Pseudo-lucidity
June 29th, 2005 by Adrian Sampson
I am driving along a highway and coming up on a very complex interchange. I need to get to the airport, which is probably Sea-Tac, and the only way to do that is to exit on the left and then immediately cross all the traffic on the new highway and exit again on the left. I have worked this out before when I went to the airport for the previous leg of my journey.
I make the first exit, but become distracted for just enough time to be trapped in the far right lane. I decide that I ought to get off this freeway as quickly as possible. The road immediately curves to the left and a small ramp exits straight from my lane, under another overpass and out of sight. In a split-second decision, I take it and immediately find myself on foot in the airport. It was a short-cut that I had not realized was there.
Because I was leading the people I was traveling with, I immediately begin to worry that they will become confused and not make it to the airport. I either call them on a cell phone or think about calling them on a cell phone.
There is a gap here in my memory, but we, most likely Ben, Greg, Max, and Mr. Gans (the people with whom I flew home from Philadelphia), are eventually boarding our flight. I sit in the first few rows, probably next to Mr. Gans. Ben or Greg, I think, sits in the two seats opposite us, and is of ambiguous gender.
Within a minute or two, I realize that I have forgotten one of my bags. I have my messenger bag, but have left behind my rolling suitcase. I find it strange that no one so far in my experience at the airport has bothered to check my ticket or take stock of my luggage. I walk to the front of the plane, and no one seems to mind that I’m about to exit. When I get to the door, however, I can see out the window that we are at cruising altitude on a stormy night. It is raining (which is illogical). I am distraught by having lost my bag, and can’t quite believe that it has happened. This disbelief leads quickly to a revelation.
We have only just entered the plane a few minutes ago. It would be impossible for us to be at cruising altitude already. I conclude immediately that I must be dreaming.
It’s worth noting here that I do not realize the extent to which I am dreaming. I only assume that the reality in which I forget my bag, and perhaps that I take a short-cut to the airport, is a dream. I assume that I am truly traveling, but have not yet boarded the plane.
I remember all the thought I have done about lucid dreaming and realize that this is an opportunity not to be wasted. As I walk back to my seat, I become more and more certain that this is a dream. I raise my arms to my sides and turn them into enormous clawed wings. From a few rows away, I am able to grasp the heads of Mr. Gans on my left and Ben or Greg of ambiguous gender on my right and jostle them about in a playful fashion. As I sit down next to Mr. Gans, I begin to tell him that I can do that because I am dreaming.
(This was my first experience with lucid dreaming. I don’t even know how lucid it was… I may not have been controlling my wing transformation trick in the first place. I didn’t even realize how much of the experience was a dream. It is possible that I just had a typical dream _about_ realizing that I was dreaming and did not actually understand that I was dreaming. On the other hand, I have no idea where that line is.)
This dream was posted by Adrian Sampson on Wednesday, June 29th, 2005 at 12:21 pm. You can leave a response, but pinging is currently not allowed.
airplane airport ben debate driving gans greg loss lucid max panic road seattle wing
Anna Scott says:
June 29th, 2005 at 4:43 pm
That absolutely sounds like lucidity to me, and that’s extraordinarily exciting. Would there really be a difference between a really lucid dream and a “typical dream about realizing that you were dreaming”? I understand that it was only partial, though… did you do thought experiments before you fell asleep to induce that? I have your hat at my house.
Kris Skotheim says:
June 29th, 2005 at 6:01 pm
I feel like you must have achieved some sort of insomniatic enlightenment to be able to do that. Bravo.
Adrian Sampson says:
June 29th, 2005 at 6:39 pm
As I noted, I really don’t know where that line is. Having never experienced lucid dreaming before, I am not sure if there is a difference between the layered phenomenon I experienced and “true” lucid dreaming.
In this case, I did no thought experiments. I was reading, became overcome by fatigue, and fell asleep. I have tried self-hypnosis in the past, but have become distracted before I fell asleep.
Thank you. I had not actually yet noticed that my hat was missing. One day in the near future, I will recover it.
Kris, thanks, but I chart it up to nothing beyond the typical subconscious randomness.
Ariana Rose Taylor-Stanley says:
June 29th, 2005 at 9:37 pm
Congratulations! That sounds pretty lucid to me but even were it a normal dream it would still be rad. Really, who needs labels you or your subconscious grew you wings and that is a feat.
The dream party draws ever nearer.
Cacá Gorga says:
August 25th, 2005 at 8:45 am
Ariana
I need your help to find Meghan Gladstein, i lost contact with her and her mom about 9 years ago,I can´t find her e-mail and I lost my phone book at that time, that´s why i losted contact.
If you really know her send her this e-mail that she will write me back
Thanks
Cacá – Brazil