When I was little I used to always have what I now know are called lucid dreams. I assumed that everyone was always in control of their dreams. Now that I'm a little older (33) I tend to have them less frequently but they still feel just as real as ever.

I die a lot in my dreams, usually by being thrown into a volcano, falling/jumping off a building, or getting shot. Those are usually the standard 3rd person dreams when I know it's me but there's a detached feeling like I'm watching tv. I'm never scared because it seems my waking beliefs carry over to the dream world. In the dreams I die but that isn't the end, I don't wake up. I remain aware and there is usually a white light that I can see through my eyelids. I open my "eyes" and am usually in a city that is beyond imagination in size. It feels familiar but not quite like home.

I seem to find myself in schools a lot, sometimes learning but more recently I was teaching. It didn't go well but I had either an assistant or a guide with me for at least once class. In thinking about it, a lot of the lucid dreaming doesn't start until after I die in the dreams. I don't keep a dream log, but I can remember a lot of my dreams.

There were 2 nightmarish dreams in particular that I had just over 10 years ago that I still think about now and then. One took place in a cave, there was an angel at a podium with a book. My roommate was there, he went first. He was directed through a door that had a brilliant white light. When it was my turn I was directed to crawl through a hole in the side of the cave, there was a faint red tinge coming from it. I went through, managed to fall down a cliff and ended up being drawn into a giant floating red mass of what I knew were souls. In the middle was a demon who put me in my place amongst the others. I was set on fire but there was no pain. My view zoomed out and I was suddenly high enough to see that I was looking at the planet Mars. That's when I woke up. The second dream was similar except I was alone and I was being forced into a pit of eternal nothingness. That one had me terrified, especially since I have no religious beliefs.

For me, pleasant dreams are kind of boring and sometimes depressing. I'd rather be chased and attacked by rabid squirrels  (I have this dream a lot) and wake up to find it was only a dream, than to have a dream that I found my soul mate and wake up just before we're about to share a revelation. The dreams about flying are always fun, as are the ones about controlling the elements, especially making the sun rise and fall, or changing the weather.

Until my grandfather passed away 3 years ago I rarely had dreams with familiar people in them. I'm usually surrounded by strangers. Now I have dreams, at least a few a month, that we're out fishing, usually catching weird fish that I've never seen before. Sometimes my uncle, his brother, is there with us. He passed away 8 or 9 years ago.

Anyhow I just wanted to share that little bit. I'm fascinated by dreams and hope that if there is something after this life that our dreams might be a little glimpse into what awaits us.

Hello masstango.. Do you dream of this school often? Is it white? I also have similar dreams, I have posted some on this site.. Maybe take a look at them?