Friday, October 29, 2010

Concaved Reality

I've been having pretty vivid dreams lately since my relationship breakup for some reason, perhaps the subconscious trying to balance out the emotions but the dreams help in some ways but don't in others.

From what I first remember of the dream I was playing a game from a First Person Shooter kind of view, I was in a Science Fiction like structure and it seemed visually to Halo (Only ever played the game for 2 hours back in 2006 or so).  I was being chased around this dream by my friends and we were all having a friendly match with paintball guns, after a few rounds the guns changed and the whole First Person experience turned into a Spaceship that was being overrun by some foreign virus that infected my friends.

I remember vividly sneaking around and being about to go up a ladder when a person jumped out of a hidden area of darkness which I had to subdue them, as I continued up the ladder I arose to being on a platform overlooking the world and being classed as a hero for saving the world from what had just occurred.  (I really wish I was artistic)  Arising out the top of the ladder with the world watching there was rich clay/tan colored cliffs all around me and I was standing inside a concave, I remember thinking to myself "What's going on?". 

Out the corner of my eye I saw a person from an old church I went too, I followed them and they went into this hollow in a roof that was inside smaller cave that lead off from the concave.  It turned out to be my friend and he went up into this room to have a look, I put my head up to see but It got fairly tight so I decided not to go in.  My friend eventually came back with a recording/projector? or something that they were about to use for a church service.

I followed my friend through the caves then at the end it was like a secret backdoor into the church, it hard a staircase above it and you had to force yourself through a narrow gap in order to appear at the side of the church.  Inside it was just a hall with massive wooden breakers for seating and the stage had a pedestal and it was elevated about half a metre, I wondered what the heck I was doing here.  People kept walking past and it was very full, I looked for people that I knew so I didn't have to sit alone.

I saw some friends in the distance and when I went over I had a good catchup with people I hadn't seen for a year or so, I can't remember the exact topics but it was a long conversation.  The next thing I knew I was going out of the building, there was an exit and everyone was leaving even though the service hadn't even started, it was as if everyone just walked into the place talked then left.

Upon leaving I ended up being in a rather open large/suburban area that expanded  with trees everywhere, although they weren't lush, they were rather dark but it could've been that time of the year.  As I walked down the street a little I came across a house which was a massive mansion, there had been a black haired girl follow me from church.  For some reason I decided to invite her into my house, as we walked towards the entrance I discovered it was in a rubble but there was an open path to the right side of the main entrance.

We continued up along the entrance towards the house, as I opened the front door it was as if the whole concept of time itself shifted forward and backwards in a spiral and the girl that I'd invited in turned into some hysterical psychotic person that I was involved with somehow.  None of it made sense and I ended up running her out of my house.  When I reached the entrance to the house the dream ended and I woke up.

I experienced a slightly out of body experience from which when the dream ended I woke up to check the time on my phone and I thought it was only 5am which was a complete let down waking up that early.  Yet the same time I was conscious in reality, so I was dreaming about reality that was completely literal and complete yet at the same time I wasn't..."Logic right?"  But anyhow, in the end I really woke up and it was 11am.  It was a strange dream state between reality and the subconscious.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Dreaming Relationships

Hey guys, for anyone who follows me regularly I'm sorry for not posting any dreams.  One of my worst fears came out and my girlfriend broke up with me.  My dreams have been a consist reminder of my relationship so I've decided to not put them up for the meantime.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Valerian...

Just wondering if anyone has tried this herb for sleep as I hear its good with dreams?  I've ordered a few different "Natural Products" from the states to try and see how it effects my sleep.  Will post updates on that when it arrives.

Been Gone - Update

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates or stories....real life has been stressful lately due to the Earthquake here in Christchurch, New Zealand.  I'll try get around to putting up a few stories as I've had some interesting and pretty intense dreams lately.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sorry delays..

Delayed postings, sorry been pre-occupied with issues surrounding my house.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Dream Blog!!!

Hey guys, Dream Blog is back up and running fine even after all the DNS issues I've had.  My blog will now direct you to http://www.dreamblog.co.nz

I haven't had much time to write anything lately but I've got heaps of memories prepared for extra goodness, if you're missing out a little bit you can checkout my other blogs..

Exercise NZ <-----Fat Loss, Building Muscle & Staying Healthy

Wolf Blogging <----- My own personal blog, mostly which is updated daily with all sorts of random things :)

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Trusting Reality

Hey people, the following dream will contain a bit of non-dream information too as this dream was something different and unique and I'm sure we've all experienced something like it.

First off I'll try explain most parts of my dream although I will skip alot as there is some very personal information and to say the least explicit things.

--Dream--

I was in a world or a town that had a cliff nearby, the sky is that like in The Barrens off "World of Warcraft", (No I haven't played WoW for at least 3 years now). To the other side was flat land with a shop, if I recall right it was a shop that had a tropical island look to it with it being made out of palm trees and flax roof and a sign which I can't remember what it said.

Next part a car pulled up which had some people in it that I didn't recognize, I had this thought that I needed to go with them so I eventually got in the car and off we went, as we were driving through this cliff like land the whole scenery changed and it looked as if we were traveling through some kind of wormhole (Like on Stargate if you've ever seen it)...look below


After doing this for a while we passed a few planets which came out into a supermarket, now I have no idea and this makes no sense why it would end up in a supermarket of all places but it did.  I appeared to be walking with 4 other people around a supermarket, my girlfriend was one and another her friend then another random person.  I decided I'd be affectionate and put my arms around all of them to make them feel loved <3.

Now comes the strange part of the dream, the whole scene changed and I was in an empty blank building with a cellphone.  I was trying my hardest to get ahold of my girlfriend as I didn't know what had happened but she didn't respond, I eventually escaped out of this warehouse like building to go back into the cliffside area which had changed into a small "Redlight District" town full of chaos.  Through this time about 2 days went past and I remember trying to call her and txt but getting no reply.

I decided to keep walking and walked out of this town through a farmland area that had cornfields either side the roads were sealed but had no lines on them, eventually I came upon a house that turned out to be a small cottage (maybe from the previous dreams 2 days ago?).  Anyhow it looked the same made out of old wood and varnished insides and everything just old about it, it seemed like days went past in my dream until it was a week when I hadn't heard from my girlfriend at all, at this point I was sad and confused.

As I was walking into a town to get some supplies I decided to try one last time....she picked up and started talking to me, I can't remember the exact conversation but I felt as though it was something bad.  At the same time I got into this town which was under attack by some local thugs or rebels, this point in the dream I became completely Lucid (Or I thought I was), I could control everything at my will and make buildings change, people move away, make people come into the dream and everything to a certain extent.

The weird part is when I got too excited about it all and woke up, I woke up into what I thought was reality but really it wasn't.  I called my girlfriend again and had a normal chat like we normally do so everything seemed normal like it was reality, I was even laying in my bed.  Something clicked when I was talking to her and made me realize that I was dreaming inside a dream and woke up to the real reality.

My question to you is how do you differentiate your own dreams from reality?  Have you dreamed within a dream?

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Chaotic Shake

Following dream is only in one part but will try to describe it the best I can, like my previous post said I haven't been able to sleep properly lately so the old REM sleep hasn't been good :(

--Dream--

The earliest part of the dream that I remember I was in a supermarket shopping with my girlfriend after a postquake panic which caused nearly everyone in the city to stock up on food and water.  The supermarket was quite large almost like a massive warehouse building not a properly done up supermarket, I didn't recognize any of the people around me but there was everyone rushing around.

Once we got to the checkout I remember putting the final item in my trolley onto the thing that scans it, there was a girl working there just scanning everything.  I gave her my card to pay for the item but it was declined for some reason, I asked my girlfriend if I could use hers and pay her back as it was all in a rush.  After paying we kind of had to rush out for a reason that I don't know.

When we got outside there were people looting and stealing cars in the carpark just outside, people were fighting each other and just being completely stupid for some reason.  I grabbed my girlfriend and decided to go straight for my car, for some reason my old car was parked right next to it also.  I told my girlfriend to take my current car and I'll take the old one.  I eventually realised this was a mistake when she took off  in one direction and got shot at then I'm pretty sure she got capture.

There was nothing I could do but try go get help, I took off in the car trying to dodge people running for their lives.  As I went down the road a bit further my car ran out of petrol or stopped working all together, I got out and started walking along the side of the road, the sky was just cloudy and a semi dark atmosphere.  I was so worried about my girlfriend but became quite lucid in the dream, I decided to go into the next house that I came across as no one would be in it in my dream where I was lucid.

Upon entering the house there was a strange old lady in her lounge, I can't exactly remember the layout but it may come to me later.  As I was in her lounge she was trying to find her phone when the whole house started shaking violently which was obviously an earthquake happening, she was fairly calm about it until it lasted more than a minute which she said we should probably goto the safe house which was outside and around the house.  We exited the house and took off around the back of her house, it was really hard to walk with the land moving in crazy strong ways.

About half way there the shakes stopped and I jumped off the path onto the road to check the nearby roads, silt/sand started coming up out of the road and water pipes were leaking everywhere.  There was a civil defense van coming down the road and sirens coming from all directions, I looked over at my car and decided I better get in it and drive to my house to check on it.

When I got in my car my girlfriend appeared, the feeling of relief I had of seeing her face was just amazing.  It was a really kind of "True Love" feeling, we took off and the journey between there and my house took a matter of 5 seconds in which the dream went almost instantly to my house.

Arriving at my house it was slightly different, I can try make a sketch which I'll try upload later.  But the left hand side of my house had collapsed, this was a 3 story brick house that was fairly long, the right side of the house was fine but the other parts were completely damaged.  As I entered the house there was a manhole above the stairs to the first floor, I decided to have a look and to my amazement it was the landlords hidden items in a room that had appeared after this earthquake.  (In reality the landlord has a room in the house locked away storing some of his belongings).  I remember their being a model train setup on a big table in the middle of the room and a whole collection of old toys on the walls then there was all kinds of olden dark wooden furniture.

I went back down the manhole to get my girlfriend to come up and look...at this point the dream ended.

I hope my dreams aren't getting boring guys, let me know what you think :)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Camp Cottage

The following dream hasn't been as exciting as past ones that I've had but I thought I'd still put it out there anyway.

I'm still not dreaming properly as my sleeping pattern has gone completely out from going to bed late when spending time with friends from the weekend...sorry guys but life overrules :)



--Dream--

The first part I can remember I was at a camp (my girlfriends parents run a camp four times a year), I presumed it was the same place as there were familiar faces around with children.  The building I started off in was in a rectangle shape cut off half way with that room being a kind of open hall like room with kids drawings and craft work on the walls.

The second half had a kitchen with metal benches and a window looking outside, south of the kitchen was a dining area where there were a few people sitting around talking.  I walked around for a bit and talked to a few people, I can't recall the exact conversations.

Back out in the main empty hall there was a door with steps going outside to some cabins that were about 5m away from the main camping building, the cabins were small square buildings green painted with corrugated iron roofing (sounds like they look like crap but really they didn't).  There were some people outside one which were having a conversation about me which made me feel uncomfortable so I decided to go back inside and headed for the kitchen.

When I got to the kitchen my girlfriend was there and I was telling here that I was leaving because of what these people had been saying and talking about, she tried to convince me otherwise.  Suddenly the others came in and told me that no I HAD to stay and couldn't leave this area for some reason.  Me being the stubborn person that I am told them to "F" off to say the least and left out a back door that was outside the kitchen.

This area south of the main building was surrounded with a nice garden kind of waving around the building supported by an edge of rocks and mulch/bark.  I saw one of my friends coming from the west who was going to help me escape, as he caught up with me I looked to the east to see the entrance/exit of the camp which was surrounded by trees either side with a gravel road going down the middle.

Suddenly from there people came on choppers (bikes) to try stop me from leaving, they were trying to be all tough and intimidating which I found hilarious at the time.  I looked at my friend and tried to decide what to do in this situation so I turned around and looked, to the south appeared a large river with a bridge going over it.

We decided this was the best escape the went over the bridge, the river went downstream into a lake surrounded by massive trees, there was also green grass all around us too.  On the other side of the bridge was a path that lead upwards onto a small hilly area to a house, the path had light stones on it and to the side tussocks with a mixture of flowers and all sorts.

Arriving at the house the entrance had a massive tree/bush laying across the top of it which was quite attractive.  I knocked on the door and hoped someone was there as the others were chasing us and crossing the bridge but didn't see us go around near the house....well the house was more a cottage.  An old lady answered the door and let us in.

I can't really describe the detail of the cottage inside but i'll try my best, everything inside of it was old looking but in pristine condition, the walls were dark logs mixed with varnished dark brown wood, the floors had rugs, the table was carved and the mugs and everything were made of clay.

I asked the lady if she had somewhere we could hide and she hid us in a room somewhere in the house, this is where the dream ended.  I woke up to find myself wondering about this lady and how she appeared in my dream.

At this point I really wish I could draw or be an artist :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Weekend Dreaming

Hey guys, sorry about not posting much over the weekends. I've decided I'll take a break as I usually go out and do things with the friends on the weekends and end up staying up late and not sleeping properly = not really feasible dreams or anything of the sort.

I'm currently writing a few of my older ones which I'll post soon, be prepared for a week of awesome dreams guys. If anyone wants more information on any dreams or any help with anything feel free to email me @ bloggingwolf@gmail.com

I'll leave you guys with a cool wallpaper to checkout :)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Angled Wave

Following dream took place about two years ago but I remember it vividly, It only really comprises of one part but in the first I died.

First thing I remember was being in a certain area of my city (Ferrymead, Christchurch) to be exact. It was daytime and I was doing some shopping at a nearby boat store (I'm not rich in reality so I have no idea what I was doing in search of a boat). After sticking around for a while I decided to walk outside, then get in a van which I had at the time.

The sky was blue with a few clouds about, a nice sunny day just perfect all around. The van was parked in a empty lot, maybe approximately 600m2 (The area now is a small shopping centre). As I got in the Van I saw a massive mushroom cloud from what would've been a nuclear bomb going off just outside the city.

I wasn't sure what to do...would I run? or try drive off? Either way I thought I was going to die. I ended up getting out of the van and just running to a certain point then turning around looking at the blastwave. As it hit me everything went blank as if I died.

When I opened my eyes or awoke into this new world I was surrounded by trees and cliffs in a small narrow canyon kind of area. As I wandered further into the canyon I came into a big open area with platforms at all different angles, there were also houses surrounding these platforms all funny shaped buildings joined together at 90 degree angles and all sorts of different angles. It was very strange.

Sorry for the short dream but thats the most memorable one of that year. I'll add more details later I'm just in a rush at the moment.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Nothing tonight

Sorry for anyone who follows this but I can't remember any dreams from last night, instead I'll give you a
YouTube clip on Lucid Dreams from the Discovery channel.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Lucid Bound

Well last nights dream was quite unique, I had a very disturbed sleep and slept on and off from about 11pm till 9am.  I had a very lucid experience just before 2am which I'll explain below then my other dream would've happened around 8pm.


--Dream 1--

I remember going to sleep trying to keep my conscious thoughts open to the thought of being lucid from within my dream, I woke up several times in this dream and continued to go back to sleep into the same dream.  Also varying parts I was well aware I was lucid and controlling things but tried to not get excited as I struggled not to wake up, the dream would fade from being full real and vivid to just being blank images at times so its hard for me to recall some of it.

The starting point of it was in a wetlands area, it seemed like it was far back in the past from when Dinosaurs apparently roamed the Earth with no signs of civilization anywhere, in-front of me was a lake which had a teal kind of color too it, beneath me was pure sand which went back onto a kind of greeny grass with wetlands to the side and back further.

There were birds flying around and the moon was out and also the sun(sounds kind of familiar to the other dream that I had the night before)  If I remember right it was daytime just the moon could be seen.  Faint sounds in the background were of birds and wildlife, just the kind of sounds you'd expect being in the middle of a jungle/forest/wetlands environment.

As I stood here looking into the lake I was somewhat lucid but at the same time I only had a faint idea of what I was doing here, for some reason I thought it was a test (maybe this was my subconscious testing me).  What happened next was a small wave appeared from the lake out of nowhere, I was fully aware I was in a dream and decided what to do, I put out my front hand and focused as hard as I could as I wanted to stop this wall of water.

When the water came it stopped as I told it too and then I realized I was completely lucid in this dream, I told the water to go away and it did, the sun and moon to move and they did also.  At times I got fairly excited as I could do whatever I wanted in this dream but at the same time if I got too excited the dream would slowly go blank unless I tried to concentrate then it would return to being vivid.

I tried something complex, I wanted to change the scene around me to that of the destroyed city from the end of the movie Inception.  It worked to a certain extent to where the whole scene around me changed and formed into a city being destroyed by someones dream ending, the sky was red mixed with yellow and alot of things swirling around.  At this point I was too excited to be able to control my dreams to the extent of creating a city and everything slowly went blank, I tried to concentrate but my body woke up in reality.

It took me a while to think about what just happened but I eventually went back to sleep to try again, however this time I difted on and on till about 6am which my next dream happened.

--Dream 2--

I knew this was just a dream at first and was partly in control of what was happening around me, I was in a city (quite possibly the one I had formed in my mind earlier)  But it looked similar to where I live now Christchurch, New Zealand,  with the addition of a few large architecturally beautiful buildings near the center of the city.

I started off on a motorbike that I'd just bought, the following parts may be boring but I remember them vividly and I enjoy driving and find it relaxing.  From what I remember I was just racing around different streets viewing this city and everything that was in it, there was other people/cars/fully working restaurants and everything.  But at the same time I knew it was a dream and was trying to figure out how my brain could make all this up and compare it to reality.

I continued to race around then trying to bring into the dream some of my friends on bikes so that they could race around also, eventually about 2 other bikers appeared.  I can't really recall what type of bike they were but all I know is that it was a Yamaha and black, the noise it made when accelerating was beautiful.  I continued to race around with my friends but eventually became not so lucid when I woke up once then fell back asleep into the dream.

I was suddenly in a suburban area and my friends were gone, I was still on the Yamaha but whenever I accelerated the bike would sound as if it was going really fast but it would have delayed torque.   So I'd accelerate and it would do like a massive lag as if it had some kind of disastrous turbo in it.  I remember going down an alley way dodging a few people walking along as I was trying to find my friends.  At this point in the dream I don't remember what happened but I most likely woke up.

--Dream 3--

This dream was in a gym, I was going to it with my girlfriend.  It wasn't the same layout as the gym that I go to in reality but it was fairly similar with the exception of the changing rooms to the right of the main entrance.  This dream was partly lucid to the point of the dream where I felt a strong jealous emotion in part which I'll try to explain.

As me and my girlfriend were working out we walked over to another area to see what was going on, in it was small trampolines at various heights off the ground with ropes going between each one.  The trampolines were circle ones maybe 1m and circumference, the people practicing on them ranged from female to male from aged 6 to 19 I think?  I believe they were all getting ready for an event, it was interesting to watch (not in a pervert way)  but there was music in the background to which they were all moving to the beat or doing tricks to the beat.

A guy came out of nowhere and started working out on a machine near us, we walked over to a fly machine.  This guy was trouble when I first saw him in my dream as he kept staring at my girlfriend in that bad kind of way, he also said hi to us and started talking to her a fair bit but kept me out to the side. (For the following part I may get slapped but its just a dream, my girlfriend is loyal and faithful in reality so I have no idea who she was in my dream)

My girlfriend and this guy were talking alot and also flirting, I started getting jealous at this point in the dream but for some reason I didn't do anything about it.  Its not like he was much of a challenge if I wanted to take him on but I was trying to figure out why my girlfriend was acting this way and paying all this attention to him.  (I'm sure alot of people have had these kind of dreams where you feel real emotion then wake up feeling a bit emo until you wake up properly).

All I remember is me being on this machine and it breaking, I told my girlfriend to please come over and help me and she did for a little bit but kept staring at this other guy.  At this point I walked into the changing rooms ready to just leave and walkout, in the changing rooms it was strange because when I walked in I saw my towel on the ground laying everywhere, this towel must've been about 5m long so I couldn't have a shower.  At this point I decided I'd had enough and walked out into the gym only with my shorts on grabbed my girlfriend and punched the guy in the face and left. 

The dream ended here, the third part of the dream I considered a dream killer as it nearly ruined my thoughts of the previous two dreams.  I'm still remembering parts from the first two at the moment and may add to them later.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Mystical cliff

This dream is only a small fragment of last nights dream...I'm having trouble remembering them at the moment but mainly because of stress in real life.

This all start in a big open field area, with two wooden buildings on each side.  It may have even been a place the computer game World of Warcraft (Warsong Gulch) to be exact, but regardless it hard cartoonish/graphic sky, and game style grass/trees/walls/cliffs.  I kind of switched between a view of looking down and a view of looking first pirst.

As I started in this little wooden building the plan was to engage in a battle in the middle of the open field, Infront of me was a kind of console looking thing where I could touch to make people appear or get reinforcements.  I myself jumped out of the wooden building down into the battlefield and went beside a trebuchet that was being constructed.

It had been damaged and our team were surrounding it to try repair it so we could win, if I remember right their wooden place had turned into a kind of castle stone tower with wooden walls.  Eventually we fixed it with people left and right of me (I didn't know who they were), the dream kind changed here from a trebuchet to an entrance of one of those seige weapons "Towers" that have entrances in the bottom.

I entered this "Tower" and got to the top of it, at the top the scenery changed and everyone went from cartoon/graphic to reality type.  Climbing up this tower it turned out that it was wedged inbetween 2 olden ruined walls (at this point i have no idea where the battle had gone...), it was about 10m tall at least and wooden beams every 1.5m that I could climb on.

At the top of I could see out over the field that had obviously moved positions in the landscape as we were now in a corner.  People fighting turned into futuristic looking with hightech armor and guns, also one team were releasing large dinosaurs to attack the other team who had a Tricerotops mounted with something. 

I really really hate dinosaurs in my dream as they freak me out and I always know the next thing that comes is veliceraptors which I've hated since I first watch jurrasic park.

Raptors eventually appeared and I decided it was time for me to leave the top of the wall, to the side of the wooden part of the old trebuchet there was a stone opening which I went through.  It lead onto a long cliff like rock path into a house in which a mystic lived,  all I remember from this was that the ocean below us and around.  The cliff was perfectly rounded shaped with overgrowth from above.  The cliff above us kind of went up and was smooth off but then protruded back into the ocean.

A I was ahead there were small bright stars appearing up from the ground...that went into this mystics house.

Upon entering the mystics house the dream ended....  Again I'm sorry I can't draw or I'd be painting the exact scenes...

Monday, September 27, 2010

Lucid Dreaming FAQ's

1.1 WHAT IS LUCID DREAMING?

Lucid dreaming means dreaming while knowing that you are dreaming. The term was coined by Frederik van Eeden who used the word "lucid" in the sense of mental clarity. Lucidity usually begins in the midst of a dream when the dreamer realizes that the experience is not occurring in physical reality, but is a dream. Often this realization is triggered by the dreamer noticing some impossible or unlikely occurrence in the dream, such as flying or meeting the deceased. Sometimes people become lucid without noticing any particular clue in the dream; they just suddenly realize they are in a dream. A minority of lucid dreams (according to the research of LaBerge and colleagues, about 10 percent) are the result of returning to REM (dreaming) sleep directly from an awakening with unbroken reflective consciousness.

The basic definition of lucid dreaming requires nothing more than becoming aware that you are dreaming. However, the quality of lucidity can vary greatly. When lucidity is at a high level, you are aware that everything experienced in the dream is occurring in your mind, that there is no real danger, and that you are asleep in bed and will awaken shortly. With low-level lucidity you may be aware to a certain extent that you are dreaming, perhaps enough to fly or alter what you are doing, but not enough to realize that the people are dream representations, or that you can suffer no physical damage, or that you are actually in bed.


1.2 IS LUCID DREAMING THE SAME AS DREAM CONTROL?

Lucidity is not synonymous with dream control. It is possible to be lucid and have little control over dream content, and conversely, to have a great deal of control without being explicitly aware that you are dreaming. However, becoming lucid in a dream is likely to increase the extent to which you can deliberately influence the course of events. Once lucid, dreamers usually choose to do something permitted only by the extraordinary freedom of the dream state, such as flying.

You always have the choice of how much control you want to exert. For example, you could continue with whatever you were doing when you became lucid, with the added knowledge that you are dreaming. Or you could try to change everything--the dream scene, yourself, other dream characters. It is not always possible to perform "magic" in dreams, like changing one object into another or transforming scenes. A dreamer's ability to succeed at this seems to depend a lot on the dreamer's confidence. As Henry Ford said, "Believe you can, believe you can't; either way, you're right." On the other hand, it appears there are some constraints on dream control that may be independent of belief. See "Testing the Limits of Dream Control: The Light and Mirror Experiment" for more on this.


1.3 HOW ARE LUCID DREAMS RELATED TO OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES (OBEs)?

A mysterious and highly controversial phenomenon sometimes occurs in which people experience the compelling sensation that they have somehow "left their bodies." The "out-of-body experience" or "OBE", as this fascinating phenomenon is usually termed, takes a variety of forms. In the most typical, you are lying in bed, apparently awake, when suddenly you experience a range of primarily somatic sensations, often including vibrations, heaviness, and paralysis. Then you experience the vivid sensation of separating from your "physical body" in what feels like a second body, often floating above the bed.

It is important to note the distinction between the phenomenal reality of the OBE and the various interpretations of the experience. What is really happening when you feel yourself "leaving your body"? According to one school of thought, what is actually happening is just what it feels like: you are moving in a second body out of and away from your physical body--in physical space. But this "explanation" doesn't hold up very well under examination. After all, the body we ordinarily feel ourselves to be (or if you like, to inhabit) is a phenomenal or mental body rather than a physical body. The space we see around us is not physical space as "common sense" tells us, but as modern psychology makes clear, a phenomenal or mental space. In general, our consciousness is a mental model of the world.

OBE enthusiasts promote lucid dreaming as a "stepping stone" to the OBE. Conversely, many lucid dreamers have had the experience of feeling themselves "leave the body" at the onset of a lucid dream. From a laboratory study, we have concluded that OBEs can occur in the same physiological state as lucid dreams. Wake-initiated lucid dreams (WILDs) were three times more likely to be labeled "OBEs" than dream initiated lucid dreams. If you believe yourself to have been awake, then you are more likely to take the experience at face value and believe yourself to have literally left your physical body in some sort of mental or "astral" body floating around in the "real" physical world. If, on the other hand, you think of the experience as a dream, then you are likely to identify the OBE body as a dream body image and the environment of the experience as a dream world. The validity of the latter interpretation is supported by observations and research on these phenomena.


2.1 WHY HAVE LUCID DREAMS?

Upon hearing about lucid dreaming for the first time, people often ask, "Why should I want to have lucid dreams? What are they good for?" If you consider that once you know you are dreaming, you are restricted only by your ability to imagine and conceive, not by laws of physics or society, then the answer to what lucid dreaming is good for is either extremely simple (anything!) or extraordinarily complex (everything!). It is easier to provide a sample of what some people have done with lucid dreaming than to give a definitive answer of its potential uses.

2.1.1 Adventure and Fantasy

Often, the first thing that attracts people to lucid dreaming is the potential for wild adventure and fantasy fulfillment. Flying is a favorite lucid dream delight, as is sex. Many people have said that their first lucid dream was the most wonderful experience of their lives. A large part of the extraordinary pleasure of lucid dreaming comes from the exhilarating feeling of utter freedom that accompanies the realization that you are in a dream and there will be no social or physical consequences of your actions. One might think that this is a rather intellectual concept, but an ecstatic "rush" frequently arises with the first realization that one is dreaming.

2.1.2 Overcoming Nightmares

Unfortunately for many people, instead of providing an outlet for unlimited fantasy and delight, dreams can be dreaded episodes of limitless terror. As is discussed in the books Lucid Dreaming (LaBerge, 1985) and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming (EWLD) (LaBerge & Rheingold, 1990), lucid dreaming may well be the basis of the most effective therapy for nightmares. If you know you are dreaming, it is a simple logical step to realizing that nothing in your current experience, however unpleasant, can cause you physical harm. There is no need to run from or fight with dream monsters. In fact, it is often pointless to try, because the horror pursuing you was conceived in your own mind, and as long as you continue to fear it, it can pursue you wherever you dream yourself to be. The only way to really "escape" is to end your fear. (For a discussion of reasons for recurrent nightmares, see Overcoming Nightmares from EWLD.) The fear you feel in a nightmare is completely real; it is the danger that is not.

Unreasonable fear can be defused by facing up to the source, or going through with the frightening activity, so that you observe that no harm comes to you. In a nightmare, this act of courage can take any form that involves facing the "threat" rather than avoiding it. For example, one young man dreamt of being pursued by a lion. When he had no place left to run, he realized he was dreaming and called to the lion to "come and get him." The challenge turned into a playful wrestling match, and the lion became a sexy woman (NightLight 1.4, 1989, p. 13). Monsters often transform into benign creatures, friends, or empty shells when courageously confronted in lucid dreams. This is an extremely empowering experience. It teaches you in a very visceral manner that you can conquer fear and thereby become stronger.

2.1.3 Rehearsal

Lucid dreaming is an extraordinarily vivid form of mental imagery, so realistic that the trick is to realize it is a mental construct. It is no surprise, therefore, that many people use lucid dreaming to rehearse for success in waking life. Examples of such applications include public speaking, difficult confrontations, artistic performance and athletic prowess. Because the activity of the brain during a dreamed activity is the same as during the real event, neuronal patterns of activation required for a skill (like a ski jump or pirouette) can be established in the dream state in preparation for performance in the waking world. See EWLD for examples.

2.1.4 Creativity and Problem Solving

The creative potential of dreams is legendary. The brain is highly active in REM sleep and unconstrained by sensory input, which together may contribute to the novel combinations of events and objects we experience as dream bizarreness. This same novelty allows thought to take on forms that are rare in waking life, manifesting as enhanced creativity, or defective thinking depending on one's point of view (As Roland Fisher put it, "One man's creativity is another's brain damage."). The claim of enhanced creativity of the dream state is supported by LI research: One study found word associations immediately after awakening from a dream to be 29% more likely to be uncommon compared to word associations later in the day (NightLight, 6.4, 1994). Another study comparing a variety of kinds of experience including daydreams, memories of actual events, and dreams, found that dreams were judged as being significantly more creative than both daydreams and memories (NL, 4.1, 1992). In any case, many lucid dreamers report using dreams for problem solving and artistic inspiration; see EWLD for a variety of examples.

2.1.5 Healing

The effects of visual imagery on the body are well-established. Just as skill practice in a dream can enhance waking performance, healing dream imagery may improve physical health. Medical patients have often used soothing and positive imagery to alleviate pain, and the dream world offers the most vivid form of imagery. Thus, some people have use lucid dreams in overcoming phobias, working with grief, decreasing social and sexual anxieties, achieving greater self-confidence and by directing the body image in the dream to facilitate physical healing. The applications, which are described in greater detail in EWLD, deserve clinical study, as they may be the greatest boon that lucid dreaming has to offer. Other potential healing applications of lucid dreaming include: practice of physical skills by stroke and spinal cord injury patients to encourage recovery of neuromuscular function, enjoyment of sexual satisfaction by people with lower body sensory loss (fully satisfying dream sex requires only mental stimulation!), more rapid recovery from injury or disease through the use of lucid dream imagery, and an increased sense of freedom for anyone who feels limited by disability or circumstance.

2.1.6 Transcendence

The experience of being in a lucid dream clearly demonstrates the astonishing fact that the world we see is a construct of our minds. This concept, so elusive when sought in waking life, is the cornerstone of spiritual teachings. It forces us to look beyond everyday experience and ask, "If this is not real, what is?" Lucid dreaming, by so baldly baring a truth that many spend lives seeking, often triggers spiritual questioning in people who try it for far more mundane purposes. Not only does lucid dreaming lead to questioning the nature of reality, but for many it also has been a source of transcendent experience. Exalted and ecstatic states are common in lucid dreams. EWLD presents several cases of individuals achieving states of union with the Highest, great peace and a new sense of their roles in life.


2.2 CAN LUCID DREAMING BE DANGEROUS?

The overwhelming majority of lucid dreams are positive, rewarding experiences. Moreover, lucidity in unpleasant dreams or nightmares can transform habitual fear into conscious courage. The simple state of lucidity is frequently enough to elevate the mood of a dreamer in a nightmare. In a study of the effect of lucid dreams on mood, college students reported that realizing they were dreaming in a nightmare helped them feel better about 60 percent of the time. Lucidity was seven times more likely to make nightmares better than worse.

A parallel concern is that dying in a dream can cause death in reality. If this were true, how would we know? Anyone who died from a dream could not tell us about its content. Many people, after awakening alive, report having died in their dreams with no ill effect. Dreams of death can actually be insightful experiences about life, rebirth, and transcendence.

Some people believe that dreams are messages from the unconscious mind and should not be consciously altered. Modern research on dreaming, discussed further in chapter 5 of EWLD, suggests that dreams are not messages, but models of the world. While awake, sensory and perceptual information governs our model. While dreaming, our bodies are paralyzed and our brain builds a world model based on a secondary source; namely, our assumptions, motivations, and expectations. These biases are difficult to identify while awake, so a world based entirely on such biases, the world of dreams, can help us to recognize them. Thus, dreams are not messages, but are more like clues into the inner workings of our minds. The conscious and critical awareness that accompanies lucid dreams allows dreamers to thoughtfully interpret their dreams while they happen.

Finally, some people worry that lucid dreams are so exciting and pleasurable that they will become addicted and "sleep their life away." There is a biological obstacle to living in lucid dreams: we have a limited amount of REM sleep. More importantly, lucid dreams can be inspirations for how to act and improve in reality. Your behavior strongly influences your experience in both worlds. Lucid dreams can be signposts for how you can make your waking reality more exciting and enjoyable.


3.1 CAN EVERYONE LEARN TO HAVE LUCID DREAMS?

Lucid dreaming is a skill you can develop, like learning a new language. A few individuals may have an innate talent for achieving lucidity, yet even they can benefit from instruction and practice in making the most of their lucid dreams. Many more people experience lucidity as a rare spontaneous event, but need training to enjoy lucid dreams at will. The best predictor of success with lucid dreaming is the ability to remember dreams. This, too, is a skill you can develop. With specific techniques, you can increase the quantity and quality of your dream recall, which will in turn greatly increase your ability to have lucid dreams.


3.2 HOW DO I LEARN TO HAVE LUCID DREAMS?

The two essentials to learning lucid dreaming are motivation and effort. Although most people report occasional spontaneous lucid dreams, they rarely occur without our intending it. Lucid dream induction techniques help focus intention and prepare a critical mind. They range from millennium-old Tibetan exercises to modern methods developed by dream researchers. Try the following techniques and feel free to use personal variants. Experiment, observe, and persevere - lucid dreaming is easier than you may think.

3.2.1 Dream Recall

The most important prerequisite for learning lucid dreaming is excellent dream recall. There are two likely reasons for this. First, when you remember your dreams well, you can become familiar with their features and patterns. This helps you to recognize them as dreams while they are still happening. Second, it is possible that with poor dream recall, you may actually have lucid dreams that you do not remember!

The procedure for improving your dream recall is fully detailed in EWLD and A Course in Lucid Dreaming in addition to many other books on dreams. A brief discussion of the methods involved is available on the Lucidity Institute web site. The core exercise is writing down everything you recall about your dreams in a dream journal immediately after waking from the dream, no matter how fragmentary your recall. Record what you recall immediately upon waking from the dream; if you wait until morning you are likely to forget most, if not all, of the dream. In A Course in Lucid Dreaming we advise that people build their dream recall to at least one dream recalled per night before proceeding with lucid dream induction techniques.

3.2.2 Reality Testing

This is a good technique for beginners. Assign yourself several times a day to perform the following exercise. Also do it anytime you think of it, especially when something odd occurs or when you are reminded of dreams. It helps to choose specific occasions like: when you see your face in the mirror, look at your watch, arrive at work or home, pick up your NovaDreamer, etc. The more frequently and thoroughly you practice this technique, the better it will work.

Do a reality test.
Carry some text with you or wear a digital watch throughout the day. To do a reality test, read the words or the numbers on the watch. Then, look away and look back, observing the letters or numbers to see if they change. Try to make them change while watching them. Research shows that text changes 75% of the time it is re-read once and changes 95% it is re-read twice. If the characters do change, or are not normal, or do not make sense, then you are most probably dreaming. Enjoy! If the characters are normal, stable, and sensible, then you probably aren't dreaming. Go on to step 2.

Imagine that your surroundings are a dream.
If you are fairly certain you are awake (you can never be 100% sure!), then say to yourself, "I may not be dreaming now, but if I were, what would it be like?" Visualize as vividly as possible that you are dreaming. Intently imagine that what you are seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling is all a dream. Imagine instabilities in your environment, words changing, scenes transforming, perhaps you floating off the ground. Create in yourself the feeling that you are in a dream. Holding that feeling, go on to step 3.

Visualize yourself enjoying a dream activity.
Decide on something you would like to do in your next lucid dream, perhaps flying, talking to particular dream characters, or just exploring the dream world. Continue to imagine that you are dreaming now, and visualize yourself enjoying your chosen activity.

3.2.3 Dreamsigns

Another dream-recall related exercise introduced in EWLD and further developed in A Course in Lucid Dreaming is identifying "dreamsigns." This term, coined by LaBerge, refers to elements of dreams that indicate that you are dreaming. (Examples: miraculous flight, purple cats, malfunctioning devices, and meeting deceased people.) By studying your dreams you can become familiar with your own personal dreamsigns and set your mind to recognize them and become lucid in future dreams. The Course also provides exercises for noticing dreamsigns while you are awake, so that the skill carries over into your dreams. This exercise also applies to lucid dream induction devices, which give sensory cues--special, artificially-produced dreamsigns--while you are dreaming. To succeed at recognizing these cues in dreams, you need to practice looking for them and recognizing them while you are awake.

3.2.4 Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)

The MILD technique employs prospective memory, remembering to do something (notice you're dreaming) in the future. Dr. LaBerge developed this technique for his doctoral dissertation and used it to achieve lucid dreaming at will. The proper time to practice MILD is after awakening from a dream, before returning to sleep. (Modified from EWLD, p. 78)

Setup dream recall.
Set your mind to awaken from dreams and recall them. When you awaken from a dream, recall it as completely as you can.

Focus your intent.
While returning to sleep, concentrate single-mindedly on your intention to remember to recognize that you're dreaming. Tell yourself: "Next time I'm dreaming, I will remember I'm dreaming," repeatedly, like a mantra. Put real meaning into the words and focus on this idea alone. If you find yourself thinking about anything else, let it go and bring your mind back to your intention.

See yourself becoming lucid.
As you continue to focus on your intention to remember when you're dreaming, imagine that you are back in the dream from which you just awakened (or another one you have had recently if you didn't remember a dream on awakening). Imagine that this time you recognize that you are dreaming. Look for a dreamsign--something in the dream that demonstrates plainly that it is a dream. When you see it say to yourself: "I'm dreaming!" and continue your fantasy. Imagine yourself carrying out your plans for your next lucid dream. For example, if you want to fly in your lucid dream, imagine yourself flying after you come to the point in your fantasy when you become lucid.

Repeat until your intention is set.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until either you fall asleep or are sure that your intention is set. If, while falling asleep, you find yourself thinking of anything else, repeat the procedure so that the last thing in your mind before falling asleep is your intention to remember to recognize the next time you are dreaming.

3.2.5 Napping

Two observations led LaBerge in the late 1970s to develop morning napping as a method of lucid dream induction. First, he noticed that lucidity seemed to come easier in afternoon naps. The second suggestion same from several lucid dreamers who noted that certain activities during the night appeared to induce lucid dreaming. The diverse qualities of these interruptions: sex, vomiting, and pure meditation, piqued LaBerge's curiosity regarding what feature each might possess conducive to lucidity. The answer proved to be quite simple: wakefulness interjected during sleep increases the likelihood of lucidity. In fact, the nap technique, refined through several NightLight experiments, is an extremely powerful method of stimulating lucid dreams. The technique requires you to awaken one hour earlier than usual, stay awake for 30 to 60 minutes, then go back to sleep. One study showed a 15 to 20 times increased likelihood of lucid dreaming for those practicing the nap technique over no technique. During the wakeful period, read about lucid dreaming, practice reality checks and then do MILD as you are falling asleep. The Lucidity Institute's training programs include this technique as an essential part of the schedule, one of the reasons why most participants have lucid dreams during the session.


3.3 HOW QUICKLY CAN I LEARN LUCID DREAMING?

The speed with which you develop the skill of lucid dreaming depends on many individual factors. How well do you recall dreams? How much time can you give to practicing mental exercises? Do you use a lucid dream induction device? Do you practice diligently? Do you have a well developed critical thinking faculty? And so on.

Case histories may provide a more tangible picture of the process of learning lucid dreaming. Dr. LaBerge increased his frequency of lucid dreaming from about one per month to up to four a night (at which point he could have lucid dreams at will) over the course of three years. He was studying lucid dreaming for his doctoral dissertation and therefore needed to learn to have them on demand as quickly as possible. On the other hand, he had to invent techniques for improving lucid dreaming skills. Thus, people starting now, although they may not be as strongly motivated as LaBerge or have the same quantity of time to devote to it, have the advantage of the tested techniques, training programs, and electronic biofeedback aids that have been created in the two decades since LaBerge began his studies.

Lynne Levitan, staff writer for the Lucidity Institute, describes her experiences with learning lucid dreaming as follows:

"I first heard of lucid dreaming in April of 1982, when I took a course from Dr. LaBerge at Stanford University. I had had the experience many years before and was very interested to learn to do it again, as well as to get involved in the research. First I had to develop my dream recall, because at the time I only remembered two or three dreams per week. In a couple of months I was recalling 3 to 4 or more per night, and in July (about three months after starting) I had my first lucid dream since adolescence. I worked at it on and off for the next four years (not sleeping much as a student) and reached the level of 3 to 4 lucid dreams per week. Along the way, I tested several prototypes of the DreamLight lucid dream induction device and they clearly helped me to become more proficient at realizing when I was dreaming. During the first two years that we were developing the DreamLight, I had lucid dreams on half of the nights I used one of these devices, compared to once a week or less without. In considering how long it took me to get really good at lucid dreaming, note that I did not have the benefit of the thoroughly studied and explained techniques now available either, because the research had not yet been done nor the material written. Therefore, people now should be able to accomplish the same learning in far less time given, of course, sufficient motivation."


3.4 WHAT TECHNOLOGY IS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST LUCID DREAMING TRAINING?

The Lucidity Institute offers electronic devices that help people have lucid dreams. They were developed through laboratory research at Stanford University by LaBerge, Levitan, and others. The basic principle behind these devices is as follows: the primary task confronting someone who wishes to have a lucid dream is to remember that intention while in a dream. One of the best ways to increase a person's chances of having a lucid dream is to give a reminder to the person during REM sleep. In the lab, we found that flashing light cues worked well in that they tended to incorporate into ongoing dreams without causing awakening. You may have noticed that occasional bits of sensory information are filtered into your dreams in disguised form, like a clock radio as supermarket music or a chain saw as the sound of a thunderstorm. This is the same principle used by our lucid dream induction devices: the lights or sounds from the device filter into the user's dreams. In cases of very deep sleepers, we found that it was sometimes necessary to use sound as well as light to get the cues into dreams. The dreamer's task is to notice the flashing lights in the dream and remember that they are cues to become lucid. Because we could not possibly accommodate everyone who wants to come into the sleep lab for a lucid dream induction session and most people would rather sleep at home anyway, we worked for several years to develop a comfortable, portable device that would detect REM sleep and deliver a cue tailored to the individual user's needs.

3.4.1 The NovaDreamer

The NovaDreamer lucid dream induction device works by giving flashing light or sound cues when the user is dreaming. Users modify the device settings to find a cue with the right intensity and length to enter their dreams without causing awakening. In addition, device users practice mental exercises while awake to enhance their ability to recognize the light cues when they appear in dreams. The NovaDreamer includes a soft, comfortable sleep mask, which contains the flashing lights, a speaker, and an eye movement detection apparatus. The NovaDreamer's electronics are all inside the sleep mask. The NovaDreamer uses REM detection to time the delivery of lucidity cue and provides feedback on the number of cues given. It includes the "Dream Alarm" feature to boost dream recall. Users have a choice of a wide selection of cues and receive feedback on the number of cues they receive during a sleep period.

The lucidity cues of the NovaDreamer are intended to enter into ongoing dreams. This can occur in several ways. Cues can be superimposed over the dream scene, like a light flashing in one's face, or they can briefly interrupt the dream scene. The most common (and most difficult to identify) incorporation of cues is into dream stories. Little brother flashing the room lights, flash bulbs, lightning, traffic signals, police car lights: all are real examples of incorporations of NovaDreamer cues. The trickiness of cue appearances underscores the need to thoroughly prepare one's mind to recognize cues via waking practice.

The NovaDreamer offers a second method of lucid dream stimulation. This method arose out of the discovery that while sleeping with the NovaDreamer, people frequently dreamed that they awakened wearing the device, and pressed the button on the front of the mask to start the "delay," a feature that disables cues while you are drifting off to sleep. Ordinarily, a button press would cause a beep to tell you that you had successfully pressed it. However, people were reporting that the button was not working in the middle of the night. Actually, they were dreaming that they were awakening and pressing the button, and the button did not work because it was a dream version of the NovaDreamer. Dream versions of devices are notorious for not working normally. Once people were advised that failure of the button in the middle of the night was a sign that they were probably dreaming, they were able to use this "dreamsign" reliably to become lucid during "false awakenings" with the NovaDreamer. Research suggests that about half of the lucid dreams stimulated by the devices result from using the button for reality tests. Available from the LI. For details, see the NovaDreamer manual (in html format), or in Acrobat PDF format.


3.5 HOW WELL DO LUCID DREAM INDUCTION DEVICES WORK?

The Lucidity Institute's lucid dream induction devices are designed to help people achieve lucidity by giving them cues while they are dreaming and also by providing a reliable means of testing one's state of consciousness. They do not make people have lucid dreams any more than exercise machines make people develop strong muscles. In both cases the goal, strength or lucid dreams, results from practice. The machines accelerate the process. Several factors enter into success with one of these devices. One is how accurately the cues are coordinated with the user's REM sleep. The devices' REM detection systems are adjustable to individual variables. Another success factor is how well the cues enter into the dream without awakening the sleeper. A third factor is how prepared the user is for recognizing cues in dreams and becoming lucid. Finally, the user's commitment to performing a reality test on each awakening with the device influences success. All four of these factors are, to some extent, controllable by the device user: adjustment of eye movement sensitivity to catch REM sleep, selecting a cue that enters dreams without causing awakenings, mental preparation to recognize cues in dreams, and resolution to do reality tests. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a truly accurate measurement of the effectiveness of the devices. Nonetheless, research with various versions of the DreamLight (previous lucid dream induction device that is no longer in production) have shown that it definitely helps people have more frequent lucid dreams.

Because expectation makes lucid dreaming more likely, one might wonder whether the DreamLight is any more effective than a placebo. A study recently published in Dreaming proved that it is. In brief, fourteen experienced DreamLight users were exposed to two conditions: light cues or no light cues. Subjects thought they were testing two different light cues and did not know their nightly condition (making motivation and expectations constant). Thus, the study examined how much the DreamLight's light cues specifically contributed to the achievement of lucid dreams. More people had lucid dreams on nights when they received light cues (73% versus 27%). Lucid dream frequency was three times greater on nights with cues (one lucid dream every three nights versus one in eleven nights without cues).

An earlier study with a different version of the DreamLight showed a five-fold increase in lucid dreaming frequency when people used the Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (MILD) mental technique in conjunction with the device, compared with using no device and no mental technique. Using the device without mental techniques worked about as well as just using the mental technique; both cases were an improvement over using nothing.

In summary, at this stage the lucid dream induction devices can definitely help people to have lucid dreams, or to have more of them. Important factors contributing to success are good dream recall (the DreamLight and NovaDreamer also can be used to boost dream recall with the "Dream Alarm feature"), diligent mental preparation, and careful adjustment of the device to meet individual needs for cueing and REM detection. No device yet exists that will make a person have a lucid dream.


3.6 ARE THERE ANY DRUGS OR NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS THAT STIMULATE LUCID DREAMS?

A number of substances have been suggested to enhance the likelihood of lucid dreaming, from vitamins to prescription drugs. There are few good scientific studies to test such claims. Lucid dreaming is highly subject to the placebo effect; the belief that something will stimulate a lucid dream is very effective! This is not to say that there are not substances that do, in fact, promote lucid dreaming. We are interested in discovering such and welcome observations from fellow dreamers. At this time, however, we do not endorse any substances for inducing lucid dreams. Many prescription drugs as well as marijuana and alcohol alter the sleep cycle, usually by suppressing REM sleep. This leads to a phenomenon called "REM rebound," in which a person experiences intense, long REM periods after the drug has worn off. This can manifest as nightmares or, possibly, as lucid dreaming, since the brain is highly active. Drugs in the LSD family, including psilocybin and tryptamines actually stimulate REM sleep (in doses small enough to allow sleep), leading to longer REM periods. We do not recommend the use of drugs without proper guidance nor do we urge the breaking of laws.


3.7 HOW CAN I PREVENT WAKING UP AS SOON AS I BECOME LUCID?

Beginning lucid dreamers often have the problem of waking up right after becoming lucid. This obstacle may prevent some people from realizing the value of lucid dreaming. Fortunately there are ways to overcome this problem.

The first is to remain calm in the dream. Becoming lucid is exciting, but expressing the excitement can awaken you. It is possible to enjoy the thrill that accompanies the dawning of lucidity without allowing the activation to overwhelm you. Be like a poker player with an ideal hand. Relax and engage with the dream rather than withdrawing into your inner joy of accomplishment.

Then, if the dream shows signs of ending, such as a loss of detail, vividness, and apparent reality of the imagery, the technique of "spinning" can often restore the dream. You spin your dream body around like a child trying to get dizzy. LaBerge developed this technique after experimenting with the idea that relaxing completely might help prevent awakening from a dream. When in a lucid dream that was fading, he stopped and dropped backwards to the floor, and had a false awakening in bed! After a few trials he determined that the essential element was the sensation of motion, not relaxation. The best way to create a feeling of movement, especially in the dream scene has vanished, leaving nowhere to move to, is to create angular momentum (or the sensation of it), by spinning around your axis. You are not really doing it, but your brain is well familiar with the experience of spinning and duplicates the experience quite well. In the process the vestibular and kinesthetic senses are engaged. Presumably, this sensory engagement with the dream discourages the brain from changing state from dreaming to waking. Note that dream spinning does not usually lead to dizziness. Be aware that the expectation of possible awakening sometimes leads to a "false awakening" in which you dream of waking. The vividness of the spinning sensation may cause you to feel your spinning arm hit the bed. You think, "Oops, I'm awake in bed now." Think now--your physical body wasn't really spinning, it was your dream body--therefore, the arm is a dream arm hitting a dream bed! To avoid being deceived, recite, "The next scene will be a dream," until a scene appears. If you are in doubt about your status, perform a thorough reality test.


Source - :Lucidity

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Heavenly Bliss

This dream I will never forget as it was the most amazing experience in a dream that I've had, its not very long but if you can imagine yourself in it...you may be moved.  It was the only one I could remember for the night but so far has made my dream to say the least..."awesome".

This dream started off with me at my old house (I used to live in Sumner, New Zealand) its right next to the beach.  I started off at the main door to the house where the plants/trees/bushes around me were full and bright colored with a small tannish/blue color surrounding the air and anything visible.

As I was exiting the house I walked down to the beach, at which point I didn't know where I was as it was only a beach and houses/sea wall behind me.  There's usually a rock far off in the distance along the beach towards the main part of the township but it wasn't there in my dream.

I continued to walk down the beach and ended up running along it, this run was so filled with energy and joy for some reason.  I felt like I was running on clouds or nothing at all because I wouldn't get tired....it was just a joyful experience running along the beach towards the township.  I can see the picture of it perfectly in my head right now but unfortunately I'm not an artist so I can't express it in a drawing.

As I arrived down at the main township I looked back towards the ocean to see the rock appear out of nowhere and massive big wave/swell happening out at sea and coming closer.  It was almost like a Tsunami kind of wave but it would break then stop at the sand.

I stood there for a while watching these waves come in with what seemed a few other people around me but I didn't recognize anyone or anything like that.  At this point I walked over towards the beach more and many others appeared near me, everyone had their significant other with them.  The sand was nice and pure with nothing bad in it but fine different shaded colors of golden sand.

As I was standing on the waterfront I looked towards the south, the sky turned a beautiful color of blue and there was a full moon.  The water changed to a calming medium shaded blue and there was a sunrise coming from the East (so there was dark blue one side and the sun shining on the water on the other side).

I decided I needed to get my girlfriend to come see this so I set off running back along the beach as this was completely unreal and she had to experience it with me as everyone else had their significant others with them.  At this point in the dream I experienced COMPLETE serenity/bliss...whatever you like to call it, for a moment I thought I was in heaven as I was running along the beach back to my house with the sun shining down on this perfect ocean and the dark blue sky behind with a full moon.

Was it an experience of heaven or some concept of what happens when we leave this world?  I honestly don't have a clue but its changed the way I think of the world for today and I'd loved to dream this dream again.

On my way running back to my house the dream ended and I woke up, during the moment of bliss I heard a song playing somewhere...it was the following song.

I hope you enjoy it and please share you thoughts :)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Lucid Dreaming???

“It’s the only way to fly.”

Lucid dreaming is the experience of being completely aware within a dream that you are, in fact, in a dream. This realization leads to complete power for the dreamer, allowing him/her to go anywhere and do anything in their dream. You might have had this happen to you once or twice in your life, but chances are the dream didn’t last very long. This is because as soon as people get excited from realizing they have achieved lucidity, they tend to wake up. So how does one avoid this problem, or even have more consistently lucid dreams in the first place? It is a rather long process before one can get good at lucid dreaming, but there is definitely a way to do it if you are committed. After all, why not have fun after you fall asleep too? Make your entire day on continuous adventure!

1) Master Dream Re-Call

Before you can lucid dream, you have to be able to remember that dreams that you have so that you can improve your technique. First, tell yourself before you go to sleep that you WILL remember your dreams. Recite something like “I will remember my dreams tomorrow morning.” This will put the idea in your mind and make recalling easier.

Second, figure out your method for recording your dreams when you do remember them. Whether it be a journal, blog, or podcast, record the entirety of your dream in some concrete way. Documenting your dreams will force you to remember every little detail of the dream and will train your mind to automatically remember. Make sure that you write down your dream immediately after waking up from them or you WILL forget them. The dream record will also allow you to go back and remember dreams from weeks and months ago so that you can look for patterns (which will help you attain consistent lucidity).

If you are having trouble remembering dreams even with these methods, you can set alarms to wake you up during your REM sleep cycle so that you will always wake up during your dream. Sleep cycles are 90 minutes long on average and REM sleep occurs at the end of the cycle. So if you set your alarm for any 90 minute interval after you fall asleep, you will most likely end up waking up during a dream, making it easier to remember.
2) Carry Over Some Consciousness

Pick a night when you are so tired that you will fall asleep as soon as you hit the bed…but don’t. Lie on your back with your arms at your side and keep your eyes open for as long as possible. Don’t jerk them open; you’re not trying to stay awake, only to keep your eyes open. Eventually you will fall asleep without even realizing it. For some reason this will make you more conscious when you begin to dream, making it easier to go lucid. Do this over and over and you will get results soon enough. After all, what better things do you have to do when trying to fall asleep?

3) Reality Checks

If step 2 isn’t allowing you to go lucid, try reality checks. This is accomplished by establishing a pattern of reality checks throughout your day (yes, when you are awake) so that you will naturally check if you are dreaming when you are asleep. You can check if you are dreaming in countless ways ranging from pinching yourself, checking if your watch is on or even checking how high you can jump. As stupid as this sounds when you are awake, you have to take it seriously or you will not take your reality check seriously in your dreams either. Check if you are dreaming at regular intervals to keep yourself in check until it becomes part of your routine. At that point, you will almost be ready to lucid dream.

4) Final Tips

- Practice meditation so that you can get used to being in an altered state of mind and become more comfortable with lucid

- If you can feel yourself losing the dream, start to spin around and the dream will usually become clear again. This also works to get out of nightmares because spinning around can reset the surroundings of your dream.

- Know what you want to do first when you begin lucid dreaming so that you will not waste your lucidity thinking of what you want to try ex. flying, visiting other planets, time travel, etc.

- 5-HTP, a natural dietary supplement that aids in serotonin production, has been proven to make lucid dreams more common and more vivid

- There are some binaural beats that assist in inducing lucidity by bringing your brain to the lucid frequency that you can download for free via torrents. Just search “lucid dreaming” in the audio section of your preferred torrent search engine. There are also step-by-step walkthroughs available if you are having exceptional trouble achieving lucidity
Stuff To Do In Your Dreams

** Remember that you can do ANYTHING in your dreams and that dreams are directly linked with your subconscious, so lucid dreaming can lead you to some crazy discoveries about yourself **

- Fly through the sky, to another planet, to another dimension

- Spend a night with your favorite celebrity, past or present

- Call yourself from your cell phone and ask important questions, you will get answers

- Go to heaven or hell and have a look around

- Be a superhero and save the world from Hilary Clinton!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Undreaming?

Today I'm unsure what happened, I'm remembering parts from dreams from all over the place.  For now I'll just leave this post saying sorry for anyone that's following.

I'll try to get my thoughts together and put it into the proper order, but as I recall last night only had one dream.  Something to do with a house, people in it that I used to live with, driving a car around and alot of other stuff which I'll detail later.

Sorrry <3

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Dreams - Facts...or are they?

 I personally don't agree with some of the facts below as I myself can remember more than 90% of my dreams after 10 minutes haha.

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Dream interpretations dates back to 3000-4000 B.C. were they were documented in clay tablets.
It is said that people in primal societies were unable to distinguish between the dream world and reality.
They not only saw the dream world as an extension of reality, but the dream realm was a more powerful world.

Back in the Greek and Roman era, dream interpreters accompanied military leaders into battle.
Dreams were extremely significant and often seen as messages from the gods.  They were seen in a religious context and in Egypt, priests also acted as dream interpreters. The Egyptians recorded their dreams in hieroglyphics.

People with particular vivid and significant dreams were believed to be blessed and were considered special.

People who had the power to interpret dreams were looked up to and seen as divinely gifted. In the bible, there are over seven hundred mentions of dreams. Tracing back to these ancient cultures, people had always had an inclination to interpret dreams. Dreams were also seen as prophetic.  People often looked to their dreams for signs of warning and advice.

It was an oracle or omen from outside spirits, whether it was a message from a deity, from the dead or even the works of a demon. Dreams often dictated the actions of political and military leaders and aided in diagnosis for the medicine men.

Dreams was a vital clue for healers in what was wrong with the dreamer and used them to make a diagnosis. People in ancient Greece and ancient China looked to their dreams for their next course of action. Dreaming can be seen as an actual place that your spirit and soul leaves every night to go and visit.  The Chinese believed that the soul leaves the body to go into this world. However, if they should be suddenly awakened, their soul may fail to return to the body.  For this reason, some Chinese today, are wary of alarm clocks. Some Native American tribes and Mexican civilizations share this same notion of a distinct dream dimension. They believed that their ancestors lived in their dreams and take on non-human forms like plants. They see that dreams as a way of visiting and having contact with their ancestors.

Dreams also helped to point their mission or role in life. In the early 19th century, dreams were dismissed as stemming from anxiety, a household noise or even indigestion.  Hence there was really no meaning to it. Later on in the 19th century, Sigmund Freud revived the importance of dreams and its significance and need for interpretation. He revolutionized the study of dreams.

Daydream
Studies show that we all have the tendency to daydream an average of 70-120 minutes a day. Day dreaming is classified as a level of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. It occurs during our waking hours when we let our imagination carry us away. As our minds begin to wander and our level of awareness decreases, we lose ourselves in our imagined scenario and fantasy.   Click here for a more in depth look at daydreams.

Lucid Dream
Lucid dreams occurs when you realize you are dreaming in the middle of your dream. "Wait a second. This is only a dream!" Most dreamers wake themselves up once they realize that they are only dreaming. Other dreamers have cultivated the skill to remain in the lucid state of dreaming. They become an active participant in their dream, make decisions in their dreams and influence the dream's outcome without awakening.

Nightmare
A nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes the dreamer to wake up feeling anxious and frightened. Nightmares may be a response to real life trauma and situations. These type of nightmares fall under a special category called Post-traumatic stress nightmare (PSN). Nightmares may also occur because we have ignored or refused to accept a particular life situation. Research shows that most people who have regular nightmares have had a family history of psychiatric problems, bad drug experiences, people who have contemplated suicide, and/or rocky relationships. Nightmares are an indication of a fear that needs to be acknowledged and confronted. It is a way for our subconscious to make up take notice. "Pay attention!"

Recurring Dreams
Recurring dreams repeat themselves with little variation in story or theme.  These dreams may be positive, but most often they are nightmares.  Dreams may recur because a conflict depicted in the dream remains unresolved and ignored. Once you have found a resolution to the problem, your recurring dreams may cease.

Healing Dreams
Healing dreams serve as messages for the dreamer in regards to their health. Dreams of this nature may be telling the dreamer that he/she needs to go to the dentist or doctor.

Prophetic Dreams
Prophetic dreams, also referred to as precognitive dreams, are dreams that seemingly foretells the future.  One rational theory to explain this phenomenon is that our dreaming mind is able to piece together bits of information and observation that we normally overlook or that we do not seriously consider. In other words, our unconscious mind knows what is coming before we consciously piece together the same information.

Epic Dreams
Epic dreams are so huge, so compelling, and so vivid that you cannot ignore them. The details of such dreams remain with you for years, as if your dreamt it last night. These dreams possess much beauty and contain many archetypal symbology.

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1. One third of our lives is spent sleeping.
2. In your lifetime, you would've spent about 6 years of it dreaming. That is more than 2,100 days spent in a different world.
3. Dreams have been here as long as mankind.  Back in the Roman Era, striking and significant dreams were submitted to the Senate for analysis and interpretation.
4. Everybody dreams. EVERYBODY! Simply because you do not remember your dream does not mean that you did not dream.
5. Dreams are indispensable.  A lack of dream activity can mean protein deficiency or a personality
disorder.
6. We dream on average of one or two hours every night. And we often even have 4-7 dreams in one night.
7. Blind people do dream.  Whether visual images will appear in their dream depends on  whether they where blind at birth or became blind later in life. But vision is not the only sense that constitutes a dream. Sounds, tactility, and smell become hypersensitive for the blind and their dreams are based on these  senses.
8. Five minutes after the end of the dream, half the content is forgotten. After ten minutes, 90% is lost.
9. The word dream stems from the Middle English word, dreme which means "joy" and "music".
10. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women dream equally about men and women.
11. Studies have shown that our brain waves are more active when we are dreaming than when    we are awake.
12. Dreamers who are awakened right after REM sleep, are able to recall their dreams more vividly than those who slept through the night until morning.
13. People who are giving up smoking have longer and more intense dreams.
14. Toddlers do not dream about themselves. They do not appear in their own dreams until the age of 3 or 4.
15. If you are snoring, then you cannot be dreaming.
16. Nightmares are common in children, typically beginning at around age 3 and occurring up to age 7-8.

Source: - Awakening Intuition

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Outbreak

The following night I had 3 dreams that I can remember, for purposes of anonymity (for family members I'll change their names)

Mum=Mother
Brock=Step-Father
Jasmine=sister 1
Ben=Sister 1's Ex
Ashley=Sister 2
Sarah=Niece

I remember being at Mum and Brock's place in some part of the dream but im unsure which part. 

--Dream 1--

First part of the dream I was at Jasmine and Ben's house on a farm that exists in reality, although it wasn't a perfect 1/1 copy of the farm and surrounding area it was near perfect with extra additions to the scenery like bushes and hills, perfect landscaping with cloudy sky as if it was about to rain.  The dream pretty much started with me arriving at their place on the farm with Ben greeting me but at the same time seeming surprised to see me and acted a bit..."funny", at this point I wasn't lucid enough to realise that she didn't live there anymore but Ben filled me in on those details in the dream.  I walked around the house inside a little bit and everything seemed perfectly fine and normal with their cats in the places they usually would be.

Eventually me and Ben headed towards a Helicopter which was "somewhere" nearby, to go down to Jasmine's other house which was nearby.  I can't remember exactly getting in the Helicopter or it starting up but I do remember flying over all this awesome farmland and dirt road and landing at a house about 10 minutes later, not much conversation was had inside the helicopter but I remember it was perfectly silent inside the Helicopter with no sounds of the engine/blades to be heard.  When we landed I went inside to see Jasmine, the house looked exactly the same with the exception of a massive "public looking" toilet off the main lounge and one of their larger cats in the lounge walking around.  At this point I really had to use the toilet so I went into this "new" public toilet off their lounge and went about natures calling.

From here I walked around outside for a bit and sat down, the dream changed here and for some reason I had this pet spider in-front of me and was under the impression I had been training it to sit/lay/come/etc for years (this spider would've been in my dream as in real life there was a spider hanging around near by bed for quite a while).  I remember sitting with it and it just being like a dog, then towards the end the cat from before came along and ate it ruining all that hard work and effort I'd done over the year training it, I was quite sad in the dream about it dying and got a little sentimental haha.

--Dream 2--

This dream was on a basketball court, I can still remember the architecture of it, where it had a big bridge/highway going over one corner of the court which led onto another smaller basketball court which lead on to the back of the Copthorne Hotel here in Christchurch, New Zealand (If anyone has ever seen it, its the stairs at the back that lead onto the circle concrete area).  Across at the larger court it just went onto grass then hills after that, cloudy sky with average temperature.

Me and my girlfriend were there and I was getting changed behind one of the concrete pillars that holds the road above up as I was going to play basketball with her or we'd just finished playing I can't remember exactly.  As I was getting changed there were some teenagers coming over to play on the larger court and one of them started heading towards my girlfriend, he was the kind of guy you knew was going to try flirt with her or be smart, I'm kinda protective so I didn't like this and told him to bugger off after he said a few things too her from a distance because she was with me and they weren't allowed to disrespect her like that by "wooo'ing" and allsorts.

The area changed quite a bit, we were still on the basketball courts but the hotel disappeared and was replaced by grass, the bridge over top also disappeared and was replaced with sky/clouds/etc.  Suddenly there was a full on Basketball game going on in the small court with the same guys before trying to show off to my girlfriend and her friends(which appeared).  It was the teenagers team vs one of my friends teams.  The dream changed to the point where over 200 people were surrounding both courts and there was a soccer game on one and basketball on the other.  I was pushed to the back and walking around trying to find my girlfriend but also watch the game and make sure everything was alright (I may have been a referee). 

I distinctively remember being at the back of the crowd towards the same side the hotel was on and there being marked areas cut off for people to watch when a fight broke out between the soccer players and the teenagers, I remember jumping as high as I could into the crowd and punching a few of them and the crowd going crazy then the police were called or on their way.  Amongst the crowd helping my fight was a little boy who I didn't recognize.  I couldn't walk at this point I had to keep jumping to get out of the crowd to the side, I eventually made it to an exit which appeared out of nowhere near the same side the hotel was on.  The boy was following me and he was hurt also so I helped him along as we exited the place that had gotten crazy.

There was a small corridor made out of blue walling/plastic walling that lead out to an emergency exit with small stairs going into what was a hospital, I asked him what way and then I saw a sign saying emergency room so I carried him down there, all I knew was that I needed to save this boy for some reason.  Along the corridors it started looking more like the walls of a spaceship or futuristic hospital with people walking up and down too.  We past a toilet where the boy needed to go, so I put him down and waited while he went, the dream ended here with me waiting outside then waking up.

--Dream 3--

The following dream is quite short and at the end of it I'm unsure whether I woke up or it just continued straight into the next one which I'll named Dream 4.

This dream started with me and my girlfriend being at the gym, we were down near the personal trainers room behind all the cardio equipment (Quest Health Clubs) if anyone wants to know.  I'd won an award or something but one of the reception people were preparing me a massive roast meal, I remember the plate/size/taste of the roast and it was just awesome, I finished it fairly fast.  The next part my girlfriend went off to the toilet and suddenly her friend appeared from which we did the whole "Hey hows things going?" thing, I mentioned I had a really sore back from the training we'd just finished and her friend offered to give me a back massage which was nice.  After she'd finished she put cellotape all over my back for some reason that I'll never know.

My girlfriend came back from the toilet and proceeded to pat down the tape that was on my back, after this she went into the trainer's office and out of some grocery bags get more tape or food (I can't remember which of the two)  When she came back I got up and went in to look at all the grocery bags, the room would've been filled with at least 10-20 bags full of stuff and I questioned why our groceries were at our gym from which I got no reply.  At this point I heard my car alarm go off so I ran out to check on my car, I believe the door was opened but nothing was missing, I disarmed the car and got in it and drove around the carpark area looking for anyone running or being suspicious.

--Dream 4--

This is the longest dream which lasted ages while I was in it.

I started off in a sewer/cavern/river structure that looked man-made, I'll try describe it to the best of my ability, inside this structure it was very dark with water running through the middle, the walls were smooth and went up like a circle over my head.  It was aproximately a road in width and 4-6m in height, the length of it was maybe only 10-20m which the water ran off the end into a large lake and big open area with nice green hills and lush surroundings.  I'll attach a kind of sketch from a birds eye-view but be warned I suck at drawing :)

Me, a girl and a boy started in this place riding our bikes through it, I don't know who the girl and boy are but I did recognize them (the girl may have been my niece Sarah).  We were playing a game where you'd ride your bike through this place with water then do a massive jump down into the lake area, but instead of landing in the water you'd have to try land on this piece of land which was straight ahead of the tunnel exit about 50m and if you landed in the water you'd lose the game.  To get back up to the cavern you'd have to swim back across the water to 2-3 ladders going up the side of the cliff just below the cavern exit, which went around the side of the exit and above into another opening from which you could crawl through either side then hop down a hole in the top of the larger cavern below.

From this point it kind of turned into a computer game for a while, we did about 5 jumps all together until I realised a monster or creature was actually chasing us through this cavern each time and following us back up, I remember each time we jumped we were getting much closer to exiting this game and the monster going away.  We were all scared as this shadow kept making noises too, I remember this like above 5 times till I made a final jump and landed far away barely missing the water, with the others left behind in the cavern as they didn't jump I was worried on what to do.

The dream at this point changed with the cavern/water/open area disappearing and me landing inside a room in a house, I checked behind me to see if the creature had followed me and it hadn't yet. The house itself was a single ground story place, quite old dark wooden walls inside kind of like a previous house i'd once lived at (I'll attach an image of another sketch)  I went ahead to check on my niece but at the same time being cautious if this creature returned or was hiding in her room as she was laying there still as anything.  I looked at Sarah and she had a very strange look on her face almost souless and void, her eyes kept switching between full black then the white reappearing, in the dream I thought she may have been possessed. 

As I spoke to her more she spoke but it was in a very demonic voice then strange sounds came from all around the room, I suddenly put my hand on her head and attempted to perform some kind of exorcism using words from the bible and just "praying" in general, then making a cross with my fingers as I wanted this creature/demon to get out of her.  I continued this for a while then looked behind me as I heard a noise then back to the bed and Sarah was gone, I quickly checked around the room in hoping to find her ok under the bed or in the closet or anything, I couldn't find her but I did find a pack of cards psychic or occult cards in a deck on her table that she had been playing with, I went through the pack and as I went to a certain one it made this loud demonic roar so I threw the pack away then ran out down to Ashley's room to warn her, on my way out I heard demonic sounds from everywhere in Sarah's room.

When I got to Ashley's room just down the hall I ran in and warned her what had happened and if she'd seen her daughter, at first she didn't believe me when I slammed the door and locked it so nothing could get in.  I said to Ashley "Sarah was possessed by something and now shes disappeared, we need to find her and leave now!", she only believed me when I found the cards in her room on a bookshelf and all these strange noises started to happen around the room and coming from the cards.  We both quickly jumped up and got on the bed ready for something to burst through the door, eventually the door made a noise and opened but it was Sarah, she'd appeared out of nowhere scared.  I grabbed her and pulled her into the room but behind her I saw something black run fast down into her bedroom.

I quickly raced after it to try catch it or see what it was, as I got into my nieces bedroom it jumped out the window and went into the backyard, I got a short glimpse of it.  It ended up being a black cat which I'm presuming this spirit/demon/thing had gone from Sarah into the cat to try escape the house and I knew I had to capture it to perform an exorcism on it...either that or the cat had die as we couldn't risk the thing inside it causing anymore chaos.

After it jumped out the window it would've ended up in the backyard, I quickly tried to race around the house to catch it and ended up outside the kitchen area which led outside into a patio area.  The cat by this point was running all around the floor and walls like something out of a horror movie, it saw me coming and ran back around the outside of the house through a room next to the kitchen which had bookshelves on either side then plastic windows/doors at the front leading out into another open backyard area with concrete ground.  The cat could easily escape through plastic windows as there was a catdoor below it, I had to bash my way through one of the opened plastic windows out into the area.

This area had large walls/bookcases surrounding it that the cat tried to escape up but couldn't, eventually I captured it but by that point I'd realized that whatever was in the cat had switched back into my niece as the cat brushed past her the spirit/demon/thing went back into her.  I wasn't sure what to do at this point, I remember saying some words but not certain of what exactly but after 10 minutes of having Sarah in a chair everything appeared to be normal.  We were all shaken up as even more supernatural things happened while she was sitting in the chair and no one knew how to took any of it at all.

I remember walking into the house then through the kitchen at this point the dream went blank around me as I closed my eyes....opening them to the scene completely changing to somewhere else.  I'll call it another dream although I didn't physically wake up.


--Dream 5--

This dream is fragmented but was one of the most realistic dreams I'd felt in a while.

I'll try describe the whole land layout, but I'll attach a sketch of it as well.  The road that I desribe below ran from the bottom of a hill...not too steep, that went up to a 3 forked split off, one going down into another street to the left and one to the right which went off to some dirt road to nowhere, the road that went straight ahead went up the top of the hill even more.  To the left was hilly area going down into a massive lake or ocean that never ended.

Upon opening my eyes I was in this new area, an abandoned suburb with most of the houses being very run down, the road looked like there had been a war there and the sky was nearly orange.  I slowly walked up the road ahead of me noticing something written on one of the buildings it said "Quarantine Zone, Extreme Caution"  "viral Outbreak, Croation here", I remembered in my dream Croation being some kind of viral thing from either the TV series Supernatural or Heroes, but either way I knew it wasn't good and the whole area had this "post apocalyptic world" feel too it.

As I continued walking up along the road I saw my car in the distance which was kind of a relief to me as I didn't recognise anything else in the dream whatsoever, I checked my car to see if the GPS was still in it and my cellphone but I'd dropped my keys along the way which luckily were just behind me.  GPS was fine but my cellphone was nowhere around, at the same time I knew I was being watched by someone or something and there were faint strange noises off in the background.

In my dream at this point I knew I was in a post apocalyptic world and I had to find any survivors or anyone that I could help but also being cautious of whatever was watching me or who knows the viral outbreak could've made people zombies :)  As I made my way up past my car I was met by a man who I didn't recognize but knew he was my friend and could help me along my journey, he gave me two weapons to use both swords and one with a back holster (or whatever you call them), I was happy to see someone else as it gave me that extra courage to continue on up ahead with someone to back me up encase I got attacked.

I remember walking up far past my car to near the top of the sketch, there were trees overhanging the road above us...they were willow trees if I remember right.  I remember getting out my swords and playing around with them feeling in control if something decided to attack us, as we approached the top there were some kind of creatures that jumped out from the side near the trees.  All I can remember is us killing them and continuing on our way up this road which was now more of a dirt/gravel road.

When we were near the very top the guy that was with me had a discussion with me about how he had to leave now as his own journey awaited him, but at that same time my car alarm went off back down the road

and we were left in a dilemma.  I pleaded with him to help me with the car as someone must've broken in to it to set the alarm off, he nearly said yes when these 3-4 figures appeared from down the hill

towards the lake walking slowly through some houses. 

They were people wearing bright lighted armor and just looked completely amazing and a presense of peace just came off them (it was a really interesting experience), in the end I figured that they must be

Angels or something like that but I wasn't sure.  They told us about an island that they escaped too and there was no virus there, no violence...only peace, they tried to convince us to go but first I wanted to check on the rest of the village and my car alarm also as whatever set it off obviously wasn't good, I pleaded with my friend to help me and the Angels to wait for us.  My friend wanted to go with them but said he'd help me first, the Angels said they'd meet us down at the boat near the lake.

We took off down the road running as fast as we could to see what had set my car alarm off, when we got to my car the doors were open but no one was around.  We took off again down towards where I would've appeared first in the dream, while I was running I remember one of my swords slipping out of the harness on my back and sliding down the road then getting stuck in between two houses but at that point I didn't care as we had to goto the bottom of the road.

At the bottom there was a house with a garage but next to the garage was someone standing there, this was the first legitimate person we'd seen, however as soon as we approached them they took off into a couple of palm trees then disappeared.  In a bout of frustration my friend attacked the tree with his sword, he instantly realized this was a mistake as the person that had disappeared somehow had only made themselves invisible and they were now severly wounded.  We were both at this point very frustratedas we wouldn't be able to find out what actually happened around this area and why they ran away.

The next thing I remember was being on a boat with the "Angels" going to an island that they had previous talked about, as I looked arouned there was 2 of them, my girlfriend who had appeared from nowhere and the guy that helped me earliar on in the dream.  I had a deep sense of peace about being on this boat....this is when I looked down and woke up.