One of the things that continually frustrates me is my inability to do two things at once. Yes, I can actually walk and chew gum at the same time – that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean being able to work on two projects at the same time. And do it successfully.
Now, I am an old-school geek. I learned how to multitask long ago. Even thought I was good at it. Working in a fast-paced tech support department taught me how to juggle many things at once. I could work on five separate support cases, answer the calls of new cases, read email, and have a game of Solitare ongoing at the same time.
None of this means I was any good at any one of these things. The fact is, I soon found myself not being able to focus on any one thing. For instance, when I would dare take a nap on weekends, I would anticipate being interrupted by the phone.
It’s difficult to relax when you’ve conditioned yourself that way. And difficult to do a singular task properly. Your focus becomes scattered.
And once I began thinking about it, I find it kinda depressing that in doing one task, I am forfeiting time I could be spending on my other projects.
But all this changed when I learned how to be in two places at once.
It happened almost by accident one evening nearly four years ago. I awoke in the night to the enchanting sound of a summer evening thunderstorm. The storm was so active with its vivid lightning and booming thunder that I didn’t want to miss it by falling asleep.
I dozed lightly for the next few minutes, trying to stay aware while lying perfectly still. At some point, I began to see familiar dream shapes begin to dance in my mind.
I was aware that I was entering a dream. And yet, I was also aware of the storm raging outside.
I was between two worlds.
As I focused on the dream, I experienced one of the most incredible events in my life: I began to dream lucidly.
Suddenly, I wasn’t being pulled along by my dream, I was directing my dream! It was as if my subconscious had handed over the steering wheel. I was in another world.
“So what?” you say. “I dream I’m in other places all the time.”
Yes, but are you your own travel agent, too?
To give an analogy (albeit a poor one), my usual dreaming was a two-dimensional picture. This dream was in 3-D!
My dream senses exploded in a mind-blowing rush of detail the likes I had never seen. I found myself climbing up steel stairs in a hallway that I knew I had INSTANTLY created. The walls had texture. My feet hit the floor with a realistic stomp. I could twist my head around and watch my dream world extend over every horizon into infinity.
I had come alive in my dreams. Until this moment, I had never known I was sleeping through them before.
The whole time I explored my dream world, I could hear my body breathing in bed, with the retreating thunder still rumbling outside my bedroom.
Eventually, I lost the delicate balance I had been keeping and woke up, a big grin spreading across my face. That night led me to many more years of lucid dream study.
Now it is so routine, I consider it one of my hobbies. I’ll be posting more on this amazing trick from time to time. In the meantime, if you’d like to read a good book on the topic, I recommend starting at the Lucid Dreaming Institute. Dr. Stephen LaBerge’s Exploring The World Of Lucid Dreaming book is also a must-read.
Now if you’ll excuse me, time for more dreaming!
