If SL were like a Lucid Dream - a model for a new kind of reality

[Persephone Emerald]

Shamans and magic users know of other realities besides our physical one. They also know that the laws of these other worlds are different from the laws of this physical one. They learn the laws and maps of these other worlds, so they can use them practically to help themselves and others.

Virtual Realities - Second Life in particular - might be similar to a huge shared lucid dream. I see enough similarities to our virtual existence and to my own lucid dreams, that I think we can use Dream Reality as a model for Second Life.

We can fly, jump from tall heights, travel instantly, create things straight out of our thoughts, and have sex with whomever or whatever we wish, without any physical world consequences. We can be like heroes, monsters or gods. We can also be plagued by monsters or demons. Our environment may change quickly, radically and may be filled with absurdities. It might represent a vaguely remembered past, an alternate present, or a feared future. What we experience in a dream or in SL is often largely the product of our subconscious desires or fears. We create our own reality - which is different from what other people experience - but don't often do so consciously. - Also, just as it is difficult to see our own reflection in a dream mirror or one in SL, it is also difficult to see our real self in SL, to fully understand *who* we are and how our thoughts and feelings shape our perceptions.

If we wish to be conscious (lucid) in our dreams, we may have to set the intention beforehand to know that we're dreaming while inside the dream. Sometimes, the absurdity of the dream might awaken us to the fact that this is not physical reality. Other times, something we fear might awaken us to the fact that this is not physical reality, and thus we cannot really be hurt or killed.

When we realize that this is not physical reality and that we have some measure of control over what happens to us here, we might decide that there are no consequences to our behaviors, so we can do whatever we wish. We might think all the other people we meet are merely constructs created for our amusement. - But what if this lucid dream is also a shared psychic dream? What if the other people are other dreamers, who might not be aware that they are dreaming? - Such experiences are rare in real dream reality, but they do happen.

I think I've had shared psychic dreams. I think each person involved perceives the shared dream differently, but with shared elements. I also think it's possible to scare or hurt another dreamer who is not aware that he or she is dreaming. When I meet someone else in a lucid dream who I think might be a real person, I may say to them "This is just a dream. I can prove this by flying. You can fly too if you want." I might also say something like, "Hello, my name is (RL name). I live in (RL city). The date for me is (RL date). What date is it for you?" I expect that if the other person is a dreamer, rather than just a construct of my mind, they should be able to tell me the same kind of information, and doing so will make them realize that this is a dream we're sharing. So far I've had very few confirmed cases of shared dreams, but I've had a few.

Based on these experiences and others that were not confirmed by another person, I believe that I sometimes dream-walk, which is to say that I can occasionally connect psychically with another person in a shared dream state.

One thing I've learned from these experiences is that I shouldn't assume that every person or being I meet in my dreams is only a construct of my own mind. They probably are most of the time, but just in case they aren't, I need to show some level of ethics toward other dream characters.

Don't we see a similar conflict in SL when one person thinks and behaves like "This is just a game", while going into other people's homes, acting like an idiot, or callously hurting other people they meet? These people might be considered "semi-lucid" because they vaguely realize that this place isn't like physical reality, but don't realize that it is a shared reality in which other people's feelings are important.

I view SL as a new kind of reality, similar in many ways to what some call the dream plane or dream reality. Perhaps we can apply the laws of dream reality to SL then, in order to better manage our experiences here and to draw more value from them?

1. Accept that this world is real, but functions with different rules than physical reality does. The physics of SL are easy to learn, but the social rules and consequences of social behaviors are more difficult. The psychological and metaphysical rules are also tricky.

2. Understand that the people we meet here are real people with real feelings, but they are usually not conscious of how their subconscious desires and fears shape their appearance, behaviors, perceptions and experiences in this world.

3. Understand that our own desires and fears shape our appearance, behaviors, perceptions and experiences in this world.

4. Set the intention before we come into this world to be conscious of the fact that this is a different kind of reality than physical reality, remember that we cannot be hurt here like we could be in physical reality, and remind ourselves that we usually create our own monsters and nightmares.

5. Remember that running away from something that scares us usually makes it seem worse, but facing it and asking it why it is there, usually renders it harmless to us. It might even teach us something about ourselves.

6. Try to gently signal others we meet that this is a different kind of reality than physical reality. Tell them a little about who we are in physical reality (but not too much for our own safety). See if they're conscious of their power to create their own experience here. If they don't seem able or willing to do this, then don't mess with their dream too much. Their consciousness may need to be working at a subconscious level, rather than a conscious one.

7. Think about what you want to do and create in this world. Set this intention, then figure out how to make it become real here. Remember that it is very hard to keep things from changing in this dream world, even when they seem like they should be fixed and solid, because everyone in this world is reacting to passing thoughts and volatile emotions that can easily change the landscape.

8. If you can get enough people with similar intentions to create and hold a place as a constant in this world, it will be more likely to remain relatively constant. (Robert Moss calls these "stable locals" on the dream plane.) You can also create your own fixed locations, if these locations are psychologically and emotionally significant enough for you that you keep going back to them. (The SL corollary might be paying to support a sim.)

9. Some Stable Locals in dreams are like transport hubs to other places, even other realms of existence. In a dream this might be a crossroads, an airport, a body of water, a mountain, a marketplace or shopping mall. (These kinds of locations are sacred to deities of communication and spirit travel between different realms.) A door or gateway may also take you to other places. Opening a book might too. Books, radios, TVs, movies, computer screens or other media vehicles may all be avenues for communication - from spirits in a dream, from content creators and the internet in SL.

10. Symbolism is very important in this world. Things have meanings beyond their obvious physical world ones, and these are often more important than their obvious ones. - In SL you might ask yourself why a person chooses to live in a castle or a modern house? What does a cave or spaceship signify to them? Why do they dress a certain way? Why do they seek certain kinds of sexual encounters? Much of what people do in here is based on emotions or subconscious reasoning, just like in a dream.

11. We can only bring into this world or take out of it things that are non-physical. We can bring in ideas, feelings and artistic expressions. We can also take out ideas, feelings and artistic expressions. These things are real, even if they are not physical, and they can affect us and change us in the physical world.

12. Finally, because SL is a real place rather than just imaginary, deities, spirits and magic can work here just as they can in dreams and physical reality. Deities and spirits won't appear as a physical being the way they do in dreams, because they're dependent upon us to create their form in SL, but they can work through the things we create. They can inspire people to create a shrine, for instance. They can make us want to follow an impulse that brings us to a place or to meet another person. They can also inhabit a virtual creation, such as a statue, a landscape or a scripted creature. In my experience, magic works in SL through the use of symbolism, intention and Will, just as it does in physical reality. Spells done in SL tend to affect events in SL more than RL, but this might be a limitation of my own expectations or imagination more than an actual limitation. For instance, if I cast a money spell in SL, I tend to get lindens rather than RL dollars.

Some say we're like caterpillars in RL, dreaming of being butterflies here.  Maybe though, we may be dreaming in RL that we're caterpillars, when we're actually butterflies.