"Bowling Alley God"

I am in a place like a bowling alley with five or six lanes. Maybe five or six people are there. Some of them are my old friends - ones that I used to talk to about spiritual matters. We're having a conversation about religious topics, but we're also playing a game simultaneously. The game is an odd one - in it, you roll a ball down the lane and try to split an apple at the far end. I think it is easy and tell everyone "I'll show you how it's done." Then I roll the ball and the apple splits in half.

Suddenly, the varnish on the wood lanes seems to shimmer and the whole thing strikes me as odd - I realize that I'm dreaming! As I look around lucidly, I am standing next to a young, petite blonde-haired woman. She is looking at me and so I ask her, "What is God?" I ask her again with a demanding tone, "What is God?!" Then she looks directly at me with extraordinarily clear, compassionate eyes and a hint of a smile, and shows me an apple split in half. As I look at the apple and this woman, I begin to feel an incredible force like pure love and caring coming from her heart to mine - it is tangible, I can feel it coming to me, enveloping me! I think 'this is (an experience of) God." The energy is too much and I wake up with my heart pounding.

Note: In the morning, I took an apple and split it in half and began to look at it. When I did this, it was like a symbolic revelation. I could see the apple seeds, symbol of future life and growth, and around them is the faint outline of a butterfly in the transition from the core of the apple to the apple, a symbol of metamorphosis, and finally there is the fruit of the apple, a symbol of our sustenance in the present. I was amazed to see this - I have never noticed it before.

There are obviously symbolic associations with the apple being symbolic of the 'Tree of Knowledge' in the Garden of Eden, etc. The most interesting thing though was the transfer of 'feeling energy' - that was profound.

Robert Waggoner, April 1986
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The Lucid Dream Exchange (LDE) is a quarterly issue of lucid dreams contributed by lucid dreamers. Over the years, Ruth Sacksteder, creator of the LDE, has compiled 12 issues of lucid dreams; creating a forum for interested individuals to share their experiences and learn from those of others. It is in no small part due to her efforts that my lucid dream life has developed and grown.

Reading about the lucid experiences, techniques, and adventures of other lucid dreamers served to inspire, challenge, and enrich my own lucid dreaming abilities. I am still in awe of the incredible potential lucid dreaming (and lucid dreamers!) has to offer. Like Robert's dream above, some lucid dreams may be spiritual, touching the dreamer in profound ways. Others may be playful, or used for problem solving, rehearsal, or whatever. The possibilities are indeed endless.

Now that Ruth's schedule has become increasingly busy and she has become involved with other projects, I am pleased to be able to continue The Lucid Dream Exchange, (with the valuable help of Robert Waggoner), and I invite you to join us!

-Lucy Gillis

For more information about The Lucid Dream Exchange contact Lucy Gillis at lucy@turbotek.net