# Lucid Dreaming > DV Academy > Current Courses > Intro Class >  >  melanieb's workbook

## melanieb

Okay, I needed a good reason to make the extra effort, so here I am.

I already have my Dream Journal. You know that.

SO, recurring elements of mine would be:

Working at my former office. I spent ten-and-a-half years there so it's no surprise I dream about it, but that was three years ago.

Studying for tests or taking tests, especially in my elementary school. I visit my elementary school every weekday (for my daughter) so again, this isn't a big surprise.

My old house, the one I used to live in 14 years ago, or the house before that. I am often in these homes, but they never look quite right.

Seeing super-abnormal features in my landscape, like snow near flowers, or high cliffs.

Storms that lead to flooding. I dream about this a lot, and because I live on a hill flooding isn't terribly common.

Using the bathroom and making a mess. I am never messy in the bathroom, nor do I use messy ones, so encountering either in a dream is a big sign to me that I'm dreaming.

Having sex and failing to complete the act. 'nuff said.

Being male. This happens at odd times.

Being in my underwear, anywhere.

Performing oral sex on myself, as either a male or female.  This has to be one of the weirdest ones, and I've never shared it before, but there it is.

Driving and my vehicle turns into a bicycle, or some pedal-operated contraption with multiple gears. Another weird one.


I may add some more if I think of them. I need to go get ready for today's activities.

I'll start posting more in my DJ also.

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## melanieb

Okay, I went ahead and posted two dreams today, both of which had moments of lucidity, though the dream last night was more lucid than the older one where Jack Black dies. As I reported in the TOTM thread, nearly every dream I have contains some moment of lucidity at the very least, and that's probably why I have such a hard time paying attention to them. Well, that and children waking me up and the urgent needs of the morning.

In my dream last night I was able to realize I was dreaming while climbing a tree, and I used my control to age a friend of my daughter's by several years to make it easier for my son to like her. 

I made efforts to affect dream signs before going to bed and even tried a mantra but I never did any checks in the dream. I am not used to having to check in the dream because I'm typically aware that I'm dreaming, but I still think it might help with control and longevity if I can manage to perform these checks.

More later. My children are demanding attention, and I have chores.

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## fOrceez

Wow mel, that's a lot of dream signs *O_o* That's great that you're able to spot them all aswell! Interesting dream and it's awesome that you're a natural lucid dreamer. I never see you post on on-topic much, though :/

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## DreiHundert

Cool beans!





> My old house, the one I used to live in 14 years ago, or the house before that. I am often in these homes, but they never look quite right.



That's a good one! I've lived in quite a few houses in my life... So I'll keep an eye out for that...

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## melanieb

> Wow mel, that's a lot of dream signs *O_o* That's great that you're able to spot them all aswell! Interesting dream and it's awesome that you're a natural lucid dreamer. I never see you post on on-topic much, though :/




I post a lot in the General Dream Discussion section, and occasionally in other threads that are on-topic. I'm sure you could find my posts if you look for them.

As for sections like Attaining Lucidity and methods...well, honestly, more than half the threads are people asking for help with specific things that I just don't know enough about, so I don't feel I should clutter up their threads. Some of the other threads...like the long one talking about the energy in crystals...I either don't care to subscribe to that person's point of view or the thread is so specific I just don't feel any need to weigh in. 

Some are outright boring. 

Every day I look over the Sleep And Dreaming posts and I do two things. I choose threads that look interesting to me, ones that have only a post or two and no one with any knowledge has weighed in yet. I hate for people to think no one has paid them any attention when a thread has 60 views and not one single reply. This is especially true in the Introduction Zone, though common in General Dream Discussion also.

The second thing I do is look for posts that read well, posts where someone is articulate and is describing something that I feel a connection to. I look for mentions of common dream signs and interests. I look for well-written dreams and thoughtful questions, things that intrigue me.

I notice I don't see you posting in a lot of those threads, though I do encounter other mods occasionally. I just assume those threads don't fall under your arena of responsibility. There are too many threads for mods to post in all of them and still be able to keep up with their own interests on this forum.

I do my best. Keep an eye open for my posts.    :smiley:

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## OpheliaBlue

Glad you joined the class Mel! I was hoping we'd get a few naturals in here. I think your experiences will be helpful and inspirational to the members who are just beginning.

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## melanieb

Thank you, both of you!  And DreiHundert also!

Well, I hope to be able to really achieve some serious control. It's too much fun inside my head, the images are the best entertainment I've ever had. If I can control them...I will share everything I do and anything that might help someone else.

Probably an interesting coincidence...I noticed the mention of milk in a lot of threads....I drink a lot of milk.    :Oh noes:   :Cheeky:

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## melanieb

Okay, so I had a couple of interesting dreams. I was lucid in one and the other clearly showed I had been paying attention to technique a little too much.

The first dream occurred during my normal sleep period, and I don't recall much as I went to bed very late and woke up early. I'm impressed I can remember as much as I did considering I barely had 4.5 hours of sleep.

The second dream occurred after I came back from taking my daughter to school. I had been awake for two hours and finally managed to fall asleep and even reach lucidity, though my choice of actions was rather unusual. I enjoyed the dream for its pleasures, but it's not what I had been hoping for.

I managed to stay half-asleep for a long period after having that dream, and experienced a number of dream-like scenarios and imagery for the next half-hour, but I was aware of my surroundings at the same time. It was an interesting blend of dream and waking awareness that is common to me so it's not surprising or bothersome. I just would have rathered fallen back to sleep for something a little deeper.

I've noticed my hands often hurt upon waking from these shorter sleep periods. Could I be clenching them in my sleep? Or bending them in some odd way? I don't really care for that.

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## OpheliaBlue

> I've noticed my hands often hurt upon waking from these shorter sleep periods. Could I be clenching them in my sleep? Or bending them in some odd way? I don't really care for that.



I have no idea  ::wtf2::  The only times mine hurt is when something bites them in the dream, and it's just residual dream pain that dissipates a few moments after I wake up. I wonder if anyone else has experienced that.

Anyway, congrats on the lucid, especially after only 4.5 hours of sleep!

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## melanieb

The lucid took part during the time after I had come home from the elementary school, during a hour-long period in which I finally managed to doze off. I couldn't have been asleep more than about 45-50 minutes. The rest of the time, about twenty minutes on either side of the sleep, I was in a half-awake state.


It was strange, and I want to note this because I thought about it alot. I would be lying there and I would be very sleepy, but I would be aware of the fan blowing on my face and an occasional itch on my foot, so sleep was eluding me. However, nearly all sudden noises that occurred during this time (cars, cats, the turkey outside) made me feel like I was falling deeper into sleep rather than more aware. It's hard to describe. My mind merely seemed at peace if I wasn't being disturbed, sleepy but not asleep. It was the noises that made me feel like I was falling (metaphorically) into something deeper, a stronger sensation that wakefulness was slipping away. 

It was a strong enough experience and it happened so many times that I felt compelled to bring it up here.


Too bad I never finished that dream. I was so close, awkward a subject as it is.

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## melanieb

So, that hand pain issue I mentioned, I think I must be driving my knuckles into the bed/furniture when I'm sleeping, though I can't account for it today. It's led to me doing a few RCs. 

Funny, I was drinking a glass of milk before I read the chat log where Aly was talking about milk. This led to another RC, because I occasionally experience deja vu while reading material related to LDs. I'm dreaming about techniques now. I really need to pick one, just my schedule is so chaotic.

I can't say milk does anything different for my dreams either way, but I haven't experimented with it to see. I drink it daily, except when ill, so it may be hard to tell if it has any effect.

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## OpheliaBlue

Aly reminded me that the body turns tryptophan into melatonin at night, and I read that can increase the vividness and frequency of dreams, which is what in turn can lead to more chances of lucidity. Maybe not lucidity directly. I may have worded that unclear in the lesson.

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## melanieb

So, a turkey sandwich and a glass of milk at dinnertime would be a good choice?

 :Thinking:

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## melanieb

Important update!

The video card in my computer has been causing me issues recently. Tonight it made an awful noise and I think its done. A new one is on its way but until new one arrives I will be limited in my posting ability. I am using my phone to post this message. 

I may post some but I will probably record my DJ entries by hand until I can post my epic dreams with my computer.

Anyway, I'll check back in tomorrow. *hugs*

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## OpheliaBlue

AWwwwww  :Sad: 

Glad your iphone will let you post at least.

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## fOrceez

:Sad:  ... hope you are back soon!

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## melanieb

I can post, it just takes three times as long to type. I'm using an Android phone, I don't really like the iPhone. 

Anyway, thank you for understanding. The video card will either arrive tomorrow or Thursday, I would be willing to bet. I will still be reading some threads occasionally. Going to use some of my time today to go back to sleep.

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## OpheliaBlue

Got your video card thingy yet? I also read that you are sick? Get well soon, we miss yoouuuuuuuuuu  ::blue::

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## melanieb

I got a call today saying it was expected to.arrive tomorrow and they apologized for it taking a couple extra days to get here. With all luck I should have it installed Monday evening.

Thank you, for what you did!

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## fOrceez

Yay! Hope to see you back soon  ::D:

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## OpheliaBlue

> Thank you, for what you did!



I don't know what I did, but you are so incredibly welcome!

Looking forward to your return (hopefully) tonight  :smiley:

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## melanieb

Okay, so I'm back. I installed the video card yesterday and it seems to be okay so far. I then spent the evening getting rid of my domain and going through some 2,000 e-mail messages.

The antibiotic I'm in has made sleep and dreaming weird...or perhaps it has been all the coughing. Whatever, I haven't been as lucid as I would like, though I still have moments in dreams.

I did meet a very interesting DC who called himself DONOVAN, and he was some sort of...deity, or very important being related to something universally important. He reminds me a little of JoeyBelgier (sp?), the European guy here on the forum, but the DC was taller, and had a more hollow face. He was also dressed in hanging cloths or loose robes. Still, I suppose the important thing is that he was...VERY IMPORTANT to the workings of the Universe.

I'm still typing up dreams. I have been doing my RCs and I spent a lot of time trying to meet my actual idol.


Ooh, one more thing...I often have several dreams in a night but the dreams that occur before my alarm are sometimes only remembered fragments at best (depending on how late I stay up) while any dreams after I take my daughter to school and go back to bed are epic in what I can recall. Should I record these fragments in my DJ?

Note on idols: I spent some time thinking about who my idol was and I realized it was the Scoutmaster of the troop. If I were to look up to anyone it would be him, and I realized this around the time of that funeral I went to. This man is more like how I would want any human being in this world to be more like, including myself. I spent every night trying to find him in a dream and never did. I saw him in real life a few times, but it wasn't enough to make for a good dream I guess.

Another thing that is interesting is that when I'm dreaming I often find I'll be dreaming myself into various situations and then I have thoughts as the dream version of myself. Let me put this another way. Right now, as you are reading this, various thoughts appear in your brain just as they do when you're walking down the street in real life; Thoughts about what's around you, what comes next, the color of the sky, etc. So, in my dream the version of me that appears in the dream is thinking, and having thoughts like these, and I'm aware of them not as if they were spoken or descriptive text like in a movie but as the actual disjointed thoughts that I get in real life, like I'm getting now. It's...a level of awareness that I find fascinating, yet it in no way impacts what happens in the dream unless ther thoughts are related to actions I'm about to take.

This is hard to describe, especially with my daughter showing me a magic trick at this moment.

I also frequently remember other dreams inside my dream, as though they really happened. Some of those dream memories are real and some are not. It's a truly weird sensation when I realize I'm dreaming about remembering another dream. 

Okay, time to put up the turkey and continue with my DJ.

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## OpheliaBlue

> Ooh, one more thing...I often have several dreams in a night but the dreams that occur before my alarm are sometimes only remembered fragments at best (depending on how late I stay up) while any dreams after I take my daughter to school and go back to bed are epic in what I can recall. Should I record these fragments in my DJ?



Big fat yes. After I take Chris to school, epic dreams like you said. And before that it's just fragments for me too. I record them anyway, because it still helps recall. More than you would think.





> Another thing that is interesting is that when I'm dreaming I often find I'll be dreaming myself into various situations and then I have thoughts as the dream version of myself. Let me put this another way. Right now, as you are reading this, various thoughts appear in your brain just as they do when you're walking down the street in real life; Thoughts about what's around you, what comes next, the color of the sky, etc. So, in my dream the version of me that appears in the dream is thinking, and having thoughts like these, and I'm aware of them not as if they were spoken or descriptive text like in a movie but as the actual disjointed thoughts that I get in real life, like I'm getting now. It's...a level of awareness that I find fascinating, yet it in no way impacts what happens in the dream unless ther thoughts are related to actions I'm about to take.



Understand I do not but want to. Elaborate please on this heightened sense of awareness you describe.
/Yoda





> I also frequently remember other dreams inside my dream, as though they really happened. Some of those dream memories are real and some are not. It's a truly weird sensation when I realize I'm dreaming about remembering another dream.



I do that! Especially when I dream about a frequent dream sign. I'll ponder the initial dream for a while. Sometimes it makes my reality checks fail. Tornadoes mainly.

You're a super trippy dreamer. I love that.

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## melanieb

Okay, I added three of my recent dreams, two of which were from Monday.

How to describe this...

In real life, when you look around at your surroundings various thoughts enter your mind depending on what you're seeing. They might be something like My Plants Need Watering, or WTF, The Cat Threw Up On The Breakfast Table, I Don't Want To Clean It Up, I Should Make My BoyFriend Do It.

So, in dreams, I have these moments also, where I look around and have thoughts enter my "dream mind" depending on what I'm looking at.

This differs from basic dreams in that it represents an environmental awareness rather than the usual passive nature of dreams. To illustrate in another way, most dream scenes are like watching a movie, passive, with only mild thought at best, while in my lucid dreams my thoughts are not only hyper aware and conscious of my surroundings but capable of odd randomness just like in waking life.

For example, in my Cat Vomit dream a person points out all the empty homes around and I contemplate robbing some of them later on.  This thought is triggered by my environment, and had several other thoughts connected to it as well, such as "what happens if I get caught" and "how would I go about it," and "when would be a good time to try, now or at night?" These thoughts occurred in the dream but were not something I relayed in the dream recount. This same thing happens in real life, where one thought triggers a whole host of thoughts and feelings, even visuals, that we don't share with those around us.

What's nifty about this is that my mind isn't just creating a world for me to react to or shape; I've created an interactive environment to inhabit with every aspect of the real world included, right down to the mundane and random thoughts that flow in and out of my mind at any moment of the day. I'm not a passive dream character.

Even saying all this I still realize I'm not accurately describing what I'm trying to convey. It's a dream concept that eludes description. 

I think it's another form or element of lucidity, because it doesn't feel...the way I feel when I have no involvement in my dreams.


Time to get some sleep. Again I have stayed up way too late!

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## fOrceez

> In real life, when you look around at your surroundings various thoughts enter your mind depending on what you're seeing. They might be something like My Plants Need Watering, or WTF, The Cat Threw Up On The Breakfast Table, I Don't Want To Clean It Up, I Should Make My BoyFriend Do It.



I'm not sure what it's called either, but it's an excellent thing to do; monitoring your own thoughts.

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## melanieb

I didn't go back to sleep today like I should have after taking my daughter to school. My stomach was cramping from the antibiotic and I couldn't relax.

I read over the induction techniques, and while I have read them before, reading them again made some of the information click in a new way. Funny things is that I do a lot of that stuff already, all the time. 

WILD, DEILD, and WBTB are things I practice nearly every day and have for years long before I ever heard of Lucid Dreaming. When I wake I love drifting back into my dream or allowing a new one to form.

Currently I wake up at 6:30 A.M. (or 6:25 if I need to pee), and after my alarm goes off I allow myself to drift back to sleep and the dreams I left. Because of this I have a second alarm set at 6:55A.M. to make sure I get up in time and get my daughter ready for school. Probably two-thirds of the time I am able to drift either back into the same dream or have a completely new one, with varying degrees of lucidity and recall. Some dreams are epic, some are not even memorable, and I don't always fall back to sleep or drift deep enough for dreaming. Still, this is my normal routine, so DEILD is common.  

Like Ophelia, I also WBTB some days, and this makes WILD very easy to achieve. 

I notice I don't have any issues with Sleep Paralysis like some people do, and I don't know if my mind is just that calm or if the position I sleep in helps. While I sleep horizontally in my bed at night, when I come home to fall asleep I use a chair in the living room which allows me to lie in a reclined position. The wall air conditioner drowns out any outside noise and the cool air makes it comfy to have a thick horse blanket over me. This is usually when I have my most epic dreams.

Today I did not go back to sleep. I had a great dream during my first sleep period but I couldn't hold on to it. Even as I tried to stabilize the memory or reenter the dream by holding on to the images I could recall clearly I could feel the dream slipping away by the second, as though I wasn't meant to remember that one. I know I dreamed because I can remember...doing something...having a long and involved dream...but I simply can not remember it at all beyond the one scene which I posted in the Share Your Dream From Last Night In One Sentence.

The one image involved being at my old office, before the remodel, and being in the copy room. I got mad and threw a box of black binding combs against the table where the box burst open, scattering the binding combs everywhere. I have no idea what could possibly make me that mad. Still, being at my office is a recurring dream sign that I'm used to seeing.

More later.

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## melanieb

I joined the Competition Thread tonight.

I don't know how I will do. I think it's mostly dependent on my recall, which I've realized can easily be interrupted by life. 

I'm doing reality checks with occasional nose plugs and observation of my hands (which I noticed seem weird to just look at), as well as trying to pay attention to dream signs.

I once read that someone was using colors as a dream sign and RC, trying to spot a color in the world around them for ADA. I dismissed it at the time but after my work dream with all the equipment I gave it some thought again. I notice that many things in my dreams are prominently blue in color - the equipment in that warehouse, the streamers and risers in the daycare cat-vomit dream, and various small items that simply catch my eye or memory. 

I'm not sure I could put this in to practice as so many things around me are blue, but I may give this a shot as well, something to aid with lucidity.

I read the chat logs. I also read a few workbooks. I saw mention of this in the chat logs and while I was already subscribed to a few I poked my head in a few more. I try to use the LIKE button as an indicator that I have read something, or am keeping up with certain threads.

Anyway, I think it's close to bed time. I need to try to get to sleep earlier as I have a doctor's appt (which I had to reschedule because I missed the original appt.) in the morning and won't be able to try a WBTB tomorrow.

More tomorrow.

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## melanieb

Last night was an incredible night. 

Lucidity thoughts, an effect I attribute to forum influence, filled my head ALL NIGHT LONG.

Since I didn't go back to sleep yesterday morning, despite being tired, I decided to go to bed early last night. I say early though it was around 11:30 P.M. Lately I have been staying up until 1A.M. or later, and not getting enough sleep.

I'm not used to having memorable dreams in the first sleep cycle at all, or at least not since my daughter started sleeping in my bed (because she doesn't want to be alone) and she kicks me sometimes in her sleep.

Last night I had FIVE dreams that I can recall any detail in and I suspect I had some others also that I can't recall at all, except the feeling that they occurred.

I managed to bring forth a wolf and a pack of wolves while lucid. I commanded the lone wolf and spoke with the others. Then I failed to achieve the advanced TOTM.

I failed to get Patrick Stewart to speak, but I was lucid at the time.

I had a mind-blowing false-awakening that caused me to do a nose-plug RC on the toilet when I did wake up. The dream seemed so real and was so normal, such a common activity, that I couldn't initially distinguish it as a dream from memories of similar mornings.

Hell of a night. It's all in my DJ. I'm still remembering details from the dreams.

I'm waiting on my question to be answered about TOTM in the current thread.

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## OpheliaBlue

Awesome Melanie! I can't wait to read your journal, especially the part about the wolf pack, really cool.





> I'm waiting on my question to be answered about TOTM in the current thread.



Oh I didn't notice it, will check it out.

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## melanieb

I must admit, I'm not sure I got my question answered properly.

Going to go to bed shortly, trying to keep my sleep on a schedule before midnight. I think I have a better chance of success doing so.

I know I have lots of dreams...too many just fade before I can even recall them in that half-awake state while my eyes are still closed. Not sure why.

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## fOrceez

Oh, sorry. x) What did you want explained in further detail? If you take over a dream character's body without transforming your own dream body to match theirs, i'm sure it will be fine  :tongue2:

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## OpheliaBlue

Just go be Patrick Stewart, then make a teddy bear grow large.

Two with one stone  :tongue2:

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## melanieb

I made my daughter's toy come to life. It is similar to mine and has the same name. It was a cute dog (in my DJ)

I stayed up late last night, later than I wanted.

The forum is having a major effect on me. Things I read are entering my dreams. Last night I read about checking a clocl in a dream to RC because the time will not stay the same. In my dream I looked at my watch (which I don't wear) and when I looked a second time six minutes had passed. I knew it wasn't real.

Had some interesting times with night and day in my dream responding to my thoughts, or at least the lighting in my dream. 

The WBTB makes for some really interesting dreams, but what is noteworthy today is my SP.  Coming out of the dream state took forever. It was hard to come to an alert state because I couldn't move for a long time, and when I finally did I felt like my limbs were lead.

Also, I've read about going into SP and how lots of people experience unpleasant sensations, which is confirmed on other sites. Of course, not everyone has these sensations, but I definitely do not. I wonder if it has anything to do with my lack of nightmares. I never have scary dreams, and I can still count my true nightmares on my fingers. My dreams are so much like entertainment (which I enjoy) that I wonder if I will always see my dreams in much the same way I see TV and books: something to enjoy and even manipulate but it doesn't impact my real life severely.

As I slipped into sleep last night I did try using TOTM to stabilize myself and I was talking to some DCs but I don't think I controlled any of them. Wolves, no problem. People? Not today.

Anyway, more later.

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## melanieb

I had three nights where I remembered three dreams each night. Homework done.

I usually remember pieces of dreams like that but I never considered many of them worthy for my DJ until I asked Ophelia. I'm trying harder to hold on to those fragments now and that seems to help with recall.

I occasionally do nose-plug RCs but I don't think they're going to work for me. Sometimes my hair makes my nose itchy in real life and I don't think this works out for me as a good RC.

I have instead been paying more attention to the color blue. It seems to be prominent in my dreams, as though I was meant to notice it. (It is a dream sign now)  I'm going to use the color blue as a dream sign and as a reality check by itself. It seems like I have trouble with touching things that are blue in my dream, as though they are...less real, or intangible, like putting my finger through my hand. For me I think it'll work better as a RC.

I am still using suggestion and awareness of surroundings. I doubt my awareness will ever stop, just part of who I am. I will use suggestion techniques to influence my LDs until it either impacts my dreams or proves itself worthless. I  believe in the technique.

Tonight I hope to get more sleep and again attempt WBTB for WILD or attempt DEILD when I wake up in the middle of the night. These are my chosen techniques and I have done them every night except last night, when I didn't get enough sleep.  :Sad: 

More tomorrow.

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## OpheliaBlue

Kick ass on the extra credit!!





> It seems like I have trouble with touching things that are blue in my dream, as though they are...less real, or intangible, like putting my finger through my hand. For me I think it'll work better as a RC.



That is so interesting to me. I just love your dream style melanie.. it's so different and unique.

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## melanieb

Thank you, Ophelia!

I'm...just me.


So, Saturday night I stayed up very late to watch the super storms that came in. Early Sunday morning my son woke me up early to retrieve him from camp, and I couldn't recall anything. I did manage to sleep during the day for a nap around 2,  and while I was able to recall my dream from that I know it wasn't complete, and it wasn't anything I would have hoped for. 

Monday my kids stayed home from school, both with serious bug bites. I woke up early and never did go back to sleep. I remembered a fragment that seems weird.


I have been noticing the color blue more and more, in real life and in dreams. It's vivid.

I had a couple decent dreams last night as I finally got some sleep. I know I'm missing details from both but it has been a busy morning. 

I became lucid, I flew (on a raft), I thought about DreamViews, and I did some amazing climbing that I probably couldn't do in real life.

Still, I didn't control anything this time. It's not troublesome, just a sign that I need more sleep.

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## OpheliaBlue

I love that even when you're sleep deprived, you can still attain some modicum of lucidity. I'm a total princess and require at least 8-10 hours and no peas under the mattress.  :tongue2:

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## melanieb

I actually attain lucidity better when I go back to sleep after taking my kiddo to school. Works great, and it's a lot easier sitting semi-reclined in the chair than it is in bed.

I'm still noticing the color blue prominently. It seems to be my best dream sign and I have made it my daily reality check. It's prominent in my dreams and easy to spot.

You know those blue plastic Solo cups you see see at parties? Picture that color blue. It's bold.


Question: Do you need an alarm for WBTB? I do wake up with an alarm in the morning but it's just part of my schedule.

Oh, and when I can sleep for 6 to 9 hours I always wake in the middle of the night, and use the bathroom. I always dream vividly after this if I fall back asleep. Is that good enough for WBTB? No alarm is involved.

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## OpheliaBlue

I use the alarm on my cell phone, which I have to anyway to get the kids to school. But to answer your other question, yes, going to the bathroom counts as WBTB. The only issue would be if you fall asleep too fast afterward, in which case you can just walk around a bit first before going back to sleep. Another trick is sometimes I just make myself go to the bathroom at the other end of the house, making myself walk more and waking up a little bit more before going back to bed.

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## melanieb

Okay, that's good to know. When I wake up I've never had any trouble with being instantly alert (the curse of the parent). I stay up late so often than I often don't get to do my WBTB for two hours, but when I do it works great. Lately I've been waking up with my alarm at 6:30A.M. and falling back asleep until my second alarm goes off at 6:55A.M.  During this time I am sometimes successful in having either a vivid dream or lucidity.

Been talking with Aly about dream signs.

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## melanieb

I went to sleep late last night and woke up early as usual today. I did manage to go back to sleep and have a really involved dream but I waited too long and couldn't recall half of it by the time I wrote it down.

I seem to find it easy to dream of celebrities. Patrick Stewart showed up in my dream again, as did Jean Grey from X-Men. Neither one was happy with me.

I was supposed to do a shared dreaming event with Link, and we talked about meeting at a lake. I did have a lake in my dream and I was looking for someone but as soon as I realized I wasn't spotting anyone familiar I forgot about it and just let the dream unfold. I never thought specifically about Link in the dream.

I have been hyper-aware of blue in my daily awareness but I didn't see anything significant in my dream. I did wake up in the middle of it and continue dreaming, which I am surprised at. I was really tired though.

I will try to find my blue awareness or the lake again tonight.

----------


## OpheliaBlue

miss youuu

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## melanieb

I apologize for being absent. It has been busy. Kids needed my attention and today I was feeling ill.

I posted six dreams in my DJ. I managed to have a couple of interesting lucid dreams, some interesting fragments, and I managed the Task of the Month.

My success totally made up for my sadness from one of my dreams last night, as well as the stomach discomfort that kept me off the computer today. 

I haven't seen much blue in my dreams lately, at least not the bold blue that I've recently been spotting frequently. I still do my daily RCs which usually involve touching blue objects and reminding myself to be aware of their presence. It's definitely working in real life.

I will be online more Monday. It's late now, well into Mother's Day, and I have important people to take care of. Catch you soon!

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## melanieb

I stayed up until 5:48A.M. this morning before heading to bed (bad idea).

My neighbors contractors began waking me up in the eight o'clock hour. (not fun)

I had a WILD that was pretty neat, but my headache from lack of sleep is preventing me from being very excited about it now.

I succeeded with my blue RC! (Coolio and hooray for me!)

I'm about to go to the store so I can make a big enchilada dinner. I'm very tired and cranky. I will sleep much earlier tonight.

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## OpheliaBlue

Awesome! Congrats on the WILD and the TOTM melanie!! Sorry about your neighbors' contractors  ::?: 

Hope you get a better night's sleep tonight.

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## melanieb

I just put my kids to bed...well, I'm watching a little TV, but it wasn't long ago they went to sleep.

I did a WBTB this morning, which is normal. Sleeping in the living room was nice, and I had some decent dreams with lucidity.

I ate in my dream, a goal I established in the competition thread. Mmm....Slurpee and Funyuns.

I have memories of 3 full dreams and 2 fragments. I've noticed my recall has really gotten better since I've been writing stuff down upon waking. Sometimes I remember dreams long after I've woken up, triggered by some mundane activity. It's great.

I didn't do any RCs in my dreams last night/this morning, but I did achieve lucidity by recognizing dream signs. I'm still paying attention to my surroundings.

I'm sorry I haven't been online much. After taking my kiddo to school I slept until almost 11A.M. and then it took me a while to write down my dreams in note form. I have been busy all day so I'm just now getting to record my dreams in my DJ. I should be done soon.

I feel like I had as many as 7 or 8 dreams but I only remember the 2 fragments and 3 full dreams. 

I miss you and everyone else also!

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## melanieb

So I stayed up late last night, perhaps 2:30 A.M., and I was up before 7A.M.  There was a hint of a dream fragment when I woke up but I lost it quickly.

I took my daughter to school and had intended on going back to sleep but I never did. I spent some time on the forum and then ate a little food.

Around noon I decided I needed sleep and lied down for a nap. It didn't take long to fall asleep.

I woke up just before 1:30P.M. following a very eroitic dream that included lucidity. To say it was strange would be an understatement, and this is likely why I became lucid. I wasn't planning on making any effort to dream beforehand, so when I woke up and recalled the super-vivid dream I was pleasantly surprised. 

I have had 3 lucid dreams so far this week, or at least since the homework was assigned.

I am hoping to work more on stabilization techniques, which is something that will require special attention on my part. I'm so used to enjoying the dream, even while lucid, that sometimes I forget I am lucid and just let the dream play out. 

Today's lucidity was almost lost when my feet slipped in my dream. That's about all I can say.  It's an interesting read.

I need to come up with a weirdness RC. It was the odd situations in my dream that made me lucid. I need to figure out a way to incorporate that into something I will recognize. My nose and my hands don't seem to mean anything to me so far. I'll give this some thought.

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## OpheliaBlue

You sure are kicking ass on the recall and the lucid dreams, well done melanie!

I look forward to reading your recent entries.

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## melanieb

I apologize for my absence over the last two days. Wednesday was my daughter's birthday and track-and-field at her school. I got too much sun.

Thursday I had a headache from hell that lasted into today,approximately 30 hours. I swear, right after I tell you I rarely get them any more.

I became lucid on Wednesday and brought a butterfly back to life. It was a nice dream, and was filled with lots of dream signs.

Thursday I was lucky to recall my dream, and while it has many recognizable elements, no lucidity. I also had some fragments which I forgot on both days.

Friday I did a WBTB (finally, getting some extra rest) and managed to become lucid as well as do a hand-RC, though my hands appeared normal and unyielding. Despite this I knew I was dreaming, and I think I confirmed this with the large hand-pimple that shouldn't have been there. 

Oh, I also managed to hug on a very handsome version of Bruce Willis. It's worth a read.

I'll be around. Say hi!

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## OpheliaBlue

> I'll be around. Say hi!



Heylo!  :smiley: 

So sorry you get the nasty headaches melanie. Dumb question, but are they migraines technically? I know nothing about them, just wondering.

I'm glad you are lucid dreaming nonetheless.. that butterfly one sounded really cool. I love how you were, in a lucid state, able to take him underwater with you, and you both could breathe. Like it shared your control, as you say. I can honestly say I have had no similar experience in all my years of lucid dreaming. Such a beautiful dream.

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## melanieb

I would love to properly cnovey how that dream made me feel, but I keep writing late at night and I doubt I'm expressing myself well. The butterfly was an interesting creature, and seemed so...aware of things, it was hard to separate from myself.

I woke up long before I wanted to today. It's another busy birthday week, and it's 1:22A.M. as I write this. I'm about to start my brisket on a 14-hour slow cook.

I took a nap this afternoon, and it allowed me another lucid dream though I didn't do anything special with it. I didn't try to stabilize, and while I knew I was dreaming I was quite passive.

I remember a couple fragments as well but just barely. I didn't get enough time to think about them before I woke up.

My real-life surroundings are definitely impacting my dreams in a major way. Even movies and TV are finding their way into dream elements.

With luck this coming week should afford me more time to spend on DV. May is just a busy month.

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## melanieb

I forgot you mentioned this the other day. I got so wrapped up in tutorials that this almost slipped my mind. I even let several amazing dreams go by without writing them down, though some of that was due to my children being ill.


So, I recognized a new dream sign that has been showing up a lot lately...using my digital camera to take pictures of scenes to show off specifically on DreamViews. I know I've mentioned it briefly before but it's very common these days.

Also, OpheliaBlue, you have shown up in a lot of dreams also. Not sure why you more than anyone else on here but there it is.

I'll post here more often.

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## OpheliaBlue

That's because... I'm your Dream Guide...
<_<
>_>

Just kidding  :tongue2:  I look forward to reading about your future lucid endeavors. Always an inspiration, and pleasure to read.  :smiley:

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## melanieb

^^^Yes, you are my Dream Guide!   :smiley: 

So, I'm going to try and keep this up a bit again.

Lately I've noticed that nearly all of my dreams have a moment where I am taking pictures specifically for the purpose of sharing with DreamViews. The other night I was driving along at 70MPH+ and I wasn't even holding the steering wheel yet it seemed like a good time to take some pictures.

If only I could really show you.

So now I have to recognize that dream-sign and use it for lucidity.

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## OpheliaBlue

Lol I know what you mean. In a slightly related way, I've had lucids where I had it in my mind to look up something on DV on the computer (like the TOTM) when I couldn't remember it at the time. Or one time, to bring back a piece of really cool furniture. I was able to talk myself out of it. But I still had to laugh at myself later for it.

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## melanieb

OMG, I dream about DV so often! Sometimes I'm reading threads and other times I'm typing replies. It's neat how well I can read them in my dreams! When I was younger words were impossible to make out in dreams and now they not only feel like they make sense but the words actually do make sense and appear as words.

Now if only we got paid...   :Thinking:

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## paigeyemps

Hahaha that's cool! I often get DV dreams too, but mostly they're about me on chat. The chat would be at really odd places like on an envelope, where I'm typing the words on the bottom of the envelope. Sometimes it is on a shoe too lol

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## melanieb

So recently I had some brief lucid dreams that made me think a little.

One of the dreams I woke up from because I became aware of my real body and noticed I was drooling on my arm. I could have kept the dream going but I decided to take care of the situation and consequently woke up.

I became lucid after being chased by a bear-dog, a large creature that was half of each in some manner. I was being chased up a hill on the backside of a neighborhood church just down the road from my house. The neighborhood looked real but no one paid me any attention. Odd thing...*it wasn't the bear-dog or being chased that brought me to lucidity but the actual act of trying to run*. My movements were sluggish and I knew that wasn't right. Knowing I only move that way in a dream brought me to lucidity.

Last night I was attempting to use my mind powers in a park to move some rocks that were shaped like pieces of fried chicken. I had to move them across a gap that I knew they wouldn't be able to crawl over. That moment lasted a good while as I attempted to examine the rocks closer.

*Later on in the same dream I shot a mind-bullet*, or perhaps an arrow (still unsure) at a van. The invisible projectile was designed to set fire to something inside the van but my first shot only cracked the window. I was still pretty impressed by the action and how I had managed to achieve it in a dream. Weapons aren't usually my style. I certainly freaked out the person sitting in the van.

As I continued on with my mental abilities *I realized, while looking over children's books in the public library, that I was Neo*. I knew people were after me but I was too busy checking out the books that I hadn't seen since I was a child. I couldn't believe all the titles I was remembering. Unfortunately Morpheus had been caught by the bad guys and he was forced to tell them that *I had developed a special ability called the "Rum-Punch"* which allowed me to control or kill someone by touching them with my hand.

I had a long and detailed secret-agent dream earlier in the night but I don't believe it was lucid. Still, I was impressed with it upon waking.


I hope to have another dream where my sluggish movements trigger lucidity.  :smiley:

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## paigeyemps

Hahah that sounds fun! The drooling part especially x)

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## melanieb

Apparently DreamViews continues to exert an influence over my dreams.

I was in a museum with my daughter. Oddly there was an exhibit with confiscated drugs the police had taken from bad people, and it wasn't sealed properly. My daughter touched some of the white powder and I had to stop her from attempting to lick her finger. This is when I discovered she had stolen an artifact from another exhibit and I had to send her to return it.

Shortly after this I came to another exhibit that had a logbook. The first entry read, "*Did you know that Mancon was kidnapped by foreign guys dressed as French soldiers?*" I found this quite amusing and I flipped the page so I could reply, "I sure would like to see a picture of that!" but for some reason I had trouble finding the blank space to right my reply down.

Sadly I woke up but it was a good memory and very vivid.

That was the last dream I had. At this moment I don't recall my earlier dreams but it's possible my odd sleeping schedule of late has negatively influenced me. I expect to be back on track tonight.

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## Alyzarin

> Shortly after this I came to another exhibit that had a logbook. The first entry read, "*Did you know that Mancon was kidnapped by foreign guys dressed as French soldiers?*"



That's such a random question.  ::lol::

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## melanieb

Hmmm...how to start...

I was up a bit late last nigt. I watched a couple recorded programs and answered some threads on the forum. Chat certainly was interesting though I wasn't expecting all the weird talk.

So anyway...stayed up late. I went to bed feeling tired but aware, so I tried to let my body relax and allow the visuals to carry me into a dream but my mind didn't want to let go of control. I would be on the verge of a dream and then I would snap back to myself and still be awake. It sucked because I was so trying to keep TOTM ideas in my head.

But I slept.  I slept and woke up early to the sound of jack-hammering right outside my window just after 7A.M. this morning. The city is making all of the neighborhood sidewalks more handicap-accessible. I support the effort but damn, that's a terrible sound to wake up to.

I went back to sleep after it stopped, perhaps close to 8:15A.M. by the time the noise outside was low enough to not compete with my sleepiness.

I had a dream that was involved but I can't recall it now. I woke up worried about how late I slept.

On the bright side I should be set up well for REM rebound for tonight and with all luck I'll get a good dream from it. I'm hopeful, and I will likely use the AutoSuggestion Thread to aid my effort.

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## OpheliaBlue

> But I slept.  I slept and woke up early to the sound of jack-hammering right outside my window just after 7A.M. this morning. The city is making all of the neighborhood sidewalks more handicap-accessible. I support the effort but damn, that's a terrible sound to wake up to.



Ew I had a morning like that when the roofers showed up (after that recent, nasty hail storm). I don't believe I recalled much after falling asleep after they were done either. Too deep a sleep or something.

Much luck since then?

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## melanieb

Well, the other night I had some amazing dreams(lucid and non-lucid) and I have been working on writing them down but I'm not done. Lst night I stayed up late watching the Mars expedition and I didn't get much sleep at all. I woke up for a text message and then later just woke up and couldn't sleep so I have no recall of dreams from last night.

Tonight should be better. I will get more sleep.

I found some interesting locations and objects in my lucids. I spent a lot of time examining them because I knew they were from my dining room table and should still be sitting on the table. That made me understand them as a dream element.

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## OpheliaBlue

Lol I fell asleep watching some of the Mars stuff myself. Last thing I remember was a toast haha!

I'd like to read the one about the dining room table objects. Sounds interesting. I like LDs that are intimate like that, focusing on objects as opposed to the action movie type. I like both types, but focusing on details in your surroundings is so interesting. Hopefully you'll get enough sleep for dreams tonight, and maybe they'll be about Mars!!  ::o:

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## melanieb

Sorry I haven't written that up yet. So much going on.

So last night I had three very long dreams. All of them had something to do with the forum or the forum members and lucid dreaming. 

I recall one involving me sending a forum member into a moving vehicle in front of me to induce lucid dreaming in the truck (think it was a truck) and suddenly the vehicle exploded, bodies flying every which way. It was weird because the bodies seem to fly up and then fall rather realistically and the whole thing reminded me of a patchwork of elements I've seen on various documentaries and news reports.

It was the act of trying to induce lucid dreaming that caused the truck to explode. Not sure what what means.

When I woke each time I could recall being in a lengthy dream and some of the events that happened. The visuals are fairly easy to recall but examining them in hindsight produces only vague impressions. It's a weird mix of recall and lack-of-recall.

Think I need more sleep. I haven't been getting enough rest this week and when I lie down I see lines of text scrolling past my eyes, just like chat.


As for the most vivid object...it was small, round, perhaps two inches across. I believe it was a Happy-Meal toy, the bottom of which had a space slightly smaller than the diameter of the circular base in which I was placing another object. There were three cutouts on one side and I was able to fit a small object (a disc or coin, perhaps a watch face of some sort) into the base with the buttons (?) lined up with the three cutouts. I knew they didn't belong together but it felt like they were made for each other. I examined it for a while. The light was bright and reflecting off the object, shining occasionally into my eye. The toy was a lime-green plastic along the base and the fitting object was yellow.

I seem to have a lot of moments like that. Often they become a trigger for lucidity or I'm already lucid by the time I'm examining the object or scene. I think this stems from my general nature of being a hyper-aware person.

I should write all this in my dream journal but I feel like relaxing for a bit before sleep.

Tonight will be the third night in a row in which I haven't had enough sleep. Tomorrow will likely be the fourth.      [sigh]

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## OpheliaBlue

Well go get your sleep then!

That's interesting about the object. Made me think of this:



Sorting things, posts, members, etc, into their proper place.

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## melanieb

So I've been dreaming again for the Competition Thread. I've really been working on my recall again, writing things down immediately upon waking. I had 7 dreams last night that I know of but I only remembered five of them enough to write down. I'm still spending time examining the fine detail of objects.

Celebrities remain a consistent Dream Sign. I've recently hung out with Julie Haggerty, Vince Vaugh, Angelina Jolie, Kevin Pollak and Dethklok, the fictional band from the show Metalocalypse.

Dreaming remains fun. 

Sucks I forgot some the other night. I didn't write them down immediately and they were memorable, but not enough to be remembered after I received some shocking news about a friend. The news drove the dreams out of my head. I reminded everyone in the competition to write their dreams down immediately or ASAP.

More soon!

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## melanieb

More celebrities, including made-up ones. I've had 4 dreams this week with Dethklok and nearly every night I dream of a celebrity in at least one dream.

I only remember fragments from last night. My recall is weird, seems I messed up my sleep schedule or something.

Still, for the last week I've been keeping a notebook by my bed and it's helping on the days I have remembered dreams. I write down keywords and type them up later.

I had a good WBTB yesterday and it worked well. It wasn't initially planned. I woke up because of my air conditioner and became hyper-aware. I spent a long time being awake before I got sleepy again. Worked well.

I hope to dream about the rain tonight. We had about 2 inches of rain yesterday.

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## OpheliaBlue

We're getting alot of rain here too finally! It's cooling things off nicely for the time being.

I wonder why you're dreaming about celebrities so often? Just watching alot of shows lately? My most common DCs (besides the ones I fabricate), are usually just idiots from work lol. I almost never have a famous person in a dream unless it's on purpose in an LD. I guess that's a lucky thing mel, they have to be better looking on average than my coworkers  ::chuckle:: 

Ready for the school routine, and regular WBTBing (and hopefully DEILDs)?  ::mrgreen::

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## melanieb

So I am having a recent streak of  dreaming about chat and fOrceez. He's shown up in a couple dreams lately. I liked the one I had where I was repeatedly saying "fOrceezpwndu" over and over...'for-seez-poned-yoo'

I've been having a lot of dreams about my old house, the one I lived in before I had kids. Every time I do it appears in need of repair and seems to be falling apart. I am starting to wonder if I'm letting go of that house internally and that's why it's always appearing run-down. Not sure though.

I have been participating in the Dream Competition thread run by Matte87. It's forced me to keep up with writing down my dreams, though I have been putting them on the pad by my bed and transferring them to WORD files in a big frenzy of typing that probably isn't a healthy use of my time. I need to keep up with that better. I'm definitely trying.

Participating and being on the forum so much lately has really helped my recall and my lucid frequency.

Oh, and I met SIVASON!!!!! He's my teammate in the competition and we had a nice lucid talk about shared dreaming (from the Shared Dreaming Debate thread) and competition points. It was so cool!

Oh yeah, almost forgot...I've been having a few dreams lately where I did self-pleasure. They were all very...erotic, and one came extremely close to orgasm while lucid. I so wanted it.

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## melanieb

I'm still dreaming about celebrities, from a recent one where I watched Peter Griffin eat his own shit in sausage-tube form to one last night where a woman who looked like a cross between Bette Midler and Cathy Bates ran me off the road with her green truck.

The other day I had a dream about David Schwimmer wearing a purple suit with pink highlights. I counseled him to tone down the pink.

So odd how many celebrities show up in my dreams, I wish they would make me lucid.

Instead I get lucid from playing with a Lego creation I was manipulating in my dream this morning. Seems the smaller and closer the detail the more likely it is for me to gain lucidity.

Last night I also had the detailed music playing in my dreams, and I had my lucid moment where I thought it was odd that music was playing in my dream. The song was Gotye - Someone That I Used To Know






What's really weird is that I've only heard the full song perhaps 3 or 4 times though it played quite clearly in my dream.

I'm still hoping I can use the celebrities to make me lucid. I'm certainly trying to keep it in mind.

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## paigeyemps

Celebrities for dream characters, cool. I only recall one dream where EVERYONE was a celebrity, and I a frustrated about which one I should approach first. Haha

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## melanieb

So last night I had this incredibly detailed dream about being on a campout near the water. The detail was amazing, the nifty hidden underground stable with farm animals and the way the water acted. I think it was an example of my dreams going to the next level of detail.

No celebrities this time, and I don't think I was lucid, but it was a truly amazing dream.

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## melanieb

Had my third Hawaii dream the other night, and it was lucid. I was on vacation and the water outside my hoel room was so beautiful. I really liked the water and surf details. 

I'm still dreaming about celebrities, seems to be a new one every day though I don't recall this morning's dreams. 

I had a really weird lucid the other day about a crazy performance by a group that had taken residence in a club under the old downtown library. It was a rather dramatic nude performance where everyone was covered in full body makeup similar to latex but gooier and sticky-looking. The large male at the center of the group was a representation of Satan and the others cavorted around him and the onlookers reveling in sin. The whole performance was designed to draw people into the leather club under the library.

Such an odd dream.

I have found, the last few days, that I'm having more unusual visuals and sensations when I go to bed and fewer when I wake up. I feel like I'm so tired when I close my eyes I could fall asleep instantly but because I'm so aware and thoughtful (thanks to DV possibly) that I find myself tenuously entering a dream-scene almost immediately. I'm hoping to make use of it though it's difficult with the school schedule of the kiddos. I need my sleep.

More soon as it pops into my mind. I'm tired.

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## paigeyemps

Great job on the lucids!  ::D: 

Lmao @ the nude satanic performance!! That IS very odd.  ::lol::

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## CanisLucidus

> I have found, the last few days, that I'm having more unusual visuals and sensations when I go to bed and fewer when I wake up. I feel like I'm so tired when I close my eyes I could fall asleep instantly but because I'm so aware and thoughtful (thanks to DV possibly) that I find myself tenuously entering a dream-scene almost immediately. I'm hoping to make use of it though it's difficult with the school schedule of the kiddos. I need my sleep.



That's really cool.  I've been hearing more and more about this strong imagery at bedtime.  When my head hits the pillow at the end of the evening, I'm asleep literally within seconds.  I have probably _never_ experienced any form of HI when first falling asleep for the night.

I know that Xanous has mentioned that this happens to him, and here is TruMotion describing something similar: http://www.dreamviews.com/f151/trumo...8/#post1945860.  I'm very curious to find out what you guys learn to do with this.

Also, it sounds like you are getting lucid with very little sleep.  I must say, this is kinda inspiring.  I have a shot at LDs if I can get more than eight hours, but _really_ bad odds of lucidity if I get less than seven.  Is there a secret to succeeding on the parent schedule?   :smiley:

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## melanieb

I don't know about succeeding on the parent schedule...it feels more like existing some days, particularly this one.

I go to bed late. I wake up early. Most days like today I wake up and when the kids leave for school I go back to bed. That's when I most often become lucid but I doubt it's just the schedule alone. My dreams have been my domain since I was young without any guiding factor. I think I just pay better attention these days.

I know I'm good with awareness and that helps.
I know I'm often very tired with an erratic sleep schedule and that helps.
I have good recall and that helps.

The thing is...I didn't become this way with the effort to lucid dream. My mind has always just been the way it is. My sleep schedule likely only helps the effort and even that is a product of enjoying my adult-time after the kids go to bed but being responsible enough to sacrifice my own rest for their needs. It's not a purposeful effort to achieve better dreams. It's just how my life is right now.

Still, on the days I do get plenty of rest (as in the summer during school vacation) I think varying the sleep schedule does help produce quality lucids. On the days when sleep is a luxury easy to indulge in I find it's good to sacrifice a day or two. The payoff is a better chance at a lucid dream and a greater likelihood of a lengthy LD.

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## CanisLucidus

Thanks, great food for thought.  Whenever my sleep schedule goes through these inevitable shake-ups, I tend to view it as a _bad_ thing.  You would not believe how sorry for myself I feel when I go for days seemingly unable to get the 8 hours of sleep I'm always trying to get my hands on.   ::D: 

In other words, when I get 8+ hours and become lucid, I give the credit to the 8+ hours.  I don't think to credit any REM rebound I might be getting because of the previous X number of nights when I _didn't_ get such great sleep.

Keeping this in mind will probably help me feel less agitated on those late, late nights when I know there's 0% chance of decent sleep.   :smiley:

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## Alyzarin

> I have found, the last few days, that I'm having more unusual visuals and sensations when I go to bed and fewer when I wake up. I feel like I'm so tired when I close my eyes I could fall asleep instantly but because I'm so aware and thoughtful (thanks to DV possibly) that I find myself tenuously entering a dream-scene almost immediately. I'm hoping to make use of it though it's difficult with the school schedule of the kiddos. I need my sleep.



This happens to me a lot, especially if I'm just exhausted or if I've been drinking or smoking when I go to bed. I've noticed that I can actually dream for a few seconds without falling asleep with it if I don't stay focused enough and something wakes me up. Not long ago while lying in bed I suddenly found myself standing in a void holding my cell phone, and this neon text started floating in waves through the air until it started crawling up the side of my phone's screen and positioned itself neatly in place for a text message. I snapped out of it because I was laughing too hard. Good stuff.  ::D:  I tend to wake up from something much more than I actually slip into the dreams.

Yes, I remember this thread.  ::rolleyes::

----------


## melanieb

Alright so here's the latest...

I recently found a box of pictures in my mom's storage unti that I thought were gone forever. The box contains pictures I took between age 9 and 20 or so. I found pictures of Yosemite, Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, random pics of California and Texas, and so many family pictures that I'm glad are not lost.

But that's not all...

As I was going through the pictures I saw scenes of places I've been that have shown up in my dreams. When I had the dreams I merely assumed the images were a mix of various places I've been with a slight twist added but it turns out most of the images were fairly true to the places I had been and forgotten. It was an inspiring feeling to know the images are still in my mind and made enough of an impression to enter my dreams 25 years later.


Not long ago I had a really sweet lucid dream that I did not do justice in my dream journal. It had a great level of control that I only glossed over in my DJ entry. The experience was nice but what was really pleasing was the complex level of detail as though I was experiencing the abilities in real-time. I honestly can't do it justice.  

I'm hoping the pictures and other stuff I found will enter my future dreams and inspire more LDs.

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## Xanous

Oh wow that's really cool. I have "places" that I seem to visit over and over in my dreams. That makes me wonder. hhhmmm.

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## paigeyemps

Ohh wow that's pretty cool! I'm gonna go and look in the attic now, maybe I'll find some stuff too.. Hahaha

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## CanisLucidus

Great stuff, melanieb.  It's wonderful that you were able to get reconnected with these memories.

There's something comforting about the idea that we don't just leave these old parts of ourselves behind.  Instead, they just become building blocks for tomorrow's dreams.  A nice thought for all of us who are actually taking the time to _pay attention_ to our dreams.   :smiley:

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## melanieb

> Great stuff, melanieb.  It's wonderful that you were able to get reconnected with these memories.
> 
> There's something comforting about the idea that we don't just leave these old parts of ourselves behind.  Instead, they just become building blocks for tomorrow's dreams.  A nice thought for all of us who are actually taking the time to _pay attention_ to our dreams.




I'm still reconnecting with old memories. Places are still showing up from long ago.


Last night I had a couple of lucid moments in different dreams. In the first one I was asked by a concierge at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas to write something nice in a guest survey book but I was mad at him for being smug about possessing some of my things. I tried to think of something along the lines of how cheap I thought the place was but instead I wrote, "Thank you for the oxygen." It was really difficult to write oxygen but I managed it. 

I only wish it had been the TOTM.

In my last dream of the night I became lucid when, as Elijah Wood, I was peeing in a bathroom and it wouldn't give me any relief. I realized it was because I needed to pee in real life and that it would never stop as long as my bladder was full. I woke myself from that dream because I didn't want to keep peeing but it was fun to pee on the toilet motors.

:O

Yeah...toilet motors. They needed degreasing. I peed on them.


*sigh*

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## CanisLucidus

> In my last dream of the night I became lucid when, as Elijah Wood, I was peeing in a bathroom and it wouldn't give me any relief. I realized it was because I needed to pee in real life and that it would never stop as long as my bladder was full. I woke myself from that dream because I didn't want to keep peeing but it was fun to pee on the toilet motors.



You will probably be astonished to know that your post gave me comfort.

I have long feared that if I imagine I'm going to the bathroom in a dream, life will imitate art, and I will have a great deal of unpleasant explaining to do to my wife when I wake up.   :Oh noes: 

Knowing that one can simply turn into Elijah Wood and pee forever without consequence is something of a load off of my mind.   ::D:

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## Chimpertainment

Awesome dream Melanieb!

I have peeing dreams all the time. Its that same thing where I pee but there is no relief. Sometimes it even feels good like I am really peeing but when Im done its like I never peed. yeah, interesting...  :tongue2:

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## melanieb

So, ne peeing dreams lately but last night I became lucid after a woman tried to steal my Tom Robbins novel (account in my DJ) and I not only saw the book she was taking very clearly but I easily listed several of his other titles. The act of being that coherent brought me to lucidity and I was surprised I could manage to be that clear in a dream.

It was neat.

I'm still dreaming about DreamViews members. Last night it was OpheliaBlue. I had one the other day with several DV members in it but I forgot the details.

AH well, on to more dreaming!   :smiley:

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## melanieb

My recall has been rather up and down lately. Unlike last year when I would go back to sleep after my daughter went to school, this year I stay awake and lose out on that last REM period where I always got my most vivid dreams.

I tried hard this morning to hold on to my dream but my daughter being ill quickly put that out of my mind. I know this will become easier when my sleep schedule is more compatible with their schooling.

For now...I'm still trying. At least I had some brief lucidity yesterday. Wrote about the lucid somersault in my DJ.

Pleasant dreams everyone!

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## melanieb

So I was looking forward to some good sleep last night. You know, the weekend, no alarm needed in the morning, all good things.

Unfortunately, right when I should have been having epic-dreaming time, considering how much I've been deproved of sleep lately, I was awakened by my friend calling me to get my son up to the meeting place for a Scout adventure. I hadn't planned on being awake but I had to jump up and get us dressed, fed and on the move very quickly.

This meant I lost any dream I may have been having when I woke up.   :Sad: 

I did recall some of an earlier dream and I put it in my DJ. I had other dreams that I was able to recall when I woke up at 5:30AM but when the phone rang I even forgot about those dreams.

Ah well, tonight is another night.   :smiley:

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## melanieb

So last night I had a little more sleep, and I was fairly close to lucidity, but it didn't really happen. Honestly I found myself lucky to have decent recall and I even forgot some of that. I still had enough for 2 DJ entries and that at least makes me happy.

I think all the stress I've had the last couple months has really shows itself in my dreaming lately. I'm trying to get so much off my mind so I can enjoy sleep and dreams. Sleep is such a killer of imagination.

I am going to make some more attempts at the TOTM.

Basic Task i - Pull a prank on a Dream Character.

Basic Task ii - Taste the first object you find in the dream and describe its flavor.

Advanced Task i - Find a lump of coal, and crush it into a diamond with your hands.

Advanced Task ii - Draw what happens next in the dream...in the dream. 


I've actually been trying to think about the lump of coal task each night. I think the more I keep this in mind the likelier it is that a good LD will happen soon.

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## Chimpertainment

Ya know, it might sound strange, but stretching before bed helps a lot with sleep. Releasing the muscle tension before sleep would probably do a lot to get the mind in that silent state.
And of course, I would recommend any kind of mindfulness, meditation, or yoga; even five minutes of focused relaxation helps.

 ::dreaming::

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## melanieb

I appreciate the advice, and I know it well. I stretch all the time, especially when I sleep in a bad position and end up with crazy headaches. Don't worry, my mental stress is just a normal part of being a busy parent. My stresses are reduced now.   :smiley: 

SO, an update:

I recently had a couple of nifty lucids that had unexpected content. In one I was singing and that triggered lucidity, an unusual thing for me to do in a public place. But even better was my control and influence over at least a dozen people at once.

I've been working for a while on the DreamWorld Academy, the lucid dreaming castles built entirely in the world of dreams. What I mean is that I've been working on getting that section of the forum back up and running. Well, I spent enough time reading and thinking about it that last night I had a castle dream that fits in. I was pretty pleased, even if it wasn't really lucid. I will add it today to the visits thread.

I haven't written my dreams in a few days but I have been keeping some in my mind. I'm going to go write them down.   :smiley:

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## melanieb

So I continue to dream about my former employer...the most major recurring dream sign I have, and yet it fails half the time to trigger lucidity.

The other night I had a lengthy dream about a former coworker that I loathed, and in the dream I recalled a lot of things about how I used to work with her, while I was working with her in the dream, and I knew I must be dreaming yet the knowledge only made me comfortable in continuing to work with her because it was a dream and would end soon.

I need to work on that.

I did make a very good WILD attempt the other night, and while I came very close I was more concerned about getting sleep and eventually allowed rest to become my priority. Honestly I WILD better in the living room than in bed but I wanted to try anyway. I knew I had a good shot at it considering how tired I was and how well the white-noise of the air conditioner was drowning out other noises and thoughts. 

Still...despite having really good conditions...I didn't get there and gave up, in all likelihood too soon. I knew I had to get up early to get the kiddos to school so I consoled myself that I would at least be rested.

But tomorrow night....I think I'll try again. I believe the A/C really will help me. The cold snuggle in the bed and the white noise seems to be a perfect combination.

More soon!

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