dream-101 - Archive

anonymous asked: people keep mentioning "two ethels" and i'm so confused. is there a real one and a fake one?

oh boy. okay. this is... a whole thing.

so historically there's been one Ethel - a persistent city realm that's been documented since the 70s at least. consistent geography, culture, history. the main shared dreaming community (the Ammonites) has been exploring and documenting it for years.

BUT in the last year or so, a splinter group has emerged claiming that the "mainstream" Ethel is actually a corrupted or limited version, and that there's a "true" Ethel (sometimes spelled Aethel) that's more powerful and magical.

the Aethelians (as they're sometimes called) claim:

their Ethel has the tunnels still open (the mainstream version sealed them)
there's a goddess figure who guides true believers
the mainstream Ammonites are suppressing the real history
"migration" (don't ask) is possible and desirable

the mainstream Ammonites claim:

the Aethelians are visiting a separate, unstable realm that mimics Ethel
the tunnels were sealed for VERY GOOD REASONS
the "goddess" is actually a dangerous entity
the Aethelians are basically a cult

i genuinely don't know who's right. both sides are completely certain they have the truth.

my advice for newcomers: stay out of this drama. explore shared dreaming without getting caught up in the faction warfare. if you ever do reach Ethel, form your own opinions.

this is a good neutral summary but i'll add: the "migration" ideology the Aethelians promote is literally suicide ideology with mystical dressing. people have died.

whatever you believe about the metaphysics, that part isn't up for debate.

^^^ this. i didn't want to get too heavy in the explainer but yes. the migration stuff is genuinely dangerous and has resulted in real deaths.

if anyone tries to recruit you into migration ideology, RUN.

anonymous asked: is shared dreaming the same as astral projection? i'm confused about the difference

great question! there's overlap but they're not the same:

astral projection

typically done while awake or in hypnagogic state
emphasis on "leaving the body"
often focuses on visiting the physical world from outside your body
has a long occult/spiritual tradition

shared dreaming

done during actual REM sleep
emphasis on "meeting in a shared space"
focuses on persistent realms that aren't the physical world
developed more recently as online communities formed

some people do both and consider them related practices (different ways of accessing the same "spaces"). others see them as completely separate.

personally i think they're probably accessing similar phenomena through different techniques, but i don't want to speak for the AP community since i'm not deep in it.

i keep seeing people come into various dream communities completely confused because nobody bothers to explain the basics, so here's the actual comprehensive guide

adding: DO NOT try to rush to Ethel. it takes preparation. people who force it without experience often can't get back, get lost, or worse.

i've seen too many eager newcomers hurt themselves trying to speedrun this.

start small. build slowly. the realms aren't going anywhere.

THIS. this is the resource i needed six months ago.

also adding from personal experience: the synchronization thing with a partner is CRUCIAL. trying to share dreams with a stranger almost never works at first. you need someone you're genuinely in sync with - close friend, partner, sibling, etc.

bookmarking this for every person who messages me asking "how do i dream of ethel"

the answer is: you don't, at first. you build up to it. slowly. carefully.