Foreword

Herein, I will attempt to archive my experiences with my dreamscape. You will find this journal filled with both normal dreams and, God willing, lucid dreams as well. I am not yet well versed in attaining lucidity, but that is not to say that I have not experienced it. Lucid dreaming is very real. I, too, thought it was a crackpot idea when I first heard the notion of attaining consciousness within a dream. I am very thankful that it piqued my interest enough to give it a shot. If nothing else, I hope that this blog can act as a source of inspiration (or at least entertainment) to it's visitors.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Premonitions

The most interesting thing just happened to me.

I had come home from work, and I was very tired; so I decided to stretch out on the couch and take a short nap.

I had a brief dream just before being awakened. It was actually more like a false awakening. I thought I had been awoken by my wife. She was standing in the entry to the living room holding a sheet of paper. She excitedly told me that our house had won second place in the neighborhood holiday decorating contest. She was surprised because the decorations were not very elaborate at all. I congratulated her, and pondered the moment.

Then I woke up for real. I find my wife standing in the the entryway holding a white sheet of paper. She tells me that our house had won second place in the neighborhood holiday decorating contest. I congratulate her, although I am puzzled... I ask "Didn't you tell me that once already?" She tells me no, they had just left the front door, and I had been asleep the whole time.

Being an individual who tends to stand on logic, I immediately begin to form explanations. The only one that holds water is deja vu. But it was not deja vu in the classic sense of "Hey, didn't this happen before..." or "wasn't I here some time before?" without any real memory of the exact event or time frame. This was a very vivid recollection of just moments before. I true memory, and I was clearly aware of the dream having just happened. It undoubtedly stood far apart from deja vu.

I then thought, well maybe I heard my wife talking to the people at the door in my sleep, and translated it into a dream. I realized though, that the dream mirrored reality exactly. Every detail of the dream was exactly as it happened, and appeared, only minutes later. Not to mention, I cant hear that part of the house from where I was laying.

Anyhow, I don't really know what to make of it, but I am positive it happened as I described. I think I would much rather have lucid dreams than premonitions... On a side note, I have constantly been glancing at the paper my wife was holding to ensure I didn't make the whole thing up. Heh.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Lucid Block...

Well, I figured I had better post the traditional "I'm not dead after all" entry, as it has been about two months since an update.

I have had decent dream recall over the past month or so, with dreams including scrambling up completely vertical, sodden, vine draped pathways while singing loudly, and another involving a new job as a bio-environmental engineer taking soil samples near a helicopter crash site... My ability to lucid dream, however, has been in recluse. It is beginning to stress me out.

I am the type of person who needs to have mastery over something before I can move on, or go more in depth. Lucid dreaming is a strange beast. It is nearly impossible for some people to tame. Regardless of how much effort you put into incubating your dreams, you are still left with almost pure chance to work with...

I assume that if I could master the WILD technique, then I would not have to deal with chance at all; but I have given serious time and effort to the method for an entire year now, and aside from my very first night, I have had no success with it at all. I cannot keep my mind from wandering to save my life. I pride myself on self discipline and self control, but this eludes me to no end. How frustrating.

Anyhow, wish me luck in the near future... I think December 26th is my one year anniversary of discovering LDs. That small step has opened my eyes to a myriad of other schools of thought. Thank you lucid dreaming; and thanks to the guy who was brave enough to publicly mention the term within earshot, effectively opening up new paths in my life.

Happy holidays.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Unlit Stairwell

I find myself at the entrance to an apartment style stairwell. As I step inside I notice a woman and her two children approaching the door as well. I hold the door for them. The stairwell is dark so I turn on the light switch. It doesn't work. There is another switch next to it so I flip it as well. A sputtering incandescent light strobes the stairwell and the woman walks up.

A feeling of oddity comes over me. I realize that I might be in a dream and consider running right off of the stairwell landing and flying. Exercising better judgment, I decide that I had better try an RC first, to be sure. Sometimes I just count my fingers while my arms are at my side by touching finger tips to thumb instead of raising them to look (in public for instance). As I do this, I imagine that if I am dreaming there is a goods chance I will find a fifth or sixth finger. As I pass my fourth finger and anticipate another I feel resistance.

I realize that I am wearing gloves, so I try to take it off quickly to verify what I felt. The glove is on so tight it is like trying to pull off wet rubber gloves without rolling them down. Once the glove is off, I don't even bother looking. I know that I am dreaming.

I step outside and try to remember my latest objectives. I remember that this moon's LD4all quest is to make/hear music/singing in your dreams and to try and remember it upon waking. I begin to anticipate hearing music from the sky above me.

I begin to feel my real body as I concentrate.

AWAKENING


Well, I failed at the quest for this moon, but what is interesting is that this is the first time that I have dealt with the classic broken light switch scenario in an LD. Perhaps next time, I will realize right away what is going on.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

First Chaining

For the first time, I was able to induce around 3 chained LDs near morning. They were mainly very low lucidity and therefore had become very explicit. I won't post the details here.

The most interesting aspect (and I think this may have been due to the half asleep/half awake state I was in) was that I didn't have to reality check at all. I just knew that I had transitioned into a dream. For those of you who are unfamiliar with chaining, it is a process involving laying motionless as soon as you awaken and visualizing the setting you just awoke from. If you can do it properly, you will fall right back to sleep and induce the same dream environment.

Unfortunately, each time I would fall back into the shallow sleep, I would be awoken by noises outside my bedroom.

Prior to the chaining, I recall a weird ND related to riding a hoveround around my old high school, and having people call me out for smoking. I would try my best to deny it, but somehow the fact that I was on a hoveround was proof enough (as if they went hand in hand or something). The part that sucked was that I remember knowing that in all reality I had NOT been smoking, but I could not convince anyone of this.

I also remember a dream of climbing down a tree in my parents front yard. I see my wife at bottom. The branches seem very far apart (more so than they ever were in real life).

Once I am on the ground I think to make a very determined effort to jump into the air and fly. I actually get a little air time. I think "Wow! Intention manifestation is no joke after all, and reality really is subjective..." then decide that is rediculous and look at my hands. My fingers change lengths as I turn them over. I begin to tell my wife that this is a dream, and a noise wakes me up.

All in all, I was very perceptive in my dreams this night. I don't think I have ever had as many LDs in a single night as I did last night. It's too bad they were not a bit more productive.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Mirrors and Dream Symbols

I find myself standing around a grille in a courtyard of sorts. I do not recognize the house. There is a black haired female cooking on the grille, and a few other people standing around.

Bored, I suddenly think something like "Boy, I could do anything I want right now if I was dreaming..." to myself. I decide to check my hand. It looks fine, but as I turn it over one of my fingers grows longer. Holy crap, I AM dreaming!

I decide to enter the house and see what is inside. As I enter the door, a stray thought runs through my mind. In waking life I had been thinking about the clarity of eye sight compared to that of dreams. Suddenly my vision is blurry, as if I had poor eyesight. I imagine that I am wearing glasses and the blurry vision changes to something akin to looking through a dirty window. I quickly grab the glasses off of my face. My eye sight is clear again.

I realize that I had just remembered something from my waking life, which I am not normally able to do. I look down at my hands which have six fingers now and start to repeat "Increase Lucidity". Things become sharper. My mind becomes clearer.

I decide that I should try and remember what I had planned to do the next time I was lucid. I remember that this months dream quest at LD4all is to ask a mirror to show me my deepest desire. I move towards the front of the house, and find that there are three full length mirrors in the entryway. I turn my back away from one of them, and tell myself that when I turn around I will see my desire. I tell myself a few times, and then turn around. I see nothing but the wall behind me in the mirror. Not even my own reflection. I try to decipher what this means, but eventually decide that it must not have worked. I move to the next mirror and try it again. Same result. In a last ditch effort, I find a door and will my desire to be behind it. I open the door, only to find an empty utility closet. I note the results and try to remember what else I want to try.

I remember an earlier quest that I had wanted to try that involves finding my dream symbol. I walk into another room (it looks like a large bathroom with a marble hot tub). I imagine that I will see my symbol when I turn around. I turn about towards a blank wall, and look straight ahead. There is nothing there, but as I continue to stare the outline of a star shape begins to show in the air; the type of star that you get when you draw it out on paper in that certain pattern. I muse to myself that this is a very boring dream symbol, and I am a little disappointed.

Having completed the second task, I wonder what to do next. I do not remember setting any other goals for this dream (in fact I have always wanted to ascend into space and look at the earth, but I have never actually set it as a goal for my next lucid dream), and decide that I will just go outside and fly around the local area.

I leave through the front door. I jump up intending to fly and catch a little more air than normal, but I do not begin to fly. I change my mindset and try again with no better results.

I remember reading in LaBerge's book that it sometimes helps to jump off of something. I look around for something high. There is a school across the street, and some sort of fancy temple peeking above the woods on the same side as me. I notice a picnic table a little ways down the road. I begin running towards the table, step up the side and jump off. I catch some air time, but then I begin to doubt myself and come back down.

I look for something higher. I begin to run up the slanted side of a two story retaining wall on the edge of the road. I reach the top and pick up speed intending to soar off as I jump.

AWAKENING

One nice thing I want to note about this LD is that it took place during an afternoon nap that I decided to take after waking up with a slamming hangover headache. What a welcome reprieve! I woke up very refreshed with no sign of a headache.

I also want to mention another interesting dream that I had earlier this month. I dreamed of sitting around a table with a few other people. I was trying to teach them how to check their reality and realize that they are dreaming. I made one of them stand up and I pushed his chair in. Then I told him to sit down. He was immediately sitting in his chair again. I was just about to explain to him that he should have realized he was dreaming because he never had to actually pull his chair out to sit down in it, when the reality of the moment hit me. "Wait a second..." I thought, "that means I must be dreaming!"

I then promptly woke up.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

WL Block and Fun With Fingers

The first thing I can remember is flying. I was flying around, low in a sky bathed with orange.

Upon landing, I realize suddenly that I am dreaming. There is no trigger, I just kind of deduce the fact out of nowhere. I am calmer than usual, and the world seems much more permanent.

I Look around. There are two DCs with me whom I do not recognize. The ground is covered in lush grass, and there is a tall oak tree nearby, full of dense leaves. The grass ends suddenly after the tree, and plummets into a rock cliff that looks like it belongs on an Oregon coast. 50 or 60 feet beyond the cliff, a wall rises up again containing a huge drain pipe; water flowing from within. Everything is illuminated with an orange light from the sky, which is full of wispy clouds .

I purposely try and remember what it is that I planned to do the next time I became lucid. It is like grasping for nothing. I cannot remember any of my intentions. I give up after a few attempts at remembering.

I look down at my hands. My pinky is strangely short. Moving over near the tree, I continue to entertain myself. Looking away, and then back at my hands. Many interesting configurations occur. I really liked the hand that had six fingers and two thumbs, perfectly symmetrical around the palm.

I turn to the dream characters. They are standing near the cliff edge and looking over it solemnly. I tell them that I am dreaming. I expect them to tell me that I am wrong, because of what I have read on LD4all regarding these encounters. I don't know how I know what I have read on LD4all... Perhaps I can recall things when I'm not actually markedly trying. The male DC mumbles something that I cannot quite make out. I ask him what he said, and it turns out that he agrees with me, quite calmly.

I consider flying, but then decide against it as I have already experienced that earlier. I jump across the gap to the drain pipe.

AWAKENING

I awaken for just a fraction of a second and then fall right back to a normal dream involving a port-o-potty that wont stop flushing black water, and some geeky guy who just randomly starts talking to me about Final Fantasy 12 (Lord knows why, as I haven't given the game any thought in months). I blame the short normal dream for stealing some of my earlier memories of the LD.

But anyway: ANOTHER HIGH LEVEL LD! YAY!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Uncontrolled Floating

I find myself in a fast food restaurant that seems to be a mix between Wendys and Pizza Hut. There is a man waiting for his food beside me that is grumbling and complaining about the service beneath his breath.

For some reason, the woman working the register is Selma Hayak... The man with the attitude leaves and she says something along the lines of never asking to do this job.

My food is ready. It is a couple of burgers on different types of buns. I ask for a to-go bag, and Selma grabs one off of a table nearby. I stuff the burgers in without wrappers and leave the building.

Across the street, I see a primer colored Ford truck with the bed torn off. I recognize it as an old friend's truck and immediately see him carrying an engine block into the building next to it. I cross the street to talk to him.

Upon reaching the other side, I wonder how I ended up in my home town. I know that I am flying in on Friday, but I cannot remember the flight, and I know that it is not Friday yet.

I decide to RC. I look at my hand and it looks normal. Thankfully, I decide to wiggle my fingers. They lengthen and shorten randomly as I move them. I am filled with excitement as I realize that I am in a dream.

I decide to enter the building anyhow and see what my old friend has to say so that I can tell him about it next week.

As soon as I take a step, my body starts to float off of the ground. I am excited and begin the fuzz a little bit. I concentrate, and try to will myself down, but it only serves to rotate me around a little bit. I concentrate harder as my back presses against some low-hanging tree branches. Nothing.

After about a minute of floating uncontrolled, I begin to vibrate, and enter the black tunnel to waking up. I remain conscious until I awaken, and count my fingers just to be sure that it is not an FA. No such luck.

I attempt to chain, but I woke up on my side, and I am too uncomfortable and excited to fall back asleep soon enough.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Dance Dance Not-so-revolutionary

I am in the front yard of my Grandfather's house.

There is a woman there, and a man I do not recognize. The man has challenged me to a dance-off.

He pulls out all the stops for his first turn. I begin to follow up (let it be known that I cut absolutely no rugs in real life).

My arms and legs fly about rhythmically, picking up momentum, allowing me to flip about through the air in rapid succession. I can see colorful streamers trailing behind my hands as I pop and lock with tremendous energy. I even throw in the robot for good measure :)

I feel that I have already won. The man begins to dance, and moves with a fluidity that I have never seen before. He throws out a dazzling routine, and ends with one of those break dance spins with his head and shoulders on the ground and his legs in the air.

I know I have to show him up to win. I attempt the same break dance move as a last ditch effort. I have no idea how to perform it (I really don't even know the physics of it IWL). I place my cheek and right shoulder against the ground, and push off with my feet, attempting to throw my legs around for momentum. My face digs into the soft dirt, and the friction drags me down. I try again and again, only digging myself deeper. I even try with a running start; only serving to slam my legs into a retaining wall nearby.

I drag myself out of the dirt, and resign as the lesser dancer. The woman laughs lightly, and takes the other man's arm. They walk off around the house, and are gone.

AWAKENING

Monday, May 21, 2007

3rd (or 4th) Temple of Jesus

I have a few archaeological news sites bookmarked IWL. This dream stems from that, I think.

I find myself trudging through a futuristic search engine for archaeological news. Books, videos, maps and numerous other forms of media are at my finger tips, and in some cases in full 3D.

My attention is drawn to a recent story. A temple has been unearthed deep underground. I see a photo of workers clearing rubble from the entrance. The headlines read "Third Temple of Jesus Unearthed" (could have said the fourth temple actually; I can't remember).

JUMP

I am suddenly at the dig site. I look around the entrance to the temple. Statues of Jesus' bust surround me. The figure has a Mayan style to it, and looks positively South American. My mind begins to trudge through the implications of this.

AWAKENING

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Army Gal & A Creepy House

So this odd dream began on a flightline (Ok, so it actually started in a large house in which I was trying to train someone on auxiliary power unit operation, but could not find the right book... That is mostly faded and completely uninteresting, though). There is a female Army troop who is trying to load a 500lb bomb onto an aircraft by hand. I know that this is not the correct way to load the munition, so I take the bomb from her in order to do it correctly. I hold onto it for a moment and look around for the pylon to load it onto. There is no room anywhere.

The munition is extremely heavy and I begin to lose my grip. The front end of the bomb digs into the ground and bends the arming fuse upwards. This is bad, and I already begin to formulate a story for when the sh!t hits the fan. It mostly focuses around the woman doing her job wrong.

JUMP

I am watching the Army female slide a row of 10 or 12 large ejection racks back and forth on some long curved rail system across the bottom side of an aircraft wing. She is trying to give them enough momentum that they will catch at one end of the rail or another, but they keep falling short, and sliding back to the middle. I know there is a better way to do this, but due to the previous incident I simply watch and wait for some catastrophe to occur.


JUMP

I am back inside a large house. I am a part of a group of people who have done something wrong, and are about to meet the consequences. I make my way into the hallway near the front door of the house while two other people are being shoved into some sort of hand cranked presses in order to have their souls squeezed out (I don't know the mechanics of this) in order to be turned into golems. The hallway I am sitting in is populated by wooden creatures (the golems, I assume) that resemble totem pole figures. They are all brightly painted and clearly excited about the execution.

I know I have to get out of the house. I can see a friend of mine trying to break through the door from the outside, but every time he strikes the door it rebounds. I attempt to smash the window only to find that the entire wall caves in like elastic, bouncing back to it's original state regardless of how much I punish it.

I am becoming frantic and run through the golem crowd (who remain largely focused on the execution) and up the stairs to the second floor of the house.

I find myself in a dimly lit room with very few furnishings. I drop to the floor and feel around where it meets with the wall. The texture reminds me of a quilt. It is less elastic than the downstairs wall. I begin tearing at the fabric. A hole spreads open, and I crawl through only to find darkness and more fabric walls. I blindly tear them apart and continue on for some distance.

I finally emerge into what feels the the interior of the wall. I can see outside the house, but cannot yet get there. The house appears to be built upon thin plastic cups. I am having a very hard time moving, as if some magic is holding me back. I can feel the eyes of whomever is keeping me here drilling into my back. The eyes belong to a woman that I cannot remember.

I know that I have to knock the cups down to weaken her grip on me. I crawl towards the pillars and begin swiping my arm around clumsily. I knock a few cups over and a thick black liquid pours out. I begin to move more freely, and knock more and more cups over. The black fluid is all around me, but the magic is so weak now that I can crawl past the plastic cup wall and into the woods outside the house.

It is dark outside, as I struggle to drag myself away from the house. I dig my hands into the soft grass and pull myself forward; farther and farther from the tug of the woman's magic. I am beyond the tree line now and I can smell the fresh earth beneath me. My heart pounds as I look back at the house. I know that I need to somehow move faster before someone realizes that I am gone, and comes after me.

JUMP

The sound of my son squirming in bed next to me wakes me up. I look at the clock and it is almost noon. I was supposed to be at work at 7:30! I jump out of bed frantically, and run to the alarm clock to see just what went wrong. I never notice that the room looks nothing like my bedroom.

JUMP

I am scrambling up some eggs on what looks like a large grill that you might find in a diner, however it is in my kitchen. I am debating what I would like to add to the mix.

AWAKENING

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Disappointment

So I haven't posted in quite a while. I have been recalling dreams here and there, but for the most part they are absolutely mundane. I have had way too many dreams lately about everyday life. Phooey.

Last night I had a very disappointing dream that I will run down for you.

I find myself walking towards the beach with my father. My Dad points off into the distance. I see a huge hurricane sized funnel cloud about a mile off shore, and know that it is moving towards us.

We begin running up stairs to a parking area, and board a shuttle bus to evacuate. As soon as I step onto the bus the door closes behind me and I have to remain standing as the bus starts moving.

The driver takes us down a winding road with retaining walls on both sides. My Grandmother is sitting beside me in the front seat. I ask her how the daylight savings time is treating her (umm... sure), and she gives me an exasperated response.

The bus clears the walls and begins to climb a hill before it veers off into a parking lot. I see a man in a lifelike hedgehog costume walk in front of us. Across the street is a stone building. I wonder at first why we stopped, but then I remember that this must be the hotel we are staying at.

AWAKENING

Many things bug me about this dream. Mostly the fact that I missed two of my most established dream signs: Beaches and buses. Seriously... I have been RCing every time I see a bus for the last four months, and this entire dream takes place on a bus. What the heck is wrong with me.

Secondly; I have had dreams in the past with tornados and my Grandmother... You would think that something there would flip a switch in my head. The dream was incredibly vivid, so I should have rationalized a bit.

Wish me better luck next time :P

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Into The Ocean

Ok, so this isn't dream related, but I just feel the need to announce that I LOVE THE SONG "INTO THE OCEAN" BY BLUE OCTOBER!

This song is sending my into euphoria every single time I listen to it, and never fails to make me smile. The lyrics aren't particularly happy, but there is something unique in the whole of it.

"Hate Me" is also a wonderful song by this group, although the rest of their stuff is nominal at best. The two songs mentioned here remind me of the better Moody Blues stuff.

Anyhow-- buy, download, whatever; Just get your hands on these songs!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Low Recall Tooth Dream

Note: Vague ND

Not much in the way of recall last night. I do remember moments of one of those teeth dreams, though.

At one point at least three of my teeth had fallen out, and I was having a hard time talking around them. I spit them into my hand while no one was looking.

Eventually someone noticed I was carrying the teeth around and asked to see them. For some reason, I only wanted to show two of the three and was trying to draw attention away from the third...

I was markedly less distraught than usual that my teeth were falling out. What stinks is that I had told myself that the next time my teeth are falling out I would check to see if it is a dream. No such luck.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Eternal Equinox & Chuck E. Cheese

Note: Normal dreams.

I wake up in my Grandfather's house (yes, again with this place... You'd think I'd have realized by now...) from a nap.

I make my way into the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the light. As I stand at the toilet, the darkness begins to un-nerve me. The window is right above the toilet so I reach to pull the shades up. When the shades are raised I notice that it is light out, and a shock runs through me; crap! I must have slept all night... Now i'll be late for work!

I run into the kitchen, and noticed that the clock says 1:30 (somehow I know that this means 1:30 in the morning, not the afternoon). Now I am confused. How could it be the middle of the night and light outside?

I walk out of the house, and begin to make my way up a trail through the forest to my own house. I see my old friend, Nevin, along the way. I ask him why it is light out in the middle of the night, and he says "Relax. It's just the eternal equinox..." Oh yeah... of course, I think (as if that made any sense at all). I continue up the path to my house.

When I reach the house I find my father on the front porch. My son is also there, riding his bike in the front yard.

Something catches my eye in the sky. I point it out to my father. The middle of the sky is covered in dark red/orange clouds surrounded on all sides with darker gray/black. The red/orange clouds are tumultuous (like churning magma or something), and there is blue lightning spouting out in all directions. The lightning doesn't flash towards (or from) the ground though, it wriggles about and moves around the cloud like a giant Tesla coil.

The whole scene is not threatening; in fact it is very beautiful, and my father agrees. We both sit down on the edge of the porch and watch... completely content. Everything has a strange but familiar calm to it... I imagine this is the type of calm that would descend upon the world just before the end. I am absolutely relaxed as I observe the sky, occasionally glancing to my son enjoying his bicycle, and enjoy the long moment with my father.

JUMP

I am with my wife and son in a Chuck E. Cheese type building. I am becoming more and more agitated by the minute. I am very worried about the amount of sleep I got the night before (if you could call it that) affecting my work day, and every minute that slips by in this place is another minute I won't be able to catch a nap before work time.

Finally, my wife rounds the corner with a bag containing three giant sesame seed burgers and I recount my agony to her in hopes that we can leave sooner. My son rounds the corner from playing some video games and I ask him if he is ready to go.

AWAKENING
__________________________________________

BTW, I had this dream the other night where I was being chased by a bunch of bloated, disease ridden cattle. Their skin was cracked and bleeding, and they looked like walking corpses. I tried to jump on top of a truck to avoid them, but they overturned the vehicle in their rampage.

They never actually hurt me, but every time they would catch up to me they would charge in just close enough so that my hand would touch their festering, sickly swollen skin before I could escape again... *shudder*

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Meatballs & High Tech Boots

Note: All NDs.

I was cooking meatballs with my wife. She takes a bite of one, and her face twists as she chews through the gristle. Apparently they are not good meatballs.

Even so, we plan to go to lookout point and enjoy them with the family (I don't know where lookout point is, I must have made it up).

JUMP

I am lightheartedly chasing my wife through crowds of people in a college campus, a mall, and eventually even down a sidewalk.

Every time she outdistances me she hides, and I have to search for her as I reach the point that I last saw her. Each time she pops up somewhere nearby.

My wife runs up a hillside staircase that tees with a sidewalk and vanishes. As I reach the top of the stairs I look both directions and can't see her.

There is a young man standing there and I notice he is trying to lace his boots. He says that he is in the Navy and is trying to lace them properly. I pick one up and run the laces through. He tells me I did it wrong and pulls the laces back out.

I notice another man with the coolest boots I have ever seen. They are up to his knees, and bright white. I remember all kinds of gizmos attached as well.

He notices my interest and takes one off; offering to let me try it on. I take my shoes off and slip into the boots. I say "Dang, these are a little heavy."

The man points to the sidewalk across the street, and I see my wife who has re-appeared and is waving at me. My attention is drawn back to the boots...

I notice that the boots actually have speakers and a subwoofer attached. I see an LCD display that extends from the calf section as well. I exclaim how freakin' cool that is, and wonder what he displays on there. The man points to an entire computer system off to the side, and I imagine that he uses it to make flash presentations and such to show on his boots.

JUMP

I am in a building now and have taken off the uber-cool boots. I look around for my own shoes and find the pair. As I put them on I notice that only one of the pair is actually my own, and assume that someone must have grabbed one of mine and taken it upstairs with them.

The building is dormitory style, and I knock on the door of the first room. There is a man on the bed and I ask him if (insert name here) is around. He says no, but looks suspicious so I tell him what is up and press him a little harder.

He gives in and a couple of guys come out of hiding (one of which is the guy I am looking for). I explain the situation, but he says that he didn't take my shoe.

I give up and go back downstairs. I look at my shoe again, and notice the other one has re-appeared. As soon as I attempt to put them on, I realize that I have no socks.

I see a dresser with an overflowing drawer marked "Community Socks", and take a pair for myself. They look slightly used, but for some reason I would rather wear used socks than put on my shoes without any.

I finally slip my shoes on and leave. I wonder if my wife will be mad at me for being gone so long.

AWAKENING

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Snoring Contest & Losing Friends

Plenty of dreams tonight, but I only remember two, as they were close to awakening.

I am listening to sound bites that people have sent in (to where, I don't know). I am judging some sort of contest for the best snore.

I decide on a winner. It is a disgusting, wet sounding snore... Loud and persistent, and had I not been judging the contest would be the type to really tick me off.

AWAKENING

I awaken to find that the obnoxious snoring is coming from my wife. It is the most nerve grinding sound I have ever heard. I get up to use the bathroom after about three hours of sleep, and think this might be a good time to attempt a WILD.

I lay back down and decide to try using a spiraling technique I read about recently on LD4all.

The snoring is so bad that I have to shake the bed to try and make her shift. No luck. I am so annoyed by the snoring that I forget to WILD and eventually fall asleep stressed out.

(dreaming now) I am a little depressed that two of my good friends are moving away.

There is a knock at the door and I answer it. It is Leah, one of the friends I had mentioned. I realize that she is here to exchange small coins with me (apparently this is one of those things that you do on a regular basis, such as drinking coffee with a friend).

We both stretch out on the couch and I begin counting out dollars worth of coins to trade bills for.

I decide to breach the subject, and say "I wish you and Matt would not move away" (or something like that). She looks at me puzzled. I add "I mean there is no good reason to anyway." out of desperation. "Seriously. All Matt is moving for is to get a tan." This made sense at the time.

We continue to talk about how I felt on the subject. Eventually I end up giving in. I feel very saddened that I am probably losing two of my best friends.

After we are through counting coins, Leah makes her way to the door. I know this may be the last time I see her. The dream ends in a long depressing hug.

AWAKENING

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Snakes & a Counter-productive Subconscious

Note: Brief lucidity

Ok, so I had a mess of dreams last night, but I couldn't be bothered to remember most of them since I was woken early by my wife and son not feeling well. I'll just recount the very short moment of lucidity for you.

I was on a path on the outskirts of a large field with a few other people. It must be fall because the tall grass is mostly yellow. The sky is very dark as it quickly moves towards on towards nightfall.

I'm not sure why, but suddenly the grass is filled with aggressive snakes. We can't see them until they pop up to attack, but I know that they are all around.

It is too dark to see now, and we begin moving quickly. The only chance I have to see the snakes before they attack is to catch their silhouette against the dimly lit sky when they stand up. I move on quickly, trying my best to kick the snakes in the head as soon as they pop up like some sort of twisted bop a mole game.

I run off of the trail, and find myself running through the front yard of my childhood home. The snakes are all around, and I can see them now in the freshly mowed lawn. The porch light is on, illuminating the entire yard. I begin to move quickly towards the house.

At this point, for no apparent reason (I have had much stranger dreams that did not trigger lucidity), I begin to realize that I am dreaming. Something strange happened, though; I began to rationalize with myself. I told myself that my sleep was too shallow, and that if I were to gain full lucidity I would surely just wake up. For a moment, I almost decided to let the dream continue normally. Luckily I couldn't let myself waste the opportunity, and made up my mind to take control.

I look at my hands. It is more of a reflex than a necessity, as I knew I was dreaming anyhow. That familiar rush blows in as the detail of my surroundings flood towards me. Its sort of like standing in a wind tunnel for a second, but shapes and colors are blowing at me instead of wind.

I only get a second to take it all in before I am pulled back into my sleeping body. As I am transitioning, I think "I knew that was going to happen". I struggle briefly to keep from joining back up, but it is no use and my bodies are realigned.

AWAKENING
________________________________________

At this point I open my eyes shortly to perform an RC in case I am having a false awakening. No such luck. I can hear my wife and son in the living room. I close my eyes and attempt to chain, but I cannot fall back asleep.

All in all, I am just happy to know I can still do it. Even five seconds of lucidity is refreshing.

I realize that this is probably not the first time that my subconscious has tried to talk me out of becoming lucid. Unfortunately, I tend to rationalize a lot in WL, so it's no wonder I take the same approach to situations in my sleep. My SC was right of course, I did wake up, but why should I give up even a few seconds of lucidity in exchange for a longer ND?

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

What's Happening?

Holy crap!

No dream recall and LD4all is down! What is a dreamer to do?!

I've made an observation recently. Apparently, even though the only way that I can fall asleep quickly is by wearing earplugs, they also seem to have a negative effect on my dream recall. I just wish I wasn't so distracted by noises... I can barely fall asleep if trying to listen to induction MP3s too.

Blah...

Monday, February 19, 2007

Birds, Short Shorts, Castles & Junk

Note: All normal dreams.

Fragment: Looking at an annual credit report in the mail and being distraught that our rating is a 30. I look again later and it says 50. HELLO!!! DREAM SIGN!!!! No such luck; instead I am happy that it is at least up to a 50 now...

JUMP

I am with a couple other people who I know are friends of mine. There is a large egg on the floor, and we are lamenting the fact that it didn't make it. Apparently it is never going to hatch.

One of the people with me begins to handle the egg, to our objections. The shell begins to crumble away, revealing a creamy red membrane beneath. For a second I am a little revolted, and angry at my friend for disturbing the egg.

Suddenly I notice movement beneath the membrane, and I draw the others attention to it. A beak tears through; followed by a feathered head. Soon the entire creature has emerged from the shell. The critter is a bird of sorts with a huge smiling beak that dwarfs the rest of its body. "It must be a Dodo!" I exclaim.



My mind flips on, and I begin to process that statement. Once again, logical thinking floods in, as I realize Dodo birds are extinct.

AWAKENING

I am standing just inside the huge wooden gates of a castle. I know that the castle is under siege, and I am inspecting the gates because soon they will be subjected to the battering ram. I look at the huge timber that should hold the doors closed, and assume that it will do the trick.

The pounding of the ram begins, and the stone around the gate starts to shake. Dust and gravel showers from the ceiling with the impacts. The doors creak, but seem to be holding. The position of the battering ram seems to change, and it now begins ramming the top of the doors as opposed to the center. I know that the gates can't hold like this because the timber is only stretched across the middle. The wood begins to weaken.

I panic, and wonder why there are not archers firing on the ram from the parapets. I run in that direction, but have a hard time finding the stairs up. When I finally find the way, I see that no one is there at all, in fact there is no defense whatsoever.

Just as I ponder the lack of defenses I hear the gates splinter (actually, I see the gates splinter in a sort of cut-scene format, which should have lead to a reality check but didn't), and see the enemy reach through the hole and release the timber.

I run into the center of the castle, and search for a place to hide. I run through a maze of corridors and end up at a dead end in a bedroom on the third floor. I know the enemy is hot on my tail, and look for some place out of sight. The wall is all windows from top to bottom, and I climb through one, intending to hang from the ledge where I would not be seen.

A man enters the room, and spots me right away as apparently I didn't take into account the fact that the whole wall is windows, so hiding outside of them was really pretty foolish.

JUMP

I am in the center of the castle again. I am with a woman who I know as the princess, and we are both held captive.

We are to be transported somewhere, and will be accompanied by a pudgy blonde young man.

We make our way through a system of underground tunnels, filled with ancient stone architecture. It is very dark, as we come up a staircase into a mansion. The rooms are only illuminated by moonlight pouring through the windows. I can make out the shapes of antique furniture (ok given the time period the furniture is probably not antiqued yet), with elaborate designs.

We walk up to the second floor and into a dining room lit by candle light. I catch sight of an object on the table, and quickly pull it from it's holder. It turns out to be a pitchfork shaped cooking utensil, but the ends are sufficiently pointed to act as a weapon.

Before our capture can react, I am behind him, holding the utensil to his neck. The princess is shocked, and asks me not to hurt him.

JUMP

We are still in the dining room, and have devised a plan to escape from the captures for good. The plan involves taking the young man to the airport and putting him on a flight to another country. Ok, this in itself should have been a huge dream sign, since the time period was not correct for airplanes, let alone the fact that the plan doesn't make any sense. Maybe it triggered something after all, since I don't remember any more of the dream.

JUMP

I am at a party of sorts, and anticipate the fast approaching event that we will be playing as a band at. I think it is some sort of festival or parade.

I am running through a list of items that I was supposed to bring with me, to ensure that I didn't forget anything. I am also wondering if I wore the correct type of shoes.

I grab a soda, and begin to chat with my friend Matt. Suddenly a feeling of dread hits me, as I remember I have forgotten the most vital thing; my trumpet! I tell Matt "Oh my God, I forgot my freaking trumpet!!". I ask what time the event is, and how long I have to go back and get the instrument. Matt tells me the time of the event, but I cannot make out the clock to see what time it is (darn it; this could have made for a good RC!).

I run into a room and find two women, and know that one of them had driven here. I relate my story, and ask her if she can drive me back to get my trumpet. She seems very suspicious, like I just plan to get her back to my place. She asks where I left it, and I say it's at my sister's house. This just heightens her suspicion for some reason, but just as she is about to tell me to get lost, the other woman speaks up and assures her that I am telling the truth.

We are on our way out the sliding glass door when I turn around and see my son wearing some very small shorts. I belt out "nice knickers!", and see that I have hurt his feelings. I add "Just kidding." as an inadequate afterthought, but it doesn't seem to help, and I feel like a jerk.

I realize that everyone is wearing the odd shorts, and suddenly remember that we are dressed in a German theme. I ask someone whether I am supposed to be wearing the shorts too, and they confirm my fears. Now I am missing my trumpet, AND the shorts I should be wearing!

AWAKENING

My wife and I enter a used furniture store. We are walking towards a room in the back, as she apparently has something in mind. I look into another room to the left, and see some odds and ends that look rather antique.

JUMP

We are in a room with a bunch of junk and a huge grand piano. There are two salesmen in the room, and my son is there too.

My wife is trying to convince me to buy the piano. I look at the item in question. It is that horrible yellow/orange 70s color finish, and when the salesman opens the door over the keys, I see that the interior is painted in pastel shades of blue and green, with some bowl shaped art deco ornaments fastened to the sides. The whole thing is gigantic as well.

I ask my wife what the heck she plans on doing with it? It won't fit in our house, and besides that, neither of us know how to play the piano. She replies that she wants to buy it for the music club on our cruise ship (um, riiiiight)... Then she asks the salesman how much he is asking. He says $700.

I begin to get angry and say there is no freaking way I'm paying $700 for an ugly piano that we can't even use. The salesman then says that he will give it to us for $500, obviously misinterpreting my intentions. Exasperated, I say "Fine, how about I give you $700 for the damn thing, and you guys re-stain it?" He says he wishes it were possible, but they cannot do that.

Desperate to deter my wife now, I blurt out "Hey, how about we get you a guitar instead?" (in real life she has been oohing over cellos and violins, not guitars), and her eyes widen in anticipation.

The salesman shows her a few stringed instruments, and she picks up something the size of a violin. After a few minutes, she inexplicably begins tossing the instrument up in the air and catching it. This confuses me, and I am about to say "You break it, you buy it..." when she fails to make the catch, and the instrument slams to the floor. I am extremely stressed out now, and run over to the remains, only to find that it is just a painting of a violin on a wooden block cut to fit the shape.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my son sitting indian style on the floor tossing some fine china in the air. I can't take it any more and yell at him to get on the freaking bench and sit on his hands! The second salesman is startled when I raise my voice, but the first one gives him a look to stay out of it.

I can't wait to get out of this store.

AWAKENING
----------------------------------------
Interesting stuff, eh? The last dream was in a very shallow sleep, and around the cruise ship part I was aware of myself lying in bed and consciously though about performing a reality check in the dream, but decided against it due to the fact that it would probably just wake me up anyway (boy I wish I had thought twice about that).

Also interesting is the fact that I had been drinking heavily the night before, and I had always thought that DR was supposed to be virtually eliminated with alcohol. While I didn't really remember anything immediately upon waking, all of these dreams came back gradually over about an hour's time.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Bathrooms & Issues Parking

Forgive me for not posting the last couple of days, but most of my dreams have been rather bland. Today is no exception, really, but I'll type it out anyway for the sake of practice.

Normal Dreams.

I am in a movie theater, and someone is telling me about a guy who has folded down a few seats in one of the rooms, and has been sleeping there. I wonder if the employees have to deal with homeless guys in the theater often.

I enter the room, and recognize the man he was talking about (an old boss of mine). He has bags under his eyes and looks strung out. I wonder whether he failed to pay his rent while he was on vacation, and got evicted.

JUMP

I am trying to use the bathroom in the theater, and all of the toilets are out of order. I know there is a second bathroom, and I head in that direction.

When I find it, there is a sign hanging on the door that says it is out of order, and to use the other bathroom (the one with no working toilets). I am pissed, and tear through the sign.

When I enter, I see that I am not the only one who ignored the sign. There is also an employee trying to mop the floor who looks clearly exasperated that we are all in there. I have no sympathy for him, and approach a urinal.

SHORT AWAKENING

I find myself driving into a mall parking lot. It is snowing, and I am reaching the end of a parking row.

I attempt to slow down, and the car begins to do one of those two MPH uncontrollable slides towards a number of parked cars along the sides.

Having apparently lost my mind in this dream, I exit the moving vehicle, and begin attempting to push and pull the car away from any potential impacts. I tug the bumper in one direction and then the other as the car continually overcompensates. Eventually the vehicle bumps into the rear of another car before I can redirect it again. I grab control of the front end and finally slide it to a stop in an open space.

I check the front of the car for damage (while i'm looking at it the car appears to be on a lift, because I can see the belly while looking up, however it is still in the parking spot. DREAM SIGN!!), but everything looks fine. I am very relieved.

JUMP

I am leaving the mall, and see that all of the snow has melted now. I get in the car which now appears to be a 60s style Mustang. The interior is completely white.

The car is now parked parallel on a hill between two other cars (even though I parked in a flat parking lot earlier. DREAM SIGN #2!! Where is my brain!!! ).

This would not be a problem, except that the dream is very realistic this time, and I am not familiar with the clutch (even though this is apparently my car). I worry about rolling into the car behind me as I feel it out. As it turns out, the clutch is shallow, and I lurch forward awkwardly onto the road. Everything feels very real, and reacts exactly as I would expect in WL.

JUMP

I am at home (although I do not recognize the house at all. DREAM SIGN #3! Congrats, I'm officially retarded!), and standing around in my underwear for some reason talking with my wife.

The door bell rings, and I ask if she knows who it is. She says no, and I say I'll answer it.

I see a big pile of clothes on the floor, and frantically dig around for something easy to slip on. As I dig, I hear the latch come undone, and look for frantically for some pants. The door begins to swing open, and I grab whatever is in my hands and toss it on. It was a shirt, so I am still standing there in my underwear.

An older man walks in, and I say "Can I help you?!" obviously annoyed that someone has the nerve to let themselves in. The man is holding a box and asks if I can sign something (he is not distracted by the fact that I'm half-naked). I hear my wife walk in and say "I wouldn't sign anything for Fred." Jokingly. I realize this must be the mail man, and then everything is OK.

AWAKENING

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Missed Signs & Public Toilets

Note: Both normal dreams.

I find myself working in the back of a Taco Bell or something in my home town. The back looks more like a muffler shop than a fast food joint, though. I cannot remember what happened here, but there was some sort of strife with my boss.

Afterwards I drive off in what looks like a 1980s Cutlass. Its not in great shape. I drive a ways through town until I arrive at a modular home that apparently belongs to my old friend, Tim.

I find myself inside the house holding a conversation with Tim's father (he is deceased now, so this would make my first ND experience talking with people I know have passed on). Unfortunately, I cannot remember what the subject was.

I step outside to return to my car, and find that Tim's two older brothers have stripped the panels off of my doors. They think it is awfully funny, but I am upset because the car is no longer road worthy. I begin to yell at the two to start putting it back together, and the two throw the parts inside the car and run inside the house.

I continue to yell at the house, and after a few minutes I hear one of the brothers yell back "Hold on a second!". I am not amused and begin yelling louder. Again I hear "Dude, I said hold on!", I yell "No, I mean NOW!!". The brother replies "I'm on the freakin' toilet.", and all I can say is "Uh, yeah, OK then..."

JUMP

I am in a distorted version of my high school cafeteria (HELLO!! BIG DREAM SIGN!), and I see my good friend Rudy walk by. I yell out to him, and he turns around and recognizes me. Not having seen each other in so long, we have a good embrace, and chum it up for a second. Another old acquaintance, Justin, is there and we have a few words as well. I ask where the bathroom is at, and Justin tells me it is downstairs.

I make my way down the stairs to the basement floor. This seems to be the gym/locker room area, although it has been thoroughly modernized since I last saw it.

I now notice that I am carrying five or six baseball bats on top of having to use the bathroom. I'm not carrying them under one arm or in any normal manner; I'm carrying them sticking out of pockets, and any number of ways that make it very difficult to walk without dropping them.

I make my way down the hall towards a service desk of sorts, and see the bathroom doors just ahead. To my dismay, the bathrooms have a sign that says "For Subscribers Only".

I turn around and see a door back the way I came that says "Guest Bathroom", and waddle towards it. As soon as I reach to open the door, it swings open as a man comes out. Great... A freshly used public toilet...

I close the door (there are actually two doors to the bathroom now, right next to each other), and lock it. I lift the toilet seat cover and see that it is filthy. Not just dirty, but all scuffed up so you can't even wipe the filth completely out of the abrasions.

True to my nature, I attempt the toilet straddle to avoid making any contact.

AWAKENING

Friday, February 9, 2007

Snakes, Tornados and Video Games

Note: Long normal dream. The second part seems connected to the first, as if it is happening in the same area.

I am standing at the edge of an open field next to a familiar road in the town I grew up in. My Uncles electric motor shop would normally be across the street, but i do not take notice in this dream.

I am with about three other people, one man and two women as far as i can remember. There is a large shrub, or boulder, or egg sack or something in front of us (I can't remember what it looked like, just that it was nearly round). Stands about five feet tall.

Suddenly green snakes of all sizes begin pouring out of the formation. I don't remember the snakes being particularly aggressive, but it was quite startling regardless.

At this point someone suggests we do something with the snakes (I don't remember what, exactly), and I blurt out "Uh, I'm gonna have to say, HELL no...". I don't exactly have a phobia of snakes. I can stand to be around them, but I can think of a thousand things I'd rather do than touch them.

Anyhow, some sort of conversation takes place while everyone participates in whatever it is I refused to do. I tip toe around the grass, trying to avoid the snakes.

As I watch one of them, I see little flaps (much like the ears of a frog) split open just behind the head, and long, jointed appendages stretch out. The appendages begin to whirl in small circles; faster and faster until the snake actually lifts off of the ground. This freaks me the hell out. Snakes are one thing, but flying snakes are hugely more frightening. I begin to panic until I realize that they are all flying off across the open field to the West. I mention to one of the individuals around me that giving snakes wings kind of classifies them as dragons, as far as i can tell.



As I watch them fly off into the distance, the sky catches my eye. It is very dark, and I can see an even darker formation taking shape vertically. It takes me a second, but I soon realize that I am looking at a huge tornado, and lo and behold, its headed right in my direction.

I look around for a structure suitable to take cover in. I see a brick building about 1000 feet away, but it's in the direction of the tornado. I decide to risk it anyhow, and begin running towards the building. The running is classic slow-mo, can't move as fast as I need to, dream style. I manage to make the building though, just as the wind picks up.

One of the people with me, who I now identify as my good friend, Matt, yells "I am going to go stay in my truck!". I advise against it, but he is too worried about his truck, and runs off anyway.

The door to the building is too far away to make it in time, but I see a stone fence of sorts surrounding what looks like some kind of power station. The fence has a stone gate as well, and I duck inside with another unidentifiable individual. We hold the gate shut as the winds pick up drastically, only opening it long enough to let another individual squeeze in at the last minute.

The ground shakes, and the winds are deafening. Debris streams through the air all around us. The tornado is passing directly over the building. After about 30 seconds, everything calms, and I can see yellow sunlight peeking through the clouds above. I am tempted to leave the cover, but know that this must only be the eye of the tornado. Just as I assumed, the winds pick up again shortly after, and last for another 30 seconds.

Once the tornado has passed we leave the shelter to survey the area. To the North, I can see two more funnels forming quickly. This time there is a chance to run for the doors. I realize that this is a weather tracking station, so it should be optimal for protection during this sort of thing.

I duck inside the doors, and into a lobby. The North wall is filled with tall windows. I can see the tornados coming, and briefly wonder how we could be safe with a long wall of windows between us and the storm. I think the windows must be double paned (as if that makes any difference) and dismiss the subject.

I realize that I am now accompanied by my son's boy scout pack, and a couple other older people lounging around the lobby. One of the older men has a snack table set up, and one of the children is asking him if he can have something. The man explains that he can have something if he is willing to trade for it.

After a few minutes I notice the child sneak under the table and grab a pack of cookies when the man isn't looking. I chastise the boy, and ask him if he remembers what the man had said. He gives the older man a candy bar wrapped in pink foil, and everyone seems satisfied.


I decide to walk through some swinging doors into the weather watcher's office.

JUMP

I find myself playing a hand held game. The player character is a chibi sized girl in a pink frilly dress. The game plays like a bubble bobble style platformer. I have to make my way down the level, which consists of candy cane, and cloud like horizontal platforms. I collect items worth points, and avoid bubbles full of lightning bolts while I jump and fall through the level. It is fun, and I am doing rather well. I am nearly at the bottom of the level when...

AWAKENING

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Guns and Golems

I find myself in a cave system, looking into an antechamber filled with large boulders. There is a ring of boulders around wall of the chamber that stand about 10 feet tall.

I have a feeling that there is some sort of secret passage out of this room, but I know that I have tried everything to find it in the past. I contemplate what type of skill would help me to find the secret entrance, and consider using Libra (another FFXII influence). A small trail between two of the boulders catches my eye.

As soon as I enter the room, I see flying creatures that look like giant grass hoppers careening towards me from out of the darkness above. I begin firing off what is either a bow or a gun at them, and they fall easily.

I make my way along the pathway between the boulders, and the cave opens up onto a beach scene (hello! another missed dream sign). Just outside of the cave are a couple of rundown huts, with debris scattered about. Somewhere around them I find an odd gun. I look down the shoreline and take in the blue water and palm trees.

Suddenly I notice a giant gray stone golem slowly marching towards me about half a mile down the shoreline where the water meets the shore. The golem is humongous, and must stand around 100 feet tall. It is obvious that it must be coming for me.

I fire off a volley of rounds with my newfound gun. All of the rounds arc and fall short of their target. The gun just doesn't have enough range. I begin to panic, but realize that there is another mode to try.

This time I hold the trigger down, and the gun charges. As i release the trigger, a brilliant stream of white hot flame and energy jumps forth, and extends off into the distance. As the beam reaches it' s maximum length, I see a cache of round black bombs fall from the air where it stopped. As they strike the ground, carnage ensues; everything around them is torn asunder.

Unfortunately, the beam fell short of the monstrosity, so i adjust the angle and try again. This time the beam ends just prior to actually striking the creature, and the bomblets fall at it's massive feet. The explosion is deafening, and I watch as the golem breaks apart and tumbles to the ground.

JUMP

I am sitting on an old wooden dock along the shore, and browsing through a catalog of sorts. The catalog seems to be interactive, and is laid out much like the gambit system in FFXII (yeah, it's getting a little old). I am trying to decide between what looks like a long and short version of a machete. As I try to decide, I cycle back and forth between the two and weight the pros and cons of each. In hindsight, I assume this was another influence from Final Fantasy, as I probably gained some rewards from defeating the grass hoppers and the golem, and was just trying to figure out where to spend them.

AWAKENING

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

A Bazaar, Fancy Armor & an Awkward Moment

Sorry for the window without any entries. My wife and I were having a baby! We had a little boy (or not so little really, he weighed over eight pounds). My mother in law came to town as well, so there wasn't a lot of room for this dream journal. I haven't had a lot of sleep lately either (imagine that), so dreams have been few and far between. Hopefully I can get back on track now; at least to some extent.

Anyway - On with the dream!


Note: Normal dream.

I am wandering though an indoor bazaar of sorts. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the lighting is low. It looks like things might be illuminated by firelight. This dream is very long, but I have lost large parts already. There are events before the bazaar, but I can't remember what.

I approach a very large black iron birdcage (the type with the rounded top). The cage must stand around eight feet tall. The lower half is filled with burning embers, laced in red/orange, white and charcoal black. There is some sort of scoreboard looking monitor just above the embers (I don't know what it is keeping track of). The door to the cage is open, and I see an old friend, Greg, sitting cross-legged on a platform where a swinging perch would normally be. There is also a woman (an attendant maybe) standing beside the cage. I know her, but I can't remember who it is.

I hold a conversation with Greg, but cannot remember what it was about. Something catches my eyes within the hot embers. I point it out, and Greg's attendant wraps her hand in a cloth and reaches in to pull it out. A long two handed sword emerges from the coals.

Greg is angry (apparently he has been looking for it). I turn to the attendant while he rants and say "Well, at least it's clean.", meaning sterile, since it had been heated to such a temperature. She agrees, and glances nervously at Greg out of the corner of her eye.

There is a large gap here, but I remember Greg issuing an order out of anger, and more happenings within the bazaar.

JUMP

I am walking down a wide stone hallway with a huge cathedral ceiling riddled with colorful stained glass and ironwork. Greg is walking slightly ahead of me, wearing the long robes of royalty. He is talking about changing into the ceremonial armor, and some sort of ritual that is about to take place. I know that the ritual is a result of him being wronged, and assume it has to do with the sword from earlier.

I crane my neck to peek inside one of the rooms off the left side of the hallway. I see about 10 people in fanciful suits or armor laid out on stone slabs. They all seem to be people I recognize. I know they are all alive, but the way they have positioned themselves reminds me of the sculptures affixed to the top of stone caskets in roman crypts. I know that they are waiting for a mass suicide sort of ritual. I realize that this must be what Greg has in mind for himself and all of his loyal followers.

The hallway opens up into a throne room. I glance over to the throne and see a very intricately carved and decorated extension to the back of the chair lowering in two pieces and then folding out to surround the throne. It is very impressive, and resembles the styling that the Final Fantasy series has used in recent years when designing the wings and adornments of Bahamut and similar dragon type creatures (This may be influenced by the fact that I spent about an hour and a half battling the Hell Dragon in FFXII yesterday only to have my entire party stopped minutes away from his death, and killed. I'm a little sour).

I turn to the left and walk towards Greg's chambers. I see him strapping on his own armor. The armor has a dark burgundy lacquer, and is laced with veins of gold. My eyes run over the rounded shoulder pauldrons, and follow the maze of intricate designs. I say "That is the coolest freaking armor I have ever seen!"

JUMP

I am in a room in my Grandfather's house (this should be a dream sign for me by now). While it is a room from my Grandpa's house, I know it is still part of Greg's castle. I am expected to change into my own armor here, to prepare for the ritual.

There is a woman who is trying to help me. I remember her telling me to change into something else so that I can escape the castle and make my way to another town.

On the bed I find a pair of purple dragon wings that look like they belong to a Halloween costume. For some reason I think that I have to put these on in order to escape, but they are too small. I begin cutting additional holes for my arms to fit through.

Before I slip the wings on, I pull a foam muscle suit over my head (I have no idea where this came from). I put the wings on next, which seem to be attached to a small purple net shirt (so small that it wears like a belly shirt or something). Now I pull on a pair of yellow rubber kitchen gloves. Ok, take a second now to imagine what this all must look like.

I see motion outside the door, and there is a small girl standing there. She looks bewildered, and asks me why I am wearing all of her stuff. I don't know what to say. Apparently all of these items belong to her, and she just walked in to find a strange man in her bedroom wearing her clothes. I know how this must look, and immediately begin disrobing as fast as i can. I am terrified that someone will see me like this.

I hear another person approaching the room, and I fear that it might be the girls parents. Just as I flail out of the last item of the girls clothing, the door swings open. There I am, standing in my underwear in a little girls room with her clothes sprawled out over the floor, when her parents walk in. I am in that "Oh my God, I know how this looks and there is nothing I can possibly say that will explain it away" drop jawed moron mode. How could this possibly happen to me.

Then the shock fades and to my relief the person at the door is the same woman who is trying to help me escape; not the little girls parents. What a load off. She wonders what the heck I was doing, and then explains what I need to do now.

AWAKENING

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Strange Medicine

Note: Normal dream fragment.

My wife is driving, and I am a passenger in what seems to be a station wagon of some sort. My son is lying down in the trunk (the trunk starts immediately behind the front seats in this case).

I am in the back, and I have to give my son an injection of some sort. I have to insert a needle into his neck that is connected to a long tube. I must have been having some reluctance in doing it right, so the next thing I know, my wife is also helping (don't ask me who was driving the car). My job is to hold a sort of cup with padding on one end around the needle, while my wife squirts a huge syringe full of air into the open end of the cup. As she does this the level of fluid (looks clear like saline or something) within the cup slowly goes down, as I assume, it is pushed into his bloodstream.

The physics of this are really off, and for a moment it seems strange to me. I think I was on the verge of becoming lucid. I let off of the cup as I was distracted trying to figure out why things didn't seem right, and the fluid began to spill out. My wife is annoyed and admonishes me. She gives me "that" look.

I then have to pluck the needle out of his neck. It was an unpleasant experience.

JUMP

My son screams in fear from the back of the car. My wife reassures him that he doesn't have to worry any more. I don't think that his fear had anything to do with the treatment that we just gave him. I seem to remember that we are on the run from something, but all of the dream before the last fragment is lost to me now.

JUMP

I am back in the passenger seat. My wife tears off across an open field. I am like "what the heck are you doing?" She tells me this way is much shorter. I remain quiet to avoid an argument. I try to remember where it is we are, and where we are going in such a hurry, but I can't seem to find an answer.

AWAKENING

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Key Thief

Note: This is a fragmented normal dream.

I remember sneaking into my cousin's childhood home (this is my second dream there). The house belongs to my boss in this dream. I make my way to the room where my cousin's parents used to sleep. I am looking for something, but I cannot remember what.

I hear noises from another room in the house, and they sound like they are getting closer. I assume that my boss has returned home, even though he is supposed to be on vacation.

I kick into a frenzy to get out of the house, and quickly grab a huge buch of keys that are laying on the bedspread (apparently this is what I came for). I run for the door as the noises come closer. As I slowly try to close the front door without making a sound, I imagine him entering the back door of the house, and just narrowly escaping.

As I walk in front of a picture window I glance inside the house again, and see that there is a group of my friends in the kitchen (including Trey, who I haven't seen in years). I realize that they must have broken in too, and that the noises I heard must have been them.

I enter the kitchen and talk with them, and it turns out that they heard me as well, and likewise, thought the boss was returning home early.

They were also very interested in the keys fro some reason.

JUMP

I'm standing in front of the bosses desk, and trying to hold a conversation with him. We used to see very eye to eye, and had a mutual respect for eachother. He apparently had a change in attitude while he was on vacation, and I feel that everything he says is condescending.

AWAKENING
---------------

I couldn't remember my dream when I woke up, but it came seeping back to me in the shower. I think a stray thought about work may have triggered it.

So, the boss really is on vacation right now. I am switching employment soon, and he knows it. I think this dream is a result of this situation. Sometimes I feel like attitudes will change towards me, due to my career decision. Seems like I might be branded as a "traitor". I don't have much of a problem with this in real life, as the move will be good for me, but apparently my subconscious is struggling with it right now.

Perhaps the keys were to release the shackles of my current job. No wonder everyone wants to get at them...

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Just One Word

Only a single word echoing through my head again this morning:


"Gargantuan"

I have no clue what the dream was about, but I'm sure that it had something to do with FFXII, as I spent the majority of last night getting whomped by giant, sword wielding beasts. I really don't recall playing any games in the past that have had such a profound impact on my dreams. Good job, Square-Enix!

I just wish I could go lucid in Ivalice...


I have also been toying with the notion that my alarm clock might be my dream thief. It seems to blast all thought clean out of my head, and place me into an instant frenzy to turn it off.