Dream 535

'Genetic Defects'

Dream date:  20 December 2015 (Day 20 of Lucid December)

This is Day 20 of Lucid December, where I attempt to induce as many lucid dreams as possible using various induction techniques, described below.

Scene 1: An Interior - Time Unknown
I was in an interior scene. I am not sure where it was, but it seemed like a small empty office and was quite dark inside. There was 2 females with me - one may have been my mum, the other was an unknown dream character who was a business investor. I was there to demonstrate a business plan which I wanted investment in, to take it to market. My idea seemed to be to sell makeup with sandwiches. I had some makeup and some pre-made sandwiches in a plastic box. I was telling the female businesswoman about Boots - the fact that they sold both makeup and sandwiches in the same store meant that this was a workable idea. In the dream Boots was only a small company - not the huge British brand it actually is. I kept repeating my business plan to reiterate my point to the businesswoman, but she seemed sceptical. I then realised that I had the wrong makeup brush to apply foundation with - I am not sure what kind of makeup brush it was, but I know I wanted a 'stippling brush' which would give a light, buffed-in finish. 

Scene 2: A University Classroom - Day
I was in a lecture theatre - I was at the front and someone (a dream character who I cannot recall) was standing next to me, telling me that I had to teach the class. It was a large class - they were sat at rows of desks facing the stage, on which I was standing. I felt that this class was too big for a beginner teacher like me to handle. I noticed that all the students were facing the back of the room, rather than looking at me. I could not get their attention.

Scene 3: Outside - Day
I then found myself outside - I am not sure where it was, but it was sunny. I was walking along a line of people, when I saw EB. I wanted to avoid him, but just as I tried to walk past him without him seeing me, he turned and saw me. He started to say something and I was hoping that he would not bring up the reasons why we are no longer friends (in real-life). However, he said something about 'Skeletor' from The Adventures of He-Man. I cannot recall exactly what he said, but it involved me 'remembering when' something happened, or 'not forgetting' something - it seemed to make sense in the dream. I agreed with EB so that I could make a sharp exit and not have to converse with him further.

Scene 4: A Family Home - Day
I then found myself in a family home - it was the house of a man, his partner and their 2 children. The mother was out and I was left with the father. He told me that the mother no longer lived in the house with him, she just came to drop the children off there so that he could look after them while she worked. The children were both very young - about 2 or 3 years of age. I could not see the children at this stage. The father (I am not sure of his age - he was an average looking young white male with brown hair) indicated that he was in love with me and wanted to start a relationship. I was hesitant because of his family situation. He was trying to convince me that it would be a good idea. We decided to go out to the back garden, which had a lush green lawn. I could tell at this stage, that the house was a 'new build' in a small estate in a countryside area, which felt like it was in Norfolk (my home county). It felt a lot like a house my uncle and aunt used to live in many many years ago before my cousins were born (in Briston, Norfolk). The father and I sat on the grass, quite close to the wall of the house. It was hot and sunny. Through the patio doors, his former partner (the mother) came, carrying his 2 children. She was young, blonde and very pretty. At first I felt anxious, but she didn't seem to mind me being there. She put the 2 children down on the rug me and the father were sitting on. She said something to her ex-partner and then left. I noticed that the 2 children were both boys. One of them had no limbs - only stumps (like a Thalidomide baby) and the other had no internal organs and was terminally ill, although he seemed to be able to sit up and move around a bit. The child with no internal organs was dressed in yellow and orange - this was all I can recall about how he looked. The father asked me if I wanted to have a baby with him. I said that I did not - I did not know him well enough. He said: 'I need to tell you that I have a genetic disorder so all my children are incomplete'. I felt worried and uneasy discussing this with him. I felt shame, because I was starting to really like him, but I did not want children with him because of his genetic disorder (which did not seem to affect him, only his offspring). 

TIME: 02:30 - 10:00 hours (I am not sure when this dream took place - no WB2B)

LUCIDITY: NONEThe fat

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: 7 (poor)
• 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 - no WB2B performed
• Potential REM Rebound Effect from cannabis smoked recently
• 100 mg of 'lucid dream supplement' Vitamin B6 (2 x 50 mg pills, taken at midday and just before sleep)

Dream Information:

• I fell out with my former best friend, EB, a year ago and have avoided speaking to him since - sometimes he tries to message me on Facebook

Dreamsigns:

• Boots was a small company
• The 2 children

Recurrent Dream Themes

• Classrooms/teaching

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• I had been watching The Apprentice - business candidates competing for investment in their business plan
• I had mentioned the contract law case of Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists (Southern) Ltd [1953] EWCA Civ 6 in a recent conversation with a friend online a day or so before this dream
• I had been watching Pixiwoo (Samantha Chapman and Nic Haste) makeup tutorials on Youtube just before I went to sleep and had this dream
• I recently attended a class as part of a teaching course I am undertaking - How to Give an Effective Lecture
• I was in the city with my mum and nan when I saw MS - someone I had a brief relationship with - at the bus stop waiting for the same bus my mum and nan were getting. I tried to walk past him without him noticing me, but my nan called my name, drawing attention to me, MS - like EB - has ginger hair and they are a similar height and build
• A couple of days before this dream I saw 2 (separate) references on Facebook - one about Skeletor and one about He-Man
• The day before this dream I was listening to Karl Pilkington on XFM's The Ricky Gervais Show (from early 2000s) and Karl was inaccurately recounting a story of a baby born without a brain (a baby was in fact born without a brain, but Karl referred to him as a 'little man')

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I woke up thinking that this was a  strange and complex dream. I did feel guilty about the way the 'dream me' reacted to the idea of willingly having disabled children - in the dream it was something that I wanted to avoid at all costs and I was happy to sacrifice a relationship with the 'father' character (who I felt very positive about in the dream) so as to avoid having a deformed or unwell child with him. This is not a very good attitude - I cannot say that I feel any more confident or happy about the prospect of having a real-life baby with health complaints or disability, but it was the idea that in the dream it would be inevitable and a chosen act which made me feel reluctant to enter into the relationship.