Lucid dreaming is another level of consciousness wherein the person understands that what their senses are showing them is not a physical experience - but a dream in which they can manipulate events.

There are techniques to help develop lucid dreaming - such as pre-programming yourself with specific trigger words or images that allow the dreamer to know they are lucid dreaming. For others their brains are programmed to lucid dream naturally. Most people never lucid dream at all.

It parallels physical reality for those who understand that the 3D experience is projected illusion or a dream.

Lucid Dreaming Day is an event honoring Keith Hearne, the English psychiatrist who scientifically proved in 1975 that lucid dreaming is a real phenomenon. Lucid dreamers throughout the world enthusiastically celebrate this event.

Lucid dreaming is not a recent concept and is part of numerous cultures. Online dream databases reveal lucid dreamers are from all over the world in multiple languages and every age group.

The term "lucid dream" is credited to Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden who coined it in 1860.

Those who practice lucid dreaming know when they are dreaming, take control of their dreams and dictate their own dream script complete with settings, dialogue, action, special effects and cast of characters.

Fifty percent of people report having at least one lucid dream and 20 percent consider themselves frequent lucid dreamers.

Gen Z and Millennials report more lucid dreams than Baby Boomers. Accustomed to spending time in alternate realities, gamers are particularly adept at lucid dreaming.

The movie Inception mirrors this experience.

Looking at today's reality, how much of it seems surreal?

I find it interesting that I posted this image before I read about the flooding in Fort Lauderdale.

CNN: Historic rain in South Florida causes severe flooding, closing schools and Fort Lauderdale's airport

2023 Fort Lauderdale floods

Thursday morning from the Weather Channel:

A supercell thunderstorm parked itself over Fort Lauderdale yesterday, dumping over 3 inches of rain per hour. The storm inundated the city with between 14-20 inches of rain (with isolated amounts likely over 20 inches), leading to widespread flash flooding. This might have been a 1 in 1,000 year rainfall event in parts of the metro area for a 6-hour period, which means it had just a 0.1% chance of happening in any given year.

The downpour created 'surreal scenes' of skyscrapers sitting in water and school buses repurposed as rescue vehicles, and there were still countless cars trapped in the high water downtown overnight. The rain stopped around midnight, but a flood warning remains in effect until 8 this morning, with the National Weather Service cautioning that numerous roads remain closed.

People use the word 'surreal' more often these days to define what they are experiencing - from human behavior to climate change and everything else.

Last week - as Trump and his entourage headed towards the courthouse in Lower Manhattan - my attention was riveted to something he posted on Truth Social along the way.

Did Trump - an insert in the simulation to create chaos in end times - momentarily detach from the grids which one does in times of fear and loss of control from their circumstances?

These days fractured grids challenge our senses giving us a glimpse of how surreal our program really is.

Here in NYC recent weather produced temperatures in the 50s for days - pleasant for the holidays - without rain since the April 1 lightning storm .

Cause and effect - no rain produces droughts which lead to brushfires now occurring in parts of the country - highlighted here in New Jersey. Climate change will energize wildfire season as we move forward.

Wednesday created a weather 'whiplash effect' with record highs in many parts of the country. Here in the city, it hit 84° - setting records Thursday and Friday both days over 90°.

Wednesday afternoon my friend Lucy and I met at her Brownstone in Brooklyn Heights - an area that holds childhood memories for me. My uncle Dave owned several properties there though he and his family later moved to Long Island as many people do to raise their children in a more suburban setting.

At the end of the day ... it's all just a surreal story in which you and I are having an experience - forever trying to figure out the whys and wherefores.