Dear Robert,
Tonight I had my second induced lucid dream in three days (and the fourth lucid dream since May 27).
I woke up at seven in the morning and decided to apply the WILD technique described in your book “Lucid Dreaming, Plain and Simple” (which I’m reading at the moment after finishing “Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self”). I started counting: “One, I’m dreaming, two, I’m dreaming, three, I’m dreaming”.
A short time later, I was standing in front of a small garden pond. The pond soon turned into a small indoor pool (a kind of jacuzzi) in a mansion. I began to manipulate the water, making movements with my hands, raising the water through the air, completely emptying the jacuzzi, then filling it again with the “magic movements” of my hands. The water was obeying me, as if it was part of me.
Suddenly, I realized: “Wait! If I’m manipulating the water like this, it is because the WILD technique worked. I’m dreaming!”
I decided to do a reality check. Beside the jacuzzi, there were two packets of Ruffles chips. I made them float through the air to my hands. It was true. I was dreaming!
I was elated. I saw that there was a door leading to a garden. I decided to fly (I had flown in previous dreams, an incredible experience). I ran euphorically to the door and jumped into the air. Suddenly, my dream collapsed, most likely because I did not modulate my emotions and did not apply the MEME technique described in your book.
Although brief, this lucid dream was fantastic. And right after him, I started thinking about what you said in your book about “dream signs”, signs that appear in our dreams to trigger our lucidity.
I remembered that in my lucid dream of three days ago (reported to you in my earlier message) I was also standing in front of a lake, manipulating water. And the fact of manipulating water in front of a lake was also the situation that triggered my lucidity, which made me think: “Wait. If I’m doing this, it’s because I’m dreaming!”
So I think there is some evidence to conclude that the combination of water, lake and “water manipulation” can be my dream sign, right?
Water – whether in the form of lakes, ponds, pools, oceans, rivers, has always been a factor present in my dreams. The same night I had this last induced lucid dream, I had also dreamed that I was in a boat, in the middle of the ocean, and that the boat was being filled with water (a terrifying sensation). The night before, I dreamed that I was flying over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. Both the dream of the boat and of the Bosphorus Strait were not lucid, but water was there, present in them. And since my childhood I’m also passionate about swimming, due to the deep connection of this sport with water.
I like symbology. Looking at my dictionary of symbols early this morning, I found that several ancient cultures used the symbolism of the lake as “the gateway to the inner world”. For these cultures, the lake was the place where we could contemplate ourselves, the reflection of our conscience. And, in the same way, I know that in psychoanalysis the water is a symbol of the unconscious.
Therefore I think It would be possible to think that the act of manipulating water would be a kind of warning, a sign from my unconscious, saying, “See, you are manipulating your own consciousness now, you are dreaming lucidly”. Do you think this interpretation is correct?
Thanks for all the knowledge conveyed in your wonderful books, which are really helping me on this fascinating journey through a new territory.
Krishna.
Hi Krishna,
Thanks for sharing your lucid dream, and your questions. Again, I need to congratulate you on your lucid dreaming. You seem to have a natural talent for it.
When it comes to determining one’s dream sign, you can look at those things which ‘tend’ to cause you to become lucid. For me, it might be floating over a giant puddle on a sidewalk — and then realizing, ‘Wait, that was strange — oh, I must be dreaming!’. For you, it sounds like ‘manipulating water’ could be considered a dream sign.
And yes, flying in a lucid dream can be very fun — just remember to not get too excited! And then you can fly with ease and joy.
Dream symbols seem unique and personal to each person. Therefore a book on dream symbols may help a person consider the symbol, but may not be accurate for themselves. For many of us who work on dreams, we often ask the person, “How did it feel in the dream?” Was manipulating water a happy experience, a sad one, or what? The ‘feeling’ associated with the symbol often will indicate what it represents or seems connected to.
In my personal dream symbolism, ‘water’ normally has to do with emotion and feeling — so if the water is too hot or too cold, then that has meaning — or if it is a river that I am floating on, then I notice if the water is calm or I find myself in ‘the rapids’ (which normally suggests a very busy time!). And of course, a lake or an ocean is another specific type of water, which carries its own symbolic meaning and nuance.
So it seems impossible for me to say whether the interpretation seems correct or not. But as a person follows the dreaming and lucid dreaming path, they will likely discover the answer naturally.