Lucid Dreaming .

For many of us, dreaming is one of those things that is entirely out of our control and that we can't really change. You dream what you dream, and it's all up in the air whether you remember it or not. But apparently, there is something called lucid dreaming. It's when you actually trick your body into falling asleep, but your mind is not actually in the same state, and you can basically control your dreams. It's a pretty wild concept.

Naturally, I just had to try it out. After reading up on it a bit, I learned a bit about the process of going to sleep. Your body wants to get comfortable. This is why in bed you often need to change positions, roll over, shake something out, or twitch. This is the mind's way of testing the body to see if it's ready to go to sleep. When all is said and done, your body eventually decides, yes, you are ready to sleep, and the lights go out. However, the trick to this lucid dreaming deal is to stay completely and totally still. (This is the part where my knowledge is a bit faded, so if someone knows, please fill me in) I gathered from my reading that at this point, your body sort of thinks it is already asleep -- and therefore rushes right into REM, the point of the sleep cycle where we have dreams. The mind follows suit, sort of, but stays awake enough for us to be aware of what's going on, and, believe or not, have a "say" in what happens in the dream.

My dreams are usually pretty bizarre. They contain events and people that, on their own, would make sense, but the combination of everything makes it unrealistic and almost a bit crazy. Dreams to me always feel "fuzzy" when I'm in them. As if I'm moving through water and I can't see clearly. Maybe even like how a person who wears glasses feels when they first wake up (groggy and perhaps a little bit on the blind side). Regardless of the clarity though, I never feel like I can take control of what's going on. I am always restrained, handicapped of my will.

I decided this lucid dreaming deal might be really cool to play around with, and started trying it out. Literally, though, you have to basically drop dead once you're in bed. No movements whatsoever. I think, that to some degree, I've gotten it to work, sort of. But I have never woken up saying "wow, I was totally in control of that dream!". I think it really takes time and practice, a training session of the mind basically. Some nights, I don't really bother. I just let my body do what it wants to when I get in bed. But the nights I feel adventurous, I actually try it. Even if you don't have complete control over your dreams - I still seem to remember my dreams a lot better this way. I'm talking lots of details!

If you're feeling bold tonight as you're going to bed, why not give it a try?

novelist .

Today I officially started the first of what I hope to be several books. After reading through material my employer gave me on self-publishing and whatnot, I've been truly inspired. It's been my intention to start writing something full length for a long time, and though I don't have anything really cemented down, I'm starting. And starting is probably the hardest part. My goal is to work on it for an hour a day -- whether that happens or not, I'm excited to have broken ground. I got ideas for several other things too, which I intend to publish in due time. I'm beginning to realize that I really do love writing, and that I want to at least pursue that on the side of my academic pursuits. I don't know where it will take me or how far, but sometimes you just need to put the logical part of your mind aside and go for a dream. And so, I will ride the rainbow across the sky as far as it will take me.

resolutions .

I follow a blog called Nico's Nonsense, and she writes some really good stuff, one of which today was about resolutions. So since that's fresh in my mind, that's what I'd like to talk about today. I sort of breezed by New Years on this blog without much recognition, mainly because it's not that big a holiday in my life. To me, it's sort of just another year, but I suppose it's always nice to sort of have an excuse to celebrate.

Barcelona: Day 105 : Outside .

I don't know where this is originally quoted from, but it stuck out to me today. The quote is that "the artist must stand alone to observe a crowd." I semi consider myself a bit of a writer, simply by the quantity that I write and the fact that I do it so often. It's a great thing for me, and I really enjoy it. Writers, are, in a way, an artist of words, using them to paint a true picture for us to view in our heads. I'd like to consider myself good with words, knowledgeable in vocabulary and strong in being able to get my point across not only concisely but also in an artistic way. I've always wanted to write a book. But what does that really entail?

dreamvision .

So last night I had two of the coolest dreams ever and amazingly enough I must have woken up in the middle of both of them, and thus remember pretty much the entirety of both! I figured I'd jot them down... both for personal amusement and perhaps reader entertainment

no strings attached .

A carefree life without worries is one with bliss is it not? Whether the involvements are strictly friendly or romantic, or perhaps have to do with family, a job, or any other previous engagements, they can get in the way of things. What if I could wake up every morning and think, I can do whatever the fuck I wanna do today. There would be no consequences, no judgments, and no repercussions. But I think life is not like that for a great many reasons -- one being what would the point be, two would you ever have any sense of morality, and three what would be the point of goals if you can have them granted in a moment's notice?

waving flag .

While at work yesterday I went out to check the flag to make sure all was right in terms of position and non-tangled-ness etc. etc. By that time, which was later in the day, there were barely any golfers out on the course and the giant pole with the larger-than-life flag fluttered proudly in the wind. It was silent, with the exception of the flapping that inherently comes with the wind across the fields.

dreams .

What will it take to make you chase what you really want? What will it take to make you drop everything and do what you want. To find what you want to do, who you want to be with, to have the life you want to live? Why should we have to settle? What is going to be the last straw that breaks your back and finally makes you jump outside that enclosed box of comfort that you haven't yet had the heart to get out of? Why do we constantly have this 'I can't' mindset? It's ridiculous. Is it really that you can't? Or is it really that you won't?