For those of you interested in the Dreamworld Series, the first experiment–Reality Check–has officially opened up for registration.  The deadline to register is Sunday, April 27; so, be sure to sign up!  For your convenience, links to the description and registration of the project are listed below.

Overview
http://www.dreamport.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=278

Registration
http://www.dreamport.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=282

I’ve noticed that some people report having issues with spawning items within a lucid dream.  The general thought is that spawning big or even small items is extremely difficult.  Well, honestly, spawning is as easy as walking around in a dream.  There is no difficulty level on abilities within the dream world (unless of course you make it difficult).  So, if that’s the truth, why do people still have trouble?  Listed below are some tips on how to at least trick yourself into doing whatever it is you want (in this case spawn something).

• Use visualization when you try to get something done.  If just thinking “I want 2000 planes to fill up this entire field” doesn’t do it for you, use visualization!
• Press a button and say that when that button is pressed, 2000 planes will appear.
• Close a door and then open it back up, telling yourself that once the door is open, you will be teleported to an area with 2000 planes.
• Walk through a mirror, telling yourself that on the other side rests 2000 planes.
• Turn a corner to establish the same exact thing as above.
• The ways of doing this are endless, just establish a link between spawning and the actual structure of your dream world.  If the way you choose is linked to what is expected of the dream world, it will work!

This really goes for anything.  If you want to spawn planet Earth, it is no more difficult than spawning a cup.

If you have more tips and tricks, feel free to comment with them!  Otherwise, hope that helps some struggling people out there.

I’ve announced the newest series of experiments for the Astral Alliance.  We’ve started experimenting with shared dreaming and psi over the past couple of months.  Now, it’s time to introduce an experiment most relevant to the site: lucid dreaming.  This new introduction, like the other series, will have multiple projects that are spread out.  My ultimate goal is to alternate between each category (Shared Dreaming to Psi to Lucid Dreaming back to Shared Dreaming, etc…) so that participants aren’t tired of doing the same thing over and over.  And, that also gives everybody a chance to think about future possibilities within a select area.

The Dreamworld series is still extremely new and needs some work.  From now on, all series, including this one, will not have “Project Managers.”  Every member of the Astral Alliance will be able to have a say in the setting up stages of the project.  I’d like to emphasize that because Dreamworld in particular needs a lot of input.  The idea is there, but the plan to reach that idea is a bit shakey.

If this sounds even remotely interesting, I urge you to check out the forum post of the new project (URL below) and reply with some input!

http://www.dreamport.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=278

As you may or may not know, Dreamport.net has gone through some pretty big changes, one of which was moving to a new server.  We are surely expanding and becoming something far greater than before.  However, we do have some slight issues to deal with (mainly problems that were caused by the move itself).  One of the issues is our change in directory for the site.  By this, I mean that every single link, except for the main page, that was used prior to the move is now invalid.

To give an example, we’ll look at the forum.  Here are the URL comparisons of the forum index page:

Prior to the move: http://www.dreamport.net/dreamportforum/index.php
After the move: http://www.dreamport.net/forum/index.php

It’s not just the forum, either.  It’s also the pages off of the main site.  For example, take a look at the “Techniques” page comparisons:

Prior to the move: http://www.dreamport.net/?p=tech
After the move: http://www.dreamport.net/techniques

This problem exists for everything (this too includes software links, image links to images on our servers, etc..).  Skipper and I are trying as best as we can to correct any faulty URLs, but we need your help to identify the ones that we’ve missed.  If you spot any, please reply on here or on the replica forum post (URL below).  Thanks for your help and we hope you enjoy the new Dreamport as it makes its way through the front door!

http://www.dreamport.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=279

Also, if you spot any problems aside from links, please post here:
http://www.dreamport.net/a-new-server/

We are in the process of getting everything set up on the new server. We apologize for any bugs you may come across. Please let us know if you do experience anything out of the ordinary.

Getting the forum transfered was a an epic battle but I think in the end we overpowered the beast. We will keep you updated as we move along. Over all everything should be better here at the new server now that we aren’t sharing any space with anyone else. Some updates to the main page are underway as you can see. The functionality and user-friendliness should be improved with these updates. We are happy to have any feedback about anything. If there is something you see (or don’t see) that you would like to see different, our ears are happily open.

-Skipper

Have you realized how much our subconscious controls our every day lives?  From breathing to aiding in the composition of our sentences, our subconscious is exactly what keeps us going.  What if there was a way to create a link to your subconscious and alter the very characteristics of ourselves?  Well, there is a way and you have most likely heard of it: hypnosis.

I was looking over at howstuffworks.com, specifically in the science section regarding the mind.  They’ve got a whole article on “How Hypnosis Works,” which really brings up some interesting stuff.  For instance, the article (URL below) mentions how everybody enters a hypnotic trance every single day of their lives.  Hard to believe?  Well, look at your average day.  Things like driving are perfect examples of self induced hypnosis.  When you drive, you are fully aware of where you are and what you’re trying to do (drive), but are you really as consciously active as you would be if you were having a direct conversation with somebody?  I know when I drive, I feel relaxed and completely immersed in my driving.  Another perfect example would be watching a movie.  When you watch a good movie, you are completely focused on the movie and nothing else.  Everything–such as stress, work problems, relationship problems–fades away and ceases to exist for that brief amount of time that the movie is playing.  Time perception completely rids itself as well.  Your mind, completely absorbed in the story line, is under a hypnotic trance.

I just thought that was extremely interesting and very true.  The article goes on discussing forms of hypnosis and practical uses.  If you have the time, I highly encourage you to read it!

http://science.howstuffworks.com/hypnosis.htm