Astrius
Member

After a period of intense solar activity, a newly formed planet emerges from the sun. Everyone seems happy and excited at this extraordinary event, and I myself am crying tears of joy. Hanging in the night sky, it looks just like the earth, apart from differences in land mass.

People are somehow able to visit this new planet, which is fully conscious and able to communicate. It does this by manifesting characters from one's own memory and allowing a regular conversation to take place.

The primary concern of this planet appears to be how we perceive and treat (mistreat) the children of earth, in terms of denying, suppressing and generally failing to honour their sexuality and sexual expression.

Recalling my own childhood experiences, I completely understand this point, and return to earth with continued excitement and joy. As I access my favourite news forum, however, it's clear that a profound change of mood has taken place. One of the subject headings is simply "Pedo-Planet", and there is now intense hostility toward this new world, which I find hard to fathom.

20 Jan 2011

I find myself water-skiing in the bay [I've never actually been water-skiing before or even considered it]. Then, in the distance, a strange wave appears. It's not very large, but kind of frothy and sinister looking. In any case, the boat heads back to shore as a precaution and I join my friends and relatives on the beach. The wave itself arrives shortly thereafter and dissolves harmlessly on the sand.

Someone then points to the horizon, where a truly massive wave appears to be forming. Panic ensues (among those who I'm with), triggering me to recognize it as a 'fear-based scenario'. I do not become fully lucid, however, and remain within the narrative of the dream. Still, a part of me knows that I have 'other options' and I eventually choose to cross my legs and levitate (realising that I can simply float above any incoming water). The people look at me with scorn, however, as if to say, "Well, we can't do that!"

As everyone scatters below me, I continue to float upwards and 'bounce' from rooftop to rooftop, looking for a good vantage point. A short while later, I notice my [deceased] mother, who has taken shelter in someone's garage. "That's not a good place to be," I tell her. I then briefly continue on my way, before realising that my mother may be afraid and want someone to comfort her. So I descend back down and join her in the garage. Another person also joins us, whose identity I forget.

The Tsunami hits soon after with ferocious force and water begins to fill the garage. "Hold your breath," I say, inhaling deeply. And then I awaken.

Interpretation: I am possibly being limited or 'dragged down' in life by unresolved issues and conditioning connected to my mother.

Observations: Whilst it may seem like an obvious point, a nightmare is not a nightmare because of the specific scenario. It is, rather, the level of fear/discomfort that a dream generates within the dreamer which determines its subjective definition. It occurs to me, for example, that I may once have experienced this dream as a nightmare. However, by the practise of questioning my conditioned (mechanical) reactions, I was able to break-free of this programming.

Also, I've noticed an interesting trend in my dreams recently, in that I've started to use my 'abilities' (normally associated with lucid dreaming) within the context of a regular dream. For example, in a dream fragment, from later in the night, I am attempting to cycle home when I take a wrong turn and find myself in some sort of school yard, inhabited by a gang of yobs. The lead 'bully' attempts to block my retreat. And so, recognizing this as a fear-based scenario, I simply "manifest" a gun and shoot him dead (I even shoot his corpse several times, just to make sure). On some level, therefore, I must be aware that I'm dreaming... Yet not sufficiently aware to become fully lucid.

Notes: In another dream fragment I win £10,000 - and then £1,000,000 - on a fruit machine. What might this represent?

OILD - Because there's ALWAYS another option!

13 JAN 2011

Nearing the apparent conclusion of a lengthy and dramatic dream, I find myself running through narrow streets and building sites in an attempt to reach 'safety'. I recognise this as a fear-based situation and gradually become lucid. Scaffolding poles begin to fall around me, and I instinctively cover my head with my arm, even as I am beginning to sense that I cannot actually be harmed.

As I consider my options, I realise that the first thing I should do is simply step out of the narrative; an option available to anyone, at any time, whether dreaming or awake (for only then can other options be clearly considered). And, sure enough, the moment I stop running everything around me becomes totally quiet and serene - eerily so, in fact.

Looking into the distance, I see a huge metallic monolith blocking my way. Then I focus on what's immediately around me (rubble, a digger truck, wasteland) and feel this to be one of the most solid and 'realistic' dream environments I've ever experienced. So much so, in fact, that the prospect of flying or manipulating objects seems as unlikely as it does in waking reality. As an experiment, therefore, I resort to verbal commands (which have worked in the past).... "Take me up there," I demand, looking at the giant monolith. But nothing happens.

Of course, there was no compelling reason to go onwards, since I had stepped outside of the narrative. Indeed, there was nowhere to go at all, nor anything to achieve, in the absence of a linear context of some kind. [In the absence of the ego?] And this realisation filled me with a profound sense of bliss and freedom. As I contemplated the matter further, I felt that I was being given a valuable insight into the subtle nature of the prison (the egoic auto-pilot) which keeps most people enslaved. And it really is 'subtle', at the end of the day... Freedom itself being nothing more than a shift in one's perspective.

Notes

In light of the above dream, I would like to refine my description of OILD. Specifically, I would like to introduce the concept of a get out of jail free card (or 'option') which exists permanently in one's back pocket, so to speak, regardless of whether one is awake or asleep. In other words, it's not merely that one has other options to consider, in any given situation (context based), but that one [always] has the option to 'play the card' and transcend the context altogether. Indeed, this is the first option that one should utilise when 'triggered' to do so by obstacles, conflicts or fear-based situations, etc.

Needless to say, it's not as easy as it sounds, because emotions, fear and ego tend to prevail. This is because we are totally identified with the 'narrative' of own waking lives and the resulting sense of identity. I suppose what I'm ultimately referring to here is detachment, clarity of mind, and the dissolution of the apparent self (if only temporarily)... Which is, of course, the goal of many spiritual traditions, which also happen to see "lucid dreaming" as an indication of one's progress.

"Use your perceived enemy to destroy your real enemy."

OILD - Because there's ALWAYS another option!

12 Jan 2011

My [deceased] parents and I are on a clifftop overlooking a local beach. It's night time and the moon is very low in the sky, illuminating the whole scene. We discuss how beautiful it is. Then I find myself swimming in the ocean below with lots of other people. It's now a warm and sunny day. Suddenly, a lifeguard on the beach gets a radio call and dives into the ocean. He swims toward a young boy who appears to be drowning, and drags him back to safety. At this point I start to feel lighter and, pushing the boundaries of what seems possible, I find that by kicking my legs furiously I can rise up out of the water. Soon I am virtually walking on it, having only my feet below the surface.

Interpretation: This seems to be about gaining mastery over my emotions (the low moon, for example, followed by a rising up from the sea (of emotion?). If both the drowning boy and the lifeguard are aspects of myself, then it makes sense that I should feel 'lighter', once the boy had been rescued.

Notes: The dream also had a feeling of OILD about it (Options Induced Lucid Dream). It's a technique that I've been developing and experimenting with for a couple of weeks now. It basically works on the premise that 99% of our reactions in life (and assumptions about it) are entirely robotic (conditioned responses), and that there are, therefore, ALWAYS other options available - only we don't usually consider them. The technique, then, involves constantly observing - and, most importantly, questioning - one's reactions, especially when confronted by apparent obstacles, conflicts, limitations or fear-based situations. Inherent to this, of course, is discerning where one is. However, unlike a basic RC, the value of actually questioning one's programmed reactions (and breaking free of those reactions in daily life) is becoming increasingly apparent to me. Whilst people may not have limitless options in waking reality, in terms of being able to walk on water, etc, we certainly do have many more options than our 'auto-pilot' permits us to realise.

Needless to say, the constant questioning of one's reactions and limitations, in the pursuit of greater freedom, carries over into dreams. And this is what I got a sense of as I was flapping about in the water.

For some people, automatic and uncontrolled aggression is an aspect of their programming; their auto-pilot. For most, however, I feel that timidity is the 'problem' - that we simply go along to get along. The degree to which one may want to substitute timidity for boldness obviously depends upon the situation (and crucially, whether one is dreaming or not). But it's precisely in the establishing of this fact that greater freedom and lucidity are achieved, not only in dreams, but in waking reality as well.

A recent (unrecorded) dream went something like this:

I was back in school and the teacher began handing out packets of crisps, which we weren't allowed to eat until break-time. He then issued a stern reminder not to secretly eat them in class, which I recognized as a conflict (a limitation of my freedom), and so began considering other options. This led to the realisation that I was dreaming. And so, standing up, I confidently uttered the following words: "Not only will I eat my crisps now, but I'll also eat yours, and I'll do so right in front of your face."

Had I been using this technique during my actual school days (instead of merely going through the motions on auto-pilot), I would surely have been a lot less timid. In fact, after receiving an unjust detention (for example), I may, having questioned my options, have said something to the effect of: "Not only will I not be coming to your detention, sir, but if you ever issue me one again, I'll tell my parents that you've been touching me inappropriately." (Whilst I wouldn't have actually made any false accusations, it would surely have put the fear of God into the teacher).

OILD - Because there's ALWAYS another option!

09 Jan 2011

I find myself in some sort of an office building. There's a computer nearby, with a file on it that I apparently came to retrieve. It appears to be an audio file pertaining to the ego. As I'm trying to access the file, an attractive woman emerges from behind and asks what I'm doing. At this point I realise that I'm dreaming and am infused with a sense of confidence.

"I'm trying to de-limit myself," I tell her, symbolically freeing her long hair from its clasp. We then embrace and begin what I believe is termed 'dry humping'.

Moving on, I proceed down some stairs into a darkened room containing a single desk and chair. As I sit down, 'Agent Smith' descends, holding what appears to be a syringe. "Welcome to my office," I say, hoping to engage him in some kind of philosophical discussion about the nature of reality. However, he seems intent upon injecting me with something. A physical struggle ensues, during which a second Agent appears, also holding a syringe.

A few moments later the Agents back away and I realise that they 'got me'. Feeling no different, however, I briefly surmise that their actions were meaningless. Alas, I also woke-up at this point, sensing that I had, in fact, been 'neutralized'.