As some of you know, I've been working on bringing the greatest lucid-dream-induction-supplement to the market for a long time now. That search has had its twists and turns, leading me first to non-lucid-dream formulas which support "Lucid Living" - general daytime cognitive enhancement. The perfect nootropic aid for waking up in your dreams seemed to be as elusive as lucid dreaming itself.
I am going to describe my first lucid dream of 2014 - which I had on the morning of January 1st, plus commentary - but first a few words about why anyone should care about this site or what I have to say: I am not what you may call a "natural" lucid dreamer. Because of the wide variation of genotypes and phenotypes, some people are simply naturally gifted at lucid dreaming. If I hear someone say that they always lucid dream I am inclined to think a few things: 1. They probably are confusing vivid dreaming for lucid dreaming, or 2. This person is prone to exaggeration or straight-up lying, or 3. Maybe, just maybe, this person has one of those rare physiologies and they really do lucid dream all the time. To continue with this stream of thought, if someone says that they were regularly able to lucid dream as a young teenager, my default thinking is that they have faulty memories around this or that they are - again - naturally talented at lucid dreaming (the Dorso-Laterl-Prefrontal-Cortex, necessary for lucid dreaming, is not well developed until the 20's). Myself? I have always been fascinated by dreaming. I began keeping dream journals early in life and my recall of dreams is probably better than most. This is because I pay attention to my dreams. But, like the majority of people, realizing that I am in a dream does not come for "free." And, contrary to what you may expect, lucid dreaming does not get easier to induce the longer you have been practicing. Because dreams are not supposed to be realized as dream-simulations while they are occurring, even veteran lucid dreamers are likely to be tricked by most of their dreams, believing that what is happening during sleep is happening in waking reality. Dreams do perform a function, and that function is circumvented when we realize that our nightly adventures are not "real." This is fine, and dreaming does not play as critical of a role in the modern environment as it did in our ancestors' lives. So don't worry about lucid dreaming being dangerous. However, many people find lucid dream induction difficult, and increasingly so as we age past the 20's and settle into predictable patterns of living - the mind slows down somewhat and the anxiety of not having "tested your mettle" may subside. This is all fine, because with the right techniques almost anyone can lucid dream on occasion. So, without further ado, I will share my first lucid dream of 2014 and afterwards share more thoughts... A woman is visiting our home and before she comes in my bedroom I frantically and rapidly want to hide some pot plants I have growing in here. I am re-arranging things and pushing furniture and items around and under a loft bed to hide the plants but also to make the mess more organized. The plants turn out to be easy to camouflage/hide - there are just a few and they are small. I begin to vacuum, including outside of the bedroom. I'm vacuuming the kitchen, the floor is filthy with sandy grit; I wonder how much the vacuum can take. I notice that the clocks in here all have different times on them.It dawns on me that the reason the clocks have the wrong time may be because I'm in a dream. I doubt this at first because everything seems real and normal. I look at a digital clock on the dining-room table. Immediately it seems that this is likely the wrong time, but that in itself isn't enough proof. I look away, and back, twice, and each time the numbers change. This is a dream. OK. Stay calm. What to do? Nothing better comes to mind so I fly through a closed window. I'm making altitude with good control, at first keeping both arms to my side, then putting them in front of me as my control wanes. I see a tall, steeple-topped building in the distance - this looks looks familiar either from waking or dream-life. Clearing the top of the building is going to be close, but I trust that I can either accomplish this or go through it. I clear it, barely. The sky is grey and cloudy in the distance. I want to see blue sky. I will the clouds to to break-up, saying BLUE SKY NOW! I have a tinge of doubt that I can accomplish this, but while flying keep trying to will it and repeat the phrase, and the grey clouding does begin to separate and reveal the blue sky behind it. [At some point earlier] I say something like LUCIDITY NOW! or INCREASE LUCIDITY! as a stability mantra. I wake up in bed in my dark bedroom, happy of my lucidity success. I look at the digital clock above the mirror - where it always is - it says 1:20. I think this is too early to be right. That can't be the correct time. I see my wife standing next to the bed near the walk-in closet. Wait, that's another woman! An old flame, only more beautiful. I'm still dreaming! Must have been a false awakening. She goes into the closet and I follow here. She is naked and she has tattoos on her. I large tattoo covering her whole back is of the Luciminal logo [the 32nd hexagram of the i-ching]. I wonder if she always had that tattoo. We begin to kiss and I ask her if she wants to have sex...[the rest is for me, not you]. This is a great dream for discussion because it covers so many basics. The first thing I want you to know is that I had not had a lucid dream for a while before this. Life is about cycles and phases, and for stretches of time my life is not conducive to achieving lucidity. However, when I want to have a lucid dream, I can the proper techniques together and induce one within a few days. Well, that's not exactly true - if everything else is aligned (dream journaling, no REM-inhibiting chemicals, proper sleep-cycling), I can take Galantamine and lucid dream right away. The problem with Galantamine is that like many people I am very sensitive to it, and it can be very hard to fall back to sleep after ingestion. And if I do take enough for lucid dream induction, and I can fall back to sleep with the Galantamine in my system, I always wake up with a terrible headache that can last for a good portion of the day. It's a kind of a steep price to pay. I have been experimenting with various formulas containing Galantamine, to maximize the benefits and ameliorate the less desirable side-effects. My friends and myself have been trying out these formulas, and I think I got it! But don't think a pill is all you need for inducing lucid dreams. Let me fill-in my holistic approach by commenting on the above dream:
Alright. That's a lot of information for one article. Let me know if you have any questions or comments by hitting one of the "contact" links. |