Thread: Inception Style "Dream Within a Dream"... Except More Disturbing

A little preface: I've been lucid dreaming for several years now. I used it as a tool during my time overseas with the military to take little vacations. At my peak I was having 1 - 2 a week and had a great time and it turned out to be a great stress relief method. It also seemed I was becoming more clear and had easier times remembering my experiences. Anyway, I stopped meditating on lucid dreaming for the last few months having just returned from the 'stan and have maybe only had a few. This morning's dream came out of nowhere though. Normally I'm able to wake up at will back into the real world. This time was a little different and frankly scared the $%^& out of me. Anyway, here it is;

I started out in a mezzanine area of what appeared to be a resort area. I instantly knew that I was dreaming. I began walking around and observing the world. It was extremely detailed with bright colors and the people there were in full detail. I walked to an open area just to the outside of a breezeway with an open ceiling where the sun shone brightly through. The walls were an off white color and would be what you would see in a Latin type "villa". There was a small military ceremony taking place there with men and women wearing ACU uniforms but had Danner tan boots on. One of the women that stood about 5'4'' with black hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion mentioned to me she didn't understand why the military used such heavy and ridiculous boots. I agreed and continued walking to an outdoor area. I was more intrigued with exploring the world I had inadvertently created than talking to myself (technically talking to myself anyway).

There were neatly manicured spots of grass admist the cobble stoned street. It seemed that no cars were allowed there and I continued to walk across the street towards another building that was apparently part of the complex. I knelt down to touch the grass and was amazed at how real it felt. I could also feel a slight breeze and the sun was warm on my face. I would guess it was about 80 degrees and there was slightly high humidity. I walked through another open ceiling area in the new building. There was a large clock on the opposing wall and tall pillars lined the open court yard. There were still a large number of people walking around and it seemed like there was a lot of idle chatter that resonated off the high walls, creating somewhat of an echo.

I made my way towards a short but wide stair case that lead down and outside again. A guy sitting at a reception desk greeted me and a friend he was sitting there with made a crude joke to him that I will not repeat. It was pretty fucking funny though. For some reason the short and wide staircase had a sweeping archway through it, as if made for children to play on. Confused as to why my brain put it there, I climbed through the obstacle and continued out the door, through another breezeway, and back onto cobblestone streets. There were many people walking around again and many were wearing brightly colored festive clothing. Presumably these were employees at this resort which seemed geared towards family type events. I made my way to the far side of the "resort" to the edge of a river where there was a bridge. The river was maybe 20 feet across and seemed about 5 feet deep with crystal clear water that was flowing quickly. One of those small trains for children that you see at amusement parks made its way past me as I approached the river and I walked over the small train tracks. In the distance, there were snow capped mountains and the sky was incredibly blue. At that point I decided I felt like I had explored this world created in my mind enough. I felt as though I had spent about 20 minutes there and was ready to wake up. In an Inception-esque move, I jumped into the river, believing I would wake up in my own bed.

I was wrong. My eyes opened and I saw lead gray sky and was choking on water. It looked as though it was getting dark and it was cold and I was soaking wet. I had apparently washed up on the shore of a river in a landscape that resembled the back country in Colorado or Washington State. I was in a small opening that was surrounded by pine trees and thick brush. I was wearing a life vest and I seemed to remember I had been white water rafting with my cousin, who was lying about 30 feet away and was also coughing up water. At this point, the situation felt so real that I believed it to be true. I pinched myself and still nothing. I figured I had had the lucid dream in the resort after being knocked unconscious after hitting a rapid. This didn't seem completely absurd since I've been rafting in Washington several times. I rolled on to my stomach and pushed myself up. I noted the wet rocks and dirt that made up part of the riverside and it was in great detail.

I ran over to my cousin and made a frightening discovery; His leg up to about half way up the shin was mangled badly. I bent down on a knee to inspect it and noticed it looked like an animal had mauled him while we laid unconscious for however long on the shore. It was bleeding profusely with blood squirting from an exposed artery although the bone did not appear broken. He was considerably calm despite his injury. I commanded him to apply pressure while I fashioned a tourniquet. I grabbed a strip of his pant leg that had been torn off in the attack and a pen that I had in my pocket and began to tourniquet his leg above the wound using a method I had learned in the military and had actually used in the field.

I began to wonder what had done this and if it was still lurking around. I thought maybe it had been momentarily scared off by my waking and had retreated into the deep woods that lined the shore. Just as I was thinking this I heard a deep growl resembling that of a bear. I looked up and to my amazement a large Black Bear was charging me from about 40 feet back into the woods. I said "Oh fuck" and stood up and did the only thing I could think of; I pulled the pen from the tourniquet and prepared to defend myself. Ridiculous yes, but I figured I could shove my arm in the bear's mouth and stab it in the eyes with the pen. I remembered reading how a man had killed a bear by shoving his fist down its throat and choking it to death. Probably easier said than done. Just as the bear came barreling into me, I snapped awake in my own bed at home.

My heart was pounding and I felt like I was reading for a fight. At first I wasn't sure whether to believe I was actually awake or not since both previous experiences in the park and then the river seemed similarly real. This was the first time I had experienced a "dream within a dream". Since I'm typing this now I think I'm in the clear. I'm not sure what caused such a crazy dream to take place. I did not take any sleep aids or anything like tryptophan before bed and I'm not on any psychtropic drugs. I'm a little freaked out to go back to bed though and I'm not sure if I'll be white water rafting with my cousin any time soon. Anyway, would love to hear opinions or similar experiences.