"A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, they can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can be extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream."
This is a phenomenon that I've been infatuated with from a young age. Lucid Dreaming was a state I had constantly wished to achieve, but rarely succeeded in. Those elusive moments had mostly occurred in my overtly-hormonally charged middle school years. As a result, I've wasted the state on dream sex, with no backstory, and no fully-intensive world to go along with it. The later occasions where I have reached this state can be summarized in one phrase, "Too little too late.", as I had woke up shortly after my awareness during the dream. Eventually, I had began to care less and less for this state, and it had been become an afterthought in my mind.
If that is the case, then why do I even bother recollecting these rare events? As it turns out, this state has become increasingly accessible to me. In my sleep, I have been creating this complex, intricate world that I have become absolutely enamored with. This is a world with technologies not unlike our own, however they are assembled with cogs, clockwork, and brass. A bizarre fusion of the 21st century and the 19th, where the regal ships of Britain's great navy rule the sky rather than the sea. And I, Sam Vigil, am not a directionless high school graduate, but a swashbuckler among the clouds, re-appropriating goods owned by the tyrannical overlords to distribute among the poor. It's a world that is filled with adventure, where I have no responsibilities or expectations thrust upon me, yet I have some sort of a purpose. This idyllic place that lies in my mind has remained my awaited destination throughout the day for the past week or so, but my infatuation for it has left me increasingly unsettled.
I've come to believe that my recent developments in the world of lucid dreaming is a direct result of my fears of the future. I currently have no direction, and as the days go on I've been becoming increasingly terrified for what lies ahead. Because of this, my recent lucidity may seem like the perfect outlet, but I'm afraid that it will spoil actual life for me. At first, I could go lucid without a thought, because it seemed like fun. Now, it feels like it has been becoming mindless escapism, no different than drug use or drinking. A defense mechanism to keep my eyes averted from the real world. I feel tethered to this romantic steampunk world, a place where my fears and inadequacies vanish.
My final summation; my point?
None, this is just a bizarre rant of my thoughts, fears, and experiences with lucid dreaming. It may have stopped abruptly, but it's also where my train of thought had ended.
I might be able to explain this better to you via conversation, which is always welcome
AIM: Remi Leopold
If you're interested that is.