From: whare@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: alt.dreams
Subject: spinning technique
Date: 17 Dec 92 07:45:38 -0400
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

A friend of mine showed me this old Omni article
that had to do with lucid dreaming.  It discussed
one technique which appealed to me: spinning. 
The idea was, as soon as you discover or realize
that you're dreaming (which to me had been a 
fairly frequent event), stop whatever you're 
doing and start spinning.  While you're spinning
(like a figure skater in a tight turn), tell 
yourself where you want to go or what you want 
to do.  And, as I continued to read pretty 
sceptically, this technique was apparently 
very successful.  (The article also contained
other techniques designed to help you make the
realization in a dream that you are in fact
dreaming).
Well, about two weeks later I actually used this
technique. I was in the middle of this pretty 
routine "excitement" TJ Hooker chase type dream.
I was running around my house at home trying to 
catch this professor of mine.  Suddenly when I
got to the top of the stairs and he huffed and
puffed around the next corner, his white hair 
flying behind him, it came to me in an instant
that this was a ridiculous situation, and that I
must be dreaming.  I didn't order myself to start
spinning; it was somehow very natural, and with
my eyes closed I could "feel" myself spinning, 
could feel the centrifugal forces etc.  As I was
spinning I remembered that I was using a technique
and that I now had to decide on a place to go. I
got pretty excited, and so my mind raced to think
of a place before I lost control of this technique
and this dream.  The first thing that popped in my
head was "Mars. I want to go to Mars."  When I 
opened my eyes I found myself rushing (in the air)
faster and faster sideways, and I was passing 
these houses that had huge front picture windows,
and inside the windows were alternating scenes of
sunset and sunrise.  After three or four of these 
houses, I passed the last house, and all I could
see were stars! I straightened myself out and 
starting flying through space. I was still telling
myself how incredibly awesome this was when I 
noticed five or six other people flying in the same
direction as I was.  They were flying in kind of 
a formation, and they were all glowing.  The leader
called out to me in surprise: "Hey! You figured it
out! We're headed to Mars too!"  I started to fly
towards them, and I was thinking that this was 
very interesting, that these people could be lucid
dreamers from around the world who were sharing my
"dreamland" for the night. I had a million questions
to ask them, they seemed like they knew what they
were doing, but no sooner had I reached them did
one of them warn me that we were approaching Mars 
fast and that I should "pull out" of my dive. I 
turned to look and indeed the red hilly surface of
Mars was getting closer RAPIDLY.  I tried to pull
out, but I crashlanded in a big way, and slid along
for about a mile, and then I woke up.
Then about two weeks later I spinned in my dream 
again, and this time I asked to see my grandfather,
who had died seven years ago EXACTLY.  When I 
opened my eyes after spinning, I found myself in
the front room of his old house in Cyprus, and the
rest of the dream was extremely moving.  He was so
happy to see me; I felt good inside for days.

What is this dream ship that some of you are talking
about?  I've just started reading this group.

Andrew
Newsgroups: alt.dreams