wayne on June 10, 2008
Just a quickie that I thought would be fun to write about. I had an experience when I was younger where I was dreaming, but was wide awake. It wasn't until years later when I explored the worlds religions that I realized that I had a lucid dream.
When I was a teen, I kept a journal of my dreams. I had a notebook and pen on the nightstand and when I would wake from a dream, I would do a quick write up on it. Enough to jog my memory so later on, when I was more awake, I would fill in the blanks.
This quickly became drawing pictures and rough sketches. The imagery seemed to work better for me and I quit writing in favor of crude pictures. They were easier and worked well to help me recall the dream in more detail.
After doing this for a few weeks, perhaps a month, I finally woke up in my dream, and remained dreaming. What happened next has yet to happen again to me.
The Dream
This is about 20 years ago at this point in my life, so I don't recall very many specifics prior to the moment I became awake while dreaming. What I recall however is a long, well lit hall, basically white in color with lights. The hall went on and on, much like the hallway in the Matrix, but all white. Keep in mind, this is prior to the matrix movies, so there wasn't an influence there. Perhaps it came from somewhere else.
I began to realize I was dreaming. It was incredible! I'm awake in a dream! I became so incredibly excited that I'm sure my heart was racing. A hallway like this was so extraordinary that I believe it was my disbelief in such a hall that made me conscious.
I remember deciding that going either direction in the hallway was going to be pointless, so I turned to a door, grabbed the handle and turned it and pushed to open it wide.
There was the brightest light that completely engulfed everything. I saw nothing more beyond that. I became so filled with excitement that I woke myself from the dream.
Reflections on my lucid dream
I haven't had a dream like that since this one. I believe that if I start to journal my dreams again, perhaps I could bring it around again. But to journal your dreams means staying up a bit after having the dream. And while it may be fun to try to do this again, I think I'd much rather sleep at night without interruption. :)
I've analyzed it over the years. What really happened in my head? In that dream, in that other world I astral projected to? etcetera. I also looked at religious angles as well, being a white light and all that. I've decided the most probable answer is that it was all in my head and a pretty neat experience overall. Simple as that, no further analysis required.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I chose a different door. Would it be the same, or something else entirely? I'll never know for sure. I think the only reason I wonder is due to CS Lewis', The Magicians Nephew. My doors to his pools of water, maybe? Yeah...it's a stretch perhaps.
Want to Achieve Lucidity?
I'm by no means a guru on this, but if you want to do this yourself, I say keep a journal of your dreams. There are probably other benefits as well, but doing so will enable you to remember your dreams better. The idea here is that the more you remember your dreams, the more likely you will realize that you are dreaming and become conscience of being in a dream state. Remaining calm, I understand, is key to the longevity of the experience. I flew off the handle and became so excited about doing it that I killed it and woke up. Lol
If you want to dig deeper into lucid dreaming, simply Google lucid dreams it.
