Dream 517 (LUCID DREAM)

'Confronting Racism'

Dream date: 24 November 2015

Scene 1: My Nan's House, Sheringham - Time Unknown
I think I was in my nan's house, as later, I was with the same dream characters and it was very clear that this was the location. However, at the start of this dream, I could only really see the dream characters and a sofa, so it was not possible to ascertain the exact location. 

I was with my mum, nan, cousin HM and other members of my family. I was accusing my cousin of letting her husband post Islamophobic content on their shared Facebook profile. I was screaming angrily, stating that this was having an indirect effect on me, as the paternal side of my family are Middle Eastern Muslims and my cousin should have been more sensitive to this fact. I was appealing to my nan to resolve the problem, but she was saying that there was nothing she could do. HM slumped down on the sofa (which was to my left side) and started crying. Her face was very red. She was not saying anything. I had the impression that she looked like her younger, childhood self. I continued to scream at my cousin, telling her that she should be more sensitive to her family. I had an image in my head of a pile of dead bodies, which I 'knew' had been posted by her husband and this sickened me.

I then stepped away and found myself standing beside the armchair which is next to the kitchen door in my nan's living-room. Suddenly, I became spontaneously lucid, without a reality check. The feeling was overwhelming. I was aware that my family members were still nearby, but I did not look in their direction for fear of becoming distracted. I started rubbing my hands together, to stablise the lucid dream. Everything was very bright and very clear. 

I decided to bring my friend RBA into the dream and visualised this. I saw that there was a larger than usual gap between the armchair and the wall and RBA was crouched down in this space. I said his name and he said something (I cannot recall what). I noticed that he did not have a Scottish accent and when he looked at me, he looked different - I cannot say what, as his skin/hair colour was same as usual, but there was just something different about his face. He was wearing a white tracksuit. As soon as I noticed he looked and sounded different, he changed - and began to look exactly as he does in real-life. I said: 'Get up' and he said: 'I can't' (in a Scottish accent - his real-life voice). I said: 'You can, because this is my lucid dream and I control it' to which he replied: 'It's out of control now'. I lost lucidity instantly as he said this.

Scene 2: A Random Bedroom - Time Unknown
I was in a random bedroom which I do not recognise from real-life. EB was there, with two other adult male dream characters - his friends in the dream, who I did not recognise or know. They were sitting cross-legged on a bed, looking at A4-sized photographs of a pregnant woman. They were discussing abortion. I cannot recall exactly what they were saying, but I was repulsed by their insensitive comments and I wanted to get away from them as quickly as possible. I cannot recall what else happened in this scene, although I am aware that there was more interaction with EB. He had a smiling, creepy look on his face and was turning his neck to face me, which indicated I was standing to his side or behind him.

Scene 3: My Bedroom in Norwich - Time Unknown
I was looking at my laptop and was aware that the right hinge which connects the screen to the keyboard had broken and the screen was partly hanging off. I was annoyed as this meant that I had to pay to get my laptop fixed and I did not want to.

TIME: 03:00 - 10:00 hours (I am not sure when this dream took place)

LUCIDITY: YES 

LUCIDITY: Fully Lucid via DILD (Dream Initiated/Induced Lucid Dream)

• Spontaneous DILD, no induction technique/method used
• No dreamsign to trigger
• No reality check performed
• Moderate to strong lucidity/clarity
• Good stability at the start as a result of dream stabilisation techniques (hand rubbing)
• Good control at the start (bringing specific dream character into the dream; recognising that there were discrepancies between dream character and real-life person and altering the dream version to match my real-life knowledge/expectations)
• Lucidity lasted approximately 1 - 2 minutes

SPECIAL NOTES: NONE OF NOTE

Dream Information:

• HM's husband is in the British Army and I know that he posts about disliking Islam as a result of the current terror threat and his service in Afghanistan. I do not like calling out my family members for behaviour which I would term racist or discriminatory, but (1) There is extremely little possibility either HM or her husband are reading this Blog as they are not particularly interested in my dream work; and (2) If he does not stand by his comments when confronted with opposition then he should not make them publicly. I am the only mixed-race person in my family and I find it highly offensive that various members have expressed views which are hostile to Muslims/persons of colour, given I am their relative, the paternal side of my family are Muslims living in the Middle East and my own father was an immigrant. I have expressed my upset about these issues to my mum and my nan, who are sympathetic, but cannot (and should not) try to censor other family members. This is not a political rant, but I need to set the context for this dream
• EB is my former best friend, but I no longer speak to him as a result of a personal grievance I have with him

Dreamsigns:

• My cousin appeared to be her childhood self, despite the fact that she was married in the dream

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• My family as dream characters
• Broken laptop

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• There is a lot of Islamophobia on social media as a result of ISIS and the current terror threat/immigration issue/war in the Middle East
• I randomly saw EB in the city about a week prior to this dream and purposefully avoided him so as not to have to engage in an awkward conversation
• The day before this dream I saw a Facebook friend posting a status asking where they could get a replacement screen for their broken laptop

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
This dream was so frustrating to me, like my last lucid dream (Dream 515), but actually more so, as on this occasion not only did I properly stabilise the dream, but I was also able to control it, which was very encouraging. I was so annoyed that the lucidity faded as soon as I began to communicate with RBA, as it had been so easy to bring him into the dream that I had hopes that this would have led to an exciting dream experience. I feel that this dream was so political in nature as a result of being exposed to various debates and hot topics posted in both the traditional media and social media i.e. immigration/terrorism/attitudes towards Islam; and also the pro-life v pro-choice issue. Therefore, this dream seemed quite significant to me upon waking.

* I have forgotten various elements of this dream - in particular from Scene 2 onwards. If I recall them, I will record them below.