Blundering through the Dark

image from www.markmallett.com

This morning I awoke from dreaming of a great battle scene in the desert. Since morning is prime lucid dreaming time, I decided to take hold of the imagery already present, and slip into a lucid dream. (I've recently learned this is called a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD), and occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.)

I took the hand of the figure in my dream, the Lord of Death, so-called for his leadership skill in battle, and led him through a small, cool room. He wore wrist cuffs and held a shield. I was just about to engage him in conversation when a waking life noise occurred that brought me back to my own bed. When I woke up this time, I knew there was no getting back into the dream. However, I lie in bed and thought of the best course of action I could have taken given this scenario, and what to remember when faced with other scenes that seemingly have little to do with lucid dream conservation.

When meeting with this great battle strategist, I could have presented my case as a "war on climate change" and asked for his advice on how to win the battle. In my very first restoration-focused lucid dream, when I saw a woman walking three polar bears, I could have asked for new solutions to help polar bears thrive. When no connections seem apparent, as in the dream Taking the Backseat, I could have simply asked the woman in my dream why I keep dreaming of subdivisions, and what they have to do with lucid dream conservation.

What I have come away with so far are the following suggestions. (My Western mind loves lists.):

• Have a plan. (Mine is the Lucid Dream Conservation Project.)
• Engage your lucid dream environment, rather than usurping it to suit your plan.
• Be creative with how to make connections between the dreamscape presented to you and your plan.
• Connect with nature in waking life to recalibrate the senses and remain grounded.
  

Please bear in mind that I am very ignorant on the subject of lucid dreaming; I realize that probably none of this is new. I revel in the discoveries I'm making for myself, and enjoy puzzling out solutions for a better Earth within the dreamscape. However, I've just ordered Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self by Robert Waggoner, Entering the Circle by Olga Kharitidi, and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge so that I can study up, stand on the shoulders of the pioneers in this field, and quit blundering through the dark by myself.