interaction with others in a lucid dream?

[solitarypanther]

Recently, about halfway through a normal dream sequence, I became aware that I was dreaming in a vague sort of way, and as this happened I became aware of lying in my own bed, but the bed was not in my own apartment. There was a woman leaning over me that had been present in my dream earlier. As she leaned over the bed towards me, her image wavered and changed into someone I had run into recently that I had not seen in ten years. At this moment everything become crystal clear and lucid, and somehow I KNEW it was actually her, not just a dream image, and that I was not awake. I was very excited and thought that I was astral projecting. She seemed to agree with me, then said "quick, follow me, there's something I want to show you". As I followed her, I tried to focus in on my surroundings to make them clear, as everything seemed kind of fuzzy. As I followed her down some stairs into the first floor of an apartment, I lost her and moved into another dream and things became more hazy, and some other dreams occurred that seem less relevant.

The questions that have occurred to me are, was I really interacting with the person I had run into recently, and was I having a lucid dream, astral projection (real time or otherwise) or both?

I had this persons email, so in the email I sent to her the following day, I asked her "do you ever have lucid dreams? I had an interesting one last night." I didn't write anything else regarding this, but went on to other topics. In her reply, she did not address this question.

Has anyone else had these kind of experiences? If so, would you say that I approached the person I dreamt about in the right way in regards to trying to find out if I really interacted with her? I know she used to have an interest in wicca and other metaphysical topics, so it's possible if she did interact with me she has had the training to recall the experience. But I didn't want to engage in a shared fantasy, I really want to have proof for myself that it's possible to ineract with other people in a non-physical way. Any thoughts or comments?

Thanks, hope I didn't ramble on too much : )

[Rydel]

I personally have not had this happen to me in a lucid dream. The only way you will really know if it was really her, is when she tells you herself. Of course it's possible that she won't remember it, but something like that I'd guess she would.

I know it IS possible to get into other peoples dreams. I believe I read something about it on http://www.psipog.com, a site on psychic skills and such. A little on the unserious side, but good for starters.

Keep us posted!

[Donald McGlinn]

I would suggest keeping a dream journal and include these kinds of experiences.

It's a good way to build up your confidence and will by itself increase the amount of experiences you have and it will also increase the frequency of them.

Donald

[solitarypanther]

Thank you both for your comments : )

I do have a dream journal, but I do not record my dreams every single night. I have found that I lack the motivation to record dreams that make me feel bored or uncomfortable, although I do try to record these on occasion. I have noticed though that my recall and awareness within my dreams increases the more I take the time to make a record.

This is my greatest frustration with dream work or any kind of work actually. Staying motivated during "down time" when no progress is apparrent.

[Donald McGlinn]

One of the many truths I have learnt is that we all at time feel like our spiritual progress has become stagnant.

I have learnt that is only a perception but not a reality. It's at those times that your abilities and experiences are regrouping as it were. A bit like a large wave coming in. The water is still and even recedes for a little while it gathers momentum to come back with force.

The only difference is we rarely see this growth wave build up, we only see the lack of water.

Donald

[Ganymede]

An interesting experience! It is quite frustrating that we cannot just come out and ask, 'BTW, are you aware of any conscious projections?'. I can imagine that would most probably receive a blank look from most people. :D

I think you did the right thing by sending the email. It sounds as though she has metaphysical interests, so she will probably be opening to discussion of metaphysical topics. Has she responded yet?

I also agree with Rydel though in that it is possible that she would not have conscious access to the memory of the projection.

[solitarypanther]

I did receive a reply to her email, she responded to all the other questions/comments about life in general, mutual friends we used to have, etc. but didn't address the lucid dream comment/question ("I had an interesting lucid dream last night. Do you ever have lucid dreams?)

In another email, there was a personal problem she was dealing with that seemed to tie in with one aspect of my lucid dream encounter (her personal appearance before it wavered and became herself was extremely thin and blonde-which looks nothing like her true appearance) and I brought up my dream in the email to her, but left out the part about having a flash of "knowing" that it was really her. I just encouraged her to appreciate her physical form more. She did not respond to this email at all.

So it may be that I touched upon a sticky issue, and that's why she doens't want to discuss it. I am now debating on whether or not to ask her flat out, and ask her to describe details if she says she also had a similar dream. I don't want to obsess on the issue or make her feel uncomfortable, but finding out if dreams can be shared as well as subjective has been a long time goal of mine.

Thanks to both Donald and Ganymede, I'm feeling much less frustrated about my seeming lack of progress. I enjoyed the metaphor about the wave building up--it is frustrating, but knowing the wave is building helps :)

[Manix]

Don't be afraid to ask your friend out right about certain details of the dream, unless you know they might offend her.

I had a wonderful friend back in high school who shared my interest in dreams and AP and I was able to discuss these subjects freely with her. I was very lucky to have someone so open to the idea sharing a dream. For awhile there, I was very acute at obtaining a Lucid dream, and holding the clarity of the mmoment. I began attempting to contact her through these dreams. I apparently had at least one successful attempt. I didn't tell her every detail of the dream, but I did tell her the name of the individual she was with. The look of surprise on her face when I asked her about "Demetrious " was proof enough that I had succeeded. However, she then told me about the dream she had. It was surprisingly similar to my own, but the location and objects in the dream were different.

I may or may not have been in my friends dream. In fact, now that I think back to it, I highly doubt it. What could have occured though, may have been a close encounter with her consciousness. I may simply have tuned into her thoughts just enough to pick up on a few things going on in her dream, then simply intrepetted the rest on my own.

My advise would be to discuss the matter more directly with her. If your looking for proof, then simply tell her what you would like to do, and see if she would be willing to particpate.

Good Luck.

[solitarypanther]

I asked my friend outright and she told me that she has had many dreams about me since we ran into each other last month, and in fact had a dream that we met again the day before we ran into each other for the first time in ten years.

Unfortunately it does not give me definitive proof of anything because while she does remember a dream of us meeting, she does not recall any of the other dreams she had of me at the time I had my lucid dream. She is also taking various medications for fibromyalgia and bipolar disorder, is recovering from drug usage (crack) and recovering from an abusive relationship, and has been suffering from nightmares for some time, which I am guessing has made her a little shy of making any real effort towards remembering her dreams.

It does seem though that she is interested in what I am trying to do, and I have asked her if she would make a dream journal, that becoming more lucid in her dreams might actually help her recover and end the nightmares. I am a little shy though of making contact with her though now, because I don't want to get drawn into her nightmares (if that's even possible) unless I could make her conscious of the fact that she's dreaming.

In any case, I've at least renewed my determination to recall my dreams and have more lucid ones, and I'm sure one of these days if it's possible I will be able to make contact.

Thanks everyone for your feedback :)