A Return to Lucid Dreaming As I drifted into the soundscape of binaural beats, brainwaves and vibrational resonance, I was likewise pulled into the realm of lucid dreaming. Years back, this was an obsession. But I never got anywhere and the pursuit took a backburner seat for other excitement.
But this time, I'm more established on focusing intention, more adept in stilling the mind and more experienced in putting the body to sleep as the mind remains awake, alert and vigilant. Maybe I'll get somewhere this time around.
Why Bother with Lucid Dreaming? Lucid dreaming allows you to exist in a dream world that is as 'real' as reality gets - until you wake up. It defies the principles of physics. I can fly, I can go under the depths of the Marianas Trench, I can go to distant constellations, I can travel back in time and ascertain if Christ really existed. I can go back 65 million years ago when the extinction-level asteroid hit the earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. I can even go to the Akashic Records and rummage through a wealth of knowledge, insight and realizations. In short, lucid dreaming enables fantasies and unattainable realities to be accessible.
Homework Nearly all sites talking about Lucid Dreaming are unanimous that there are established practices to prepare for lucid dreaming in your waking state, even before you go to bed:
awake or asleep? - ask yourself every once in a while if you are awake or asleep. This builds the habit to carry over to your sleep. In your sleep, you will also dream asking yourself if you are awake or in a dream.
reality check - in your waking state, when you answer that you are awake, do some reality checks. You can push your finger into your other palm. In the dream state, your finger will go through your palm. That's when you realize you are in a dream, and this realization triggers your awareness into lucid dreaming.
dream journal - dreams are often completely forgotten shortly after waking up. To ensure recall, it's best to keep a journal beside you and write down your dream when you wake up. Don't even go to the washroom yet - write down everything you remember.
In my case, I simply launched the Mic Recording app on my phone before I go to sleep. Whenever I wake up, I simply talk to the app and retell my dream. Below is my ongoing dream journal:
Jul Dreams
July 21, 2022
I saw an A.I. video on Youtube by Kai Fu Lee before going to bed. In my dream, he kept appearing and reappearing with his wife, both of them wearing all white and they were driving a white Japanese car.
I went on my bike to a house on a rolling hill as I was invited to a social event. I didn't get in but stayed out listening to the tv played in the house by the host. It seems she's Elizabeth. After a while, I entered the house and Elizabeth gifted me some nuts and chocolates. I never saw her face, but it was her. Her friends were all there. I was cheerfully happy with my loot bag.
I left to bike to another party at a house higher up on the hill. En route, an ugly guy from the first house (Elizabeth wasn't there anymore) called out to me to come back because they were roasting a whole calf and wanted me to join them.
I woke up several times and in my half-sleep mode, I would poke my finger into my other palm. I'm not sure if it went through, but there was no lucid dreaming. At one point, on Gyana Mudra, I seem to have awakened inside my dream. I was aware, but could not control anything. I moved just slightly and that was it. I'm not sure if this was lucid dreaming or I was just half asleep and desiring to go into lucid dreaming.
July 22, 2022
I meditated before going to sleep, suggesting that I will become aware inside my dream. I woke up many times during the night, and every time I wake up, I do the reality check - asking if I am dreaming, then poking my finger through my palm. I never had a chance to ask this during the sleep. I even alarmed at 4am so I can get back to sleep on my REM mode, constantly tapping into my 2-finger technique whenever I wake up.
My dream was about this beautiful woman named Kashek (?), one of three new female employees with a company that I was somehow associated with. I don't know her in real life, but she seems to look similar to Ice, one lady Thai I know. She started warming up to me, and me to her. Pretty soon, we were kissing passionately in public. I woke up before we could have sex. I tried to continue the dream but it never happened. There was no lucid dreaming...no wet dream either. That's life.
July 23, 2022
I meditated before going to sleep to put my body and mind at rest. I only remember a very short part of my dream. My mother and her 2 kids were with their bicycles on a park. She was wearing a floral green dress and eating something as she was standing on the park. The weird thing about this dream is that the woman is young Caucasian and didn't even look like my Mom. Even the 3 of them were supposed to be on a bicycle, I neither saw the bicycles nor my 'siblings'. I wasn't even in the dream.
Altogether, no lucid dreaming.
July 24, 2022
I was inside a room with 2 male Caucasian friends who seem to be knowledgable with language and writing (I don't know them in real life). One of them remarked that my writing was 'unbalanced'. I take my writing seriously, so naturally, I asked him to illucidate. He took out a big sheet of paper that he was traveling with (1 meter by 1 meter), to show me what he meant. The other friend somehow took over and started using that big paper to explain. I am not sure he explained anything. When I woke up, I still didn't know why my writing was 'unbalanced'.
On a separate scene, there was also this tall beautiful woman wearing athletic sportswear revealing a nice cleavage. I never saw her face. I'm not sure what we talked about. She was part of a longer dream but I don't remember the other details anymore. I wish every dream I have with a beautiful woman end up as a wet dream, but that hardly ever happens. Even when it comes close to happening, something in the dream always disrupts it.
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
July 25, 2022
This time, I tried sleeping while playing a 3-hour guided lucid dreaming audio on my earphones. The guided talk lasted for about 20 minutes and the rest was spacey music. The music kept me awake the whole night. I could have fallen asleep but very short until the music awakens me. If I dreamed of anything, I couldn't remember it. This method simply didn't work for me.
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
July 26, 2022
I know it was a long dream, but by the time I started recording it, I could see most of it fade away. I remember a big jar full of almeira - something looking like an Italian dressing. I don't know what this almeira is, but it seemed therapeutic. Next, I was putting 6 empty almeira jars in a ziplock bag, 4 of the jars standing up and the 2 bigger jars, lying on their sides on top of the 4 jars. There was a Caucasian guy looking like an Greek philosopher who said or pointed out something to me. His face remained still and unmoving...that's why I remember him. That's all.
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
July 27, 2022
I knew it was a much longer dream, but when I woke up, I realized the phone wasn't with me. I had to get it, launch the recorder, but after all that delay, I nearly forgot everything already.
I dreamt that I was conducting a yoga class for Matt and Ohm. And that's all I remember.
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
July 29, 2022
I was part of an invasion of another country but it was only me and someone else I don't know. We both landed on the beach and we just stayed there as though waiting for someone who didn't come.
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
Aug Dreams
Aug 06, 2022
Tom and Chunyah and me on a luxurious yatch doing ice bath, talking about Bandhas, then there was a paper and written on it was 'NO'
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
Aug 07, 2022
Office scene: Jason and the DIY guy:
I was in Jason's office, he was seated behind his office desk and I was seated in front of the desk. There was a thick book entitled 'DIY' and I asked, DIY what? Then a nicely built guy who looked similar to Jason, in his late 40s, apparently a friend of Jason, showed up and explained that it was a fitness training book and performed a sample workout. He brought out from his bag, a contraption which he assembled and it was like a wing-suit but as big as a hang glider. I said I wanted one.
River scene with Wing Suit
No more Jason or the DIY guy, but still related to them. I was at a wide raging river with boats on the banks and people with this wing suit were all flying along the river. They were not descending the way a wingsuit would. They were gliding like birds. Not sure if they were pulled by a boat or simply flying with the suit all their own. I was inside a car with some friends (don't know who they are, didn't even see their faces). The car was parked along the river bank where half of it was already submerged. And I was watching the water rise up and I had to roll up the window to keep the rising water from going inside. But it remained partially open.
Restaurant scene in India
Of all people, I was with Alan in an Indian mall inside a restaurant. I didn't want to be with him, so I left and said I'll look for food. I walked around the resto and saw Indian people happily eating their meal, mostly big fish. Every table had a big fish. I was hungry but had no money so I just walked around looking at the fish in every table. I went out of the resto and into an open courtyard where festivities seem to be happening. (note to self: I'm eating fish today!)
...after I woke up, I went to the market to buy the biggest steamed fish for lunch!
Altogether, still no lucid dreaming.
Ending Thoughts It's uncanny that I think I actually induced lucid dreaming on my first attempt, although I'm still doubtful. Anyway, with my dream journal, this project will be a continuing work-in-progress.
Charlie Morley: The Lucid Dreamer Spirit Science: The Basics of Astral Projection Robert Monroe: Journeys Out of the Body Binaural beats and Isochronic Tones for Lucid Dreaming 3 Steps to Lucid Dreaming
Websites about Lucid Dreaming
lucidology 101 - a website devoted to astral travel through lucid dreaming with focus on Exit techniques
Astral Projection Tips
do it early morning like 5am when the Seratonin is high instead of at night when you are tired and likely to fall into normal sleep
do not attempt to Exit during the vibration phase. Stay relaxed and let it settle down. When it gets quiet, that's the time to induce the Exit
OOBE is likely to happen if you sleep in your normal position - it doesn't have to be on your back. You can sleep on your side
keep the room completely dark and quiet
meditate for about 10 minutes before going to bed. This relaxes the body and mind and allows better sleep
while going to sleep, visualize the environment you want to be in...see the colors, feel the texture, smell the air. Or, read your dream journal and relive your previous night's dream. Tell your mind this is not real and that you are already in a lucid dream. Give yourself permission to live your fantasies - fly, stay under water, etc. As you fall into sleep, keep saying that you will have a lucid dream.
set up an alarm around 4am. Wake up and do some work for about 20 minutes and go back to sleep. This return to sleep hastens lucid dreaming.
(Jul 23, 2022) Lumenate is a free app that provides some free programs using light and sound from your phone to produce altered states of consciousness or transformation. You go into a dark place, place your phone with flashlight facing your face, close your eyes and play the program. With eyes closed in a dark space, you begin to see flashing lights of different colors. You hear sounds that resonate at specific frequencies. The next 10 minutes become an amazing sensory overload experience.....more »»
(April 21, 2023) Hemi-Sync as developed by Robert Monroe is supposed to induce an out-of-body experience (OBE) using binaural beats. But beyond OBE, it allows the mind to 'escape' the perception barrier to reveal reality as it really is...more »»
Chiang Mai INFORMATION
Chiang Mai Map
Chiang Mai, Thailand
IMPORTANT PLACES
Bus Station Train Station Chiang Mai International Airport Nong Buak Hard Park - free yoga classes daily
HOTEL
Arun Dara Villa - 7 exclusive rooms, 1 swimming pool for every room, grand opening
Nawa Sheeva Hotel - big rooms, high ceiling, salt-water pool, restaurant, cafe
Nawa Saraan Hotel - low density (4 spacious rooms), stone garden setting, Koi fish pond, Old City location
Arun Suite - 3 bedrooms in a 3-storie guesthouse within Old City, ideal for families
MOTORBIKE RENTAL
Tawan Bike - motorcycle rental | +66 91 635 2863 | Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200
Chiang Mai FYI / Tips
crop-burning season in Chiang Mai is between late Feb to early April. But laws change everytime. This year, 2019, there is a 61-day ban on burning so the farmers started burning early. When my plane was approaching Chiang Mai on Jan 24, 2019, there was already a thick blanket of smog covering the entire city (and beyond). But within the city itself, you won't feel it (but that doesn't mean the air is healthy). To monitor air conditions in real time, refer to site: Chiang Mai Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI)
hot season begins March and lasts until June
wet season begins July and lasts until September
best time to visit Chiang Mai is mid-September to mid-February - after the monsoon and before the burning
you have to try Khao Soi, this is north Thailand's culinary staple
the tourist area where most of the hotels, restaurants, ticket offices, tour operators are, is located in the Old City
to exchange your dollars to Thai Baht, the Super Rich Money Exchange give the best rates. There are many branches scattered around Chiang Mai
get a red cab (songthao) outside the train station for Baht 50 (instead of paying B100 if inside the train station) to Old City - if you haggle nicely enough...I did!
shared red taxi (songthao) - B30 standard fare plying all over Old City
for only B50/day, best to rent a bike to go around the Old City - it's a 2.5km2 with lots to discover
FREE daily yoga classes from 9:00am to 10:15am at Nong Buak Hard Park (southwest corner of Old City). Resident and passing-through teachers take turns conducting yoga classes.
Blues/Jazz Bars in Chiang Mai
North Gate Jazz Coop - at Chang Phueg Gate, great Tuesday jam session, Blues on Sundays at 11pm by the Chiang Mai Blues band
Boy Blues Bar - at the Night Bazaar. Mondays at 9:30pm is open mic
My Secret Cafe - near Wat Phra Singh. Tuesdays at 7:30pm for the changing front-act and 9:00pm for the Panic Band
Taphae East - 88 Thapae Rd. (just north of Night Bazaar). Fridays at 9:30pm by Chiang Mai Blues Band
Chiang Mai Cost Index
B60 Chiang beer
B250 1 hour drop-in yoga session
B200 one hour Thai body massage at WAYA Massage(highly recommended)
B50 noodle soup with meat
B50 coffee
B40 pad thai
B30/kilo wash-only laundry
B50/kilo wash+iron laundry
B100-150 dorm bed/night
B250 fan room/night
B30 internet cafe/hour
B170-190 Movies Sat-Sun and public holidays
B130-150 Movies weekdays
B100 Movies Wednesdays (movie discount day)
B750 1/2 day Thai cooking lessons
B900-1000 1 full day Thai cooking lessons
B400 Muay Thai boxing ticket
B2500 starting room rate at the luxury hotel, Nawa Sheeva(highly recommended)
Transportation
B450 bus, Chiang Mai to Bangkok
B160-180 bus, Chiang Mai to Pai
B1250 bus, Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang
B1650 slow boat, Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang
B210 bus, Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, 3-4 hours
B360 Green VIP bus, Chiang Mai to Mae Sai (Thai border town for visa run to Tachileik, Myanmar)
B50 bicycle rental, 24 hours
B200 motorbike rental, 24 hours
B273 #51 sleeping train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Book Online - direct booking with State Railway of Thailand. Best to register first. If going to BKK from CNX, click "Northern Line".
note -- big difference between booking direct with the State Railway and booking with an online 3rd party agent. 12GO was charging B1330 for the same trip that only cost me B941 with the State Railway.
note -- Oct 2022, I took the #10 Train from CNX to BKK, upper berth, 2nd class, a/c, sleeper, B941. The train was clean, fast, comfortable and modern. If you have heavy luggage that will cost more money in flight checkin, I would suggest this train. Otherwise, the flight now is so much cheaper it doesn't even make sense to take the bus or train.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai by Train from Bang Sue Train Station
10:22pm - #51 Train, arrive Chiang Mai 12:10pm, sleeper, 3rd class B270 (non sleeper), 2nd class B438, B728 upper deck, B798 lower deck
Loei to Chiang Mai by Bus
From Loei town center, take a tuk-tuk ride to the bus station, B30. There is only one bus station.
As of June 28, 2020 (still on Covid schedule), there are only 3 night trips: 8:30pm, 9:30pm and 12 midnight. 9 hours, B470.
The bus makes the following stops at the following times from a 9pm Loei departure: Phu Ruea (9:50pm), Phitsanulok (12:40am), Uttradit (2:20am), Lampang (4:35am)
Final bus stop is at the Red Bus Arcade, Chiang Mai, 9 hour-trip, arriving 6am (from 9pm Loei departure).
Take a red songthaew to Old City, B50. They'll try to charge you B100, but they'll take B50 (just assure the driver you won't tell the other passengers).
How to Get a 60-Day Thai Tourist Visa and then Extend by another 30 Days
This process is BEFORE Covid 19. Not sure what it is now.
60-Day Thai Tourist Visa
NOTE: There is no need to go back to your country to get the Thai tourist visa. Any major city with a Thai Embassy will do. Apparently there is also no need to have an invitation from a Thai establishment to justify the visa.
Bring the following to the Thai embassy:
a) proof of money (bank statement will suffice)
b) flight booking to Thailand
c) onward flight back to your country from Thailand
d) filled-in tourist visa form
e) 2 passport pictures
f) hotel booking in Thailand (they didn't ask me for this but better be safe)
g) passport with at least 6 months validity
After handing over all the documents, they will ask you to come pick your passport with the visa the following day from 4 to 5pm. That's it!
NOTE: after 2 successful attempts, I was already questioned the 3rd time.
30-Day Extension
NOTE: When your 60-day visa is close to expiry and you want to extend your stay. No need to leave Thailand.
bring the following to the Immigration Office:
a) passport (make sure your Tourist Visa hasn't expired yet)
b) Baht 1900
c) photocopy of your passport + visa duration date stamp + TM6 card (white immigration card) and sign all the copies
d) completed TM7 visa extension form (available at the Immigration Office)
e) one 4cmx6cm passport picture
submit the above to the Front Desk. They will give you a stub with your number on it. Take a seat and wait for your number to be called
when your number is called, your picture will be taken. Then go back to your seat. They will call you again.
when they call you again, they'll give you your passport with your extended visa. That's it!
when there are no lines, the whole process can take only 10 minutes
arrive early - in case there is a snag (visa snag, documentation snag, transport ticket snag, etc.), you will have ample time to troubleshoot the problem if you arrive early (to the airport, to the bus terminal, etc.)
put detailed itinerary on the Calendar apps of your smart-phone according to timelines - this is where you do all your thinking and planning. Once written down, you don't have to think anymore while you are on the journey...you just follow the steps. This frees your mind for something else that might happen while you are already en route
avoiding scams - as a general rule, I ignore the touts or anyone I don't know who call out to me. The calling comes in many forms - "Hi! Where are you from?", "Excuse me! Excuse me!", "Where are you going?". I don't look them in the eye and I remain non-verbal with them. If you reply to them, you just gave them an 'in' to hound you. In order not to look rude, I smile and wave the 'not interested' hand to them, without looking at them.
power bank - hand-carry your power bank. Do not check it in. You can be called in when you are already inside the plane to go all the way to the loading dock so you can personally remove the power bank...and chances are, you'll have to surrender it to them. And you might delay the plane departure!