Started a lucid dream inside a dream!

[obe4life]

Hi every body. Just wanted to share an unusual experience I had. I was sleeping as normal, losing awareness completely. I started to dream and I was lying in a bed in my parents' house (which exists in real world). My wife and daughter were lying beside me in the same bed. I closed my eyes and decided to attempt an OBE or a LD while lying on my back in the bed. I relaxed and closed my eyes and i started to feel the symptoms of an exit/separation. I floated over the bed and looked downward and saw my wife and daughter just as I left them few minutes ago. I felt fully aware and focused. I looked forward and saw the hall of my parent's house. I floated forward and headed low to the floor. I looked at my hands and saw them clearly and they were too physical to the touch. I kept rolling my eyes around and everything looked so real and vivid. I noticed a small black plastic piece on the floor. It was like a piece left out of a broken toy. I decided to grab it with my left hand and take it with me back to the "second physical"-will explain later. I then floated upward again and headed to the bed and I looked down but I didn't see my self, just saw my wife and daughter. I moved downward to the place I supposed my "second physical body" was lying in. I kept my left hand firm over the black plastic piece and shifted all my focus on it. I was starting to "wakeup" from that "sub-lucid dream" to the "normal dream environment". I felt the plastic piece fading gradually, as if it's disappearing or evaporating. I "woke up" and went out of the bed and saw the hall of my parent's house just as I left it in the "sub-lucid dream" but the only one difference was that my older sister was setting with two teenage girls (one was her daughter maybe and the other girl is unknown to me). And then suddenly every thing went blurry and the view was just black. I started to feel my "real physical awareness" and real surroundings. I opened my eyes and I was in my bed at my apartment wth my wife beside me.
Conclusion:
This was a dream-initiated lucid dream OR a lucid dream inside a normal dream OR a multi-layered dream, whatever you think fits. This was my first time to experience something similar, and I have to admit it's truly confusing!
Comments and opinions are welcome of course

[Xanth]

This was a dream-initiated lucid dream OR a lucid dream inside a normal dream OR a multi-layered dream, whatever you think fits. This was my first time to experience something similar, and I have to admit it's truly confusing!

The most concise "label" would be a dream initiated lucid dream.  You simply became aware while non-physical.

In other words... it was a Projection.    Congrats. 

[obe4life]

Thanks Xanth for your reply. I think the movie (inception) isn't entirely a matter of fantasy after all

[Xanth]

Thanks Xanth for your reply. I think the movie (inception) isn't entirely a matter of fantasy after all

Actually, the movie "Inception" is a matter of fantasy.  The way they illustrate being lucid in a dream, with the varying layers, from my own experience, simply isn't how it is.

Inception is a wonderful movie, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't use it for anything other than entertainment. 

[obe4life]

I agree.

[jeck140]

I had a similar experience once myself many years ago. While I was dreaming I ended up in some random barn and for whatever reason got the urge to lay down on some hay and take a quick dream snooze. At least that's what I thought I was doing but it was sort of just as soon as I closed my eyes in the dream I started having another dream of a whole different location which was some city by the ocean. Very quickly I became aware of my dream state and out of instinct took off into the air and began soaring across the city looking down on it from above. Flying is always the first thing I go for when I am lucid as ever since I was a child I had dreams of being able to fly which were always a blast! That lucid experience didn't last too long though and I woke back up into my first dream in the barn and got up from the hay pile I was on. Then I realized I was still in a dream and again launched myself straight up into the air but woke up right after that. One of the coolest and interesting lucid dream experiences I've had to this day! Glad to hear the experience wasn't unique to my case lol

[EscapeVelocity]

jeck140-

You stated that your experience of a 'dream within a dream' was from some years ago...I don't know if or how far your experiences have progressed from there, but I would suggest that that particular experience was possibly a very significant one, that indicated you were being subtly prompted to move into other areas for possible expansion. (this is why it's really good to write these experiences down- so that we can refer to them in the future).

I have only experienced going to sleep in a dream a couple times and both of them signaled transformative events; so that is a big alert, at least in my experience.

Flying is a big thrill for me as well, but the fact that your experience ended/shifted/changed shortly thereafter, could be a key indicator that you missed something, a signal that, had you taken it, would have continued the experience in a different direction; a test, a learning simulation, a challenge. It is likely normal that we initially miss these cues the first few times; they can be incredibly subtle.

Can you recall your exact thoughts just before you 'awakened' from the inner dream, back on the hay pile? What about just after that when you flew again, but then immediately awakened into Physical Reality? Your thoughts at each of these points are important and may lead you to understanding what signals you might have missed.

In my own experiences and many I have read of others, it appears that we are allowed great freedom to adventure and have fun (flying!) in the NP, but at some point we are expected to notice certain 'signals' that are introduced to lead us into various learning environments.

If you are interested in continuing your experiences, it might be helpful to keep these ideas in mind. For me, my experiences slowed to almost nothing for years until I recognized and accepted this next stage in my 'expansion'.

Just some thoughts to consider.

EV

[jeck140]

EscapeVelocity-

Wow I had honestly no idea of the potential significance that experience held! I'm very annoyed with myself for not keeping a journal over the years for such occurrences now that I have seen your viewpoints on the subject and thinking back the whole ordeal, from the details I remember, could definitely match up with your points more so than not at least. I don't know if there is a correlation to this event and my subsequent loss of lucid dreams and any OBE experiences but I can't totally count that out although I feel that would a tad extreme for failing a test or missing a cue. I've also never fully experienced an OOBE but did have an incredible consciousness shift also many years ago while in a deep trance which I could only describe as feeling like my body was tossed into a vacuum that had its point of origin buried deep inside my own skull. I experienced the whole totally silent mind and infinite 3D blackness also loss of perception of any physical form/location and all that. I think what it all boils down to for me personally is life just got a little too busy and took up all of my physical and emotional energy to the point where I just couldn't focus on other things. Recently though I've been able to get myself to a place where things are going well and I've been being heavily drawn back to AP seemingly out of the blue. I feel this time the weights and stresses of my personal life will no longer be a hinderence so maybe the next time I get tested I will have done my homework in a manner of speaking.

[EscapeVelocity]

jeck140-

I read your initial post and responded pretty late into the night- I failed to give a full and more complete interpretation which is what I intended.

I don't think you necessarily failed in that experience and the NP does not punish you for missing cues, clues and signs in a single event by blocking further OBEs; instead you are usually sent back to the same or a variation of the original simulation to try again.

A lack of OBEs can be for many and different reasons and we ALL get dry periods where despite our best efforts, we get nothing for a time. 1 reason can be that we are being re-directed to focus more fully on our Physical Reality situation -family/job/school- that sort of thing (as you mentioned in your own case). 2- after a particular OBE or NP experience, we may need some down time for 'processing' and certain internal and possibly energetic adjustments to occur. 3- Especially if related to a prior NP event, the NP may be waiting for us to make a conscious change in direction -this could even involve making a declaration to the NP of our Intent, our purpose, our sincerity and appreciation for our NP experiences.

Your experience of going to sleep in a dream, making a shift of consciousness into a different LD environment, recognizing the fact, then maintaining your awareness/lucidity as you shifted back into the original dream...this was an excellent demonstration of your NP mindset and shows good development and continuity. You may not have missed anything! This was possibly just a simulation to give you the experience of holding your awareness together through multiple shifts; a test of the continuity of your awareness. Once each shift was accomplished and recognized, that part of the simulation simply ended; finally, when you shifted back to the hay pile and flew off, the goal of the simulation was reached and so it ended. You might have extended the experience by not performing an action as dynamic as flying (that can often upset the script enough to end a simulation) but only you can determine that by re-tracing your exact thoughts -fear, doubt, confusion, distraction- any of these factors can sabotage an experience prematurely.

Experiences like this can often be unnecessarily discouraging because we are left unsure as to whether we accomplished the goal or missed something somewhere. Another form of test.

You and ileisou have asked similar questions, so I would suggest you read my comments  there as they may add more context to yours.

Here is one of my experiences that gives good examples of how I messed up in some simulations and missed some signals; and the great analysis I was given.

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_projection_experiences/back_to_school-t44211.0.html

[jeck140]

I will definitely give those a read thanks again for the responses EscapeVelocity!