Dream 524 (LUCID DREAM)

'Playing With Guns'

Dream date:  6 December 2015 (Day 6 of Lucid December - Lucid Dream Success!)

This is Day 6 of Lucid December, where I attempt to induce as many lucid dreams as possible using various induction techniques, described below. This is the first LUCID DREAM that I have managed to induce during the Lucid December Challenge!

Scene 1: A Bus Stop, Location Unknown - Evening
I was at a bus stop. It was evening and the light was dim. There were a number of people at the bus stop, which was not in a location I recognise from real-life, but it seemed to be in a suburban areas. There was a low wall next to the bus stop, with some green hedges/bushes on the other side. We (the people waiting for the bus) were standing on the pavement. There were a number of First buses (the buses which operate in my local area) and I became aware that I was waiting for the Number 25 bus, which indicated that I thought I might be in Norwich. 

I then saw some yellow buses, and became confused, as it seemed that the yellow buses were now operating on the route I was trying to travel, but the information on the top of the bus didn't have my destination or the correct number. Everyone else at the bus stop also seemed confused. There was a young white female dream character, with a baby's pram (white). I - and other dream characters attempted to flag down one of the yellow buses, which were gathered at the end of the road, blocking traffic. One of the yellow buses approached, and drove straight into the baby's pram. I felt guilty as I wondered if me trying to flag the bus down had caused this accident. However, it seemed the female and her baby were unharmed by the incident. We started to board the bus. 

Scene 2: On a Bus, Location Unknown - Evening
On the bus, I paid my fare, and the bus driver gave me a piece of paper with a mobile phone number written on it. I was told by the bus driver (a mature, white male dream character) that I had to call this number to make the bus work. I was the last passenger to board the bus and sat down at the front. I took out my mobile phone, but then decided that it was odd that I should be required to make a call for the bus to operate, and chose to not do so. The bus drove off anyway. 

My friend, RD, was seated in the seat behind me. He got my attention. I showed him the mobile phone number and he said I should throw it away, which I did. I then realised that I was holding a gun. Th gun was a semi-automatic combat pistol - like a glock or a Smith and Wesson (I am no gun expert, so bear with me on this). I thought to myself: 'At least it's not that useless .22 self defence gun this time!' This triggered me to instantly become lucid - there was no need for me to perform a reality check as I was certain. I put the gun on my lap and started to rub my hands together to stabilise the lucid dream. RD said: 'Why are you rubbing your hands?' to which I responded: 'This is a lucid dream!' I expected him to deny this or argue that it wasn't a lucid dream (as dream characters sometimes tend to do when confronted with this), but he said: 'That means we can get away with anything!' This made me realise RD was the best friend of mine to have in the lucid experience. 

Scene 3: Beside a Canal, Location Unknown - Day
RD and I got off the bus - we were standing beside a canal, and now it looked much more like daylight. The banks of the canal were concrete and the vicinity was much like a normal rural environment, with some buildings and trees. I realised the gun had no external safety, and checked to see if it was loaded - there was a full clip. I was quite surprised that I knew how to handle a gun - I sort of remembered how to handle it based on watching movies, but it all came quite naturally to me and I felt confident. 

I wanted to put the gun somewhere until we got to a place where it would be OK to shoot it (I could see dream characters walking along the canal). RD said: 'Don't shoot here, let's go somewhere more private' and I agreed that this was the best plan. I put the gun in my waistband - I realised I was wearing grey tracksuit bottoms. I wondered if this was a good idea, given it was loaded and had no safety. I thought I might accidentally shoot myself in the thigh or vagina. I considered whether I could put the gun in my sock, but then saw that it would not fit as I was wearing high-top Nike trainers with short socks. I kept the gun in my waistband, but was walking carefully so as not to accidentally fire it. 

Scene 4: A Courtyard/Apartment Buildings, Location Unknown - Night
RD and I ended up in a grassy courtyard in the centre of some blocks of flats/apartments, which were arranged in a square. It was dark - night had fallen suddenly. I decided to bring some other friends into my dream - DL and RBA. DL could not be summonsed. RBA (whose name was spelled wrong on my mobile phone - Facebook Messenger app) told me that he was too busy to come and fire guns with us. I was aware that there was a resident of the flats watching us from a ground floor window. RD said: 'We could shoot him if you want?' but I saw that this was a father (there were two children visible at the window, which I noticed when I focused my attention on the man - a young girl and boy). I had to keep rubbing my hands together to stabilise the dream, in fear that I would wake up prematurely, but the dream seemed stable, with good clarity and a reasonable amount of control. I started to fire the gun into the grass (so that the bullets did not got stray and hit RD). This was so fun! I loved firing a semi-automatic gun! I woke up.

TIME: 03:00 - 10:00 hours (this dream took place just before I woke up)

LUCIDITY: YES!

• Spontaneous lucidity triggered by dreamsign (remembering a previous dream which made me aware I must be dreaming again) - DILD (Dream-Initiated/Induced Lucid Dream)
• No reality checks within the dream
• Lucidity seemed to last for approximately 50 - 60% of the overall dream (around 10 minutes out of a 20 minute dream)
• Good stability and clarity
• Reasonable control

SPECIAL NOTES: 

• Cognitive induction techniques, adapted from the MILD Technique & Tholey's Combined Technique to induce a DILD (Dream-Initiate/Induced Lucid Dream) - critical reflection (in conjunction with reality checking - see below); intention; auto-suggestion; affirmations before sleep and during WB2B - 10 minutes prior to sleep; 10 minutes during WB2B 
• Reality checks (target: 15 - 20 a day); actual: 13 (moderate-good)
• Wake Back to Bed Method (WB2B) - sleep for approximately 5 - 6 hours (to attain all necessary deep sleep; or where sleep deprived, wake naturally without an alarm), wake for 10 - 15 minutes; perform cognitive techniques; sleep for a further 45 - 90 minutes, during which I will hopefully be in the 'best' REM stage of the sleep cycle for lucid dreaming - this dream took place during my 'main sleep' of 7 bours, so no WB2B used here
• Potential REM Rebound Effect from cannabis smoked the day before this dream
• 100 mg of 'lucid dream supplement' Vitamin B6 (2 x 50 mg pills, taken at midday and just before sleep)

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• The appearance of the bus and the action of the bus driving straight into the baby's pram, although no harm was caused
• I had possession of a gun
• Within this dream, I clearly remembered a previous dream and recognised that this was a dreamsign - lucidity was triggered! Note that the dream I actually 'remembered' within this dream was actually a false awakening/lucid dream! You can read this dream by clicking on this red link, which will open in a separate window - Dream 515 ('Useless Weapons')

Recurrent Dream Themes

• Guns

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• A couple of days before this dream, I had been discussing an incident which happened approximately 2 weeks ago (with some of the students I teach) - a Number 25 bus had run down a pedestrian on Castle Meadow, leading to a diversion of the route and massive police presence in the area - note that this bus stop (where the accident took place), is also a stop for the yellow buses which travel out of the city into the more rural areas, including Sheringham which is the final destination
• The day of this dream I had used a Number 25 First Bus and the driver (a mature white male) recognised me from the previous evening, when I used his bus
• In my previous Dream Journal Report, I had referred to RD, because there was some Day Residue involving him which had possibly influenced that dream
• The day before this dream I had been discussing armed police with the students I teach

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I am so excited that I had a lucid dream early on in my Lucid December Challenge - this is very hopeful. The dream was very vivid before lucidity was triggered, and the means by which it was triggered (remembering a previous dream, which acted as a dreamsign) was interesting and mentally empowering. I was also incredibly pleased that this dream had good stability, clarity and reasonable levels of control, as well as a compliant dream character friend to share the experience with me! I woke up feeling really positive and stimulated by this dream!