An aerospace industry communications specialist describes his experiments with lucid dreaming and out-of-body travel
By KEN KORCZAK
The Adventures in Lucid Dreaming account I’m going to relate to you today comes out of intensive experiments and explorations I began in the early 1990s when I was a graduate student at the Center for Aerospace Sciences (CAS) at the University of North Dakota.
I was also employed as the chief staff writer for CAS at the time. By day, I wrote endless documents, articles and papers that focused on aspects of the aerospace industry as I also studied the mind-numbing intricacies of international space policies and infrastructure.
I worked grueling 18-hour days with both school and work, and I sometimes handled projects that required me to work 24 to 36 hours straight without a break or sleep.
At the end of each day, I was usually so exhausted I fell asleep before my proverbial head hit the proverbial pillow. But this did not stop me from attempting — each and every night — to set my intention to either:
(a) Program a lucid dream
(b) Induce an out-of-body experience (OBE)
This was a period wherein I triggered some of the most remarkable transpersonal consciousness experiences of my life.
I’m going to focus on one such event today –- it was the first time I met an amazing “Dream Companion” and “Helper.” This individual has since remained my faithful companion in the dream and OBE realms over these past 30+ years.
My dream companion’s name is: MR. LAMP.
THE ‘FALSE AWAKENING’ CHALLENGE
Every night as I settled into bed in those days I would set this intention:
“Tonight, I will awaken in my dreaming or go out-of-body.”
One result was that, very often in my crummy one-room apartment, I would have the experience of “coming awake,” only to find myself standing in the middle of my room. Sometimes I would look back at my bed and see my own body sleeping there.
In these cases, I judged that I was out-of-body. But at other times, I would see no “body” in the bed — and sometimes the bed would be made as if I had not slept there. At the same time, I was convinced that I was still asleep.
In these cases, I looked around the room for clues to determine if I was dreaming, lucid dreaming, or if I had gone out-of-body.
Sometimes it’s impossible to distinguish the difference between an OBE and a lucid dream. In reality, there may be no significant difference between these two states — at the very least, I believe they often are a blending or an amalgam of each other.
But now get this:
It was often extraordinarily difficult for me to tell the difference between being “awake for real” and being caught in an experience of “false awakening.” I can’t count the number of times I have had the experience of “waking up,” only to later discover that I had only come awake while still in the dream state.
On one occasion, for example, I experienced an astounding seven false awakenings in a row!
I would wake up in bed, think that I was now “awake for real,” only to “awaken again” — and then I would awaken from that second awakening, then a third time, then a fourth and so on before finally — BLAM! — I could finally say:
“Oh thank goodness I am really awake (for sure) at last!”
Thus, I developed some tests to help me more readily discern if I was awake or not.
One of the best tests was to look around my room to see if anything was “off” or should not be there. For example:
One time I woke up, convinced I was awake and out of bed, only to see that there was a large TV set perched in the dresser cabinet across from my bed. I knew that in “real life” I did not own a TV — so I knew I was still asleep and dreaming!
On another occasion, I was sitting up on the side of the bed, getting ready to get up, take a shower and go to work. Suddenly, my cat, Renville, jumped up on my lap and purred. I quickly realized I was still asleep and dreaming because I knew that Renville had passed away two years earlier.
Another time I was certain that I was fully awake and stepped over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. I was mildly surprised to see that some rolled-up socks I kept there were bouncing up and down like popcorn!
I said to myself:
“You know, Ken, the only reasonable explanation for these jumping socks is that you are dreaming right now. I know it’s hard to accept, but you must conclude that you are not awake.”
I MEET MR. LAMP
It was a scenario like those described above that brought me my first meeting with “an entity” that I have now known and dearly loved for more than 30 years. His name is Mr. Lamp.
I use the pronoun “he” and the noun “Mr.” for convenience but Mr. Lamp is technically not a male or female.
So:
Once again, I found myself “awake” and standing in the middle of my room during the night. Something didn’t “feel” right so I scanned the room for anything out of place or that should not be there.
Sure enough, I noticed that the ordinary table lamp with a shade that sat right next to my bed on a nightstand was not the same style of lamp that’s there in the normal “awake world.” The real lamp in the real world looked much like this AI-generated version based on my descriptive prompts:
But the lamp I was seeing now in my dream/OBE state looked very much like this:
An obvious fraud! I knew my bedside lamp did not look like that. This was an unmistakable indication that I was asleep and dreaming. Then, for some reason, I (my dream self) spontaneously pointed to the lamp and said:
“Ha! Ha! You can’t fool me! You are not the right kind of lamp that belongs here. I’m dreaming!”
But instead of allowing me to “go lucid dreaming” or just wake up, something fascinating happened.
The lamp, as if it had heard my statement, instantly went— “POOF!” — and transformed itself into yet another distinctive style of lamp! This time it was a circa 1930s-era desk lamp — but still definitely not the “correct” lamp that existed in the real world! Here is what this next version of the lamp looked like:
I said to the lamp:
“Nice try! But you must think I’m gullible! You changed your appearance again, but you are still the wrong kind of lamp! Hah! I’m still dreaming!”
The lamp responded by transforming again! There was an instantaneous “MORPH!” and now the antique, 1930s-era desk lamp transformed into a three-pronged, ultramodern, futuristic lamp, much like this AI image:
I was getting somewhat annoyed with the “mind games” this lamp was playing with me. At the same time, however, I sensed an element of prankish fun. This lamp appeared to be enjoying its mischievous game. It was as if the lamp nurtured a childish delight in “tweaking my nose,” so to speak. It felt like it was daring me to give it another command.
So that’s why I did. This time I gathered my full force of authority, pointed at the lamp and shouted:
“Okay, Mr. Lamp! I command you to show me your true self! Reveal to me the true essence of your being and identity! NOW!”
Then:
! ! K-K-K-A-BLAM ! !
The lamp exploded into a fantastic, self-contained, super-energetic oval-shaped ball of light! Again, I have turned to an AI generator to render an image of what it looked like. I am pleased with this quite accurate representation of what appeared before me in my room on that pre-dawn morning:
This amazing, vibrating, humming, thrumming 3-foot-tall orb of electro-plasmatic-like energy lifted off and moved away from its position on the bedside table and began floating around the room.
Even though I knew this was a fantastic lucid dream, I confess that my reaction to the stunning transformation of Mr. Lamp was less than dignified.
I threw up my arms, careered backward, and felt myself crash into a wall as I yelled:
! ! ! ! O-O-O-O-H-H-H ….. M-M-Y-Y ….. G-O-O-O -D-D-D ! ! ! !
Then, as the crackling, radiating plasmid-energy-orb — the True Energy Essense Self of Mr. Lamp — began to float around inside my one-room apartment, I froze in place with my eyes bulging and mouth agape. I screamed out:
! ! ! ! O-O-H-H-H ……. W-W-O-O-O-W-W! ! ! !
BUT THEN …. !
The jazzing power sphere headed straight for me at ramming speed!
It slammed into me at full force — its pulsating, radiating plasma body blasting right into my body!
My dream body was utterly absorbed and all-consumed in a mind-reeling energetic, toroidal shockwave explosion! That caused my real, physical body to convulse and bolt awake in bed!
It was as if someone had jabbed a 30,000-volt stun gun into my chest and pulled the trigger!
I leaped out of bed — now truly awake in the real world — and for several minutes my mind was suspended in spacious wonderment. I instinctively reached with my hands to feel my chest and torso to see if the sizzling, crackling ovoid energy form had fried my clothing or burned my skin — but of course, the event happened only in the dream realm!
I was fine.
I then gazed at the ordinary lamp resting on its nightstand by the bed. Yet again, a profound sense of wonderment washed over my brain. Thoughts like the following capering across my mind:
“It’s a lamp … an ordinary lamp … just another mundane object in our mundane world … or is it?”
“Is this physical lamp merely an avatar? … a symbol for something greater? … something hidden, disguised? … a material ideogram for the archetype of some powerful energy being?”
“All this in the form of an ordinary object we take for granted every day?”
“Could the ‘ordinary things’ cluttered around us in actuality be symbols for intelligent entities of expanded dimension?”
Unfortunately, I had to force myself to get frosty and grounded just then. I had to get on with the reality of the high-pressure day of work ahead of me at the Center for Aerospace Sciences.
But get this:
After confronting the expansive globe of energy, I would meet another man at my job that day who also once had a harrowing confrontation with a gigantic flaming ball of energetic power!
That person was none other than the famous test pilot, Scott Crossfield, the first man to break Mach 2 and the first of 12 men to fly the North American X-15 spaceplane.
I was scheduled to interview him for a newsy-type story that morning.
During my interview with Mr. Crossfield, he described one of his test flights of the X-15 when a malfunction caused 900 gallons of ammonia and 60 gallons of hydrogen peroxide to ignite and explode in a fantastic flaming ball that almost engulfed his entire craft.
Scott Crossfield, first man to break Mach II & the first to pilot the North American X-15
The image of the exploding sphere of fuel energy thrust me back to the experience of my dream just hours earlier. I felt a palpable charge of synchronicity.
In a half-daze, I ridiculously said to Mr. Crossfield: “An exploding sphere energy? Yeah, I know what that’s like.”
The legendary test pilot trained his nerves-of-steel gaze upon me, squinted his eyes and said nothing, but I knew what he was thinking: “This guy is spacey, maybe kind of nutty.”
MR. LAMP HELPS ME IN THE LUCID DREAM WORLD
After the amazing confrontation with Mr. Lamp in my one-room apartment that morning, I soon discovered that I had made a beloved and valued friend for life.
When the Mr. Lamp ball of energy rammed into me, it may have conjoined its consciousness with my consciousness.
From that point on, Mr. Lamp has accompanied me into the lucid dream state countless times. He always manifests in the form of a lamp but of many varieties, depending on the nature of the lucid dream scenario I find myself within. I have seen Mr. Lamp command the form of a:
Streetlight
Oil-burning hurricane lamp with wick
Lighthouse beacon
Car headlight
Light over a dentist’s chair
Ancient hand-made clay oil lamp
Flashlight
Wall fixture
Tiffany Lamp
… and innumerable others. The important thing, however, is that the “essence” or “soul” of Mr. Lamp always remains the same. Mr. Lamp never speaks verbally or even communicates thoughts telepathically. Rather, we share a “mutual vibe.” It’s an unspoken sense of understanding and a feeling of companionship.
Our relationship is entirely on an empathic level. I understand and accept that he is a sentient being — he considers me to possess sentience as well.
A TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF HOW MR. LAMP ASSISTS ME IN THE LUCID DREAM WORLD
Now I’ll describe an incident wherein Mr. Lamp came to my assistance in a lucid dream/OBE scenario.
The Dark Castle
One night while sleeping, I found myself dreaming that I was walking along a hallway inside of what seemed to be an ancient castle constructed of rough-hewn stone.
Normally when I suspect I am dreaming, I stop whatever I am doing and put my hand close to my face so that I can focus on it with intensity. This has the effect of “solidifying” the dream environment and allowing me to achieve “full lucidity.” This was a method used by Carlos Castaneda and also recommended by Dr. Stephen LaBerge.
However, it was so dark in this place I literally could not see “my own hand before my face.” Nevertheless, I became convinced I was dreaming and continued to explore this dark scenario. I stumbled along and remained certain that I was inside a castle-like structure.
I felt the cold, damp walls of the stone hallway and continued forward until I entered a spacious room. It was so dark I could see practically nothing. As I moved cautiously forward, I bumped into things, such as tall-backed chairs and other items of furniture.
I remember thinking something like: “Jeepers, what I wouldn’t give for a flashlight or even a candle right now so that I could get a better look around this mysterious place!”
As I thought this, on cue, a soft, amber glow opened up a short distance in front of me. Resting just a few feet ahead on a wooden table with thick, stumpy legs was a magnificent, ornate whale oil lamp.
My heart soared with joy! It was Mr. Lamp!
I now knew I was not alone in this dark castle in some god-knows-where location in this universe or some other universe or alternate dimension!
My glowing, warm, kind, faithful friend, Mr. Lamp was on hand to guide me in the darkness!
Thanks to the flaxen gleam of Mr. Lamp’s mild rays, I could now see the interior of the castle, albeit in subdued light. I was in a chamber that was magnificently furnished with intricately carved ornate fixtures of mahogany and other amenities fashioned from a selection of woods — blackened oakwood, teak and Spanish cedar.
A carpet of deep crimson graced the floor. Set into a nearby wall was a massive fireplace, about 8 feet high and 4 feet deep. It was constructed from enormous blocks of gray granite, the interstices chinked with jet-black obsidian.
Collected across the top of the fireplace mantel were exquisite ornaments fashioned from pure gold. Some of them were:
- A set of small no-handle ochoko-like cups with thick rims and deeply engraved with leaf & vine motifs.
- An elegant ceremonial decanter with a swan neck.
- An object that looked like a religious relic of a sect unknown to me.
- A bizarre curving artifice that I can only describe as a sculpture of Avant-garde art.
And other items.
I stepped over to the display of these brilliantly executed mantlepiece ornaments for a closer look. Mr. Lamp arose from his position on the small table and followed me.
Mr. Lamp cast his auric glow upon the collection with incredible sensitivity and keen intelligence— he adjusted the luminescent quality of his light in a way that infused each artistic object with perfect reflective resonance! Mr. Lamp’s superbly nuanced illumination afforded me an intimate appreciation of the masterful craftsmanship of each priceless artifact!
MR. LAMP TRANSLATES A TEXT FOR ME
I now looked over to the left of the fireplace mantel. Along a wall, I saw heavy-frame shelves that supported a collection of books. Mr. Lamp and I moved our way toward them.
The books were of large trim — about 2 feet by 2.5 feet in size. Feeling like a cat burglar in the silent darkness of the castle chamber, I slipped one of the weighty volumes from the shelf.
The feel of the book cover material was remarkable! I moved my hands over its luxurious surface — and I am willing to bet that these resplendent tomes were bound with mountain ram’s leather!
Seething with anticipation, I moved over to a table, set the book down and opened it in the middle. Mr. Lamp hovered close to aid my reading. However, what I saw was a page filled with what looked like hand-lettered calligraphic symbols — sort of a hybrid of linear script and hieroglyphics.
I could not read the text, obviously. I was bitterly disappointed. As usual, Mr. Lamp sensed my chagrin and did something amazing! He suddenly changed the amber candlelight glow of his whale lamp and beamed forth a black light effect across the page.
The text instantly translated into English!
My eyes eagerly jumped to the top of the page where I read this heading:
— — — — — — — — The Parable of Lilypad Lake — — — — — — — — –
I read the Parable of Lilypad Lake with awe and wonder. Because it is lengthy, I will only provide a synopsis here, but I can recreate the full word-for-word text which I may do in a future article.
The parable involved a person named Sonjenen who is described as “a vagabond.”
- Sonjenen is walking in the countryside and comes upon a beautiful blue lake with a surface that is dotted with thick, foot-sized green lily pads.
- Sonjenen gazes across the lake and sees a fantastic and alluring “white pavilion” on the opposite shore. It appears to be a place of “ideal joy.”
- Sonjenen comes to understand that to get to the other side of the lake he must walk across placing one foot on a lily pad and step onto the next before each lily pad sinks. If he is quick enough, he might gambol across the lake to reach a place of “ideal joy.”
- However, each lily pad imparts to Sonjenen a “thought” when his foot touches it. Each one of these thoughts can be so captivating that it causes him/her to leave his foot engaged for too long, causing him/her to fall into the water and plunge beneath the surface.
- Sonjenen discovered that immersion in the lake water causes his mind to be flooded with overarching Gestalt concepts. They soak his entire consciousness within a deep, rich and heady “knowledge field.” It is the opposite of the single, linear thoughts of the individually separated “lily pad thoughts.”
- Becoming seduced by the underwater “knowledge forms” is wonderful, and mind-enriching, but could also cause Sonjenen to drown. Thus, he must shake off the entrancement of this situation and try to pull him/herself back up onto the lily pads to continue walking across Lilypad Lake.
I’ll stop there. I’ll only add that the conclusion offered and the moral implications of The Parable of Lilypad Lake are among the most profound and insightful I have read anywhere. It happened to be just the “message” I needed to hear at the time.
Mr. Lamp and I explored the Dark Castle further, but the time eventually came for me to awaken and return to my home.
On cue, Mr, Lamp winked out — and so did I.
I woke up in my bed. I was back in Minnesota.
NOTE: For more stories about lucid dreaming, UFOs and the paranormal, please visit: KEN-ON-MEDIUM