Thread: Chimpertainment's WorkBook

It seems like I am struggling to recall lately myself. I have to really lie there and think for a while. Slowly I remember more and more. I imagine it like the end of a root in the ground. The more you pull and dig, the more you are able to expose.

Ive tried VILD a couple times now and it has had a very strange effect. For two nights in a row I had dreams at the same location. That has never happened in the history of any dream journals I have and the last time I had a recurring dream was a long time ago. I followed the method on the link pretty much exactly. It seems like it latched on but in a way I hadn't anticipated. I imagined I was in my room and I thought of it as my room. In the dreams however, they are located at the house I grew up in where my dreaming was most prolific and I also lived there the longest. The idea of "my room" translated to something I was not expecting at all. On the other hand, it makes complete sense looking back.
Interesting tidbit: that house usually never shows in my dreams.
So, it seems like the technique may be working. And it looks like I created a dream sign!

Got lucid this morning

Here is the Dream

When I have more time later today, I wanna go into more detail about the experience but I figured I'd post it for now.

I read your dream, really interesting. I noticed you had people chasing you, is this common?

Anyway, I replied in your journal. Congrats on another lucid! I'm sorry we couldn't meet. This time

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

I read your dream, really interesting. I noticed you had people chasing you, is this common?

Anyway, I replied in your journal. Congrats on another lucid! I'm sorry we couldn't meet. This time

Not common at all. Although, the other night there were some teenagers making fun of me. They were associated with my mom. Not sure what that means yet but I am keeping my eyes open. Chasing dreams haven't happened to me in a long time.
Thanks for the input, and yes, I intend to keep trying.

Nice! Congrats!

Odd.. So many of us have gone lucid today. MASS LUCIDITY!!!

Today pretty much sucks. Everything in my dream life is effected by my waking life and making changes is becoming excruciatingly difficult. My dream last night is a picture of exactly how I feel. My boat can't reach the dock, it has sunk, and I am trapped inside.
Trying to stay positive, but its really hard when all I feel is negativity. Its like my hulk rage is just waiting for a chance to explode.

Each time I reach lucidity I do something to sabotage my awareness. Even though my recall is better than it used to be, I feel like it should be better than it is. I keep telling myself to have patience, but then my other side say fuk that.
I'm pretty sure I am at the uphill battle part of the journey. Anyways, just had to get that out there.

You're not alone. I am not sure what it is but I have had similar emotions lately. I'm just trying to ride it out and stick to what I was doing back in August while trying not to expect too much of myself. It comes easier if I stay focused yet relaxed. Thanks for sharing.

Man what is in the air?? I've been having the worst month in terms of life AND dreams too! I'm going to get on board with you Chimp, and say it's just the uphill part. Like Xanous's bike. And maybe I just won't strangle everyone within arm's reach of me today. Even though I want to. Today all my birthday plans are failing one by one, so now all I have to look forward to is a bellini and hopefully some deep fried macaroni. Provided that dinner plans don't get fucked up today too. What makes matters worse is my birthday last year got fucked up too.

Sorry to use your workbook for that mini-rant Chimp lol.. you guys are my bros. And if we're having bad luck at the same time, maybe we'll achieve good luck at the same time later. Preferably sooner. I have to believe it.

If you three excellent lucid dreamers saw your workbooks and dream journals the way that I do, I think you'd find your doubts vanishing into thin air. Chimp's over here able to cruise around in outer space any time he gets lucid and rattling off spools of vivid non-lucids on nights where I'm scratching out fragments about how I "accidentally ate dog poop". My man Xanous is chaining like 50 million DEILDs together, completing the TotM two months in a row, and still finding time left over for vigorous "victory celebrations" at the end. And Ophelia! 3 LD's in one morning and total mastery not only of false awakenings, but also of all dream characters in handlebar mustaches.

You all described this as an uphill, which is right on the money. OB mentioned in particular Xanous' bike ride. This quote from him illustrates why that's a perfect analogy:

Originally Posted by Xanous

I immediately saw a connection with this and lucid dreaming. So, I decided to use my calming mediation like I do in my lucid dreams. I knew I could not calm my breath or heart rate but I could calm my mind. So I did that. I let my breathing and heart rate go wild but my mind was focused and calm. I concentrated on just the pavement as I continued to peddle. I noticed the rough surface, the tiny peddles, the cracks in the asphalt, ect. I remembered that the best way to forget about something it to think of something else.

Yep. Today's obstacles are what they are. You'll be past them soon enough, so I say spend this time in the uphill preparing for your next victories. The time will come back around again soon, so stay sharp -- those downhills are closer than you think. You'd best be ready.

As always, if there is anything I can do to help any of you get that little extra push on the uphill, I hope you already know that I'm here for you. It would be an opportunity to repay about 1% of the help you all have given me!

I think this calls for a group hug

Thanks for the encouragement guys, it feels nice knowing that others get what it going on.

No worries Ophelia, my workbook is honored that you would choose to share here.

That metaphor is essentially what I am going through yeah. Except I can kick my body's ass up one hill and down the other. My emotions on the other hand...O..M...G....Trying to find clarity amongst the chaos feels like going for a needle in a haystack...
and one of these days, im gonna find that damned needle, lol.

Originally Posted by Chimpertainment

That metaphor is essentially what I am going through yeah. Except I can kick my body's ass up one hill and down the other. My emotions on the other hand...O..M...G....Trying to find clarity amongst the chaos feels like going for a needle in a haystack...
and one of these days, im gonna find that damned needle, lol.

Damn straight you will! An insight from Tibetan dream yoga that resonated with me is how emotions are entirely internal experiences. Even though they color every aspect of our experience of the world, they are dreams -- constructs of our own making that begin and end entirely within us.

Of course, we can't master every emotion any more than we can expect to dream lucidly 100% of the time. But I still find this insight enlightening and comforting. Emotional mastery and dream mastery seem (IMO) to be tightly interwoven ideas. Do I fly or do I fall to the Earth? Do I let go of that grievance or do I let it fester? I'm a long, long way from mastering either question, but I'm coming to believe that the techniques for addressing each of them is remarkably similar.

In short, I think you're looking in all the right places. There's an old (probably apocryphal) Native American story that it reminds me of:

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.

But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."

Ah, Canis..Have you been reading some Rinpoche? I like the parable too! It is very true

Originally Posted by Chimpertainment

Ah, Canis..Have you been reading some Rinpoche? I like the parable too! It is very true

Yes! As a matter of fact, I'd say that fully 100% of what I've learned about Tibetan dream yoga comes from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's excellent book. Frankly, I'm not even sure that I could name another source of information on dream yoga apart from that book and the class here. I'm glad to hear that you've read it as well.

Whats the name of the book? I may buy it.

Originally Posted by Xanous

Whats the name of the book? I may buy it.

The book is called "The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep". Although there are some mystical, quasi-religious elements to it, by and large it is surprisingly down to Earth. I really enjoyed it. Here's the Amazon link, if the forum lets me post it. The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche,Mark Dahlby: 9781559391016: Amazon.com: Books

Ooh second time i've heard of the book. Maybe I will get it

Any fun dreams lately?

hehe, indeed.

I got really discouraged by my last failed lucid so I took a few nights off unintentionally, lol. Then, yesterday during my meditation class I had an epiphany. If I keep all my focus on doing what leads to success, then I won't have time to focus on what leads to failure. Thinking about everything that I am doing wrong has been draining my energy and motivation for pretty much anything.

And speaking of fun dreams, for the past few days they have been especially dark and scary.

In one dream I was getting totally freaked out by someone knocking on the door of a hotel room...then they came in and i was behind a door in another room. I was freaking out pushing my back against the door and putting my feet on the bed....
Then today, I had a dream where I raged out on a friend and forgot my trumpet for band at a church.

Fun, yeah sorta lol...freaky and scary is always fun.
This epiphany has me pretty motivated and energized so hopefully I can keep that goin.

Hey I think that's great advice for anyone on anything. That kinda thinking is what made me settle on a midnight bedtime, then sleep in as long as I need to LD (on an off day). It's like, if it works, go with that. No need to wallow in the stuff that keeps elluding me. And more often than not, if there was something I kept failing at in the past (like WILDs, for example), if it was meant to be, they'll creep up on you naturally one day. In the meantime, nothing wrong with putting all your focus and energy on the things that set you up for success instead of failure. Hooray for epiphanies!

Great stuff, man! Spend your limited time on the things that make you happy, successful, and free. Once you've learned from your setbacks, toss em over your shoulder and never look back.

Apart from "42", your epiphany is about as close as you can get to having it all figured it out.

2 lucids this morning! Looks like positivity is paying off.

one was dild and i finally accomplished a wild! sweet jesus someone get a fire extinguisher!


The WILD attempt was pretty interesting...

7am LD- This began with a false awakening. I could hear the sound of rain and in my mind, I was in a room with the roof over my head. I was laying in bed listening to the rain and I knew that I wasn't lucid yet. So I closed my eyes again, and waited. Then I opened my eyes again, and I was in my regular bed. This time, I was laying the opposite way that I was IRL. This didn't seem to throw me off as I became aware that I was dreaming.
My dream body floated out of the bed and outside. When I got outside, I had a very strong impression that I needed to find "The Gnome". My cat Jeffery came outside behind me through the opened sliding glass door and meowed. I tell him, I need to find the Gnome Jeff. Instead of the usual rock wall behind the house I live in, there is a path leading into a forest. The ground is covered in orange maple leaves. There is a pumpkin propped on a rock to my left which is there IRL.
I walk down the path into the trees.
The feeling is SO REAL. The wind is chilly against my skin, and the ground is soft yet bumpy. I jump onto a tree and pull myself aloft. I begin to jump and swing through the trees. The branches bend, snap, and swish as I tumble through the trees. Branches hit my face and I feel the pain. I want to cover my face but I tell myself this is a dream. There is no need for pain. After a moment, the pain goes away. I jump to the ground and continue on a path.
At a crossroads in the forest, I see an old woman. She is wearing wintery clothes and has silvery white hair. She says nothing but looks at me. I tell her I am looking for the Gnome so I can ask him a question. I say "I want to ask him about a paradox. If you ask why would you ask questions, then you have already asked a question. And that is the paradox!" I feel power in my words and the question seems infinitely profound in my mind. The white haired woman says nothing. She is standing near a horse stable. I wait for an answer but none comes. She disappears and the dream fades...

The whole night's DJ Entry

Five dreams in all with two lucids. This is the most activity I have seen since starting back in May. Totally awesome.

Hell yeah, man! You are indeed on freakin fire! And all it took was you remembering the fact that you are damn good at this lucidity stuff after all.

I'm loving the results and I'm loving the positive vibes even more! Enjoy! Try to never forget how amazing this feels right now.

I'll check out your DJ as well...

Little update:

Been sick the past week or two and my computer was sick too so I had to do some recovery work and now it is complete! Plus I am finally getting over this dang cold.
Anyhoo, Ive been taking fish oil supplements as a way to be healthy and it really helped my lucidity for like, a day, lol...Ive also been a lot better with my WBTB the past week or so which has helped my recall quite a bit...

Had a pretty cool moment this morning...I woke up for my WBTB at 3am. I knew that I had two dreams, but I couldnt remember them. So this idea popped into my head to go through my dream signs in my head to see if I could recall the dream and poof! my dream came back to me! It was a pretty cool moment.

In other news, now that my WBTB is doing better, I am going to start focusing on ADA. Even if I do try to WBTB and mantra before sleep, it has a very low success rate. I think about dreams a lot during waking life and with the dreams however the awareness just isnt there yet. Working on the ADA and reality checks should help boost that.

So yeah, im still here. I will be more present in the forums in the coming weeks, although I will be starting school in the new year so my activity will probly be limited to a tiny bit during the week days and mostly on the weekends.
My determination seems to finally be kicking in.