Phase Today

21/06/2025

Sherlock’s False Awakenings

“The Abominable Bride”—an Emmy-winning episode of Sherlock—sees Benedict Cumberbatch’s Victorian detective delving into the depths of his mind like a seasoned lucid dreamer, blurring the lines between reality and hallucination. This special installment of the British BBC series is not just a stylish adaptation of Conan Doyle’s stories but is also a psychedelic journey into the subconscious, where dreams become an investigative tool and endless false awakenings—traps set by the evil genius Moriarty.

The plot revolves around the investigation of a mysterious su***de intertwined with a modern case about Moriarty’s resurrection. Holmes uses his Mind Palace—a mental construct familiar to anyone who practices lucid dreaming—to reconstruct events and find a connection between the two eras. However, as often happens in lucid dreams, his control over the situation slips away, and he falls victim to his fears and doubts, wandering in a labyrinth of false realities where every turn can lead to doom.

In “The Abominable Bride,” one can find several techniques relevant to lucid dreamers. First, there’s the use of “anchors”—details from the real world that seep into the dream to reinforce lucidity. Second, actively confronting nightmares and fears embodied by the “abominable bride” is a bold move that allows one to transform negative experiences into strength. And finally, the realization that even in the most confusing and terrifying dream, there is a way out if one trusts their intuition and isn’t afraid to leap into the unknown.

Have you seen the episode? What does it resemble more: a lucid dream, a lucid nightmare, or a false awakening?

20/06/2025

Transformation into a Golden Eagle
Ilia.Semenov

WBTB. I exit my body. My consciousness is immediately clear. I get up and run to the rendezvous point. I jump with a running start and fly out the window onto the street. I fly down from the 16th floor towards the ground, diving straight into the earth. Underground, there turn out to be floors of an underground house. My X-ray vision activates, and I'm on the 4th or 5th floor underground, but I can see the surface and the sky through the floors. I rush upwards, fly out, and soar into the sky. I simply want to fly and experience the sensations of flight.

I remember that I wanted to fly as a golden eagle. At high speed, I begin the technique for transforming into a bird, starting to flap my arms, which gradually transform into wings, and my body straightens. I feel the airflow resisting my wings. I soar, holding myself on the wind current. With my eyes, I survey my wings. They are enormous. My consciousness is still mine, but the sensations are strange. I dive downwards, and near the ground, I decide that the goal of flying as a bird has been achieved, and it's time to do other things.

Read about other lucid dreams tonight in the LucidMe app—available for download on Apple and Google:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/phaser-lucid-dreaming-tools/id907469483
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phaser

20/06/2025

A Lucid Dreaming Animated Film from Netflix

Netflix promises to take lucid dreaming to a new level in its animated film, In Your Dreams. Adults have iconic films like Inception or A Nightmare on Elm Street, and now, the world of lucid dreams is being shown to children as well. This new comedy from Netflix demonstrates how fun and crazy the world of children's dreams can be. The trailer is full of everything a child could dream of—tons of sweets, toys, and the embodiment of any fantasy—all in the style of anime. It seems the movie will have something for lucid dreamers of all ages.

At the center of the plot are a young girl named Stevie and her little brother, Elliot. They travel through the absurd landscape of their dreams. To save their parents' marriage and get a chance at the "perfect family" from the Sandman, they must stand against a snarky stuffed giraffe, zombie breakfasts, and the queen of nightmares. This animated film embodies what every lucid dreamer has experienced at least once: insane plot twists, absurd situations, and the opportunity to face their fears head-on, presented in the most ridiculous form.

According to Forbes, the creators of the animated film based the characters on themselves as well as their brothers and sisters, and the stuffed giraffe became the prototype of their favorite toys from childhood. It's predicted that the character will be popular, and there are already plans to sell it as a real toy for Christmas.

Do you talk to your children about lucid dreams?

The animated film will be released on November 14, 2025. The trailer is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IG1p9fhNIks?si=ld0j8NVwH_wLFVpj

What if your dreams could become reality? Get ready for the adventure of a nighttime in Netflix’s brand new animated film, IN YOUR DREAMS. Featuring Jolie Ho...

19/06/2025

The Merman and the Spaceship Race
realm_escapist

I woke up triggered by the LUNA 2 mask and immediately realized I wasn't actually awake—I doubted the reality of what was happening. I was in a room with some girl who was looking for her numerology book. I started verbally questioning the reality of what was happening, and her sprite glitched out and started spouting nonsense.

After that, I found myself in a dark space. Through tactile sensation, I manifested a picture and ended up in the middle of some city. It was daytime, bright, there were a lot of sprites on the street, and I noticed that they were all silent. I thought that in lucid dreams we more often communicate with thought forms. But what would happen if I screamed? I started shouting the name of one girl, and the sprites around me looked at me and awkwardly laughed and smiled, but didn't say anything.

I took a running start and flew. To my surprise, the sprites around me also started flying. I sped up. And at some point, I saw a spaceship in front of me flying straight toward a hyperspace wormhole. I wanted to tag along, but the wormhole closed right in front of my nose, and I crashed down into the water.

I took a deep breath of water, because that's a cool sensation. And immediately a merman appeared before me—a swarthy guy with a fish tail and gills on his neck. At first, I thought he wanted to eat me, but no. We swam together to some underwater cafe. And then I got kicked out, as I later realized, into a false awakening that I didn't recognize.

Read about other lucid dreams tonight in the LucidMe app—available for download on Apple and Google:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/phaser-lucid-dreaming-tools/id907469483
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phaser

19/06/2025

Lifestyle as a Remedy for Sleep Paralysis

Forty percent of people have experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their lives—a terrifying state where the mind awakens, but the body refuses to move. This figure was presented by researchers from India, led by Manvendra Singh Shaktawat. The authors, who are primarily interested in practical medicine rather than theory, studied the case of a specific patient, whom they called "Subject K."

The subject first encountered sleep paralysis in adolescence. Initially, Subject K perceived the condition as a fascinating out-of-body journey. But over time, as terrifying hallucinations such as the sounds of footsteps and beckoning voices accompanied the paralysis, the experience ceased to be pleasant. Subject K identified a clear link between sleep paralysis and body position. Specifically, sleeping on his back almost guaranteed an episode, whereas sleeping on his stomach practically eliminated it. Moreover, he discovered two ways to interrupt the paralysis: trying to move or calming down, although this is a difficult feat when one is in a state of panic.

The article emphasizes that after a person experiences sleep paralysis once, they become more vulnerable to its recurrence, especially in the presence of provoking factors. We should add that sleep paralysis is one of the phase states, and people can enter a lucid dream from it. But the authors prescribe a more traditional remedy, namely, a healthy lifestyle, regular physical exercise, following a sleep schedule, and consuming a balanced diet. This is the recipe that ultimately "cured" Subject K.

The article was published in June 2025 in the World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research:https://wjpr.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/article_issue/c5519eee914e01c1e103d51c03cfd538.pdf

18/06/2025

A Brief Attempt to Enter the Picture
K4

I roll out of bed. When I got up and opened my eyes, I saw that the room was wallpapered with the same wallpaper I had 15 years ago. I had the thought to go to the living room, but not through the door, but through the wall. I had a feeling of viscosity, as if I were really passing through something dense, like jelly.

When I got through, I lost my sight, but immediately started feeling around with my hands and found the sofa in the living room. At that moment, my sight returned—I was in the living room where paintings hung. After examining the paintings, I noticed that they weren't like they were in reality, and nothing appealed to me. But on the sofa there was a printed sheet from work—it had many beautiful pictures on it.

I sat down and placed the sheet in front of me. Looking closely at a picture, I folded my fingers and recited the technique to immerse myself in it. I managed to zoom in on the picture a lot and stretch it across my field of vision. But I couldn't fully enter the picture—during the attempts, I was kicked back into reality.

Read about other lucid dreams tonight in the LucidMe app—available for download on Apple and Google:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/phaser-lucid-dreaming-tools/id907469483
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phaser

18/06/2025

Imitation of Control

Researchers from China, led by CAO Zhihui, have devised an installation that consists of three screens to simulate the control experienced in lucid dreams. The left screen displays “rational vision,” ordered visuals with geometric figures and clear lines. On the right screen, which represents “emotional stimulation,” AI-generated videos are intended to evoke strong feelings. These videos were created based on people’s descriptions of nightmares. Finally, the rear screen presents a “general dream simulation,” a stream of fragmented memories and images of real life overlaid with the effects of old film and hand-drawn sketches.

The main feature of the installation is the viewer’s ability to influence what happens on the two front screens. Cameras track the visitor’s hand movements, and the video clips displayed on the screens change depending on the position of the hands. Thus, the viewer can switch between different videos, creating unique combinations of “rational” and “emotional” dreams and simulating control over a lucid dream.

The project was the result of a survey involving 74 participants, of whom 58% had experienced lucidity in a dream at least once. The authors identified the five most common themes in lucid dreams: chases as flights or unusual movements, strange or scary scenarios, prophetic dreams, and stress related to work or study. In these dreams, creative people often seek inspiration for drawing or writing, among other artistic endeavors.

What do you think: could such simulations be useful as a training method for lucid dreamers?

The article was published in June 2025 on RAY LC:https://raylc.org/chairbots/DepthOfDream_ISEA2025Poster_Prepub.pdf

17/06/2025

Flights in a Shopping Mall, Kisses with a Girl
Yasnovidets

I was walking through a shopping mall. At some point, I became lucid. I decided to experiment with taking flight. I pushed off the floor and flew up almost to the ceiling. There, I grabbed onto a pipe to slowly descend. I amused myself like that in the shopping mall, flying up to the ceiling and slowly landing, several times. I walked around the mall for quite a while, thinking about the interesting phenomenon of lucid dreams. What's interesting: I'm walking here, and there I'm sleeping.

Next, I approached a place where there was a small queue. There was a cute girl standing there; she was with a young man, but at some point, she was left alone. I approached her and led her around the corner. I said, "I just liked you, I'd like to talk to you." She was embarrassed; I hugged her, kissed her on the lips, and we started kissing. After 15 seconds, I woke up.

It was great to fly up to the ceiling there and land. It was such an incredible feeling of flight.

Read about other lucid dreams tonight in the LucidMe app—available for download on Apple and Google:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/phaser-lucid-dreaming-tools/id907469483
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phaser

17/06/2025

Do Lucid Dreams Fade Without Practice?

If someone regularly achieves lucidity in their dreams and expertly controls the space and narrative within, will they always be able to? German scientists Michael Schredl (a dedicated researcher in this area) and Anja Göritz conducted two surveys—one in 2017 and one seven years later, in 2024. In both instances, there were over a thousand participants, and 374 respondents completed both questionnaires. The questions focused on the frequency of lucid dreams and the participants’ ability to control them.

The outcomes show that the frequency of lucid dreams is more stable over time than the skills to control them. That is, over the years, a person may achieve lucidity with the same regularity, but their ability to control the dream plot may decrease. Thus, practice is very important. People who constantly train and use different methods enter lucid dreams more often than those who do not, and they are the ones who show progress in the number of lucid dreams. This confirms that lucidity in a dream can be trained. Another pattern emerged—namely, the more lucid dreams a person has, the higher their level of control and management within them.

Anyone who has ever experienced a lucid dream begins to explore this topic more deeply in search of new experiences. But it’s important to remember that if you stop training, lucid dreams will become less frequent over time. The authors made another interesting observation: men generally maintain their ability to control a lucid dream better than women.

Have you been practicing lucid dreams for a long time? Have the frequency of these dreams and your level of control over them changed?

The article was published in June 2025 in Imagination, Cognition and Personality: https://doi.org/10.1177/02762366251349518

16/06/2025

The First Time—The Hardest?

Simple techniques for lucid dreaming don’t work for most people, and it’s almost impossible to experience your first lucid dream using them. This conclusion was drawn by Michael Schredl, a long-time researcher on this topic of lucid dreaming from Germany. He conducted an experiment in which 81 participants kept a dream journal for four weeks and practiced either reality testing or autosuggestion (affirmations before sleep). Neither method significantly increased the frequency of lucid dreams.

The main factor for success was not the technique used but rather each participant’s personal experience. The more often a person had lucid dreams before the study, the more likely they were to have them during the experiment. Motivation also played an important role. So, it’s worth finding out what motivates experienced lucid dreamers. In addition, simple techniques may not be effective enough, and it is better to combine different methods—for example, adding wake-back-to-bed or using hypnagogic hallucinations in the morning—to achieve sustainable results.

The main question remains: can anyone be taught lucid dreaming? The study showed that novices who have never had a lucid dream very rarely manage to enter a lucid dream through simple techniques. Perhaps they need a more powerful combination of techniques or an individual approach to open the door to this world.

What technique did you use to enter your first lucid dream?

Article published in June 2025 in the International Journal of Dream Research: https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJoDR/libraryFiles/downloadPublic/858

16/06/2025

Charging with Lightning
Ilia.Semenov

I use the technique—charging myself with lightning. I say, "Lightning!" I look at the sky, the clouds gather, it starts to flash. But no lightning yet. Sprites approach me, telling me it's dangerous—"Let's get out of here."

I look at the sky, and say again: "Lightning!" The whole sky flashes, and lightning strikes a meter away from me. The sprites are practically dragging me away from the dangerous spot. I look at the sky and shout, "Lightning into me!" And right next to me, half a meter away, lightning strikes and goes straight into me, touches me, and I feel that it hit so hard that I fell to the ground. I'm shaking all over. Good thing the lightning was over quickly.

This isn't like charging yourself from a socket. I got up, turns out I'm alive.

Read about other lucid dreams tonight in the LucidMe app—available for download on Apple and Google:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/phaser-lucid-dreaming-tools/id907469483
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phaser

15/06/2025