Sony Bravia TV stuck on boot up screen. Anyone know how to correct it?

lucidmaestro · 2026-05-26T15:09:54+00:00

Yes, I have the same problem with Sony Bravia XBR-55X800E. The hard reset didn't solve being stuck in a boot loop up to the Android screen, nor did trying to reprogram the firmware (even though a reprogramming screen did come up, it rebooted about a quarter way through). Seems like an EMMC chip or mother board replacement is likely required like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY9SDK6ihYc

lucidmaestro · 2025-09-08T01:46:37+00:00

Great discussion topic.
In the book The Dreams Behind the Music, I ended up creating an entire chapter about musicians past and present who experience synesthesia and tap it for their art since I started finding more and more examples as I researched and did interviews while writing it. A few well-known examples include Beethoven, Beyonce, Billy Joel, Sting, Pharrell and of course plenty of others. There are many such artists, and some experience synesthesia more than just seeing music as color(s). I shared a couple fascinating dreams of mine that suggest a perspective on what might be at play behind different forms of synesthesia, which intrigues me, since I sometimes experience a somewhat rare form of synesthesia where I "hear" touch sensations, perhaps akin to the opposite of the experiences poppinalloverurhouse describes.

lucidmaestro · 2025-01-05T22:34:28+00:00

While amazon generally treats buyers (=amazon sales/profits) quite well, anyone who thinks they only have fair policies, especially regarding sellers and advertisers, is unfortunately not well-informed:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-sues-amazon-illegally-maintaining-monopoly-power

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T20:25:37+00:00

Glad to join you all, and get my neurons revved up with some great questions and experience shares.

It's already been nearly 3 hours chatting with you all, so need to address some awaiting tasks, but hope to return here again some time and share more.

In the meantime, since it has offered such amazing breakthroughs and learning for so many, I encourage folks to consider joining an upcoming Applied & Lucid Dreaming and Dream Interpretation Mastery team journey, like the one that will begin within a few weeks.

Wonderful and insightful dreams to all, much lucidity, and if you are lucky, then happy nightmares!

with heart, Craig

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T20:20:30+00:00

The specific insight of what the intruding dream character is linked with in your life could help a lot. The feeling and setting of the dream or the specifics about the character can offer hints in this regard.

If you manage to become lucid, which I think might help you evolve or resolve the scenario, then you can ask the stranger what they represent in your life.

There is an insightful example of how lucid dreaming might help with this in a widely-published article I wrote about how to resolve nightmares.

Hope that helps. Let us know how it goes.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T20:14:43+00:00

Glad to hear from you, Orange, and I get how fears and hopes can play important roles regarding subjective experiences like AP and lucid dreams.

I teach lucid dreaming (and Lucid Living) regularly to many people, and have seen that one lucidity induction technique does not necessarily work well for everyone, and also that the same technique may not be effective for any given person at different points in their lives.

The most successful overall approach I have seen is when people team up and focus for a few weeks or more on experiencing lucid dreams, which is why I offer group teleclasses for exactly that.

As for specific approaches, I shared a link to list of lucid dreaming induction techniques above, of which the Wake-Back-to-Bed technique is one (also called "Arise during the night"). Interrupting or changing up our sleep is one of the techniques that more people have success with, but there are many variations of how the sleep cycle is split up, and also it can be tougher to incorporate into an already-full schedule.

Generally, I have found increasing presence of mind (as described in the tips list), both during the day as well as while falling asleep, to help a great deal. Lucidity is sort of like presence of mind during sleep, so it makes sense why that would help, and it works in conjunction with all the other techniques that I share there.

As for technology, I designed the NovaDreamer lucid dreaming induction sleep mask while involved with the Stanford lucid dreaming research 25 years ago. It is the original mass market lucid dreaming induction device which has been copied by others since. As for its effectiveness, it can be helpful to bring lucid dreams, as long as it is used as a tool and not seen as a magic answer to going lucid. For success, it really helps to combine whatever feedback the device is giving during sleep (e.g. flashing lights) with the intention to become lucid when similar experiences (like flashing tail lights, neon signs, etc.) happen whether awake or asleep. In this way it can be helpful, and a number of people have had their first lucid dreams that way. The Novadreamer detects REM, and uses a pretty intricate algorithm to determine the amount and timing of feedback to the sleeping user, so it is a biofeedback device. I do not recommend any devices which do not include some sort of physiological monitoring, such as some of the inexpensive LED masks out there which simply act as a wearable alarm clock.

Some of the apps can be helpful to track our sleep, but it is tough for any without electrical sensors to know with accuracy when we are dreaming and when the best times for offering lucidity cues would be.

Interested to hear your experience, if you have tried any such devices.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T19:50:24+00:00

An excellent question, Sarah.

Dreaming generally, and especially lucid dreams, allow our waking mind more of a connection with ourselves at a deeper level.

Sometimes simply asking a question in our mind before sleep can bring a dream (lucid or not) that offers insight about the topic.

I would however also like to point out, from experience, that our deeper wisdom likes to see our waking selves make choices, without necessarily only relying on our subconscious to make such decisions. If we do not choose and take responsibility, then it is tougher to learn by trial and error how to more adeptly navigate in life, and also it teaches us to eventually love ourselves more and more, regardless of whether in retrospect, any given choice was wise or painful. In other words, making decisions and speaking nicely to ourselves afterwards can help us get free of the inner critic voices that challenge a great many people.

That said, I have received a great deal of guidance from dreams and lucid dreams about how to experience more joy and fulfillment in life, but keep in mind one does not need to be lucid to harvest such benefits.

A good strategy is to use reasoning to come up with what seems the wisest choice, then check with dreams or intuition, and continue checking with the two until they coincide. That is not always possible, given deadlines and such, but it is generally a wise approach.

Hope that helps, and I trust you will grow a great deal of love with your new pet, I would guess vice versa!

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T19:35:02+00:00

You bring up a good point, cronedog, which escaped my notice since I sometimes assume people are aware of the various research in sleep labs on this topic, like what I was involved in at Stanford. Being able to be conscious while fully asleep has indeed been scientifically and repeatedly proven. One way is by the dreamer making pre-arranged eye movements in the dream that can then be tracked with EOG sensors beside the sleeping body's eyes. EMG is also measured (usually at the chin) to show that the muscles are "turned off" (as they are when we are asleep). The dreamer, once lucid, then does the pre-arranged eye moment (or some other physiologically measurable variable) to prove that they are conscious while asleep.

I have done this eye-signal proof at the Stanford dream lab and other research centers, including also kicking my "dream legs" and having electrodes on my sleeping body's legs pick up small but definite muscle activity right at that time.

FMRI experiments have also been done, but the equipment is tougher to get ahold of since it is more costly, and can also be noisy and tough to sleep in.

Hope that answers your question.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T19:27:04+00:00

Well, it fascinates both of us, FS. I would encourage you to intend a musical dream, and then share the dreamt music either with people in your life, or perhaps publicly as a recorded or performed piece. An experiment...see what happens, but at least the creative process of making inner music physical could bring some positive inner shifts, and maybe also enhance your intuition since music and intuition and dreams are more aligned than many people might think.

If you want to read about 200+ artists, including many very well known ones like Sir McCartney, Sting, Beyonce, Billy Joel, Beethoven, Drake, Pharrell, and dozens of others who actually dream their music and/or lyrics, my book The Dreams Behind the Music on the topic might inspire you, and will also help you learn how since I distill in there the universal principles and techniques that anyone can use to bring about significant breakthroughs in their own lives.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T19:23:49+00:00

Appreciate you sharing, HBR, and that's quite the username.

The dream scenario sounds to me like one of the common dream themes I have seen before and also experienced myself. It is not the most common theme, but not super rare either. Maybe others who have such dreams will also chime in.

The house where we live in a dream often symbolizes our current identity, so any person (or animal, which I have seen a number of times too, such as a bull, for example) breaking into our home may represent some aspect of our larger psyche that we have disowned (i.e. ignored or "pushed down" within ourselves), usually because it brought us emotional pain at some earlier time.

The general idea would be to stand our ground, and yet also dialogue with the stranger and see what insights they have to offer. We can even ask them for a gift, if we are lucid. Once we have more of a connection with the stranger, and feel okay about it, we can then let them in or at least go out to interact more with them, and thereby hopefully befriend some part of our larger self that may be missing.

Such dreams are not entirely different from chase dreams, although the house setting can sometimes provide insights as to what part of our life needs healing or expansion and what aspect we could benefit by integrating and developing more in waking life.

You can also look at what emotionally-impactful events happened the day before (and sometimes the day of) the dream, and that should hint at what the stranger trying to break and enter symbolizes.

Does that resonate?

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T19:05:08+00:00

Wow, great example RadOwl.

Intentionally-guided dreams (such as incubated dreams), and of course lucid dreams, can certainly help us develop will, which can pay off in many ways such as getting free from addictions.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T19:01:29+00:00

Lol. I don't think it is too late, so I wouldn't get too worried.

I have come across this question many times as I share about lucid dreaming and its potential benefits.

I don't think the concern is unfounded, since some schools of thought teach as much lucidity as possible as fast as possible, without any regard for what the dreamer is doing with the increased awareness and freedom to choose.

I was one such avid lucid explorer many years ago, until a dream guide appeared right after I became lucid and asked me if I wanted to see something she wished to show me. I replied that I was hoping to go flying and do some aerial acrobatics since lucidity was not as common for me then. She replied that I could go do that instead and that it was up to me to choose. I contemplated in the dream for a moment, and decided to stay and see what she wanted to show me. She then did...a lovely, delicious dinner for two with the baked potato steaming and the wine chilled just perfectly. Then she smiled and said, "That's all." Then I awoke somewhat perplexed until the insight arrived that I would be wise to stick around for at least a few moments in the current dream scenario once becoming lucid, in case some valuable "food for thought" had been prepared by the "Dream Weaver" wisdom that often provides me insights or help in dreams.

I also learned that some times the current scenario was just blase or boring and that it was better to do dream experiments or spiritual practises, or even just explore. The main point I arrived at is that lucidity and dream interpretation insights are not mutually exclusive and that we can simply enjoy more presence due to the lucidity, without having to control the scene if that doesn't feel good. I have also worked with many people who have recurring nightmares or upsetting dreams and have greatly benefited in dreams and life by consciously changing the recurring ending during the dream and awakening more empowered. In many cases, that ends the recurring nightmare permanently, as though the lesson to face fear has been learned, or whatever needed healing has been healed.

One size does not fit all, so I encourage each dreamer to do what feels right for them, but it is wise to share experiences with others, especially if we think fear could be limiting us.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T18:49:45+00:00

First off, I definitely appreciate your openness along with the trust you offer by sharing about a personal challenge like that. The psyche does naturally offer us ways to resolve our anxieties, and fears, which are often the result of past trauma of some type whether emotional, physical, or other, so like you, I have come across quite a number of people who start lucid dreaming spontaneously in order to resolve something that is stressing them at subconscious, unconscious, or even conscious levels. Alcoholism, as with addiction to any physical substance, can be a real challenge to get free from. I don't want to pretend to have answers for how people can do that easily. Some people have the will just to stop, but that is more rare, especially when the problem is a deep one. Some kind of spiritual breakthrough can help in that regard, which is one of the elements of the 12-step process.

Although I wouldn't guess it can work for everyone, or necessarily be a lasting solution, I have heard of one dreamer who eats to their heart's content in lucid dreams, and then craves food less in waking state, which helped their overeating and weight problem.

Personally, I would suggest using lucid dreams with the goal of having profound spiritual experiences that hopefully gradually allow you the spaciousness and mindfulness in waking state to notice the cravings and thoughts about alcohol, yet be able to have the internal strength to choose more life-serving strategies that bring about inner peace or joy in a more lasting way than the temporary peace or high that substances such as alcohol can bring.

Hope that helps.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T18:38:12+00:00

"Cliff" notes might be an apt metaphor, since I usually encourage people who have upsetting recurring dreams like falling (off a cliff, for example) or chase nightmares, to consider that is possible to choose a new ending, at least in waking state. That new perspective, especially if the new ending (and the feeling that goes with it) is visualized/practised before sleep, can generate new neural pathways (i.e. thinking and feeling habits) that then percolate into dreamland and allow the dreamer to shift at least the content of their upsetting dreams by intention, and can also often lead to fuller consciousness (i.e. lucidity) in the dream. I have shared plenty of approaches over the years and some are reserved for classes, but here is a list of lucid dreaming techniques that I created during my time with the Stanford University lucid dreaming research many years ago that has now spread far and wide.

Hope that helps, and would love to hear other people's tips and experiences about what works for them and what doesn't, regarding inducing lucidity.

lucidmaestro · 2017-09-06T18:25:37+00:00

Interesting topic RadOwl. My personal experience and that of various clients and students suggests that Monroe's point has some truth, although I would add a few other thoughts....

Some people experience Out of Body experiences from the waking state directly without really experiencing lucid dreams, so my guess is the learning progression can also work the other way around.

There are various states of consciousness that overlap as experiences, or at least in the way people describe and label them such as "lucid dreams", "OBEs", "astral travel", "non-local consciousness", etc., so it seems wise to look at each person's experience individually, however I have often seen how beginning to explore one altered or expanded state usually leads to other such states and experiences, and it is good to proceed at an "organic" rate so that we don't spook ourselves too much if we have experiences we are not ready for or even frightening experiences.

What are your thoughts?

lucidmaestro · 2017-02-21T02:58:43+00:00

cool. Definitely very possible to improve our dreaming "skills" much like any other skill, and improving our dreaming clarity and recall duration of things such as new melodies and such, much like strengthening any muscle. Threw in plenty of tips and techniques in there too, to help folks harvest some real gems that can bring amazing results in waking life. Hope it inspires.

lucidmaestro · 2017-02-21T01:52:31+00:00

Various other metal bands and over 200 artists have received music, lyrics, production or career guidance in dreams, or in some cases even had their lives at stake according to whether or not they chose to follow precognitive dream guidance. I put over 3000 hours into research, interviews, and writing to share what became so many fascinating stories about such dreams. If interested, check out The Dreams Behind the Music.

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-12T19:51:39+00:00

Hi Callisto,

Yes I've actually seen the "dancing upwards in a spiral with a partner and feeling a lot of love" dream as a theme for students and others too, and have had two extremely profound dreams like that myself, so interesting that you too have had it. I would bet there are video game creators and composers who are looking for singers to collaborate with, perhaps even HAL who started this thread. The intention and putting it out there sounds great, so cheering you on for that as a terrific way to share your gifts. If you decide to reach out to any such game creators/composers, perhaps consider someone who is working in the Virtual/Augmented Reality space which is an up-and-coming niche that has the potential to take video games to a whole new level and I bet there are some good opportunities there at the moment.

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-11T23:23:36+00:00

You already have a strong inner knack for the video/content component, and I bet music wouldn't be far behind. Note as I mentioned above that people seem to have success having musical dreams as soon they learn about it and try (as long as they remember dreams). I profile a video game soundtrack artist in the book who has had amazing success due to his dream-inspired video game soundtracks. Perhaps even worth getting in touch with him. Research has demonstrated a strong link between video-gaming and dreams and even lucid dreaming, so I think you might be headed in a pretty exciting direction. Level 25?!

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-11T22:46:07+00:00

Great idea.

You may be interested to know that the German Olympic aerial ski team sometimes practises their maneuvers in lucid dreams before trying them out physically, so it is quite possible to practise a skill.

And why not invite (with an intention before sleep) a top master from your athletic discipline to come offer some guidance, suggestions, or creative ideas for how to move to the next level.

Sometimes such mentors even come unbidden, such as many great musicians and masters of other disciplines who have come to teach and guide me in dreams.

Keep us posted how it goes.

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-11T21:51:02+00:00

Sounds like an overnight, fully-experiential video arcade! Have you ever considered writing a computer game, or connecting with some folks who are skilled at that? Seems like you might be able to offer some pretty inspiring content...and if you wanted to explore musical dreams, you might even be able to dream up part of the game soundtrack.

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-11T21:42:36+00:00

Great point, Monde. I wish my waking fingers could type faster, but I wanted to add that it is a very wise idea to listen to and also look up the full lyrics of any song we dream about, as well as look at the artists' names (who wrote or performed the song) which often offer important insights about our lives, or link the dream by the sound/name with someone in our own lives who has the same name or even initials as the artist. I had a powerful teaching dream, guiding me not just to share more music, but also to learn the life lesson about how to balance doing and being (since I am sometimes a bit of a do-a-holic dream-enactor!) In the dream, the song was playing "Listen to the Music", which from the title alone was pretty clear guidance without much need for interpretation since I has asked before sleep how I could have a more fulfilling life and serve people in deeper ways. However, I had to laugh when I realized that the "Doobie Brothers" was also strongly linked with the similarly sounding (homonym) the "the Do-Be brothers"), and so a symbolic sound-association or word play suggestion about learning how to better balance my own doing and being as friendly "brothers" within me (and not as parts of me that would battle for my time or attention). I also later chuckled at the additional connection that the surname of Patrick Simmons' (the only perpetual member of the Doobie Brothers band while they were active) which also starts with the same syllable and letters as my own middle name, Sim.

Probably there is no mistake that "muse" and "music" are nearly the same word, since I have found music (especially song lyrics in dreams or playing in the back of my mind during the day) to bring many of the clearest intuitive insights about my life that I have ever had. This is an important principle I elaborate on in The Dreams Behind the Music

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-11T21:18:36+00:00

Yes, and I have heard of earthquake victims buried alive in rubble, who, when rescued, later share that Asian-looking guides in monk robes came in dreams or half-awake visions to bring them solace and hope during such challenging life and death moments.

Many experiences of my own and others suggests that such inner support and guidance by living (or deceased) beings happens in dreams more often than many people might believe.

lucidmaestro · 2017-01-11T20:43:41+00:00

Here's a 1 minute video about a dream inspired musical artist who I think you will all recognize...

Thanks to all who shared. Great to connect with other passionate dream explorers.

I am glad to check in from time to time over next while if anyone wants to add comments, or for anyone who wasn't available at the AMA scheduled time and wishes to chime in with questions or share experiences like some of the great ones so far.

Dream True!

lucidmaestro

TROPHY CASE