won't go anywhere - it's a lot like riding a bike, once life settles you'll be able to get back into things. A less positive analogy is that it's also a little like body-building, so while your skills may remain, your stamina and "muscles" may need to be built-up again once life is more lucid-friendly. To answer your question, and for anyone else who wants to get involved, yes you can jump in at any point. Of course, the longer you leave things the harder it will become to include submissions into the first book - as once I start writing, things will take shape quickly and changes and additions become harder over time. But, there is plenty of other scope - as there will be online content and videos included in the series also. The best thing to do (for you and anyone else interested) is to drop me an email at [email protected]

@Everyone - I've had a bit of a mentally draining few days. I'm still waiting on Kickstarter to process the funds and to finish their side of things. While that's been happening I've been working on a long term plan. A key element to this has been continuity. Part of the problem with being an author, researcher, educator - is that one has lots of different projects - and social media and web presence can become a bit chaotic. I decided that with the launch of The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos, that it would be a good time to create a singular web-presence for everything that I do, and a home for the project. At first I was tempted to simply create a website and facebook page uniquely for the project - but I've learnt from previous experience that this can be limiting (both for the project and myself). It creates division, needless extra work and lots of different logins - so it would be easier to create a "one-stop-shop" for all things Daniel Love and Lucid Dreaming.

I've never been one to go the route of being a "personality", it seems a little too self-aggrandising - especially when the majority of my work aims to be about trying to bring the community together and work as a collective voice. Also, as cheesy as my name is - it's also not all that unusual, so that fortunately ruled out something awfully egotistical like "Daniel Love - Lucid Dream Teacher" as a base for my work. So instead I've spent the past few days trying to work on an umbrella brand for everything that I do. Something that can be a home for The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos, as well as have scope to expand when needs be. After a painful 48 hours of realising that almost every possible name is taken - I've finally found and settled upon a brand and home for my work and The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos.

I've secured the domain name, youtube, G+ and Facebook page for what will be the new home for everything. I think it is nice and simple and sums up what lucid dreaming is. The name will be "Rational Dreamer".
This will be the hub of activity, news and updates of everything I do from now on, and the home for The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos.

The Facebook page is already active - as I've converted the Lucid Dreaming Day page to the new home. Lucid Dreaming Day will still run, but it will have Rational Dreamer as its new home - and will be run as a yearly Facebook event as usual. It didn't really need a facebook page for each day of the year, when it is only celebrated on the 12th April!

If you're not already signed up, then you can join the page here: https://www.facebook.com/rationaldreamer/

The website will be built over the coming year (www.rationaldreamer.com) and will be the home of The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos - so when It's built it'll be accessible via www.luciddreamersguide.com also.

I think this is the best and least limiting approach.

I'd love all your feedback and ideas.

Sounds good Daniel :) I am sure it will be interesting, informing and fun following your progress with the LDing project - can't wait to work with the book when it's finished ... How will you do the book I wonder... In a way that works with the dreamers progressing etc with you as our guide? That would be good!

I am an old fashioned dreamer - not on face book or anything but I will check out your page regularly :goodjob:

CALLING ALL ARTISTS

Hi everyone,

Here's a very simple question today - Are any of you artists?
More specifically, are any of you good with detailed pencil sketches?

I'm looking to create a logo for the on-line component of The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos - and have a particular image I'd like re-imagined/re-worked.
It would be nice if this is something that could be created by someone from the community - but if not, I can outsource and look for a professional artist - but what with the limited project budget, that may not be the best option. So, if you've skill in these regards, this could be a really good way to support and be a part of the project.

Drop me a line if you think you can help: [email protected]

I am an artist and may be able to help. I sent an email :)

Hi all - another update!

Okay, so after a busy week organising the printers for the upcoming book, things are coming together nicely.

On a very important note - I've decided to change direction with the re-branding of my work. Rather than "Rational Dreamer", I've now decided to work under the title of "Reality Nomad". There's a lot of reasons behind things, firstly "Rational Dreamer" was a little dry, and I started to feel that it may limit the audience and restrict the direction of future work. Secondly, "Reality Nomad" tickles the imagination somewhat more, I like to think of us lucid dreamers as "interdimensional adventurers", so the name, I feel, captures that mood a little more. Thirdly, and practically, it was one of the few names I liked for which I could take ownership of all the social networks - and it's nice to have consistency in these things. Finally, I feel it fits more with the mood of "The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos" and also, linguistically it's less limiting - when the time comes to explore topics such as Virtual Reality, it will be far more suitable for such things.

So with that in mind, here are the social network links where everything I do will appear from now on, and most importantly, will be the home of "The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos".

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealityNomad/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealityNomad
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/realitynomad
Google+:https://plus.google.com/+Realitynomad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realitynomad/
Website: https://www.realitynomad.com (website is under-construction)

These are all very much works in progress at this point, so you'll see lots of content and design changes (and probably a fair few mistakes) as "The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos" project develops. Still, make sure you like and follow these now and you'll be part of the process and the first to hear the latest news. I'd also appreciate ideas from you guys on content and design direction.

Well that's it from me for now - I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Time for me to get back to work...

Hi everyone.

This is just a very short update to remind you all to subscribe to our new YouTube channel, Reality Nomad.

It will be the hub for a great deal of the additional material that supplements The Lucid Dreamer's Guide to the Cosmos, as well as a much more.

I'll be working on videos during the writing phase of the project, as it will offer a nice means to explore ideas from a different angle (and a change is as good as a rest!), so you'll also have some material to keep you going while you wait.

Also, YouTube will be a space for additional ideas that are worth sharing but don't quite find a home in the first book.

Of course, if you'd like to submit videos that's also part of the bigger plan!


You can subscribe by clicking HERE

And just for good measure, here's a teaser...

https://youtu.be/DXE6qqt7Yas

Also, for those of you who are interest in contributing articles, artwork or anything else, now would be a good time to get started on what you'd like to share. Drop me a PM with your ideas and we can discuss things further.

Oh, one more thing which I'd very much appreciate all of your input on...

I'm currently developing the basics of the website, and will be turning my attention to the Lucid Dream Resources page in the near future.

With that in mind, which websites, blogs etc. would you guys like to see included?
Which resources do you consider indispensable?

(Of course, DreamViews will be at the top of the list!)

I like audio for when I am driving or trying to do two things at once, so I suggest linking to podcasts like 2 you were on, Lucid Sage and and that music internet radio station you did. Dreamviews also has podcasts on youtube that are very good. I look forward to your Youtube channel videos. :)

@fogelbise - I'm the same, the majority of YouTube channels I subscribe to are podcast style productions. So, yes, I'm in total agreement with you on this - I'll certainly include those in the resources.


I'm also looking to create something along these lines for youtube, especially initially when I'll be investing a lot of time in the production of the book, so I won't have the freedom to spend too much time on video editing. So initially audio productions are a good middle ground and will allow for a faster production in the early days for the channel.

Hey! Sorry I haven't been around much, I got busy and time seemed to just fly by. Glad you got some good rest and dreams after the campaign finished, you definitely deserved it after all that hard work! And I hope the number crunching wasn't too much of a headache, that kind of thing would definitely cause headaches for me.

I've subscribed to your Youtube channel. I love the name you've chosen, Reality Nomad has got a good ring to it. I liked Rational Dreamer but feel the name you chose in the end suites it much better, after all dreams often aren't rational :)

I'm looking forward to your AltspaceVR lucid dream workshop/gathering today! Very exciting stuff. If anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about here's the event page https://account.altvr.com/events/476982295534764505 and here's the thread about it on DV http://www.dreamviews.com/general-lu...niel-love.html. If you can attend you definitely should, it's the first ever VR lucid dreaming workshop/gathering and it should be a lot of fun!

I agree on the podcasts, I've always loved listening to the DV podcasts, LucidSage, etc. It helped to get me more excited about lucid dreaming as well as educating me on the various aspects of it.

@Mismagius - Yes, time has definitely sped up recently. It's really turning up the heat for deadlines! Thanks for attending the last event, and I apologise for the issues with the servers audio quality. These should all be resolved as time moves on. There will be another gathering at the same time tomorrow (Sunday 28th), I'd love to see you there.

The project is coming together nicely - I'm working on the structure of online content distribution at the moment. This includes the Reality Nomad website, but also we'll have a few big websites who want to work to help spread the word and advance the field.

As things stand, we're still very much in the development stages - but in the very near future I'll be needing the help of anyone who wants to write articles, share ideas, be creative etc. These will be as much for the books as the online content - as the two are very much interwoven.

I know from an outside perspective that you're not getting as many insights as I'd like to be sharing at this point - my only excuse for this is simply that I'm overwhelmed with the sheer volume of work required to put all this together. It's all going to plan, and it won't be long until things start to coalesce into a more tangible and visible project.

So, there will be exciting news in the near future.

For now, this Sunday's VR gathering will be a good chance to come discuss the project and how to be involved.

Hi all,

I've been away from the net for a while taking a writer's retreat - to really get my teeth into the project.
You may all like to know that I have now finished stage one of the website design, you can visit it via my signature. As you'll have noticed, I've dropped the "Reality Nomad" title, based on feedback and discussion with community members. The new title is more in keeping with the project, and offers more scope for development.

Also, I have a new YouTube channel, that you can find HERE. It's brand new at the moment, so thin on content, but it won't remain that way for long.

As a tip for you guys, if you subscribe to the channel now - you'll the first in line to take part in a giveaway I'll be doing over the holiday seasons (free stuff!).

Things are hotting up and 2017 is going to be a very active and exciting year. I really hope you guys can be a part of it!