Light Green Sunsets

"One trick that works well for me... throughout the day, ask yourself 'Am I dreaming?' and look at your palms. Look closely. And do this often. 30 times per day, or as much as you can remember. If your hands look normal, you're still awake. It's a good trick, because it's quick and effective, you won't look weird, no one will even notice. There are other methods like hopping from place to place, everywhere you go, all day long, but, that is a little more noticeable. However, if you don't mind the questions, and confused looks, this also works very well. In the realm of dreams, there is no gravity, the physics are different. So if you hop from place to place, and ask yourself if you are dreaming... it will be very obvious. You will be hopping 20-30 feet into the air. And, it will likely be very fun. But, it's important to ask yourself the question, 'Am I dreaming?' Otherwise you just might think, hopping 30 feet into the air is normal, everyday behavior. When you are in the realm of dreams, also known as the Astral realm, and you remember to ask yourself this question, followed by an examination of your palms... you will know immediately that you are dreaming. Your palms will look very different. This is how you wake up in your dreams, and explore the Astral with true awareness. The Astral realm is infinite and once you become lucid the possibilities are truly, truly, endless."

Chatty, with a huge smile on her face, paced back and forth in front of the group, giggling to herself as she taught this lesson on Lucid dreaming techniques. I sat there enamored with her style and sense of humor, as I eagerly listened, and took notes in my little black notebook, which also served as my dream journal. From the moment we arrived, we were instructed to record our dreams in as much detail as we could muster. This came very easy to me, as I hadn't looked at my phone in almost two weeks. I felt the pace of my body and mind slow down immediately. The moist, tropical, Guatemalan air soothed my body into relaxation. It was truly another world from New York City. Living on the edge of Lake Atitlan is unreal. Remembering to ask myself if I am dreaming all day, was basically what I had been doing since I arrived. The lake is surrounded by volcanoes, vast clouds filling up portions of the sky, colored by sunsets, and blues and greens of tropical rainforest. There always seemed to be this mist floating on the waters of the lake, broken up only when little water taxis came floating in towards the dock from neighboring villages. Though many terrible things have happened on that land this century, the indigenous population is still very dense, and the magic is very noticeable. I felt it fill my lungs with every breath.

“Becoming lucid in the Astral realm takes practice and discipline. But, waking up in your dreams is only the first step. Getting distracted is extremely easy, so let me share with you, your first homework assignment! At the bottom of Lake Atitlan there is a temple. It is actually there. There is even an old National Geographic documentary about it, with scuba divers, underwater cameras and dramatic music. It is said to be an old Mayan temple, perhaps even older..

However, when you visit this same temple in the Astral realm, it is a library. I have visited, my daughters have been there and some of my friends have as well. The appearance of the library is different for everyone, but the essence is the same. It is a functioning library. You won’t need scuba gear to visit, as you don’t need to breathe in the Astral. Just swim to the bottom of the lake. You will find it. Go inside, select a book off the shelf, read a page, and try to remember the words you read, and when you wake up, write it down in your dream journal! When you complete this, I will give you another homework assignment...” She giggled again, but I knew she was being completely sincere.

I sat on my meditation pillow in awe and excitement. That was the best homework assignment I’d ever received! My name is Yosh, by the way, and there I was, sitting inside a huge wooden pyramid learning about some beautiful things. How I had found myself in this class is a story for another time, but I’m grateful to have had these experiences. For several weeks I learned many techniques to cultivate lucid dreams as well as several other subjects. Every single night, I remembered my dreams in great detail. Which was fun and exciting, but also frustrating as many dreams were filled with fantastic, and to me, obviously dream-like imagery or events, and yet, nothing would seem out of the ordinary until I woke up. I wanted to become lucid in my dreams and complete my homework assignment!

The classes ended, and my next stop was to visit my dear friend Jeronimo in Mexico City. He is an open-minded guy, but I was aware that this month-long study I had just completed was pretty out there. And what did I have to show for myself? I really wanted to have something fantastic to tell, of my own experience.

I slept the next night at a hostel in Antigua, before getting on a plane to Mexico City. That night, I finally noticed something weird in my dream, and I asked myself 'Am I Dreaming?' when I looked down at my palms, they were glowing…! I was filled with excitement. What do I do now?! I tried to fly. Jump Neo in the Matrix style hundreds of feet into the air to land on top of this building. It was hard. Navigating the dreamworld is different, things seem to happen instantly as I imagine them. Before I knew it, I was falling and catching on to a ledge, it felt so real. Next, I was in another space making out with a crush. I was trying to remember my homework assignment, but I couldn’t quite find the details of the memory. The moment I thought to teleport to the lake, I felt my eyes closed tightly, with my face scrunched up. I was in bed and suddenly awake again. I tried, but could not return to the dream. Filled to the brim with excitement, I sat up in bed and wrote down every single detail I could remember.

About a week later I became lucid in another dream. I had better access to my waking memories this time, and was flying deep into the depths of the lake. Swirls of water and colors flushed past me, the water felt like silken sheets of blues and greens and grays caressing my skin. It was gorgeous. The darkness of the deep waters was illuminated by the glowing library. The walls of the building were made of intricate colored fabrics with beautiful patterns. The building seemed very small from the outside but when I went inside, it was expansive. I was so excited I had finally made it this far, and though I wanted to take my time to explore I had to select a book. I turned to the first wall of books I could find and ran my hands across a few. There was one made completely of gold. I almost selected it, but it felt too obvious. I opened this older, dusty, brown book next to it. I felt a card in it, bookmarking a page, and opened to it. It was a tarot card, the Ten of Pentacles. At first the page seemed blank, but then I noticed a few words “look underneath, and you shall find…” I turned my head to look closer at the tarot card, and instantly felt my body awake again, in the bed at my friend Mariana’s apartment. I was stunned. I sat up in bed to write down the message from the library book.

For another month or so I traveled around Mexico. I had some really good, and really weird adventures along the way, but that’s another story… Trust me when I say, I got a little sick of “looking underneath” things… It was cute for awhile. I actually found a few odd items, a photo of a horse underneath a potted plant at a book store. Quite a few coins underneath some vending machines. And this pretty nice purple bracelet that I’ve been wearing ever since... Maybe it was a metaphor… I didn’t want to give up trying to decipher the message, but it was only 6 words and I really didn't know what to do with them. I forgot about it all for a while.

I had another dream. It was my first nightmare since I was a child. In the dream I had rescheduled my flight home, to stay in Mexico for a while longer. I saw my new friends get hit by a bus. It was bloody. I saw a lot of details, too many... before I woke up. The dream really hung with me, and I felt like it was a clear sign that it was time to head back home. I had basically spent all my money anyways.

Somehow I ended up in the middle seat of the airplane. I felt really restless, so I started stretching to calm myself down. With my head between my legs I opened my eyes and saw the life vest under the chair in the dim light. One side hanging low with the velcro unattached. I barely touched it and these two thick stacks of 100 dollar bills fell to the floor immediately, my eyes lit up.. LOOK. UNDERNEATH… WHAT THE F#&K...!! The sound of the money stacks hitting the floor, thundered in my mind so loudly. I quickly shoved them under my seat into a corner that seemed out of sight.. My sudden movement awoke my neighbor and fear ripped through my body that he or someone else might notice the money. I could feel my heart beating across every inch of my skin. I tried desperately to smile, and pulled the airplane blanket out of my lap. I bent over to scoop up the stacks of cash and bundle them deeply inside the blanket. I shoved the whole blanket into my tote bag, which barely had enough free space. I immediately wondered, who was that money left there for? Are they on this plane? Are they sitting next to me right now?

“On behalf American Airlines I want to thank you for flying with us today, we are approaching our destination and will be landing shortly. Please stow your tray tables and return your seats to the upright position.” I got up to go to the bathroom, tightly holding my bag. Just as I got there, I felt a tap on my shoulder. My heart dropped, I turned around and it was a flight attendant.

“Excuse me sir, those blankets are only meant to be used on the plane, please do not take it home with you.”

“Yes, sorry... I was just going to brush my teeth.. I didn’t mean to bring the blanket with me...”

“No problem Sir, I can return the blanket to your seat if you’d like?

“… I’m sorry I really need to pee!!” I jumped into the bathroom and closed the door. I unwrapped the cash and buried it at the bottom of my bag and neatly folded the blanket. $20,000 Dollars... I sat on the closed toilet seat, leaned forward, and looked at my reflection. I looked weird...

I paused, and slowly asked myself, “Am I dreaming?” I looked down at my palms… they looked normal. I looked really closely, following the tiny creases with my eyes. I noticed my hands trembling a little.