Hello, it's me again: Reece. Today I want to talk about flying in dreams, and the many forms it takes: nonlucid flying, lucid flying, high flying, low flying, flying with your arms, flying with an instrument, flying with your mind.... There's so many forms it takes, and there's so much to talk about. It's actually quite surprising how much there is to talk about, so much, so... prepare yourself for another ramble.
[fade in, title card:
How I Fly in Dreams (Part One)
Filming and Editing: Reece Jones
Music: Rhys Huntley
fade out]
I suppose the best place to start would be to explain the main technique I use to fly, so, let's do that. I take a big, long run-up... and, as the momentum builds, I'll then kick off on my right foot. And then, as i propel myself up into the air, I control the altitude by thrusting my right foot down. Obviously, the harder I thrust, the higher up I go. Then, once I'm sort of feeling as if I'm high enough, or at least that I've got the ball rolling, as it were, I'll level out. Okay? Then, once I've leveled out, you know, I just steer: with my arms, and swoop down, or up, to adjust the altitude. Some people might think that's a rather amateurish technique for an experienced onieronaut, and, I would tend to agree. It is very simple, very basic, nothing much to it really. Easy to pick up, a little bit harder to master, but not all that much. Yeah. I mean, anyone can use this. As long as you're at least an intermediate, and got a little bit of experience with lucidity, you can pick this up, use it on day one, and get some pretty good results So, for me it's a matter of... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You know? I've alsways used it, always had good results from it, so why change it? That's an important point. Just because you're advancing in lucid dream experience, it doesn't necessarily mean your techniques have to advance. They're techniques that you use from day one, can be with you on day five thousand, you know, they can grow with you. Oh, of course, there will be little tweaks along the way, I'm sure, but you don't have say (frowning) "Well, I'm advanced now! I'm just going to drop all those techniques and create new ones." You can, but you don't have to.
But, of course, it's not always about physical flight. Sometimes, you just want to transport yourself. You just want to fly mentally, and just be there. At that point, it's not really flying, it's more mental teleportation. To be completely honest, though, this is something I rarely do. I much prefer the feeling of physical flight. It'd much rather take my time, and even if it does end up taking longer to get the end destination, then, so be it. That says a lot about what I'm like in lucid states, I’m rarely in a rush to do anything, I’m pretty chilled out and relaxed, and more than willing to let the dream unfold at its own pace.
But of course there’s always exceptions, sometimes I really am a little bit more determined: I want to get there and I want to get there now! Sometimes, I really am a bit more rushed in my nature, and sometimes, the place I want to get to, I can’t see it. So, I have to mentally envision it within my dream mind’s eye, if you want to call it that. And so, due to these exceptions, mental teleportation does occasionally come into play for me, and this is how I do it. Keep in mind, my verily describing this to you is fairly simple. It’s just words, right? So. Most words in most combinations, are fairly simple to follow—but the real mastery lies in something ineffable, something which I can’t explain, something I can’t impart to you. So, this is the simplified version of what happens.
I imagine myself being there. I introduce, one sense at a time. So, I’m seeing it, I’m smelling it, I’m feeling it, etcetera, etcetera. You immerse yourself in it, almost lose yourself in it, stay focused but not too focus, find the balance, and then once it starts solidifying, once it starts coming into its manifest form? Push through.
At the risk of sounding a bit New Agey at this point, “Push through” I say, sounds a little bit magical, a little bit mystical, but the reasoning behind why I say it like that is simple. In the dream, for me, at least, there’s where, physically speaking, it feels like my consciousness is being directed from. But that’s enough about mental teleportation. I really didn’t want to even touch on it because this is about flying, and mental teleportation is slightly different. So, let’s move forward with another point I want to talk about, which is how flying techniques differ depending on the location or the surroundings you’re in. For example, the run-up-and-kick-off technique that I explained at the beginning is all well and good if you have a wide open area to work with, but the fact of the matter is you don’t always have that. Sometimes you’re in an enclosed area. Sometimes, you don’t have much space to work with. Then what? Then, you can’t get the run-up. So, you adapt. In part two, I’ll give you an example of what I do to adapt to my enclosed environments. Until then, sleep well. I’ll see you soon.
Hello, again. Welcome to part two, and in this video I want to start off by discussing how your dream surroundings can force you to adapt your flying techniques.
[fade in, title card:
How I Fly in Dreams (Part Two)
Filming and Editing: Reece Jones
Music: Rhys Huntley
fade out]
So, imagine I’m dreaming right now. Here I am, in this room (looks around) not much space to do the run-up-and-kick-off technique, is there? So, what do I do? Well, like I said in the previous video, I adapt. I change my technique. As always, whatever feels right for you is what you should do. This is what feels right for me. I hop up—I can do this pretty much in any surroundings, however enclosed, then I gently glide to either my right or my left, doesn’t matter which side, then, once on my side, I use swimming motions to navigate. So, the understanding here is that there is not necessarily always a one size fits all answer to flying techniques. Sometimes, you’ve got to mix it up. Okay? And, that’s one example of how I mix it up. But, regardless of my surroundings, the key to flying in dreams for me is to not overthink it, to not overcomplicate it. It is what it is. Just do it.
As soon as I start doubting myself, or as soon as I start fearing what I’m about to do? (snaps fingers) I usually fail. I need to focus, but not overfocus. I need to embrace the thrill, but not the fear. I need to become the balance and believe—and then, usually, more often than not, I can fly. But you should also know it’s not always as simple as a successful flight or a failed flight. It’s not always that black and white. Sometimes, I enter a flying limbo state, a state that I like to call the weight, that’s W-E-I-G-H-T, not W-A-I-T. That’s because in this state, it feels as if there’s an awful lot of weight on my back. I can still fly in this state, sort of, but it’s hard, real hard, and this is usually due to the fact that I’m overthinking it. Or, that I’m panicked by a perceived emergency in a nonlucid state.
For example, a recurring dream sign for me is that I’m on the run, usually from someone. A hunter, if you will. I’m being hunted. This happens less and less these days, but they still happen on occasion. Anyway, as the hunter draws near, I panic and suddenly think, “Oh, I can escape. I can run away.” And so, I use my run-up-and-kick-off technique. Interesting point: nonlucid, yet still have access to that technique somehow. I guess it’s just so ingrained within my psyche that it is a natural reaction. So, anyway, as the hunter catches up, I kick off, I thrust away, but I’m panicked, and I’m not lucid, so it’s hard to overcome this panicked state. Then, I feel the weight. I can’t get clearance. I can’t get the right momentum to thrust up high enough to avoid the hunter’s hand, which comes up, grabs my leg as I’m desperately trying to escape, drags me back down—and, I’m his, as it were.
As a side note, because I recognize this as a dream sign, this will often trigger lucidity at this point, but not always. But the point is I panicked, and that panicked state brought about the weight. So, how do I overcome this? Well, it’s hard sometimes. Becoming lucid is a big help. As soon as you become lucid, you can shake that fear, shake that panicked state, and step into your power. Well, like I said, that’s easier than it sounds. This transitions over into another small point that I want to make, that I and others fly in both realms: the nonlucid realm, and the lucid realm. Right? Flying is not exclusive to either realm. This is a very important point. Now, flying is slightly different, depending on your awareness, but fundamentally, it’s the same thing.
One of the main differences that I’ve noticed when flying lucidly compared to nonlucidly is that when I fly nonlucidly, I’m not as confident. Okay? Simple as that, really, but fundamentally it’s the same thing. Another point is that confidence and lucidity tie into each other. Fear and lucidity tie into each other. Okay? Naturally, if you affect one, you affect the other. The more confident you are, the more lucid you are. The more lucid you are, the more confident you are. In the third and final video, I’m going to discuss a more extreme example of the differences I’ve noticed whilst flying lucidly and nonlucidly, so, tune back for that, and until then, sleep well and see you soon.
Hello, and welcome to part three. In this video, I want to start by talking about flying on broomsticks!
[fade in, title card:
How I Fly in Dreams (Part Three)
Filming and Editing: Reece Jones
Music: Rhys Huntley
fade out]
Yeah, it’s a strange one, flying on broomsticks. This directly ties into what I was talking about at the end of part two. This is something I’ve started noticing more and more so when I fly nonlucidly. When I’m nonlucid, I’m on a broomstick. When I’m lucid, I use my arms. Of course, it doesn’t always happen like that, but it’s happening enough for me to take note, and say, “What’s this all about?”
So, when I’m on a broomstick, it’s a fairly different experience. Again, like I said in the previous video: fundamentally the same, but less balanced, less secure. I’m in a constant battle to stay on this thing. As time goes on, and I assimilate this new dream sign, flying on a broomstick will trigger lucidity. But for now, I’m flying around… on a broomstick… completely oblivious to the fact that I’m dreaming. But it’s really a lot of fun, it’s bringing about some interesting scenarios, especially because it’s such a challenge to stay on the thing. It’s like I’ve suddenly set the “game” to “very hard”. It freshens things up a little.
Also, keeping in mind that there’s varying layers of lucidity, varying degrees of awareness when lucid. A good way to gauge where you’re at on that scale is to sense into how much trepidation you feel when flying, or say, if you’re plummeting towards the ground: Do you get that moment where you think, “Oh, shit—”? If you do, then maybe you’re not as lucid as you thought. So, this ties into what I was saying earlier. Overcome your fear, and naturally you’ll rise through the layers. The more you rise through the layers, the less fear you’ll fear, and the more you will shed your earthly limitations. Of course it’s natural to be fearful of flying! We don’t do it in waking life, and so, that is an earthly limitation. It doesn’t need to transition over to the dream world, though. And that’s the point. You can overcome that, and if you do, you’ll step into your power more and more and more and before you know it you’ll be so lucid, you’ll be so aware, you’ll be so present, and everything will be so crisp and vivid and stable. So, if you’re the sort of person that does lucid dreaming affirmations before you go to bed, and you also fly in your dreams a lot, it’s obviously a great thing to include that in your lucid dream affirmations. Say, “If I’m flying, I’m dreaming. If I’m flying, I’m dreaming,” and repeat this over and over to yourself in your mind as you fall into sleep. This will help. But, as I said a minute ago, flying, a lot of the time, is a lucid trigger to me. But for now… flying on a broomstick isn’t. Strange, right?
Fundamentally, the same thing, but for some reason, my mind associates flying with my arms as a lucid trigger, but flying on a broomstick isn’t. Why is this? I have no clue. No clue, whatsoever. It seems quite strange to me, actually. Quite strange, indeed. So, maybe, as new instruments are presented to you to fly with, you should start being more specific with your lucid dreaming affirmations. For example: “When I’m flying on a broomstick, I’m dreaming. When I’m flying on a broomstick, I’m dreaming.”
One thing I can’t stress enough is, when you’re training your mind to recognize dream signs, when you’re training your mind to turn the recognition of those dream signs into lucid triggers, don’t suddenly think that those dream signs are always going to be lucid triggers. Okay? What you’re doing, is heightening the chance of it being a lucid trigger. But even for me, there are occasions when I’m flying, and I’m completely oblivious that it’s a dream—and I’m fairly experienced, so that says a lot. So, don’t think that you can just train your mind to be lucid 24/7. Some claim they can, but I think they’re full of shit, to be honest. It’s unhealthy, if anything! In my opinion. So, when you do this whole brain training exercise thing of recognizing certain dream signs, be okay with the fact that it won’t always work. Okay? That’s fine. That’s perfectly normal. That’s healthy.
Okay, in parting, I’m going to give you one last tip in regards to flying. Don’t waste your time trying to prove that it’s a dream to your dream characters by showing off in front of them with your flying moves!
More often than not, they’re just going to think you’re a tit. More often than not, they’re just going to go, “That don’t prove anything! I can fly, too!” And off they’ll go. To be honest, there really isn’t any point trying to prove anything to dream character. They are stubborn. This is my experience, at least. They’re not always stubborn, but a lot of the time, they are, and talking to hundreds if not thousands (dare I say) of other onieronauts over the years, oh, they’ve said similar things. Dream characters aren’t there to be impressed. They’re there to share your experiences with. They’re there to stalk to openly, neutrally, respectfully. They’re not there to show off to. I mean, you can. And it’s fun experimenting around with that for a while. But, it gets pretty old pretty quickly. So, please, respect your dream characters. They’re not there to be, um, belittled. You’re not there to lord yourself over them: “I am your God!” That’s pathetic. Don’t bother with any of that. So, as an exercise, next time you’re lucid and you fancy flying, and there’s a dream character nearby, go up to him or her and say, “Would you like to fly with me?” If he or she doesn’t know how to fly, explain it. Teach them. Lead by example. They’ve all caught along pretty quick. Naturally, being open and caring and nurturing to your dream characters will pay off, big time. You will have much more enriching experiences, and you will learn a lot more from them.
So, that’s it for now. I love you all. Sleep well. We’ll speak again soon. (blows a kiss to the camera) Bye!
No comments:
Post a Comment