by robertdreed » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:39 am
Ever since I found out that my computer had two Back Orifice programs on it, I've stopped worrying about being surveilled. Those things can move your mouse around, so to speak...who knows what all I've had planted on my computer. <br><br>I'm an utter computer illiterate...I think I was on the Internet for a year and a half before I learned how to "cut" (or "copy") and "paste." And I still occasionally get into one of those weird places where I lose a space for every keystroke, eating my post if I try to insert any textual revisions. And then there's what happens if I let my finger rest too long on the "shift" key...this weird Bizarro World program called "StickyKeys" comes up, and everything flips out...it's like having the "caps lock" key stuck on permanently, only worse. Text begins highlighting itself, and I don't know what all...excuse my Francais, but it's total fucktitude. Worst of all, the only way to fix it is to shut down the computer and start over...it's like a joke, when StickyKeys first gets engaged, a box comes up supposedly providing me with the option to turn it off. But it never works! What's up with that? <br><br>Yeah, flying dreams, I've had them before. Concentration is important. I've learned a few techniques to make it easier. Another thing that's important is to be living a spare, clean life with a minimum of worries and loose ends to intrude from waking life into your dreaming mind. A tidy life- no outstanding debt worries, no having to take your work home with you, no stresses from relationships, no pressing school projects or exams...as close to a monastic existence as you can get, to free up the energy. I was never much for "dream analysis"- ordinary dreaming is too incredibly chaotic to apply a concretized symbol set a la Freud/Jung, in my opinion- but I am in agreement with the newer theories that dreams act as a way of "processing" material from one's recent waking life. I don't place much importance in that processing, personally- because I've had some horrid dreams on occasion, serious nightmares that I wanted to forget as quickly as possible. It seems to me that if you decide to take your dreams seriously as "portents", you can't pick and choose. You have to take both the good ones and the bad ones seriously. Not me. When I wake up, it's a new day. I re-set the counters. <br><br>Ironically, the typical chaotic imagery that makes up ordinary dreaming is what you <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START--><span style="text-decoration:underline">don't</span><!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END--> want, if you're seeking lucid dreams and flying dreams. You want to be as much present as you can. So the closer you get to living a calm, uncluttered life with a lot of inner peace, the fewer impressions from your waking life are likely to tie tin cans to your tail, so to speak. External quiet helps too, and total lights-out darkness. <br><br>The most frustrating thing about lucid flying dreams is not being able to fly when you wake up. It isn't a transferable state...therefore, if you begin to prize living in that world over waking life, going to sleep becomes the high point of your existence. At least in my case, I couldn't bring myself to prize the experience that much. It's absurd, the idea that life would be about maintaining a body in order to seek the peak experience of lucid flying dreams...I can't do that, it's intolerable. I've never been a bounce-out-of-bed early riser, I like my sack time, but still...let's not be ridiculous. That can't be what life is for, sleeping. But oh yeah, it was fun. I used to fly all over downtown Sacramento...once in flight, it was about finding the perches. Move by aiming- treetop to treetop, or electrical pole...<br><br>But the thing is, ultimately it isn't that important. It would be better if there was a way to share it with other human companions, but I've never had that happen. I've flown with birds, but we don't have much to communicate to each other. Not even "hey, neat, we're flyin' again." They're jaded about it, so to speak...I dunno, I get the impression that they're trying to be polite, but I'm a wannabe to them, a poser. Okay, that's probably just me, projecting...the fact is, human and birds don't share much bandwidth, especially verbally. So we're aloof from each other- which just leaves me, flying around town, a lone scout. Like a lone hiker..it's okay, even thrilling and wonderful at times. But the lucid flying dream experience would be better with companionship, other human consciousnesses to interact with. My ordinary dreams often feature other human company, intertions, and conversation, in the form of weird montage vignettes...I've never gotten that from a lucid flying dream. It really is a lot like solo hiking or biking on a scenic trail, the way you're alone with your thoughts...<br><br>Frankly, it's been quite some time since I've had a lucid flying dream. I can't recall the last time it happened...every 1-2 years, I'm thinking. And that was the thing- it "happened" to me, rather than me pursuing it. But there was a stretch of time when I was actively into getting it to happen, and I had a lot of success with it. But my life got too cluttered, among other things, I went off to university and other priorities took over...and that's what I wanted, no regrets. But, if anyone wants to stake me the $$$ for a meditation retreat, my calendar should be clear for next summer some time...as an escape from reality, doing a few weeks of lucid flying dreams is completely non-toxic. Beats holing up in a motel with a nitrous tank, or a big chunk of crack, as far as I'm concerned. But, to each their own...I know full well that there are yuppies out there who look forward to doing that, as their vacation getaway. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=robertdreed>robertdreed</A> at: 10/30/05 7:05 am<br></i>
