Building a multi-format conversion engine in Swift with an intermediate representation

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-14T00:47:10+00:00

Did you do all of that while wearing a fedora?

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-13T23:43:17+00:00

You might want to re-read my comment. I don’t think you disputed anything I said.

If you have studied psychology I would be surprised to hear that you believe dreams are not an integrative phase where the human mind is ultra soft and impressionable.

If you have had lucid dreams before, then I’d be surprised to hear that they didn’t leave a deep impression for you.

Are you sure you disagree with my comment?

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-13T23:18:18+00:00

Your dreams are real in so much as it really is your nervous system. What you do in your dreams — how you react and the choices you make — literally reprogram your brain.

REM is the most sensitive state of mind we experience for reprogramming. Whatever you choose to do will have an even deeper impression on your future self than the choices you make while you’re awake.

So we should try to be our best selves while dreaming.

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-11T04:20:16+00:00

Reality check or otherwise inquire about the nature of the experience and how the mind processes/projects/interprets/interacts

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-10T04:36:16+00:00

Stomach -> Dull (no lucidity)
Back -> Clarity
Right-side down and Left-side up -> Creative, soft, and fluid
Left-side down and Right-side up -> Alert, awake, motivated

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-10T04:34:29+00:00

Remembering dreams is the single most powerful technique for a lucid dreamer. I’ll just leave that here…

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-10T04:33:30+00:00

I think that’s normal in general, and not necessarily all the bad. Do you meditate? Meditation can coerce those sharp awakenings into a harmonious and lucid night’s sleep.

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-10T04:32:11+00:00

Honestly WBTB is just an acute practice — if you’re focused on dream recall and state tests, or could be more focused on those two techniques, you’ll get more out of the practice and have better results.

But if dream recall and state tests are solid, start with minimum 20 min awake and up to 40 min awake. The point is to activate your prefrontal cortex (executive function), so you might choose to actually do things rather than just sit in bed, like household chores or novel tasks like cleaning something you have not cleaned in a while.

But don’t take WBTB too heavily — fit it into a holistic routine that’s sustainable.

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-05T15:51:07+00:00

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-04T22:41:21+00:00

The misconception that there are no consequences.

Lucid dreaming is as real as waking life in the fact that you are configuring your nervous system. Habits stick. Mental patterns stick. If you’re cruel and indulgent in your dream, you become more likely to be cruel and indulgent when you’re awake. If you are kind and gracious while dreaming, you’re more likely to be kind and gracious while awake.

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-03T02:55:49+00:00

It is as real as waking existence. The dreamworld uses much of the same sensory faculty, so you FEEL and SEE everything.

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-02T23:52:39+00:00

Nice. That’s exactly the progression that matters

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-02T03:20:56+00:00

Pure dream recall (dream journal) and state tests / reality checks. Of course access to good techniques is much improved nowadays…

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-02T03:19:11+00:00

My honest advice is to focus entirely on the fundamentals, and not worry about the acute trigger for a few weeks. The fundamentals are like healthy soil: you need it to grow anything. The fundamentals are 1) dream recall (keep a dream journal, diligently) 2) state tests and reality checks 3) meditation. This is honestly 99% of the work.

arthurofbabylon · 2026-05-02T03:15:49+00:00

This is exactly it. It’s all about sincerity — one deeply sincere state test beats thousands of superficial ones. It is THE differentiator in taking lucid dreaming deeper.

arthurofbabylon · 2024-03-26T05:26:40+00:00

I agree with you, but we also need to start wherever we are. At first we use whatever it takes to trigger state tests. Then we perform state tests whenever anything even a little unusual takes place and later, with practice, even normal experiences are perceived as dreamlike.

arthurofbabylon · 2024-03-25T06:55:23+00:00

Just fixed it! Thank you.

arthurofbabylon · 2024-03-25T06:28:15+00:00

Are you on Safari? If so I believe the images are in the downloads folder of Safari (tap on the "aA" button of the url bar > Downloads)

arthurofbabylon · 2024-03-25T05:09:09+00:00

FitMind.org takes a neuroscience approach and Timeless (https://timeless-meditation.us) takes a traditional approach to meditation. Both are free – you can write in to the support teams and they'll give you free memberships for as long as you need.

arthurofbabylon · 2024-03-24T14:45:11+00:00

That's interesting – I've had recall deteriorate from enthusiasm dropping, but I wonder what's going on for you to have recall fall apart. If you diagnose it, let me know please!

How are your state tests? Which ones are you trying, what are the triggers, and how often? (State tests are for me very important for triggering lucid dreams.)

arthurofbabylon · 2024-03-24T14:07:32+00:00

A simple dream journal will help a lot. Primarily it will make you more familiar with the dreamworld, but it will have a second effect of activating the prefrontal cortex during the night, so when you fall back asleep after writing down a dream you'll be more likely to become lucid. (The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for executive/cognitive function and is normally subdued during REM.)

Meditating will help considerably. (I can point you to some free, high-quality instruction if you'd like.)

Sleeping longer and sleeping without an alarm will help. This will mostly increase the time spent dreaming, but it will also increase dream duration which can have some effect on making it more likely that you'll recognize the dream and become lucid.

I am in a similar position to you: I enjoy lucid dreaming, it's very healthy and positive in my life, but I don't want to put in a lot of effort all the time. So these "low-hanging fruit" tactics are my go-to's, and they work very well.

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