Metal Reviews

Anybody familiar with this?
I've been experimenting with lucid dreaming for the past 5-6 months, with off and on results.
I have been able to do WILD (wake induced lucid dreaming) three times, but usually it just happens on it's own. The trick is, while you are on the verge of sleep, when the images flashing across your closed eyelids morph into a full blown dream, to proclaim "I am dreaming" (that's how it works for me at least) and you find yourself in a lucid dream... it's a very conscious effort, but you are not, at the same time, conscious, you are dreaming...
the result is: you know you are dreaming, but it feels like you are wide awake (extremely realistic sensations, feel, smell, sense of being, etc., there really is no discernible difference in waking and dreaming states) but you're not, and you are fully aware that you're not (though when you awaken, you are not immediately able to tell the difference, at least that's how it is for me). You can control the dream (to some extent), for instance I once decided I am going to fly over town, and next thing, I was flying, over gabled houses, buildings, over trees, etc. It took a little effort, but not much. The feeling is hard to describe, it's like someone asking you what an LSD trip is like, but it was achingly beautiful. One dream, I was walking a cobbled path and decided (it is a deliberate decision, very clear and vivid, very concrete) to take a left onto another smaller cobbled path... next thing I turn around where the main path was and I was looking back at complete darkness beginning at about a foot away and extending as far as I could see... I turn around and it's the same in the other direction... off to the sides were shapeless forms of a very faint but distinct almost glowing purple and dark blue. I've had others, but I don't feel like sharing them as they are very personal (one involving what I thought was ego death, but really wasn't). I've become very interested in this as of late, and I had another lucid dream last night (early morning technically), it was rather Lovecraftian, but not the least bit unnerving.
One technique is to do reality checks throughout the day. This pattern over time will spill over into your subconscious and will (in theory, it works for me at any rate) result in lucid dreaming. It comes easy for me because I have always been a very vivid dreamer... I can be drinking my morning coffee and be on the cusp of sleep for quite some time and enjoy what I always called "head-o-vision".
I encourage everybody to try it, it's indescribable.

You all probably think I'm cracked

Now for the part where I sound crazy. I'm very familiar with lucid dreaming. It comes pretty easily to me actually though I don't care to share any of them. It's not a great leap from there to astral projection though there are risks involved in taking that step. Lucid dreaming is cool but the first few times it messes with your head when you wake up particularly if the dream is similar to activities you would do in your daily life.

Changed my mind I will share a personal favourite of mine. a recreation of Australia's major theme parks if they were all connected which I freely explore. that one goes as far as feeling the wind on my face when I decide to jump on the various rides.

I love it, it allows you to do things in your dreams that you could never do in waking life due to either physical constraints, space, time etc.
I've thought about delving into astral projection, not so sure I want to though.

Haha, never done it. I've had some crazy dreams though....

you guys ever done psychedelic drugs?

I've done LSD and 'shrooms a couple times... not since the late 80's though.

The hardest thing I touch these days is a good brew and I never (well very rarely) exceed two (just a principle of mine, also two provides just the right head change), occasionally a glass of whisky.

Yeah I smoked that salvia shit a few times and did shrooms when I was 18...I was pretty crazy after the shroom trip for a while, lol.

I just drink beer now, once in a while if someone has some bud i'll smoke it. I smoked weed a lot towards the end of high school and early on in college.

Alcohol is my only vice and I don't drink often. Aiming to be an elite cyclist sort of limits your opportunities to partake of those pleasures. One day I probably will try weed but that's as far as I would go.

Astral projection can be cool it's a different experience again to lucid dreaming. Like I said there are risks but going into them will make me sound crazy (or crazier at any rate).

how old are you?

25, fortunately this isn't an issue for the vision impaired as tandem cyclists tend to peak later and/or have longer careers in the sport. I've got a good 15-20 years left in me yet.

Cool, good luck with your sport.

A friend from high school was really into figuring it out. Not really my thing.

sounds awesome. what kind of reality checks did you do? is it like the totems in Inception, or something?

i've been told it helps to write down your dreams, in as much detail as possible. patterns could emerge that would help you identify clear signs that you are dreaming.

on psychedelics, i would like to try mushrooms and LSD, for sure. i tried ayahuasca and it was very profound, although i wouldn't ever suggest that for recreational use.

btw:
http://www.amazingsuperpowers.com/comic ... Flying.jpg
(would just post the image but at least on my browser it's messing with the forum formatting)

I never write down my dreams, I've never had trouble remembering my dreams.
Regarding reality checks:

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/ ... hecks.html

Same goes here though sometimes I wish I could forget them.

I had a couple very good experiences with mushrooms in an environment with fun people and readily available pot in college. Watching a snowstorm while on them was surreal. My final experience I decided to branch off more on my own, save my annoying roommate, and that experience quickly went bad. Thus never wanting to try them again.

This lucid dreaming thread has been a fascinating read, so thanks for that guys. I'm aware I'm dreaming 90% of the time during normal dreams, which apparently is unusual.

shrooms had a very strong affect on me...

I often find myself intrigued when people talk about their experiences on drugs. Not the real hardcore stuff like heroin I've got no interest whatsoever in that. The less serious stuff though kind of interests me.

As for being aware that you're dreaming that often yeah very weird. I'm very rarely aware that I'm dreaming outside of lucid dreams. My dreams all tend to be extremely vivid though and often very realistic to the point where I regularly wake up and take a little time to realise it was just a dream.

Used to be really good at it. Now that I've figured out most of the secrets of life, I don't really care anymore. I don't even do drugs anymore because there is nothing to be discovered at this point.

I used to have the dream that it was the last day of school up until about 6 months ago. Now I feel like I know why.

Just living out the days, soaking up whatever experiences I can until the next life happens. I feel like whatever I as supposed to experience or learn here has been done and I want to move on to the next thing as soon as possible, naturally of course.

Occasionally I'll have a dream that offers a tiny new insight. I'm fairly sure I know it's a dream when I'm dreaming but choose not to interfere with it. I would rather screw with reality, but even that tends to leave a sort of apathy in it's wake. I like the perceptions of dreaming and don't want to make the dreaming linear and dtstic like life is, so even when I know I'm dreaming, I do not break the fourth wall.

You sure you're off the drugs mate?

Yeah.

I just had a strange dream. I am in an arcade in 2001 at my current age and I meet a kid who is about 15 that is really into metal. I recognize him and we hang out and drink beers. I must actually be in my 15 year old body but have the memories of my future self actually. We watch Jackass on TV. I play some music for him from my phone. Odd, because I don't keep music on my phone. He really likes it. I pull up a video of the guy who made the music and it turns out to be him when he's 30 and the kid starts crying (hard to tell if it's joyful tears or the realization he will be older one day) and saying he can't handle this. It's weird. The same guy I'm hanging out with with is shown a video of himself drinking shots and talking about making the record and he's got longer hair and a short beard. I wake up.

I can't tell if him meeting the time traveler that was me prevents or causes the future timeline where he's a musician.

My point being that I knew I was dreaming while it was going on, but did not say to myself...ohhh, it's a dream. Let's blow something up. Because then the dream can't offer any insight that way.

I used to dream of being chased by what could be regarded as Bowser from Mario;s games. And I used to realize it was a dream and jump off the platform and die and immediately wake up.

Astral travel is fairly easy. Just before you fall asleep you start to lose consciousness, but you can see...not in colors, but everything is a neon black (yes, like nevermore said) you just start moving around the room you are in. I forget how to fly in this state, so I never go anywhere, seeing the futility of leaving the room and wandering around in the street.