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    CanisLucidus

    Gladius and Darkness

    10 Comments
    by
    CanisLucidus
    , 01-19-2013 at 04:40 PM (959 Views)
    This lucid was long enough that I became legitimately concerned about remembering it. This worry wound up being a bit of a downfall, but it still took me in interesting directions.

    Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

    Lucid #57: Gladius and Darkness

    I'm experiencing deja vu as I walk through an airport terminal, sure that I've dreamed of this place before. I note all of these little details that I believe my mind left out of the dream version of this place -- the color of the carpeting, the man arguing at the ticket counter, the way that the ceiling curves into a dome in this room. Then I hear the sound of hurried little footsteps. Someone tells me "E is looking for you!" (E is my oldest son.) Now I'm lucid.

    I hear E shout playfully from somewhere further down the terminal: "Looking for Daaaaddy!" I know that we're playing hide and seek. I eagerly set off, loving the idea of playing like this in an LD. I move through the terminal and wind up in a series of twisting, narrow office hallways. Other children run by me, possibly engaged in their own games of hide and seek.

    As I'm moving through these hallways, a little hand swipes the back of my leg and E declares, "I got Daaaaddy!" I move toward E to scoop him up but he laughs and runs in the opposite direction. I follow but almost immediately I've lost him in the hallways.

    I wind up back in the airport terminal and wander through there a while longer before coming to a craft table. Wife is standing at this table wearing a smock and molding some sort of clay. I walk up to the table but she doesn't acknowledge me. I grab a piece of clay and tell her, "I'm having a lucid dream." She responds in essence that I should "show her" what that means. (I don't remember her exact words.)

    As I begin molding the clay, it starts foaming and fizzing until the entire surface is covered in a layer of foam. I wipe the foam away bit by bit and underneath is a carved image of a human face. Wife looks astonished. I tell her, "I'm telling you, being lucid is the way to go."

    She hands me a round piece of glass. "Make me a picture of a Christmas tree." I nod, take the glass from her, and rub my hand across it once. Instead of a Christmas tree, I produce a little stained glass picture of an eye.

    Wife looks at it. "Nice. But that's not a Christmas tree. I thought you said you were having a lucid dream."

    A bit baffled, I shrug and say, "I don't know what to tell you." She goes back to her crafts and I walk further along in the airport terminal. I'm loving the experience of being lucid again and I suddenly fret that I'll forget everything that's happened. I try to recall everything that's happened up to this point, but this destabilizes the scene. Everything collapses into darkness.

    I remember that Xanous had talked about handling "dark scenes" by acting out some action like riding a bike or running. I want to perform a Task of the Year, so I will myself to have a gladius in my hand. (The gladius is a sword of ancient Rome.) I swing the sword back and forth in the darkness, imagining that I'm locked in a dark tunnel underneath the Colosseum. I can hear the crowd now, and I know that the gates will open any moment to let me out for my match. I'm nervous with anticipation. I try to remember whether I have to kill for this task, and think that I do.



    I see a blob of light forming in the corner of my vision. I'm filled with fear and nervous tension. But just as I'm bursting with anticipation, the crowd noise dies down and the blob of light forms into a high window in the hallway of a university. My vision is badly distorted around the edges, almost as if I'm wearing a shredded contact lens.

    The window is about 15 feet above me, and I float up to it to start phasing through the glass. The phasing is difficult and awkward. It feels like I'm dragging my body through thick plastic wrap. I finally make it through and then I'm flying over a park in the mid-afternoon. The dream feels thin now, and I fly only a short distance before     waking up.
    NewArtemis and The Sandman like this.

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    Categories
    lucid , task of the year

    Comments

    1. Xanous's Avatar
      Yep. Thinking back to remeber the dream messes things up for me too.

      Im glad the tactile visual helped you. You were soooo close. Maybe you should have been a bit more active than waiting?

      I tried your sword idea this morning. I incubated some gladiator hh but they turned Lego with funny light sabers. Then something woke me a little and I lost it. I swear I need a sound proof box with a bed in it.

      But it looks like this may be the way to go. Sort of a DEILD incubation. Im getting a little excited for the both of us!
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    2. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      I agree, it's a really exciting idea. It's like you said: the really visceral part of the experience (swinging the sword) is what came to life for me. The portion that I laid back and just waited on (hanging around the tunnels hoping something would happen) didn't have that same momentum. It was trying to get there, but I've got to give it a little bit more. Maybe start moving, or find a lever to pull. Something like that.

      Fortunately, there's plenty of time to experiment.

      It's funny that it had never occurred to me to just think of this as a DEILD technique, but it clearly is. I've come to realize that the moments where you can DEILD and those "dark scenes" in dreams are all part of the same continuum, and I bet that a lot of the same techniques will work.

      I will definitely be trying this gladiator sword thing again! In the future, when I have a lucid goal in mind, I should think of one of these DEILD incubations I could have handy for any darkness or DEILD situations. Really exciting, thanks again for introducing me to this idea!
    3. Xanous's Avatar
      Great thoughts. A lever would be a good idea. If all else fails. Walking. You did manage a light source so that was pretty close.

      Yeah you know what I didnt really think of it as DEILD at first but more of a WILD tech. That is untill I just happened to do it on instinct. I hit blackness a lot. Mostly at the begining of lucidity. This would be much better than waking up at home. Heck even my random SP experiences could be transformed by this!

      I love the brainstorming. It helps to refine different techniques.
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    4. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Yeah, it seems like all of the techniques in the WILD super-category are related (including DEILD and, apparently, this whole "escape the darkness" puzzle we're working on.) You saying that reminds me how Paige said she liked to count her way back into a DEILD. In other words, she'd imagine her dream voice counting to pull herself back into a dream. And as you know, counting is a big thing people like to use for WILDing as well.

      It could be really significant for you if you are able to get yourself a different scene from your "default" of false-waking up in your bedroom.

      Totally agree on the brainstorming. It's accelerated my progress so much.
      Xanous likes this.
    5. Xanous's Avatar
      I'm all juiced up about DEILDing now! I think I am going to focus more on this.
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    6. The Sandman's Avatar
      As usual, cool dream. Glad you could go lucid.
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    7. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Thanks, Sandman! I was right on the edge for the first couple of minutes in this one and I don't think I'd have crossed over if my son hadn't shown up.

      I rely so heavily on DILDs that I'm kinda dependent on such lucky breaks. Always nice when the ol' subconscious comes through!
      The Sandman likes this.
    8. The Sandman's Avatar
      Agreed. I rely on DILD's also. The dream of mine you commented on this morning was recorded very early in the morning. I love waking up to record my dreams. I guarantee myself I won't forget it, and give myself a chance to drift into a WILD.

      Anyway, I recorded more dreams later. In one I may have been lucid. I really don't know, but it was awesome. Some people don't believe in semi-lucidity, and I understand why, but what I experienced was awesome.

      With you, I think a dream sign came through for you. Do you find your son to be a dream sign?
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    9. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Oh wow, you're right! I hadn't noticed the timestamp! Or perhaps I've just stopped trusting any timestamps on DreamViews these days.

      Those early morning recorded dreams do make for a great WBTB opportunity if you don't have trouble getting back to sleep. Sometimes hitting DreamViews gets me a little too excited/distracted, then I'm up for good.

      I think you're right, my kids and my wife are both dream signs for me. For a while I would mentally RC every time I saw my wife and really associated her with lucidity. Even tried to coax her DC into telling me to reality check. (It actually kind of worked, but I was so thick I ignored what she was trying to tell me.) DV members are also a huge dream sign for me, although it has never made me lucid.

      I will be sure to check out the dreams you added to your entry! I definitely believe that there are levels of lucidity, and at the very least a semi-lucid dream is a damn good sign that you are in just the right mindset for an LD to pop up. (IMO.) It sounds like my kids are waking up from their nap, so it may be a bit later on when I read, heh heh heh... thanks for the comments!
      The Sandman likes this.
    10. The Sandman's Avatar
      I know what you mean about the time stamps. I'm not sold on them. I am sold on recording my dreams in the middle of the night though. Love the opportunity.

      Also, I do believe in semi-lucids, and as you say, they are a great opportunity to become lucid. I swear I'm THIS close to becoming lucid. It wouldn't take much. I think if I hadn't been so tired or hadn't drunk so much the night before, things might have been different, though it may have been different for the worse.
      CanisLucidus likes this.