Voices

Interestingly, this was my second lucid in a row that hit very close to the onset of sleep. I woke up to write this down around 1:15 or so in the morning after being late to bed. I am not sure what to make of it, but it is definitely encouraging me to continue my pre-bed MILD work! Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid Lucid #192: The Shadow of the Pagoda I am sitting at a table with some random people, working on something with pen and paper. My mind's wandering and as I recall my intent to have a lucid dream, I almost immediately pass into one. From here, I fall quickly into the void. I rub my hands together, expecting a new scene. Before long I emerge into a false awakening in early morning, sort of seated at the edge of my bed. Some kind of suction is drawing me away from the bed and toward our closet. This worries me for some reason and I ask Wife to "Pull me back in..." in this thin, weak voice. She kneels on the bed and strains forward to reach for me, whimpering and fretting like she wants to help but does not know how. I recognize that I am starting to get caught up in this sense of powerlessness, and I let go, falling into the void again. I make my way forward and emerge in a fancy-looking house, facing a set of glass doors that open to a veranda. For reasons I cannot recall, I decided to head deeper into the house and wandered through a series of rooms. The house is attractive but large and confusing and I start regretting my decision to stay inside. I wind up in a bedroom with a simple but comfortable-looking bed that has a large stuffed teddy bear laying on top of it. Wife is standing off to the side near one corner and I remember to ask her for her middle name (for Task of the Month.) When I ask for her middle name, she responds, <PERSON>" "Your middle name is <PERSON>?" She laughs. "Oh, sorry! I actually meant <PERSON>." I am amused but I consider asking her a third time. The teddy bear catches my eye for a moment and when I turn back Wife has vanished. I think about asking the teddy bear for its middle name but decide instead that it is time to move on. I leave and walk through a dining hall where my son "E" joins me and starts to follow. I say something to him that I can no longer recall and we walk through more confusing rooms. At one point I am in a dimly-lit kitchen and notice that my vision has gone blurry. I stare at my hands to draw out the detail and it works pretty well, though not as completely as I might have hoped. I walk through another dining hall with E and as we are exiting, the door shuts automatically behind me, cutting me off from him. I see him through the door as it closes and I feel a moment of concern that I have left him behind. No, let it go. I continue to a series of glass-panelled doors at the rear of the room and phase through, with some minor difficulty. I emerge from the phase in a shady courtyard. Towering above me is an immense pagoda, stretching far away into the sky. Even in a dream I am amazed by how tall and broad it is, far out of scale with everything else surrounding it. It is at least 500 feet tall and dominates the landscape. Two women walk by at the other end of the courtyard, casually chatting. They look like they are from the 1900s, each wearing a large hat and carrying a parasol. I contemplate taking off for some flying and exploration, but the dream ends.