Dream-Anything Significant?

[Gola]

I am trying to find little bits of progress as I try to project so I am wondering if this dream signifies anything at all

I "woke up" in my dream by some music playing and I was annoyed that music was playing at that time of night -Gogol Bordello I think. Anyway it was coming from a radio on my nightstand(not there in reality). i couldn't figure out how to turn it off so I just pulled the power cord. I then noticed that the lights were on low in the room and that it was my indeed my bedroom except there was old lab equipment stacked around .I could sense my wife in the bed. My bedroom opened into a cavernous building that was under construction and i noticed some people I knew but no one noticed me. I am beginning to learn that being in cavernous buildings should be a "I am dreaming" trigger for me.
To make a long story short, I woke up for what I thought was for real in sleep paralysis and what i thought were gremlins slithering down the hall making a a racket. I freaked out and woke myself up for real by shaking my foot until my body woke up.

When in the sleep paralysis it wasn't like I was awake in everyday reality as the lighting was different and just didn't feel right
I'm angry that I didn't try to exit from the paralysis but I also know now that I am nowhere near this state when trying to project( even after an hour or more)
Not sure whether I should be striving for this sleep paralysis state or not before projecting.

I have seen what I think are hypnagogics although not really full scenes. I have also woken up with very faint vibrations and have had very strong heart center activity but no projections.

I do daily meditations and or energy work and qi Gong and have reduced exit tries to 1 or 2 a week and have instead focused on Trance practice.

I guess I am looking for signs of progress.

Thanks for any advice

[Korpo]

Hello, Gola.

I would say that the lab equipment means "keep experimenting" and that the cavern being "under construction" could mean that rearrangements are made in your sub-conscious. This could be a transition phase for you after which more things will happen.

Be well,
Oliver

[Beekeeper]

False awakenings are definitely a sign of progress and if they keep occurring you can use that situation to create lucidity. Simply do reality checks every time you wake up in the morning. If you have a false awakening and do the reality check, you'll know you're dreaming. It's probably easier to have lucid dreams first and then use them as a platform for OBEs if you so desire.

Sleep paralysis can be used to access OBEs as well, as you know. Astral noise can be a sign of being close to projection or having just come back from one and the heart chakra sensations are also a good indicator at times too.

You're close to remembering a projection.

When are you making your attempts? It's better if you get 4 to 6 hours of sleep and wake up briefly, read about lucid dreaming and OBES, then return and lie very still, trying to stay conscious while you feel sleep paralysis set in. You need to avoid the urge to scratch or turn over, which is your body's way of seeing if you're asleep and ready for sleep paralysis and dreaming. You may then see hypnagogics (that you could possibly phase into), see through your eyelids, feel floaty or spinning sensations, feel your etheric limbs doing their own thing, feel vibrations and/or hear astral noise. These are all indicators that a projection is close and you can try different exit methods. Just experiment and see what timing works for you. For example, there are people who get vibrations who say it's better to wait until the vibrations are over before willing themselves to float out of body.

If you fall asleep under these circumstances, you're just as likely to have a lucid dream or a false awakening that you can transform into a lucid dream, if you're in the habit of doing sincere reality checks.

[Gola]

Thanks for the replies I appreciate the encouragement.

Right now most of my attempts have been during the day after a nap( the bad economy has afforded me this luxury) but he dream I described was at night right after falling asleep.

Can you describe what you consider a "sincere reality check"? I do periodic reality checks during the day(maybe 1o times a day) but after a few i feel like I am going through the motions. Maybe that's the idea- forge a habit to make it happen in a dream?

One other dream I had( again in a cavernous building) I did a reality check (basically just asked myself if I was dreaming) tried to fly( I was on roller skates) but convinced myself in the dream that I wasn't dreaming. Funny because I had my CPAP mask( for sleep apnea) with me in the dream. I would think that would induce lucidity as that would never happen outside slep.

Thanks again

Mario

[Beekeeper]

A sincere reality check is one where you don't just go through the motions, you really consider the possibility that it's a dream. I think most of us find that problem where we just go through the motions of the reality check and then we do one in a dream but it doesn't work. I think if you are in the habit of doing them still, at least you're exercising a degree of conscious awareness throughout your day and it's that really that leads to lucidity during dreams. It's possible then to dispense with the physical reality checks and still get lucid dreams because of the mindset you have created.

More and more I'm convinced that the energy you expend on worry over things that make you insecure, especially at bedtime, the less likely you'll have a lucid dream or great dream recall. The less thinking you do before sleep, the better. Better yet, if you naturally wake up at 3am-ish and lie on your back, without moving or thinking, until sleep returns, the more likely you'll become lucid. That's my experience, anyway.