Why I'm here

I came to this forum because I have no outlet to discuss this kind of thing with friends/family. What lead me here was a quest for information regarding some peculiar dream type experiences. They are what got me interested in this subject, and though frightening, I seek to experience more.

The first strange thing I experienced was about 7 or 8 years ago. It was late, approx. 3am. I was awake, though tired, and having a cigarette outside my house, the last of the night before bed. Outside on my garage wall I saw movement in my peripheral vision. I turned my head and what I saw was astonishing. Somehow I had hallucinated a shadow peeling off the wall to form a free-floating, tall shadowy mass about 10ft away. I thought I saw a beak so I assumed it was bird like, but I've never seen a bird like this, and I've never seen a shadow do that. What followed shortly after were feelings of terror, being frozen in fear, and a nauseating, sinking feeling. Somehow I snapped myself out of it and ran inside and cried myself to sleep. Later after researching this experience I discovered the shadow person phenomenon. Now I'm thinking this was some kind of hat man. Who knows, all I can say for sure is that I can now give myself goosebumps on command by remembering what I saw.

The second strange thing to happen to me was about 3 years ago. I had consumed a low dose of psilocybe cubensis with a friend, with no perceptual effect. They were dried, and kind of old so perhaps not that potent. That night, nothing unusual had occurred, however the following night I had the most surreal dream ever in my decades of dreaming. I never dream of places that I know to exist. Sometimes its understood within the dream that this is my house but its not recognizable. This 2nd night after the mushrooms, however, in the dream I was in my actual bedroom, and I was lying in my actual bed, and everything was as it should be except for my reflection which was a ghastly demonic figure. I knew I was in my room and I also knew I was dreaming. Frightened by the image in the mirror, I fought hard to wake up, straining to get my eyes open but with no success. So I then proceeded to reach through the mirror and attack the foul creature on the other side and when I gripped its neck I woke up. Then I took that mirror off my wall, shoved it under my bed, and stayed up the rest of the night.

These two experiences have only happened once each and several years ago. I haven't had any experience nearly as strange as these two since.

Since these happenings, I have done mucho research into infrasound, entheogens, and other unusual things. I feel like these experiences were real and I must get to the bottom of them. I think lucid dreaming may help me find answers.

Welcome to the forums, Spacewizard!

There is a lot of great information available within the forums as well as tutorials for induction methods to help you start lucid dreaming. I've been working at it for a little over a month, and I've had some success already.

Reading book/books on lucid dreaming can be a very helpful resource as well. If you'd like a recommendation I'd be happy to share.

Best of luck to you on beginning your lucid dreaming journey :)

Welcome Spacewizard.

You are going to love Sorcer's post on the subject matter:
https://www.dreamviews.com/beyond-dr...eral-life.html

Given your experiences, I think you would take to Carlos Castanedas "The art of dreaming", like a duck takes to water. :)

DreamViews is a massive ressource on experiences like the ones you described, and many people have over the years contributed their thoughts, so if you dig around, you'll find much of interest. Maybe you should take a special interest in the "Beyond dreaming" forum, which tends to be inhabited by people who believe in this physical world being only a smaller part of the whole, and where the more "mystical" experiences are often debated.

Concerning your second experience mentioned, it starts off sounding like an out-of-body exploration, but the demonic reflection of course less so. I can submit that I have rarely seen my own physical self reflected in mirrors in dreams; instead all sorts of other people stare back at me. Once it was actually my head, but my torso only contained the skeleton ... a somewhat disconcerting appearance, if I have to be honest. :)

At any rate: welcome to DreamViews!

Welcome to the Forum! :D

Welcome! :)

Wish you luck on your quest!

As Voldmer said, Castaneda and also Waggoner might give you insight in what you are looking for.