Final Week

This is it, the final post. I'm taking this time to look back on the year, on how this project has changed me. Even though there's no visible difference, I feel like a radically different person. Being able to record your subconscious and even to control it is a wonderful ability. I feel like this will become very useful in the future and this is definitely something  that I will continue to practice. Good bye.

week 13

I lucid dreamt through the absolutely craziest dream last week. I remember hardcore panicking over an impending lab report due. I was struggling to remember the topic of the report when something clicked in my head: I am not, have not, nor plan to take AP Biology. The realization made me realize I was dreaming, and, of course, woke me up what seems like instantly. On the other hand, I once again achieved lucidity this week. Amazingly I was able to hold this dream for a decent amount of time and I learned a valuable lesson. I learned that I am very, very bad at flying.

week 12

I tried a different approach this week: pain. Instead of doing normal sleep checks every hour, I have been digging my nails into my palms. I attempted this approach because it seems like a more definite action. Pain, at least physical, does not exist in dreams, and the sharp, biting sensation is a nice reminder that I'm currently not asleep.
Every once in a few weeks, become aware that I'm dreaming. Unfortunately, I feel like that I have hyped it up so much and anticipate is so much that I can's actually do anything with the knowledge that I'm dreaming. I get jolted awake what seems like merely seconds later. This is really annoying me as it prevents me from truly experiencing and benefiting from lucid dreaming. The meditation exercises I have been unsuccessfully trying to lengthen should help calm me down in this regard. Wish me luck.

week 11

I have noticed an interesting pattern in the dreams I can remember the most vividly. Besides occurring only on weekends, they almost never seem to be about the real world. My most vivid dreams never seem to be about the material world. In fact, they all seem to be set in post apocalyptic waste lands. Sometimes they're engulfed by massive storms and sometimes zombies have taken over the world. The dream I had yesterday is another example. I have forgotten most of the details, but I can remember it being a medieval setting with many kingdoms and corrupt kings and queens.

Hopefully, I can get more sleep next week, now that the impending doom of a research paper isn't looming over me.

week 10- Halloween

I was not able to make much progress this week. With a sore throat coupled with a research paper, I was not able to get much sleep. in fact, I don't think I got a single night of sleep over four hours. I remembered a few of my dreams, but they're more like screenshots i remembered than actual dreams. On the other hand, my week 9 goal was fairly easy to achieve. I was able to completely visualize a location, usually either an open field or a cozy room. Unfortunately, even if I did dream about what I attempted to visualize, I can not remember what I dreamed about. I have also been keeping up my exercises from weeks 7 and 8. Trying to remember everything I have to do has become a real chore. For this week, I don't have any real,  measurable goals besides sleep more and keep trying.

week 9

Last week's goal was fairly easy to achieve. Every night, before I went to sleep, I would clear my mind and focus on leveling my breathing for a few minutes. It may be just a placebo effect but I do seem to have more vivid dreams. Next week, I will try to visualize a location after meditation, and try to enter that place after falling asleep

week 8

trying to achieve the goal I set last week has had mixed results. Generally, i can easily keep up my schedule at school, with each class being roughly an hour long. But, the moment I get home, I completely forget. Time just seems to fly past in my house. Before I know it it's midnight and I still have an essay to write. I've been doing some interesting research about a specific kind of brain waves: gamma waves. Not to be confused with the destructive gamma rays that originate from nuclear weapons and lightning, gamma waves happen at around 40 Hz in the human brain. Humans naturally create gamma waves, but some have more than others. Gamma waves have been linked to stress, intelligence, memory, and REM sleep, the aspect I am most interested in. The most common way to increase Gamma production is meditation. Therefore, my goal for next week is to meditate every day for 5- 30 minutes along with continuing last week's goal.