Into the Star Dome

Image by Cherry Laithang

Dream of the Week: Into the Star Dome

I'm in a house that I understand to be my childhood home, though it looks nothing like it. My dad is there, but it's not my actual dad. He's just knocked on the door of my bedroom as I've gotten into bed to quietly prep for dreaming. Frustrated that he's keeping me awake, I walk to the door in a huff. He tells me that a girl and her dog are here to see me. I meet her downstairs, even more, annoyed because I don't know this girl and I don't know her dog. She talks to me about something related to waking up, and I brush her off, telling her that I need to go to sleep.

I'm back in my bed, settling down and begin my dream prep again. I'm then interrupted, this time the phone rings, and it's a colleague. I don't want to talk to her right now because I'm trying to dream, but she also tries to tell me something about waking up. I again become frustrated (not getting the undeniable hint). We talk for a little while longer about dreams and waking up until it occurs to me that I am in fact in a dream!⚡️

Now lucid, the bedroom disappears, and I'm left inside an expansive architectural structure with golden buttresses and empty space as if floating in nothing. I fly up to a buttress and hang on, knowing that if I let go, I will fall - and so I do. I feel the genuine sensation of falling at high speeds and land back to the floor, made of soft black material similar to sound-proof foam.

I'm now looking at what appears to be the back of a large set piece of an apartment building. The back of the set is facing me, and the front looks out into the void. I can see out the windows, and there's a glow of a neon sign. I want to know what the sign says, so I fly to the top, land on the edge looking out into the void.

Beyond the wall, playthings are floating about, including a long yellow playground slide and a circus bear tumbling over a beach ball. It's ridiculous! I fly out into the void and turn back to read the sign. The words are unstable, and I'm unable to comprehend them. I can only recall "CE CE."

All of a sudden, everything drops away, and I'm floating upward in the black void. I can feel the sensation of flying up, but I can't see anything, and I'm not doing anything to control it. I see slight faints of light swirling that almost resemble stars. I have a great sense of joy and awe.

Suddenly, I've come to a stop inside a room-sized, yet very dark dome. The setting begins to appear around me as I float in the air. I become surrounded by walls made of the same jagged sound-proof foam. A watery layer forms directly above me that is covering the upper part of the dome. I reach my hands up through the watery layer and realize that I'm touching the stars. The sensation is so magical and surprises me so much that I wake up.

Note: I’ve had several experiences that take place in a black void and they always have a very joyful quality. Do you have experiences in this “place?”

Weekly Stats:

17 Total, 5 Lucid

• 💭 1,348 - Days Off
• 🕷 1,349 - This is My Opus
• 🕷 1,350 - Awkward City Dinner
• 💭 1,351 - Dinner and a Movie
• 💭 1,352 - Dirty Diaper
• 💭 1,353 - Overnight Bags
• ⚡️ 1,354 - Playground
• 😂 1,355 - Baked Potato Dress
• 💭 1,356 - Blizzard Shopping
• 💭 1,357 - Earthquake Tilt
• ⚡️ 1,358 - Into the Star Dome 🔥
• ⚡️ 1,359 - Missing Sailing Captain
• 😂 1,360 - Puppy False Awakening
• 😂 1,361 - Bill Murray Escape Room
• ⚡️ 1,362 - Wild Africa Train
• 💭 1,363 - Absolut Fight
• ⚡️ 1,364 - Flying Dolphin Car

⚡️Lucid, 🔥 Favorite, 🤣Silly, 🕷Nightmare

The Sleeping Third - Official Launch!

It’s Launch Week!

The Sleeping Third has been quietly around since April, getting content together, posting weekly dreams, connecting with dream communities, and sleeping a lot. This project has been quite an incredible journey, and I am so thrilled to be officially launching it this week! I've learned so much about myself, about sleep and dreams, and truly put it all into practice. While I have always been into dreams since childhood, I turned up the volume over the last year and have developed a fantastic world inside my imagination.

I am chomping at the bit to share all of it with you!

To repeat my About Page word for word: The Sleeping Third is on a mission to elevate our connection to sleep and dream so that it's more playful, creative, and approachable for everyone.

Here you will find content on the importance of sleep and detailed information on what lucid dreaming is and how to do it consistently. There are resources to learn the practices and lots of dreams to read - one a week! There's also plenty of tips and stats from my very own sleep and dream practices - all to inspire you to dream a little brighter, sleep a lot more, and to use that third of your life you spend asleep in the most beautiful way possible. 

And in doing so, make us all better versions of our waking selves.

//

In the spirit of feeling so much excitement and stress for this week's launch, I am actively (and ironically) pausing a bit on my dream practice during this initial launch, so there will be no formal dream of the week today. Over the last week, my dreams are defiantly revealing my stress levels, presenting more than usual anxiety dreams and strange, hilarious ones too. And for the first time in a long time, no lucid dreams. But, It's all part of the process. I suspect this trend will also spill into next week for a few days, but I can't wait to get in the normal rhythm again and will post new dreams each Tuesday here and on Instagram.

Thank you for being here!

ProTip: When you’re stressed, press pause! Re-balance until you can find rest. Your dreams will be there when you’re ready.

Weekly Stats:

21 Total, 0 Lucid

• 💭 1,327 - Leaving the Airport
• 🤣 1,328 - Water Park Laughter
• 💭 1,329 - Catching a Ride
• 💭 1,330 - Shared Dreaming Movie
• 💭 1,331 - Health Care
• 🎨 1,332 - Grand Room Tree
• 💭 1,333 - High School Dismissal
• 💭 1,334 - Privacy Please
• 🤣 1,335 - Can't Dream in Camp
• 🤣 1,336 - Brad Pitt's House
• 💭 1,337 - Shark Tank
• 🤣 1,338 - Everyone is Cute
• 💭 1,339 - Tunnel Drive
• 💭 1,340 - Tool Factory
• 🤣 1,341 - Panda Gathering
• 💭 1,342 - Family House Plants
• 💭 1,343 - New Bridge
• 💭 1,344 - Laundry
• 🤣 1,345 - Motivational Pub
• 💭 1,346 - Babysitting Clog
• 💭 1,347 - Kid PSA

🤣Silly, 🎨Creative

Toward the Music

Dream of the Week: Toward the Music

⚡️ I'm actively practicing WILD (Waking Induced Lucid Dream) techniques, including breath counting and visualizations. I'm watching hypnagogic imagery get more complex before I find myself in a fully-formed dream scene, yes!

Lucid, I am standing on a large boulder along a path in a grassy field on an overcast day. I put my hands on the rocks to stabilize the dream and stand up to look around. I look at my hands as a reality check, but there's nothing unusual about them. I stretch one of my fingers, and it extends like Silly Putty, forming long strings. I repeat this across my hands, enjoying the strangeness of it all. How weird!

A young man and woman walk along the path in my direction. I wait for them to get close so I can talk to them. When they get near, I say hello, but the woman cowers away from me, disturbed by my presence. I let them pass, realizing they won't be any fun.

I consider what to do next, and hear faint music in the distance. It seems to be coming from a building far away at the end of the path. It occurs to me that all the dream characters in the scene are all walking along different paths headed toward the music. The music makes me feel happy and excited, so I walk toward it, too.

Not wanting to make too much progress without taking it all in, I pause for a moment and check out another building to my left. It's an incredibly tall, dark glass building with vibrant neon lights inside. I'm enthralled by the architecture and decide to explore. I peer inside the glass and see nothing at all, as though my mind chose not to furnish the building. I accept that there's nothing here for me, and continue along the way to the music.

I want to make faster progress, so I fly forward and stop just before hitting a big, green-leafy plant on a tall pedestal. It's so beautiful, so I give it a hug (yep, hugged a plant). An iridescent black bat comes flying toward me hovering above the plant and me. I am in awe of how insanely cool this creature looks! I notice another building nearby that has bright, colorful guitars adorned on the side of its facade. The pure delight of these little creative moments is so much fun! I become so happy and excited by it all that I wake myself up.

ProTip: Some dream figures just don’t want to talk to you. They’re busy in their own little world. Don’t be rude and leave those people be.

Weekly Stats:

17 Total, 3 Lucid

• 💭 1,310 - Antarctic Creature
• 💭 1,311 - Neighborhood Collapse
• 💭 1,312 - Neighborhood Kid
• 💭 1,313 - SNL Mashup & Trees
• 💭 1,314 - Section 11
• 💭 1,315 - Moving to Canada
• 💭 1,316 - JR Tech Event
• 💭 1,317 - No Longer Friends
• 🤣 1,318 - Billboard TV & Spider-Man
• 💭 1,319 - Party, City, Driving, Singing
• 💭 1,320 - Tiny Paper - False Keywords
• ⚡️ 1,321 - Commute to Ferry
• ⚡️ 1,322 - Dark Party
• 💭 1,323 - Water Park Time?
• 💭 1,324 - Dinner Jealosy
• 🤣 1,325 - The Nancys & The Tanyas
• ⚡️ 1,326 - Toward the Music

⚡️Lucid, 🤣Silly

August Dream Summary

I’ve been lagging behind on dream journaling quite a bit this month. It can all be overwhelming sometimes - but so worth it! My recall has been growing so much since I first started this project a few years ago (staring from zero by the way) that I often fall behind on recording the full narrative which, of course, can be time consuming. My strategy has always been to take the path of least disruption to prove that you can be wholly dedicated to the world of dream in a way that it seamless to everyday life. And yet, life happens. That’s why it’s so important to have balance and not to get stressed about dreaming when life is full.

It was a busy month. Lots of business and personal travel, some nights of lousy sleep, late nights, and prolonged feelings of being out of sync. And that’s ok.

---

1,322

All-Time Total
As of August 31, 2019
Since Jun 7, 2018

81

August Total
July - 92
June - 83

70

August Regular
July - 76
June - 71

11

August Lucid (14%)
July - 16 (18%)
June - 12 (14%)

Iceberg Confidence

Dream of the Week: Iceberg Confidence

I'm in Antarctica with a group of friends and co-workers. We are swimming among small icebergs floating in the water as though it were a tropical location. I am utterly delighted by the scene, having this rare opportunity to swim below the ice, to climb on top of it and jump back into the from it. It occurs to me that this is impossible, and I realize that this is a dream! ⚡️

Now lucid, I keep playing in the ice with great joy. I take notice of the beautiful blue and green colors of the ice beneath the sea. I'm amazed that I'm here... that I'm actually swimming with icebergs - my favorite! After blissfully playing for a little while longer, I stop and consider what to do next. I try to fly, but I'm unsure of where I want to go. I reach my hands up to take flight, but I'm unable to take off. I try a second time and again I'm unable to lift off. I'm confused, but accept that flying is not an option right now. I swim away and the scene shifts to a vast industrial, warehouse that's very dark and glowing red. I am standing at the top of a metal staircase, and this new dark tone begins to frighten me. I can hear a strange sound like a frog croaking coming from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs, and I head down to investigate.

As I reach the halfway point down the stairs (and my heart racing), the creature emerges from behind a dark corner. I stop and squint to see that it's not a frog but a small dog, wagging its tail, looking back up at me calmly. I am relieved, but still nervous because the dark, red tone of the scene remains.

Still lucid, I wait to see what will happen next (a departure from my usual "spring into action" mode of behaving in lucid dreams). I stay put exactly where I am in the middle of the stairs. Shortly, three workers appear - two at the bottom and one at the top. I let them come to me. The two at the bottom pass by, and the one at the top stops where I am, sweeping the staircase.

I tell him that I want to talk to him. He says, "That's good, I want to talk to you." I am surprised and delighted by his responses, looking into his eyes. I ask, "Who are you, and what do you represent?" Without hesitation, he replies with, "I am Confidence." I am surprised and ask him to confirm what he said. "I am Confidence, but with loving-kindness." I am blown away by his words and want to guarantee that I take his confidence with loving-kindness with me. I ask him if it's okay to hug him. He readily agrees and put my arms around him, squeezing hard. I think to myself how crazy real this hug feels. A small crowd gathers, and I wake up refreshed.

ProTip: Pay attention to where the dream wants to take you! I often want to fly as soon as I’m lucid, but see what else is around you before taking off.

Weekly Stats:

24 Total, 4 Lucid

• 💭 1,286 - Bathtub Frogs
• 💭 1,287 - Beach Photography
• 💭 1,288 - Gym Trap
• ⏱ 1,289 - Group Wedding
• ⏱ 1,290 - Anxiety Peter Pan
• 💭 1,291 - Movie Trivia
• 💭 1,292 - Happy Hour House Party
• ⚡️ 1,293 - High School Friends
• 💭 1,294 - Sweatpants to Work
• ⚡️ 1,295 - Surrender to this Dream
• 🤣 1,296 - Professor Keaton
• ⚡️ 1,297 - Forgotten Gear
• 🕷 1,298 - Dismemberment Artist
• 🕷 1,299 - Pool Shooting
• 💭 1,300 - Hotel Affair
• 💭 1,301 - Lego and Spider-Man
• 💭 1,302 - Nieces and Nephews
• 🤣 1,303 - The Wine Email Dream
• 💭 1,304 - Flooded Bathroom
• 💭 1,305 - Lightning Stars
• 💭 1,306 - 3:30 Meeting
• 💭 1,307 - Bouncy Ball Game
• ⚡️ 1,308 - Iceberg Confidence
• 💭 1,309 - Neighborhood Watch

⚡️Lucid, ⏱Recurring, 🤣Silly, 🕷Nightmare

Infinite Fireplace

Image by Randy Fath

Dream of the Week: Infinite Fireplace

I'm inside a small house that seems to belong but seems foreign. I have just arrived there after being gone for quite a while I notice how dirty the place looks. There is strange debris on the floor, including trash and several piles of dog poo. I go to the kitchen looking and grab paper towels to pick up the mess. 

I'm really confused as to how it got this messy and why it was never cleaned it up. I clean up the dog poo, which then becomes a raw slab of meat. This strange change clues me in, "This is a dream!" I think to myself. I drop the paper towel with the meat and look at my hands to perform a reality test. My palm is waving in strange ways, and my fingers have become gangly wavy noodles. Yes! I am in.⚡️

Now lucid, I think that I'd like to do simple tasks only so that I can practice the basics. Still looking at my hand, I pull my fingers to see what will happen. With ease and fluidity, my finger stretches further, unraveling like a piece of thread. I am delighted! I continue to pull up my fingers until all of them are stretched out like Silly Putty. 

I wonder what other simple things I can do with this time and look around the room. I see a small metal fireplace or furnace and decide to through it as though it were a door to another place. I crawl inside, and it gets longer and longer like a tunnel growing out infinitely. I continue crawling through the tunnel, but somehow understand that everything from my waist down is still kneeling in the same room. I realize that this stretch through the fireplace will continue infinitely, so I simply turn back, and I'm back in the room again. The dream fades.

ProTip: When looking at your hand as a state check, be aware! Sometimes a hand looks just like a hand. For me, noodle fingers are the sign.

Weekly Stats:

17 Total, 1 Lucid

• 🤣 1,269 - Prince Harry
• 💭 1,270 - Arguments with Old Friends
• 💭 1,271 - Two Hours of Sleep
• 💭 1,272 - The Car Crash Dream
• 💭 1,273 - Jerk Move
• 💭 1,274 - City Rain Mindfulness
• 💭 1,275 - Raincheck
• 💭 1,276 - Swimming with the Seals
• 💭 1,277 - Flower Neck Tattoo
• 💭 1,278 - Night Drive
• ⚡️ 1,279 - Infinite Fireplace
• 💭 1,280 - Clever Attacker
• 💭 1,281 - Three Dreamlets
• 💭 1,282 - Street, Wedding Mashup
• 💭 1,283 - Sad Phone Call
• 🤣 1,284 - Running in New York
• 💭 1,285 - Glam Photo Shoot

⚡️Lucid, 🤣Silly

If This Were a Dream

Photo by moren hsu

Dream of the Week: If This Were a Dream

I'm walking down a long hallway that seems like a high school, filled with lockers. A colleague is with me, and it looks as though we're on our way to somewhere specific. It starts raining inside the building, but the rain has unusual qualities. It's very thin and almost white translucent. I stop Liz and tell her how unique this situation is. We both reflect on the strange rain but seem to conclude that the water is coming from the fire sprinkler system.

Since we've been talking about dreams so much lately, I explain to her that that now is a really great time to do a reality check. I bring her close to the wall, and in a teaching mode, I say, "If this were a dream, I could put my hand through this wall."

I demonstrate by pushing my hand against the wall and continue, "but of course, we know this is the real world, so my hand won't go through." And it doesn't. 🤦‍♀️

I tell her that another reality check we might do is to look at our hands, and we do so together. She asks me what would happen to our hands if this were a dream. I tell her that it often doesn't work, but sometimes hands and fingers will appear longer, or they'll be distorted in strange ways. We look at our hands together, and they remain the same, as we expect - so sure of our reality.

We then run out of the building, escaping from the indoor rain / "sprinkler." Once outside, my colleague says that she wants to bring in a guest speaker to talk about dreams. I wonder why she wouldn't think to have me as the speaker. Because she first thinks of someone else, I feel doubt and question if I'm ready for that kind of thing yet. The dream fades.

Note: I was so convinced this was real! What are your experiences with near-misses?

Weekly Stats:

16 Total, 1 Lucid

• 💭 1,253 - Baby Brother
• 💭 1,254 - Swerve Hotel
• 💭 1,255 - Alternatino Sleep
• 💭 1,256 - Antique Lab
• 💭 1,257 - Boulder Push
• 💭 1,258 - Plant Neglect
• 💭 1,259 - Accidental Push
• 💭 1,260 - Data Meeting
• 💭 1,261 - Last Dinner of the Trip
• 🤣 1,262 - If This Were a Dream
• 💭 1,263 - Seven Dreamlets
• 💭 1,264 - Making Little Clues
• ⚡️ 1,265 - How Did I Get Here?
• 💭 1,266 - Airbnb Backyard
• 💭 1,267 - Dream Guests
• 💭 1,268 - Halloween Decorations

⚡️Lucid, 🤣Silly

Positive Light

Photo by Xin

Dream of the Week: Positive Light

I'm in a large open field with a slight hill on an overcast afternoon. (A recurring landscape lately…). The scene opens with me walking down a small hill toward other people who seem to be playing a game or running a race. I appear to be a part of the game, and when I see an old boss and mentor, I run towards her. As I get closer, she seems to glow a little bit around the edges of her body and almost looks like she is made of two-dimensional paper. In seeing her change this way, I realize that I must be in a dream saying out loud, "this is a dream!" ⚡️

Now lucid, I stop short of her and ask if we are in my dream or in her dream. I know the truth, I just wish not to offend her. She freezes and becomes utterly inanimate for a few seconds. She then "comes back to life" in natural form (as in, no longer paper or glowing) and I tell her that it is my dream. This fact seems to calm her, and she grows excited. I ask her to join me so we can change this dream together. She runs over and stands behind me as I raise my arms to the side and shout to the sky, "I call the power of light!" (Which was not my intention or a goal I had ever considered, it just came out).  

In saying this out loud, my voice grows in volume. At first, I am startled. I repeat again, "I call the power of light!" My voice grows - this time, I'm intrigued. One last time, I repeat the same phrase, and my voice becomes a booming, powerful entity the feels as big as this world itself. I feel a sense of overwhelming power as the clouds above swirl from white to gray and turn into an enormous cumulonimbus cloud in the shape of an evil face or perhaps even a skull. Above this face is a large, circular swirling ring of dark clouds and with a fiery center. I look into the fire and consider how menacing and ominous this presence feels. 

I don't think that's what I meant to call forth. 

I think for a moment, smile, and I say and cheekily, "I call the power of positive light," with an extra emphasis on the word positive. 

With this change, a giant glass or crystal ring breaks free from the fire ring in the sky, comes hurling in my direction, and lands with a thud and a particular mechanical sound as it "clicks into place." It's landed inside of a pink building that is now next to me. The outer lines of the ring extend out of the building and go back in again. 

Another smaller glass or crystal ring has attached to a street lamp directly above me. The ring has an ornate pattern around the edges of it, and I immediately know that I must fly through it. 

Without effort, I fly forward and go through the ring, but there's an invisible membrane in the center that takes a little bit of effort to pass through. I even get stuck halfway. With a bit more energy, I push myself against the bottom of the ring and am launched forward into the sky. 

Any sense of landscape has dropped off completely, and now I'm just soaring through the white clouds (though there's a sense of nighttime). This flight takes no effort. I'm moving at intense speeds, but I'm not really controlling it. I feel a new sense of energy pulsing through my body. I can hear music, but it's unclear if it's me singing or just general musical tones. The sound is coming from everywhere and nowhere. 

I let the experience wash over me, feeling totally amazed! I wonder if I might be able to get into a meditation posture at this speed up here in the sky, so I turn myself upright. I can feel the dream fading, so I stop changing my body position, and I close my eyes to meditate. I wake up feeling great joy.

ProTip: Write down your dreams right away! Scribble some notes in the dark. Don’t wait until morning.

Weekly Stats

17 Total, 4 Lucid

• 💭 1,236 - Water Park Convention
• 💭 1,237 - Party Drive Home
• ⚡️ 1,238 - Why am I Here?
• 💭 1,239 - Curious Sea Creatures
• ⚡️ 1,240 - Still Dreaming in Three Parts
• 💭 1,241 - Forced to Sacramento
• 💭 1,242 - Dinner Party Woodpecker
• ⚡️ 1,243 - Near Escape Lucidity
• 💭 1,244 - Garage Choreography
• 💭 1,245 - Balcony Pool Hotel
• 💭 1,246 - Free Range Safari
• 💭 1,247 - The Dog Ride
• 💭 1,248 - 1:00 Arrival?
• 💭 1,249 - Instagram Kid
• ⚡️ 1,250 - Positive Light 🔥
• 🤣 1,251 - Balloon Animal Drama
• 💭 1,252 - Surviving?

⚡️Lucid, 🔥 Favorite, ⏱Recurring, 🤣Silly

July Dream Summary

July was a fantastic dreaming month! More dreams overall and a higher percentage of lucid dreams. Of course, it’s not always just about quantity, the quality and duration of these lucid dreams also were better. That’s not as easily quantifiable since it’s quite subjective, but take my word for it. It’s definitely exciting to see “progress” even if it’s not as obviously “measurable.”

Even more exciting about this high-quality dreaming month is that it’s the first month where I did not use Galantamine. I typically like to use the supplement to boost my lucidity once a month or so, but I’m intentionally pausing use for the next three months to see how I’m progressing without it. I really enjoy using supplements when I have specific intentions. This break is not forever, but! It’s so exciting to see these kinds of results naturally.

---

1,241

All-Time Total
As of July 31, 2019
Since Jun 7, 2018

92

July Total
June - 83
May - 61

76

July Regular
June - 71
May - 50

16

July Lucid (18%)
June - 12 (14%)
May - 11 (18%)

Looking for Bailey

Dream of the Week: Looking for Bailey

⚡️ I'm lying awake in bed counting breaths and honing in on my recently discovered gazing method. Before long, I know that I have fallen asleep as I can hear the faint buzzing sounds that often come with a WILD (Waking Induced Lucid Dream). During this transition, I try to get up in my sleep. Meaning, even though I know that I'm sleeping, I try to move. In thinking about sitting up, I seem to dream of sitting up and hear Sam ask me what I'm doing (but of course, he and I are asleep). Then, I really do rise up out of bed, at first in a sitting position, and then I feel a sensation of being pulled up to the ceiling.

I am fully lucid and aware, and I continue to get pulled through the bedroom wall. I let the dream fly me wherever it wants me to be, and I float down the hall and out of the front door. Once outside of my apartment, I seem to gain control of myself again and fly forward. I am very high in the sky, soaring over generic neighborhoods. It starts at night, but in some ways, it's also day. As I'm flying, I turn around and fly upside down so that my back faces the ground. I do this for a little while before thinking that I ought to set my intention. I know exactly what I want to do.

I turn my body toward the ground again. As I am flying, I call out to the dream that I want to find Bailey. I continue flying for a little while longer until I land (or perhaps more accurately - I am dropped off) in a neighborhood on a sunny afternoon. It doesn't look exactly like my childhood neighborhood, but that is absolutely where I am. The familiarity is so striking. Excited, I know that if I make my way to my parents' house, I'll find Bailey there. I call again to the dream that I'm looking for Bailey. I start walking, slowly at first, carefully observing the scene around me. I'm walking on a sidewalk around a familiar corner, and I look to one to the house's backyards. I notice some unusual things back there, so I decide to follow my curiosity into the yard. As I'm walking up the driveway toward, I see a 2ft tall plastic statue of the Virgin Mary (note: I am not religious) wobbling down a hill on a skateboard. I consider this for a moment and laugh. The wobbling is so silly, and I'm not a religious person. I continue towards the backyard, and the sense of the neighborhood falls away. I'm in a mixed landscape of rolling hills and a mini forest. It's actually not too far from a large park that's right next to my family neighborhood in real life.

There are three wooden bench/swings back here. The benches are full of stuff - Things like bouncy balls, colorful wooden bird carvings, and unusual musical instruments. I approach one of the benches and wonder what kind of musical instruments they are. One is kind of a cylinder metal thing, perhaps like a three-dimensional, silver oval cymbal. The other branches have other types of unusual musical instruments that I've never seen before. I push one of the metal cylinders, and it makes strange musical sounds as it tumbles off the bench. It's all so very delightful. I remember my intent and walked toward another rolling hill. To my right, in the far distance, I see a tiny sailboat sailing over the green hills. I smile at the sailboat on the "grassy seas," wondering if there's any water over there that I can't see. With that thought, a little lake appears just nearby the sailboat as if to say "I hear you, here's some water." I tell the dream again that I'm looking for Bailey and continue on walking down a grassy hill.

I notice a wooden structure in the grass and decide to go there. As I walk, I see a tuft of brown and white hair, as if it could be Bailey but I don't know what it is. As I get closer, a cloud of bright white dry ice covers the ground. It's not ominous in any way. I am closer to the fur, and it seems as though it's a collie, perhaps stuffed, as I never get a full image of it. I do not understand it to be Bailey or any representation of her, and I'm a little letdown. I call out to the dream again that I'm looking for Bailey. Immediately, I'm down on my hands and knees in the grass. There's no transition from standing to being in the grass. I'm near the collie and the smoke, but I'm on my hands and knees now. I am there for a moment thinking about what I will do now when I realize I can no longer move. I'm stuck here on all fours for a little while longer, and I wake up.

Quick Reflection:

• Bailey is my family dog that we’ve have for 17 years - she died this week.

• It was my goal to go find her in this dream - it was nice to have the agency to remember this goal.

Note: Dreaming can be a positive way to deal with grief with the appropriate mindset.

Weekly Stats:

17 Total, 1 Lucid

• 💭 1,218 - Snow Mountain Fall
• 🤣 1,219 - Timberlake Stare
• ⏱ 1,220 - Fleeting Snapshots
• 🤣 1,221 - Larry Page Catch
• ⏱ 1,222 - Fleeting Snapshots (Again)
• ⚡️ 1,223 - Looking for Bailey
• 💭 1,224 - Hug a Stranger
• 💭 1,225 - Roller Coaster Robots
• 💭 1,226 - Aiport Hojo / Heje
• 💭 1,227 - Sleepover Morning
• 💭 1,228 - Cafe House Interior
• 💭 1,229 - Frozen Apocalypse
• 💭 1,230 - Brad Pitt & Second Sam
• 💭 1,231 - Money Bags
• 💭 1,232 - Defend Against Evil Winter
• 💭 1,233 - Honey Breads
• 💭 1,234 - Aquatic Screw Ups
• 💭 1,235 - Lost from the Sail Crew

⚡️Lucid, ⏱Recurring, 🤣Silly

Night Farm, Universe Paint

Photo by Cody Nottingham

Dream of the Week: Night Farm, Universe Paint

Quick Setup: This dream begins far before my moment of lucidity and had taken many strange turns before arriving at the starting point below. For brevity and clarity, I’m just including the starting point of lucidity to the end. This dream also demonstrates how you can experience a dark and twisted world (borderline nightmare) even while lucid, and sometimes those experiences are the ones that stick to you the most.

I am running as fast as I can from the the back of the house with yellow blanket in my hands. I throw it on a sofa while dodging furniture and jumping over household obstacles. As I’m running, I wonder what the heck I’m doing… It occurs to me that this might just be a dream. I stop running, slowly walk out of the front door and onto a porch of what I know understand to be a farmhouse. It’s nighttime and there’s open farmland in front of me and a barn or stable kind of building nearby. I leap up and out toward the night sky from the porch to see if I can fly. I catch just the right amount of air to confirm that this is, intact, a dream! ⚡️

I land back down in a field of yellow and green grasses. I want to fly up to stars and lift off in flight toward the black sky again, hoping to get into space. Ever so faintly, I see a tiny cluster of stars and nebula that I’m approaching, but I eventually pass it. I always stays a tiny cluster in an otherwise black and starless sky. I decide to stop trying to get to space, hover for a moment, and do a back dive down to the farm. For a brief moment, I feel a super accurate sensation of zero gravity at the drop point. It’s so real! I free fall for a few moments and land back again in the same fields by the farmhouse.

I walk toward a stable-like building and it has a wide glass window with a glass table beneath the window on the outside. I stand in front of the table and window and recall one of my creative goals to “paint my hands” with “universe paint” hoping the stars and galaxies will then show up on my hands. I use my fingers as paint brushes and paint around palms. Though my hands remain unchanged, the glass in the window fills with darkness, then stars, and then nebula and galaxies as if projecting the “universe paint” before me on a display. The glass table below does the same, while also displaying the number five and parts of a quote that I can’t recall. I keep “painting” my palms and start to feel hot and tingly like electricity. A ball of light breaks away from the window and onto the table which I catch and swirl between my palms. The window and table are still displaying the “universe” with random text, though more actively animated. I rub my neck and shoulders with the ball of light because they have been sore in life and I think it might be helpful. I then call out to the night sky, “I call forth my highest dreams!” Nothing seems to happen.

Then, suddenly, a dark figure of a girl breaks through the window from the inside and crawls out toward me very much like the movie, The Ring. I am freaking out and think that I’d like to wake up now. I run away from the window and stop. I realize I should probably go back and face whatever that is. I turn around and slowly walk toward the window again.

By now, a few more figures have come into the scene. One is another girl crawling in the distance by the farmhouse. She is on her hands and knees vomiting profusely. Another is a man in his 30s or so standing by the wide glass window holding himself up, also vomiting yellow and green liquids profusely. It’s disgusting. I very hesitantly move forward toward him thinking The Ring girl is still inside and going to come out at me. Thankfully when I get close, she is gone, but the man can’t stop vomiting. I place my hand on his shoulder and say hello as if to indicate that I’m here to help. He turns his head away from me, continuing to throw up away from me seemingly both embarrassed and confused by who I am. I wake up.

Note: Lucid Nightmares can be fascinating! Face it, no matter how scary. Do you have experiences with dark lucidity?

Weekly Stats:

26 Total, 5 Lucid

• 💭 1,192 - Basketball Exclusion
• 💭 1,193 - Camper Van Directions
• 💭 1,194 - Heated Cast Commute
• 💭 1,195 - Award Ceremony Snub (Nap)
• 💭 1,196 - Street Corner Catch-up
• 💭 1,197 - Dinner Date Contest
• 🕷 1,198 - Teen Horror Game
• 💭 1,199 - Grocery Church Mashup
• 💭 1,200 - Dress Rehearsal
• ⚡️ 1,201 - Night Farm, Universe Paint
• 🤣 1,202 - Julia & Sundar
• ⚡️ 1,203 - Tunnel Puddle Jumping
• ⚡️ 1,204 - Newspaper Comics
• 💭 1,205 - Confused at the Mall
• 💭 1,206 - Bird of Paradise Rescue
• ⏱ 1,207 - In Pencil - False Keywords
• 💭 1,208 - Pink Moon
• 💭 1,209 - Fighter Crash Conspiracy
• ⚡️ 1,210 - Pool Behind the Books
• 💭 1,211 - Open Your Home
• 💭 1,212 - Agree to Help
• 💭 1,213 - Riverside Hurricane
• 💭 1,214 - Antarctica Orientation
• 💭 1,215 - Hurricane Yacht
• 💭 1,216 - Bored Wives
• ⚡️ 1,217 - Lucid False Keywords

⚡️Lucid, ⏱Recurring, 🤣Silly, 🕷Nightmare

Train Embrace

Photo by Jack Anstey

Dream of the Week: Train Embrace

I’m in a plain, mostly empty room with a man who is talking to me. I can’t recall, but it seems as though he’s an older actor. Just a few feet away on a shelf that is eye height is a small old TV playing a video of several women in a room. This is very confusing to me, so I approach the screen slowly to check it out. The video cuts to different women of different proportions. The oddity is so high that I wonder if it’s a dream. I lift my hand up to the screen and push. My fingers instantly pass through, confirming I’m dreaming! ⚡️

I am so surprised and for a moment let my fingers linger in and out of the screen feeling the cold weight of material and the lightness of the air. I continue pushing through, climbing up and into the screen, expecting be in the same room as the women once on then other side. When I cross fully into the screen, I’m in in an empty bedroom. I look around for a moment and open the blue fabric window shades to see a city in the afternoon. I decide to fly out of the window but have trouble gaining momentum. I “swim” through the air to make progress and then turn upward to fly facing the sky above my back to the ground below.

I am enjoying this silly way of flying and remember I came in here with goal of talking to my “highest self” recall my goal, hover over the city upright again and shout, “Show me my highest self!” Nothing happens. I fly a little more and do the same, “Show me my highest self!” My heart doesn’t feel totally into it, but I also can’t understand why nothing happens. I recall similar instances where nothing happens in other dreams and become frustrated (in retrospect, I wonder if I am now expecting nothing to happen).

I fly forward some more and land on a train flying through the sky. I again ask to see my highest self and a young teenage girl with dark hair comes running toward me, waving her impossibly gigantic hands at me to catch my attention. She runs and runs as fast as she can at me until we reach each other. She says nothing and give me a massive hug, squeezing me as tight as can be. She breaks the embrace, as the train tumbles down into a vertical free-fall with the two of us falling down with it. I wake up.

Lucid Goal: Asking to encounter your “highest self” in a lucid dream can yield surprising results. Have you tried this? What happened?

Weekly Stats:

22 Total, 5 Lucid

• 💭 1,170 - Platform Party Protest
• 💭 1,171 - Forest Camping Dog
• 💭 1,172 - Overprotective Merman
• 💭 1,173 - Designer Friend
• 💭 1,174 - Thrift Store Doctor
• 💭 1,175 - Offsite Mud Race
• 💭 1,176 - Plague Tower
• 💭 1,177 - Traffic Jam
• ⚡️ 1,178 - Hazy Eyes
• 💭 1,179 - The Cave Diamonds
• 💭 1,180 - Neglected Dog
• 💭 1,181 - False Dream Fishing
• 💭 1,182 - Damon and Jake
• 💭 1,183 - Vacation Coverage
• 💭 1,184 - Get Away from the Stage Door
• ⚡️ 1,185 - Instagrammers for Christmas
• ⚡️ 1,186 - Train Embrace
• ⚡️ 1,187 - Last Night in London
• 💭 1,188 - Museum Ride Horror
• 💭 1,189 - Baby Elephant Car Chase
• ⚡️ 1,190 - HH
• 💭 1,191 - Highway Pileup Replay

⚡️Lucid

Wild Nature

Photo by Ales Krivec

Dream of the Week: Wild Nature

It’s morning and I’m just waking up in bed in a white bedroom that seems like a hybrid between my current bedroom and my childhood bedroom. Morning sunlight is pouring into the room feeling happy and bright. There is something special about the vibe and I wonder if it could be a dream. I look for something with words so I can do a re-reading state check. If the words appear to change after reading and re-reading, I know I’m in. I see my Apple Watch on the window sill (ignoring, of course, that it doesn’t belong there) and inspect the face. Everything seems normal except a tiny green widget in the bottom left corner that displays the time. It first reads 8:20 and then subtly shifts through a few other times. Ah, it is a dream! ⚡️

Now lucid, I am still standing in front of the window. I open the white curtain and am overjoyed to see a beautiful clear day with an incredible view of a snowy mountain peak outside my window. The immediate surroundings have the distinct feeling of my childhood home and property, as if it were dropped in a mountainous region. I think about how amazing it would be to have this view every day. Below, the ground is covered in white fluffy snow. Just outside the window to the left is a wide rocky stream flowing down with bright blue-green water. It reminds me of Tahoe.

I open the window itself and think of flying to the peak and climb out the window prepared to fly. I seem to hover horizontally for a moment just out of the window unsure of where I will go. I launch forward but don’t get much height so I turn slightly and grab hold of the rocks from the mountain stream hanging there for a moment before climbing up.

I can see water rushing water down the river rocks from above and cascading below. I’m in awe at the beautiful clear, blue-green water against the rocks and the fluffy white snow. For a moment I consider jumping into the water and flowing down with it where it disappears into the ground. As I consider this, the water stops flowing leaving just smooth rocks below as if to invite me in. I turn and look back up to see what’s happening behind me where the water came from and the water starts flowing again. I look back down and the rocks now form a bit of a veranda overlooking the view of the mountain and the valley below. Any impression of my old house and a neighborhood is now gone, it’s pure wilderness.

I consider going to the edge of the rocky veranda to mediate, but my curiosity pulls me to keep exploring a little longer. I decide to climb further up the rocky stream. I see more snowy mountain peaks still clear and beautiful ahead. A few steps in, I come across an old, rickety ladder along the path up. I consider its texture and continue to be in awe. Just at the top of the ladder is a small white mountain goat or ram and another wild creature next to it. I look over to my left and notice a large flock of crows flying in and settling down on the rocks, gathering near me. Just beyond that, I see a few gray speckled porpoises swimming up in the rocky waters, now calm and peaceful. I’m overwhelmed. I think about talking to the animals and consider asking questions of the dream overall, but I am so struck by their presence that I just stand at the bottom of the ladder taking it all in with wonder. I don’t want to ruin this moment! And then I wake up.

ProTip: Rehearse your dreams for a better chance of going back in. This is one I’d love to go back to. What are your dream re-entry experiences?

Weekly Stats:

20 Dreams, 3 Lucid

• 💭 1,150 - Simplified Suggestion
• ⚡️ 1,151 - Wild Nature 🔥
• 💭 1,152 - Heirloom Pillow
• 💭 1,153 - Visiting Friends
• 💭 1,154 - Immersive Concert
• 🤣 1,155 - Yardley Sauce
• 💭 1,156 - On March 8th
• ⚡️ 1,157 - In the Dark
• 💭 1,158 - Dirty Cabinets
• ⚡️ 1,159 - Book Mountain
• 💭 1,160 - Sending the Dream
• 💭 1,161 - Dreamer's Cafeteria
• 💭 1,162 - Hotel Distractions
• ⏱ 1,163 - Emergency Plane Switch
• 💭 1,164 - Bathroom Fall
• 💭 1,165 - Awake or Asleep
• 💭 1,166 - Parachute Evasion
• 💭 1,167 - Ship Activities
• 💭 1,168 - Old Summer Camp
• 💭 1,169 - Late for the Test

⚡️Lucid, 🔥Top, ⏱Recurring, 🤣Silly

The Dreaming Atrium

Photo by Peter Ivey-Hansen

Dream of the Week: The Dreaming Atrium

⚡️ I am relaxed and counting my breaths when I get pulled into a lucid dream directly from just being awake, (Waking Induced Lucid Dream aka WILD). The space is a large open circular atrium hall, ornate in its details and columns. It reminds me a bit of San Francisco City Hall in some ways, though far less ornamental.

In a small corner of atrium is a small marketplace stall with a very short, brow-haired woman behind a counter selling wares. At first I think she is a child given her height, but as I approach her, she is clearly a woman in her 30s. Once I recognize her, I seem to know her as Nina and give her a hug. She is happy to see me. I ask what she has for me today. She shows me some amethysts, clear quartz, and one or two other things I don't recall.

In waking life, my partner shuffles in the bed, the dream goes black, and I wake up for just a few moments. I manage to jump right back into the same dream once asleep. Nina is still there but has some pendants for me to see. I really like one and ask her to hold it for me. I look back into the circular atrium and recall my intent to ask The Dream for help with my project.

I turn to Nina and ask her to get me a microphone. She nods and a 50s style silver mic on a stand rises up from a plant-covered fountain at the edge of the atrium. I'm delighted! I run up to the mic with excitement and confidence and say, "Help me name my dream project!"

As I wait to see what happens, I take note of how beautiful this place is. There are plants around me that seem to be growing behind and above me. I see a beautiful fresco on the ceiling, light blue in color with figures that remind me of the Italian renaissance. I touch the plants and feel the waxy texture. I'm amazed by the glorious detail!

I seem to address The Dream without words at this point. I seem to say, "I know you're here, look all this incredible detail - I didn't make this!" I seem to be suggesting that I'm disappointed in the "silence" from the dream after shouting my request.

The dream begins to go dark from the edges until it overtakes the scene completely - but it's different this time. I don't wake up at all, it's just dark like I've been shut out. It's very unusual, but only lasts a few seconds and I'm back again in the beautiful atrium. I turn to ask Nina, who again is still there, for the microphone again so that I can ask for help again. I change my mind, tell her, "Wait no. I don't need it" and fly up to the center of the atrium.

Floating half-way above the ground and ceiling in the direct center of this place, I hold my hands out, just slightly above my waist, and ask the dream again for help on naming my project - though the specific words escape me.

The darkness around the edges of the dream close in on me again and I'm so curious as to why this is happening. Again, I do not wake up, I'm just in darkness for a few seconds. I come back in and this time I seem to be in the same building, but on a staircase landing with white marble floors. A crowd of people are hurrying by as I stand there watching them. I try to ask a dream figure for help, stopping one, an old man. He is terrified of me, hides his head and runs off.

As I look to my left for people from the crowd to address, a man comes in from the center and stops before me. He has light in his eyes. He feels important. We talk for a minute and he hands me a scroll-like piece of paper. I ask him if this is the name of my project. He doesn't react.

I open the scroll and the words are unclear. I can make out, "S T I L and W I N D" with other illegible text on the page. I look up and ask him if it says, "Still Wind?" He doesn't react. I look down at the paper and it's changing again. The words are utterly nonsense. The letters and words continue to morph and shift illegibly and I become dissatisfied. I tell him that he must know that I can't read this and it will never stay still. He has no reaction to that either.

The man and I seem to have taken a seat on the steps. We talk for a little while, but I'm unable to recall the specifics - something about my brother - but not my real brother. The dream fades again but I fully wake up this time.

Watch Out: Sometimes the answers you seek from your lucid dreams are utter nonsense… and that’s part of the fun!

Weekly Stats: 20 Dreams (5 Lucid)

• 💭 1,128 - Cave Swimming
• 💭 1,129 - High School Donation Drive
• ⚡️ 1,130 - On the Rooftops*
• ⚡️ 1,131 - Sidewalk Women*
• ⚡️ 1,132 - Fantasy Event Architecture*
• ⚡️ 1,133 - The Dreaming Atrium*
• 💭 1,134 - Summer Walking
• 🤣 1,135 - Swimming Pool Car
• 💭 1,136 - Wedding Poker
• 💭 1,137 - Who's Who Deck of Cards
• 💭 1,138 - Shifting Parties
• 💭 1,139 - Crowded Apartment
• 💭 1,140 - Dangerous Way Home
• 💭 1,141 - RomCom Ending
• 💭 1,142 - Threatened in an Airbnb
• 💭 1,143 - Mountain View Afternoon
• 💭 1,144 - Euro New Business
• ⚡️ 1,145 - Through the Bath Mirror
• 💭 1,146 - New Camera Brand
• 💭 1,147 - Media Split
• 💭 1,148 - Bar Catch-up
• 💭 1,149 - Train Clean-up

⚡️Lucid, 🤣Silly, 🕷Nightmare
Galantamine taken on night with dreams marked*

June Dream Summary

In last month’s dream summary, I mentioned that I was going to pause my typical once-a-month use of Galantamine to work on my progression naturally. Which is still true! But, I have been actively working on a super-important-to-me project (getting a new name for this website, in fact) and I just could not achieve higher levels of lucid clarity to ask my dreams for help. I absolutely loved the idea of having the name of this website project come to me in a dream - one might even say I was a bit obsessed. What a cool story! But, obsession is never a good state to be in. I’d like to say that I over-focused on the task and thus blocked myself from the balance, joy, and lightness so required of quality lucid dreaming (and sleep for that matter) and ultimately blocked my creativity in the process.

In the last week of June, filled with intense desire to produce a creative name for this website with the help of my dreams, I took an 8MG dose of Galantamine on Tuesday night and thus got an end-of-month spike reflected in the data below. Without it, my numbers would have been relatively lower than previous months, given the reduction in Galantamine use. In any case, now as I go into the next three-month quarter (how my dream spreadsheets are organized), I plan to pause use completely for a new set of raw data with the goal of learning more about what activities, practices, and patterns really help me achieve lucidity naturally.

And for those wondering, my dreams gave me two names: “The Cave” in a naturally induced lucid dream which I upped to “The Great Cave” in my potential list and “Still Wind” in a Galantamine induced lucid dream. Neither of them won out.

---

1,147

All-Time Total
As of June 30, 2019
Since Jun 7, 2018

83

June Total
May - 61
April - 90

71

June Regular
May - 50
April - 71

12

June Lucid (14%)
May - 11 (18%)
April - 19 (21%)