A Lucid Dream

[Azure]

Hi all,

My pseudonym is Azure, and I am fairly frequent poster in the Near-Death Experience Foundation (http://www.nderf.org) - past life memories and near-death experiences are the two sides of the coin. In this life I am a female engineer living in Finland.

But I have had a nasty dream - a lucid dream.

I am male, and I am working onboard an aircraft carrier. It is war, and we are preparing the aircraft for the mission.

I am not wearing a Donald Duck outfit; instead I am wearing jeans, blue shirt and a baseball cap. The hangar is full of propeller planes. They are all blue and have white numbers and markings.

It is hot and sweatty. We are attaching bombs and ammunition on the planes, and pumping aviation gasoline in the planes' tanks. It is an "organized chaos" as we prepare the planes for a mission.

Suddenly, there is a rumble and a horrible explosion. A living hell erupts. The ship is under air attack, and is hit. The mighty ship turns into a blazing inferno.

The newly equipped planes catch fire and explode one by one. The bombs, ammunition, gasoline. Everything is in fire. The temperature is hellish. Men are fried alive. The burning gasoline spills all around. I am hit. I am burning. I burn.

There is a large aperture used to ventilate the hangar. Somewhere down there is the sea. My clothes are on fire; I know I will die soon. The ship is doomed.

I jump in the sea, burning. I rather would drown than burn alive.

Then I wake up, shivering, sweatting. My spouse said I was like having seen a ghost. And I had. I somehow remember number "13" was connected to the dream and the ship I was on.

We decided to do searching. We did Google search on "aircraft carrier 13".

USS Franklin, an Essex class aircraft carrier, code name CV-13, was hit by a kamikaze 19 March 1945. The ship was hit by the bomb the kamikaze plane was carrying, which penetrated the deck and exploded inside the ship. At the time she was struck, Franklin had 31 armed and fueled aircraft warming up on her flight deck. The hangar deck contained 22 additional planes, of which 16 were fueled and five were armed. The forward gasoline system had been secured, but the aft system was operating. The explosion on the hangar deck lit up the fuel tanks on the aircraft, and gasoline vapour explosion devastated the deck. Only two crewmen survived the fire on the hangar deck. The explosion also jumbled aircraft together on the flight deck above, causing further fires and explosions.

724 men were killed that day and 265 wounded. Many survivors jumped overboard, being certain the ship was doomed. She wasn't; the firefighters incredibly managed to save her, but she was so badly damaged she never sailed again.

I also did some research of the peculiar clothing. It appears that is the US Navy work outfit. Instead of the "Donald Duck" costume, the work uniform is jeans and blue shirt. The camouflage of the aircraft - blue - was correct for the US navy aircraft of that time, and the individual plane numbers and the aircraft carrier logo was painted white.

Was I onboard USS Franklin that fateful day? In my current life I am an active sailor and I absolutely love the sea. I knew various rigs, sailplans and ship types already in my childhood, and I have spent my holidays at the sea as long as I remember. I also have a keen interest on flying.

Or am I just tapping some kind of collective consciousness and experiencing someone other's memories?

 

[ldt]

Wow...


That's something. Did your jaw drop when you read about what you dreamed? Is it possible you had read about it in a history book during school days ? And you put yourself into the dream into the history lesson you learned in your younger years ? Or did you watch a movie that included that particular bit of history ? You probably did live before and went through that.


A friend of mine told me an event that involved her little brother. They were at a hotel with their dad. The two were swimming and the dad had gone into the hotel to get something. The brother walked off into the deep end. He took on water. He stopped breathing. He was pulled out and revived by the father. But while he was not breathing, he


spoke with his dead grandmother. She told him she was comimng back and that his Aunt was pregnant. No one knew his aunt was pregnant. When he was revived, he shared this newly found info with his mom who was a catholic. They do not believe in reincarnation and so this was very upsetting to her and their catholic family. Turns out, the aunt was pregnant and had not told anyone. However, if it was granny coming back through the aunt, she did not make it as the aunt lost the baby.

 

[ChrisR]

Hello Azure, welcome to the forum


Thanks for sharing the details of your dream, I'm sure many people here can relate to those feelings of panic when you wake up from a nightmare and realize that you've just experienced something that is totally foreign to you in your present life.


There is some debate on your question. Although some people do believe that past life memories are collectively stored in the Akashic records, which we all have access to, I think most people believe that our memories belong to us individually, i.e that the sailor who lost his life on the USS Franklin was you in your past life, and not another person's memories.


Do you have this dream regularly? or was it just one time? The way you describe your reaction to it, plus your passion for the sea and interest in the navy suggests to me that you are remembering a past life. I expect there must be plenty of documentation on the USS Franklin and her fate, if you really were one of the crew, you might even be able to track down your name in that life and validate the memory.


Hope you enjoy your time here, and please let us know if you have any updates.


Chris

 

[Nightrain]

Was I onboard USS Franklin that fateful day? In my current life I am an active sailor and I absolutely love the sea. I knew various rigs, sailplans and ship types already in my childhood, and I have spent my holidays at the sea as long as I remember. I also have a keen interest on flying.
Or am I just tapping some kind of collective consciousness and experiencing someone other's memories?

Hi Azure! and welcome to the Forum! I tend to lean toward Chris's opinion that your lucid dream could be past life related, because it is a very 1st person experience. If it were anything else, I don't think it would have played out the way it did, and it would have been in a more generalized third-person style.


I suppose that some skeptics could say that your interest in the sea predisposes you to such a dream; but I would counter that your interest is much more a result of your past life memory, than a cause for your dream.


I tend to think that such dreams may be an indication that more memories lie very close to the surface. It may be that, by practicing meditation and self-hypnosis, you could uncover a great deal more evidence about that and other past lives. I hope that you will continue spending time on this Forum, not only because of the very good references, but also because other members' experiences can help to open the veil that separates us from past life memories. It is believed, after all, that all of us have had numerous past lives.


-Nightrain

 

[Azure]

That's something. Did your jaw drop when you read about what you dreamed?

Yes, It was really spooky reading, I mean, it gave me really bad vibrations. It was like all the pieces of the puzzle were clicking together.

Is it possible you had read about it in a history book during school days ? And you put yourself into the dream into the history lesson you learned in your younger years ? Or did you watch a movie that included that particular bit of history ? You probably did live before and went through that.

My first thought was that "now I am re-living some WWII flick I have seen in my childhood" or that it is something I have read. But the evening before we just had been playing chess, and I went sleeping with thoughts of chess openings, not that of war. As being a Finn, the Pacific war in the WWII is done through only cursorily in our school history books: our school history on WWII concentrates on the Eastern Front.


The choice - either being burned alive or being drowned - felt just horrible. I am not afraid of fire or water in this life, but their combination feels nasty, and this is the reason why I avoid making any meals which involve in immersion in hot oil. I know how easily it can all blow up.


Being the ferret I am, I did searching around the net on USS Franklin and her fate. We bought a model kit of that ship (my hubby is into modelmaking) and I found a lot of it very familiar, just like in the dream.


It also turned out that US Navy used white geometric symbols to denote which planes belonged to which aircraft carrier.


There is a webpage dedicated to the ship, http://www.ussfranklin.org , with first hand stories and photographs. If USS Franklin really was my ship, so much of it feels all too familiar. There is a name list of those who lost their lives that day. I simply haven't dared to look at it. It might again bring me really bad vibes.

 

[Tinkerman]

Hello Azure and welcome to PLF. I've been reading your posts across the forum and have found them refreshing, remarkably clear, and incisive. Thank you for such thoughtful and interesting contributions.


Regarding this dream... my instincts say this is clearly a memory of a past life. One of the interesting aspects of reincarnation research is in how memories surface, or manifest themselves to people. Dreams, visions (waking visualizations of other times and places), regressions, meditation... all seem to be vehicles of recall. In my own experience, dreams mixed with synchronous places and activities seemed to be guiding me towards discovery. This followed by a professional regression and the study of meditation have set me upon a journey of incredible discovery. I sense your dream is your catalyst, your starting point onto a similar path. As Nightrain said, dreams usually harbor more information just below the surface. I'm sure this is not new to you... I'd say you have many other old soul experiences to talk about. And this dream and the discoveries you will be making will certainly be a treasure trove.


I particularly related to your death memory and how it woke you. That fear, that raw, cringing reality of horror has thrown me out of dreams, chilled, breathless and weeping more than once. The texture of such terror is every bit as real as the time it happened. But over the years I've found that facing the fear with a prayer of acceptance has diluted the anxiety. I've also found great conversation with God at these times.


I look forward to reading more of your posts, especially in this thread. I'm certain you will discover your identity before it's over. Be well.


Tinkerman

 

[Azure]

Hello Azure and welcome to PLF. I've been reading your posts across the forum and have found them refreshing, remarkably clear, and incisive. Thank you for such thoughtful and interesting contributions.
Regarding this dream... my instincts say this is clearly a memory of a past life. One of the interesting aspects of reincarnation research is in how memories surface, or manifest themselves to people. Dreams, visions (waking visualizations of other times and places), regressions, meditation... all seem to be vehicles of recall. In my own experience, dreams mixed with synchronous places and activities seemed to be guiding me towards discovery.

It is interesting on how many of these apparitions of past lives occur during the sleep. When we enter in the REM stage of the sleep, our brains go into a different state than awake.


There is a theory that the consciousness actually does not reside within the brain, but on the very structure of the universe - on quantum level. While this is sounds very outré, it is perfectly plausible in quantum mechanics. Our brains would not be consciousness machines, but rather the interface of the consciousness to matter and material world. That would also explain the NDEs - and why we after all do have past life memories.


That also would explain why the past life memories occur, like mine, in the sleep. While we are unable in our normal state of the consciousness to tap into the "universal memory bank" and retrieve those past memories, it may be possible in altered states, such as sleep and deep meditation.

similar path. As Nightrain said, dreams usually harbor more information just below the surface. I'm sure this is not new to you... I'd say you have many other old soul experiences to talk about. And this dream and the discoveries you will be making will certainly be a treasure trove.

Now this is peculiar. One of my strange interests is history re-enactment, and my speciality is Middle Ages. When we have done serious recreation (and not just LARP), I have found so many familiar things.


I consider it likely I have been a knight in one past life. When I first time rode a horse years ago, it felt so natural as if I had it done all my life. Likewise, when the boys fast-talked me to try swordplay, they all were surprised that I was a natural fencer. I could do swordplay with sword and shield and with two-handed sword with almost no effort. It was like recovering an old skill which had been dormant. Likewise, I once said to a friend who was designing a coat-of-arms that "You cannot use black and red on the same shield!" Which, later, turned correct; one of the rules of heraldry is that one of the colours must be white (silver) or yellow (gold) - and there is a good reason for that; you cannot distinguish black from red at arrow range. Likewise, I learned fairly quickly playing lute, and doing sewing and needlework.


Would it be possible that we all have such dormant skills and memories - which just ask for re-activation?

I particularly related to your death memory and how it woke you. That fear, that raw, cringing reality of horror has thrown me out of dreams, chilled, breathless and weeping more than once. The texture of such terror is every bit as real as the time it happened. But over the years I've found that facing the fear with a prayer of acceptance has diluted the anxiety. I've also found great conversation with God at these times.

Yes. It was a scary feeling, but apparently not that bad as it seems not have left me everlasting memories nor anxieties. Perhaps I got over with it in Heaven while resting and recovering and planning my current sojourn in the matter?

 

[Sunniva]

Hello Azure and welcome to the forum


Thanks for sharing your dream. I agree with what has already been said: I think it's most likely that you are tapping into past life memories. Have you considered doing further regression?


Also, past life memories almost always pop up for a reason. Do you have any clue as what could have triggered your dream? Have you recently experienced something that brought back the memories or have you perhaps met someone who could have triggered it?

 

[Azure]

Hello Azure and welcome to the forum
Thanks for sharing your dream. I agree with what has already been said: I think it's most likely that you are tapping into past life memories. Have you considered doing further regression?

No. I am living this life, and while digging up my past life would be fascinating, I doubt it would produce any additional value except curiosity. I apparently have no really bad hang-ups left from the previous turn in the carousel, which is nice: I can concentrate living this life with fullness - no untied strings to be knotted.


Sure, if my dream really is tapping on my previous turn, would explain a lot - why I became an engineer instead of a physiotherapist, why I have a somewhat unfeminine interest in aviation and why I love the sea. And having served in the USN would also explain my compassion to all things American. But - as they say - let that be what has been.


After all, my current incarnation is nothing but a live-action role playing (LARP) character in this grand game called life. I wish to play this session with as high experience points of possible and, if possible, with no need to return in this valley of tears involuntarily. Last time it all apparently ended in flames and salt water; this time the end will most likely be different.

Also, past life memories almost always pop up for a reason. Do you have any clue as what could have triggered your dream? Have you recently experienced something that brought back the memories or have you perhaps met someone who could have triggered it?

No. We were playing chess the night before, and I went to bed thinking about different openings (yup, I am that geeky). I am no fan of war movies, but I like "aviation porn" such as Red Bull Air Racing. But I really don't know what triggered it.

 

[Sunniva]

No. I am living this life, and while digging up my past life would be fascinating, I doubt it would produce any additional value except curiosity. I apparently have no really bad hang-ups left from the previous turn in the carousel, which is nice: I can concentrate living this life with fullness - no untied strings to be knotted.

And yet you are here on a messageboard sharing your past life memories Just out of curiousity, may I ask what brought you here if investigating your past life, why you remember it and what significance it may have, is not part of your agenda?

 

[Azure]

And yet you are here on a messageboard sharing your past life memories Just out of curiousity, may I ask what brought you here if investigating your past life, why you remember it and what significance it may have, is not part of your agenda?

Because this has been an issue that has bothered and bugged me. At least now I know I am not insane - and that it is likely that flashback got a meaningful explanation.


It is a past life memory, but I think there are some things which are best left undug. I think it is better to concentrate on this life and not dwell in the past. While my past sojourn in this valley of tears is a "nice to know" thing, I also know myself all too well - I am a ferret, and there is a real risk that I would become too interested on what happened sixty or so years ago.


There will be a time when I will get again re-connected with all my past lives and their memories. At that time I will most likely have also enough maturity and wisdom to handle it; until that, it is best to live this life.


And the choice between burning alive and drowning is definintely not a nice one. It still brings goosebumps to me.

 

[Sunniva]

I agree very much with you : angel I know we've seen people here in the past, who were so affected by their past lives that they were unable to function in their current. Many people have very strong ties to the past, to people they used to be or love, and it can be hard to accept that they're not part of your life anymore. Especially, if your current life is not equally pleasant. However balance is needed. I agree with you that some things may be better if left un-remembered. I know I have a traumatic death in my past, but I have no desire to investigate it further. At this point I don't know what difference it would make to my life to know it.


However, one thing I personally don't understand, but obviously respect (and possibly also admire somewhat) is that you're not curious to find out more. To see if it's possible to validate that life, to get proof. This is a balancing act as well, but I'm always (too?) quick to google whenever something seems detailed enough : angel

 

[Nightrain]

Hi Azure!


I think the fact that you are an historic re-enactor is very suggestive of experiences you had before birth, especially since it seems that your interest is more about accuracy than fantasy. And I share and respect your desire not to dwell on what, who and where you used to be in a past life -- especially if you have no hang-ups, phobias or chronic difficulties in this life. May I ask, if, perhaps, you are interested in past lives as a means of understanding spirituality?


It's interesting that you mentioned your innate skill at riding and swordsmanship. I'm reminded of the first few times I had to defend myself before I learned to box, because I led and blocked with my right at the same time, instead of leading with my left. :freak:


It proved successful because my opponents didn't know what to think. :laugh:


-Nightrain

 

[Azure]

Hi Azure!
I think the fact that you are an historic re-enactor is very suggestive of experiences you had before birth, especially since it seems that your interest is more about accuracy than fantasy. And I share and respect your desire not to dwell on what, who and where you used to be in a past life -- especially if you have no hang-ups, phobias or chronic difficulties in this life. May I ask, if, perhaps, you are interested in past lives as a means of understanding spirituality?

Yes. This world is a nasty and cold place, and I really don't have any desire to return here anymore after my current sojourn. I just wish to develop spiritually enough so that I would have no more need to return here anymore.


It is said one can understand his or her future by looking at his or her past. Experiences do leave their traces on each of us, and they may either leave us unresolved issues, unanswered challenges or innate, dormant skills. If I reallly have been just another airplane mechanic onboard USS Franklin, killed that fateful day 19 March 1945, it would explain a lot.


Then again, I most likely have been well under 25 last time when I died. I am well over that age now, and most likely my current sojourn has been more fruitful in experience-wise. I just wish to understand the past, but I don't want to dwell in the past nor dig it too deeply - if I'd find out who I was last time, there is always a danger I will identify with him too deeply, and after all, he was merely a LARP character for my soul - just as the woman nicknamed Azure is my current LARP character. Dwelling in the past is not necessarily a good thing as dwelling in the present ought to be hard enough.


But the answer to your question is basically "yes" - understanding what has been is a good thing spiritually.

 

[Azure]

Thanks for sharing the details of your dream, I'm sure many people here can relate to those feelings of panic when you wake up from a nightmare and realize that you've just experienced something that is totally foreign to you in your present life.

And yet there are some familiarities with my current life - interest on aviation, love of sea, working as an engineer. Those traits were present in my dream a well.

There is some debate on your question. Although some people do believe that past life memories are collectively stored in the Akashic records, which we all have access to, I think most people believe that our memories belong to us individually, i.e that the sailor who lost his life on the USS Franklin was you in your past life, and not another person's memories.

My theory is that our personal memories are like a Heavenly Home Directory - a part of that cosmic memory bank. When we leave our heavenly home, we are also blocked of accessing that home directory and accessing those memories - they might prove harmful to our spiritual development, especially if we begin to dwell on them.

Do you have this dream regularly? or was it just one time?

One time - but certainly memorable! I usually don't remember my ordinary dreams, but do remember the lucid dreams.

Hope you enjoy your time here, and please let us know if you have any updates.
Chris

I will!

 

[usetawuz]

I respect your concern regarding focusing too intently on the past and neglecting the present.


I have at times had the same concern. However, the lucid dreams I continue to receive, which have depicted a different life nearly every time, continually indicate to me that I am to understand what went on together with what is now going on.


My initial response was to attempt to discover the significance of various people in my life; why some mean so much more to me instantly. Then with that came the need to have these verified (to me) previous lives fit into some logical (again, to me) system or rationale or purpose...a spiritual framework that could withstand my own criticism. Now I am living my life through the lens of this spiritual framework and seeking to benefit from past life skills, talents and wisdom that filter through just when they can help me the most. To me, it is less about focusing on past lives and seeking the sensational and mundane of another era than seeking the wisdom, experience and understanding that might have been garnered in a former existence...sort of a cosmic "non-reinvention of the wheel"!


My assumption is that I had pre-birth planned to be awoken by these lucid dreams and past life impressions when they began in order to point me in the direction I should proceed. The constant reminders ensure I follow those directions and my guidance, through meditation has assured me all is well.


Again, I agree that we are here to live this life to the fullest and without fear; I feel that my lifeplan includes the conscious knowledge and benefit of the past in going into the future.