Silence11
Member

I managed to get a working wbtb this time, somewhere around 6:00 a.m. It's been a difficult week, man. Faulty AC, hottest days of August. Climate here is supposed to change come next week. Hopefully the worst is behind me and I can return to a normal set of days were sleep is easy. I should've remembered more dreams but I think rest had to catch up to me with night after night of sleep deprivation. At least I slept well today.

Dream 1: I dreamt about... a coach? Some new coach for a football team. Damn, I can't remember a single thing written here on my phone. It says here the coach used to get more lucid? He spent time visiting dreams like watching players. Yeah, sure. Whatever.

Dream 2: Two monkeys competing for who had the longest and best dreams. One thinks he had a larger flight than the other, that he can get lucid faster too. I also remember watching a movie inside a theater with close family. Superman, Flash and the rest of the DC heroes travel using their powers across the city. It looked pretty cool in hindsight.

Who knows when I had these dreams. I couldn't recall much but wbtb had a very strong influence nonetheless. Almost all my dreams had something to do about dreaming or lucidity. I did take 15-20 min. practicing MILD before returning to bed. I woke up two more times in the morning. I could've, wait no, I should've done more wbtbs but it is what it is. I really wanted to be fully rested today. Tomorrow is another day as they say.

I keep going back to the significance about dream presence and how having a smooth transition between the sleep and wake states are strong precursors of lucidity. The dreams that are easiest to remember are the smoothest to transition to once they end. They recollect faster. They stay with you because they never left. Two days prior the AC broke down in my home and the heat here is unbearable (literally counting the days left until August ends!). And therein lies the importance of a healthy sleep schedule. I could not remember a thing when I woke up the next day that night. Mind you, the strong impression of a fading memory lingers about the room. You know you dreamt somewhere, sometime. You know you were there. But it's so hard to remember now. I struggle in retracing the events of the night. Is this the first time I'm awake? Maybe not, but I am so tired now, perhaps I rolled back to sleep? And that's the thing. Only 4 or 5 hours are not enough to care, not enough to remember. The memory lies so far from me now. You feel a gap in between the dream and the path to recollection. Between sleep and wake.

Today is different fortunately, no thanks to the faulty AC. Stare at my notes and you see a gradual lengthening of each entry. They correspond to the time slept with each recollection:

~ 4:00 a.m. entry: Watching a kid being chased on a street. Who was he running away from?

~ 6:00 a.m. entry: An old friend visits my home. He is participating at the Olympics this year. Funny, he mentions he's competing for the 5 km race; surprising since he was never the running type in my eyes. We're driving on our way to pay a family visit but my friend sits on the backseat and pulls out a videogame controller to steer the car. We pass by a restaurant or supermarket. There's tons of people walking in and out of the establishment and many more so outside chatting, enjoying their time.

~ 8:00 a.m. entry: I had made plans for a fancy dinner with this girl I met somewhere. When we arrive a nicely dressed gentleman asks us to fill out some forms and to hand out our passports. My girlfriend willingly signs the paper but I am having the hardest of times reading what it says. The words written on it are slightly attenuated and some of the letters can barely keep a straight line. I give up and sign the form anyway. We sit before a large wooden table with other people. My girlfriend is now addressing the table and begins an avid discussion about movies, their composition, filming and all these little details that honestly escape my grasp. Everyone else is enjoying the conversation. They make their counterpoints, they agree with others. I limit myself to nod along and pretend that I know what they're talking about.

I'm starting to see my dream recall improving, my dream presence increasing night to night. I thought I would've had to wait a couple of months but I see the effects of the practice I did all those years ago is still there. Anyway, three dreams today. Long dreams. One in the early hours of the night.

Dream 1: I have written here on my phone that I was trying to meditate to a family competition that was going on in my dreams but honestly I can't remember that part now. I do remember the competition. I remember there was a treadmill, a stationary platform and people where crawling from end to end, left to right. It wasn't particularly that big of a space either, the single running machine inside an otherwise empty room. Toddlers had the most trouble getting to the other side. I think an elderly man had to use his cane to propel his body across the platform, he might've had a leg. All in all it was very evenly matched.

Dream 2: Oh yeah, this one is rather interesting. I was having a conversation with someone yesterday and I mentioned how dream presence feels like a smooth transition between dream and being awake. But this dream, however, feels longer than most other dreams despite the transition being a lot larger than usual. I was present during the dream, then I don't what happened after, either I woke up and immediately went back to sleep or had another dream, but a good chunk of time transpired before I recalled this dream later in the night. Anyway, from what I remembered I was attending a baseball game. Everywhere is draped with protective nets around us. I was trying to get the attention of a beautiful lady sitting next to me but she was more interested in rooting for her team. In fact, I think I should've been paying more attention to my team but I really wanted to impress her. A good friend of mine was sitting to my left and wanted some tips on how to play the game.

Dream 3: This is the longest dream of the three, post wbtb meditation and 10-15 min. MILD / prospective memory rehearsal. My family and I arrived at the parking lot before a massive complex at night. The parking lot itself was huge and filled with cars all around. Whoever organized this party spared no expense in the construction of this place. They even had a band playing at the end of the parking lot. Can't remember what song they were playing but the space was packed. Inside the complex was no joke either. A pool, a home theater, people chatting, people dancing, yeah my brothers and I were staying the night all right. We had brought our change of clothes just in case, changed to our swimming trunks, ready to go. Personally, I was interested in meeting the organizers you know, sometimes a little networking helps every now and then. And then, everyone starts leaving. Just straight up stood up and left. Figured there was another party they had to be in. Well, now I wanted to go there too.

We try following them to the parking lot. I get lost along the way and end up in front of a door that leads to some woman's business office. I notice a friend in-line with his partner waiting for their turn. I can't remember his name or face now. They are let in and I walk with them to see what this is all about. The business woman acts very sweet and makes a business proposition, I can't remember what it was I just watch my friend's partner playing videogames on a nearby tv. I leave and end up at the home theater. It's not exactly full but there's people here watching a movie. I meet an old crush of mine as I walk through the file that leads to the exit. We have a cool chat and I stand there watching her leave the theater.

Night of November 22, 2020

I was dating this beautiful girl that, for whatever reason, was being shunned by most of her peers. We had arrived at a restaurant, some establishment that belonged to one of her close friends. To my knowledge, we had agreed on the place for me to finally meet them. When we got there however, they took every opportunity to avoid us. I walked over to the bar and noticed she hadn't actually made a reservation. Frustrated, I stormed with her out of the restaurant.

Outside, a light bluish shade had fell upon the row of houses as they stretched along a wintry road in the middle of the night. The moon was uncharacteristically willing tonight, shining the way as I headed down the road. Far in front of me, I noticed a couple holding hands and moving at a brisk pace. It appeared to me they had gotten out of a restaurant only moments ago. I don't know why but I felt compelled to catch up to them. Though I increased the speed I could never reach the pair as they turned left at the corner and disappeared behind a wall. Once I made my way to the end they were long gone.

The street opened up to an avenue with four lanes, spreading out indefinitely into the distance. Adjoining the last lane on the right stood a factory of manufacturing Coca-Cola products. Short stacks of billowing smoke escaped from one of its pipes every once in a while. Apart from the steady swaying of leaves from shrubs and trees alike nearby, everything else remained peacefully quiet. I was very much alone here. I realized now that I had nowhere else to go, no home to arrive to, no bed to sleep on. I considered taking a risk and stay close to any stranger's residence. It'd be only for a night and for a few hours at most. I'd be gone before morning. Before I made my decision, I looked back on the road and it was then that I remembered. I remembered this was a dream. Things were markedly clear now.

I stood there by the sidewalk, staring into space while contemplating this thought, and all of a sudden I blinked and appeared on my bed, watching a video on my phone. It wasn't long, however, before I realized again that this was also a dream. I repeated the thought carefully: Remember, it is a dream. I tried lifting up and that was when I felt an immense pressure weighing down on me. It's as if I was breaking past the limit of an invisible wall. It occurred to me that I may have been trying to move my physical body, in bed, at the same time I tried doing so in the dream. Despite this and contrary to any other occasion, I would not wake up. I noticed that as long I kept focus, I could push over to the other side. No vibrations this time. Inch by inch my body began to rise, that is, until a split second later I lost sight of my goal and the dream began to fade. Everything went black for a bit before I opened my eyes to reality.

Agent
Night of November 11, 2020

We had rushed inside one of the houses at the end of the road. It took a while to get our bearings. By the air of conversation coming from one of the rooms on the back, I could tell the owners were unaware of our presence. B stood behind me while I looked back on the door; I opened it ever so slightly until it allowed a small peek through to the other side. Below the thickness of light were vehicles among the rest of homes that lined both sides of the street. My eyes panned side to side; not a single soul stood out in the close vicinity, and that was concerning. They were nowhere to be found.

And then, by mere chance I caught the shadowy figure of a man. He emerged from a corner between the third and fourth houses to the left of the street, and soon after followed not one but five more men. Their sleeveless and greasy shirts were disgustingly magnified by the ammo belts running across their chest. One of them, the closest to the entrance, raised his weapon in victory as he kicked the door from its hinges. The crew forced their way through the threshold while I looked back in horror. With my back against the exit I shut the door close. I could barely think straight; B hadn’t moved an inch.

"They're coming," I said.

B trailed after me as we moved to the back of the house where we found a group of three women sitting around a table.

“We need to move out of this house.” I warned them.

“They’re going to be here any minute now and if they find us, we’re done.”

But the three women ignored me and continued their conversation without a care in the world. As a matter of fact, I don’t think they even heard me. I signaled B and we hurried out of the place through one of the windows. We walked for a while and it wasn’t long when we came upon a stretch of land. An assembly of bodies in black suits covered the space wide. I don’t know why I looked back. The three women's residence was a two-story structure that housed a large balcony overlooking the field. Up on the platform my eyes locked with one of the mercenaries. I diverted my gaze immediately and pulled us both near the crowd of people. But it was too late now. As if taken from one of the Matrix movies, I saw two agents drop to the ground. We had been found.

I turned back only to determine the distance between us as we ran for our lives. The agents chased us to a building which I barely recognized (after waking up) as my old middle school. The old place had a layout consisting of four floors of interconnecting corridors organized in a rectangular pattern. I had taken B up and down countless sets of stairs, through narrow passages and broken-down classrooms. But no matter how much I tried we couldn’t lose them. Eventually, our haphazard escape meant it was only a matter of time before one of us lost sight of the other.

Alone and terrified I ran as fast as I could. Before reaching the end of the hall, I found a short space on the lower left wall near one of many locked doors. I shoved myself into the crammed space and crept my way inside into an abandoned classroom. Within the darkness I barricaded myself with pieces of decayed old wooden chairs, broken tables, and any other mess I could find. I crouched behind the dusty window of the door and awaited in silence. The close stomps from one of the agents could be heard from barely a few feet away. The sound of footsteps came from the right; they stopped directly in front of me, then resumed on the other side, dying out the further they went. Slowly, I raised my head from the ground. We were already deep into the night. The dirty window made it almost impossible to see but, there was no mistake that the quivering figure standing on the third floor, on the other side of the school, was none other than B himself, taken into custody by one of the agents.

I had to go back for my friend. I retreaded slowly away from the door, and then I realized the back of the room had opened itself to a parking space abutting a roadside hotel. The place had a set of stairs to one of the upper floors. The sounds approaching from the neighboring guest rooms startled me, so I took cover, crouching behind the wall at the bottom of the steps. A young man crossed from side to side not before stopping midway after noticing me. He shared a puzzling look. Realizing the awkwardness of the situation I stood up almost immediately and played things off as if nothing had happened. The young man continued, and I followed him up as he turned the corner on the left and entered through the doors to the public restroom. As I did, it became clear to me that this was all a dream.

The place I was in wasn’t anything special, save for a very distinctive feature. I discovered it by watching the young man from before, the moment he sat on the floor in front of a mirror above one of the sinks. Without any interaction on his part, the mirror turned itself on like any other T.V. I was surprised at what unfolded in front of me. But before I did anything else, I had to ground my lucidity inside the dream.

“Where is my body?” I asked.

“My body is lying in bed. I am dreaming.”

“What date is it?”

“It is the 11th of November.”

With renewed clarity, I approached one of the mirrors. As I grabbed it, the object twisted and shrank to a size perfectly fitted to my grip. Like a tablet, I held the mirror and stared at it. Nothing out of the ordinary happened; my reflection looked perfectly back at me. The young man watching T.V. was still there, withdrawn from anything or anyone around him. I didn’t know what to do with this thing. But then, an idea popped inside my head. Could I use an object like this, especially a mirror, to look into another space in the world, maybe use it as a medium of transportation? Say I want to travel to a different location, perhaps the mirror could facilitate a much needing proposition. But how do I get this thing to work?

First, I would need to think of the place I wanted to see. I initially thought about the old school, but at this point lucidity was slipping away and it was hard for me to keep a concentrating effort on the task at hand. The old school brought memories of my friend B, and with a little effort I thought I could use the mirror to look back to where exactly he was being held prisoner. The distance wasn’t long, and maybe I could get back to him by use of the object in the span of an instant. I regained a little awareness after this and attempted my escape. However, whatever I tried, I could not get past my own reflection in the mirror. I thought directly on where I wanted to go, tried to imagine the place I had been previously; I even turned away for a second, then looked back, hoping to see something other than my face behind the small piece of glass, but I failed time and again. It’s as if I didn’t actually believe such a thing possible. Absurd. This was a dream. Impossible had no meaning within the confines of my own mind. And yet, doubt was a hurdle difficult to eradicate. But my mind wasn’t having it no more. Confusion formed inside a cloud that blurred my judgement, disconnecting my mind and sliding me away into the mindset of non-lucid.

The dream continues non-lucidly.



Dipping One's Toes at Dream Control: My First Attempts
Night of November 12, 2020

I stopped before the stairs of my house, observant of whatever was downstairs. I did not know why, but something about the place was amiss. Things felt wrong; it all felt slightly off. And then, it hit me: It is a dream.

I repeated the words, and each time I did, I could feel the cogs inside my head starting to turn. I saw more clearly now, aware of what was happening. Downstairs, danger was imminent. I wanted to get out of here, but I didn’t know how. I thought I’d wish a new place into existence, but the dream would not budge. I tried talking my way through things, but again, it mattered little to none if I didn’t believe myself to make it happen. I stayed for several more attempts until I finally woke up.