The Lucid Crossroads

What is the Lucid Crossroads?

The Lucid Crossroads is a unique destination only a sleep or dream away. more specifically accessible via lucid dreaming itself. Lucid dreaming being where the mind of a dreamer realises they are dreaming which triggers their mind to fully immerse and interact in the reality of the dream. The Crossroads has been visited by those with the right skills since its creation in 2002. The website www.lucidcrossroads.net teaches you how to lucid dream and more importantly how to reach the Lucid Crossroads itself.

From the Crossroads any fantasy is possible. The doorways provide the lucid traveller or oneironaut the portal to any exciting reality they wish to experience. The blue-skinned receptionists Cee and Gee are there to help travellers make their onward journeys, answer questions and make a big fuss of those reaching the LC.

What could be more exciting...? How about sharing your lucid dream at the Crossroads with a friend, family member or just bump into a lucid stranger from the waking world? Possible? Science would say no. Anecdotal reports from dreamers might hint at another answer. Could focusing efforts on one place increase the chances of such a shared dream? Or is it all merely coincidence? The Crossroads is an artistic project that explores these boundaries, awake and asleep, fact and fiction.

Transformation at the Crossroads?

Best you know who I am. My name is Russell Rukin and I am the artist who originally created the Lucid Crossroads. I've always esentially considered the Crossroads an unfinished project. I've wanted to add more hand-created art into the website, to re-write the online text, even write and publish a Lucid Crossroads book. I’d like to use new photoreal software to revolutionise the 3D. The website needs condensing and simplifying. I'm an artist, I draw, I paint, I create in 3D. I want to use all that skill, the best quality applied with the passion I have for the project! Finally to top it all I want to make elements of the LC copyright free (copyleft). Example :- the 3D model so people can tweak the Crossroads to create their own vision of the space. The transformation has already begun but I need your help to give me the time needed to write and illustrate the book and dramatically increase the quailty on offer!

A unique project provides unique rewards!

Achieving the $5,900 target will be amazing. It will allow other creatives to get involved, pay for proof readers and extend the multimedia on the website. This is a flexible Indiegogo project however, meaning that if I don't acheive target I will still make good on my rewards. I will transform the site and publish the book. Without funding it will be all on my own, no help... go back to living like a student for three months...

I'm really excited about the rewards I've put together. They are as unique as the Lucid Crossroads itself. For example, reality checking is a great way to get lucid in the first place. The basic premise being if you ask yourself enough times whilst you are awake the simple question "am I dreaming?", you will eventually ask yourself in a dream and trigger lucidity. Having a computer or phone wallpaper with an image of the Crossroads asking you to reality check is a great way of reality checking. Most of the perks on offer can be reminders to reality check and also, importantly visit the LC when lucid.

The book is going to be a really big deal. Whilst the website will be transformed into easily digestable lucid features and a tour of the Crossroads, the book will be far more in-depth. The 80 pages will feature high resolution photoreal views of the Crossroads created with Zbrush, Blender and Indigo's photorealistic renderer as well as my hand-created art. There will be detailed descriptions and visual guides on how to lucid dream utilising techniques like WILD. All the pro tips, tricks and fine details of the lucid altered state to allow you to explore your dreams.

An important by-product of the transformation of the Lucid Crossroads will be the fact that certain images and the whole 3D model will be made copyleft. This will mean that creatives of all persuaions will be able to use aspects of the LC and make their own versions of the dreamspace. Maybe you'll see a Lucid Crossroads special level in your next computer game? You might want to use the free Blender software to render up some views with a fancy new supercar you've been wanting to take for a spin? The $15 perk will get the model early and exclusively you'll get the Indigo photoreal rendering settings to go with it!

All this creative activity is going to generate lots of original art works, from prints to hand drawn art pieces. I have two levels of perks. The first is the limited edition (numbered) print. Either mono glass prints, linocut prints or digital prints. The second rarer level is the orginal hand drawn/painted art works. I am a practising artist and illustrator. You can find my illustration in magazines and adverts etc. My art works are far more rare.

Talking of conceptual art I'm really enjoying the idea of the 3D printed rewards. Items from the dreamscape (mindscape) made real, carried around acting as your reality check reminders. Achieve lucidity, pick up your badge, lucid tool or receptionist adornment and make your trip to the LC! I've yet to decide on designs but expect something superb.

The largest perk on this project is to have a major character at the Lucid Crossroads designed after you or your loved one. In the new design there will be four staircases leading into the desert ground (north, south, east and west). The Lucid Dojo currently above ground will be moved below ground. The other areas will be the Akashic records, Vis Viva bar and the Dreamspace doorway. These areas will not be fully realised in 3D and only exist in 3D as the steps leading down to them and the guardian (you) awaiting the dreamer.

We need one guardian for the Akashic Records, the mythical library that holds all knowledge. A Barman/woman to look after the Vis Viva space bar and one doorkeeper of the Dreamspace door. Having a character based on your physical person is not only cool but might come with some very interesting lucid benefits. Many lucid dreamers believe that the dream characters they encounter are actually aspects of the sleeping mind. To interact and quiz these characters is to question deep areas of your own psyche. To have a character so bound up with yourself might allow even further exploration into this symbiotic therapy.

The impact of the Crossroads

Your contribution will be a vital step along the path in making the Lucid Crossroads a more vibrant and welcoming place to visit. When you contribute you are becoming part of a unique art work. The Crossroads is like a positive piece of graffiti art, open to everyone willing to make the pilgrimage. It stands apart from countries, governments and corporations and in its purest mind-generated version it is a space to reflect on those institutions, life and existence.

This will be the third time I've regenerated the Lucid Crossroads. Its inception was in 2002. The second incarnation flickered into existence in 2006. It's now 2012 and its time to perfect the hub of the dream world. Can you help me form this new reality?

Other Ways You Can Help

The usual ways suggest themselves. Spread the word about this bizzare dream space fundraiser far and wide. Use social media, use Indiegogo's share tools etc. Also why not learn to lucid dream and make a visit to the Crossroads? Maybe you could watch the changes happen live dreamside? You can learn how to lucid dream at the old Lucid Crossroads site or LDing communities like Dreamviews, LD4all, /r/luciddreaming.

 The Crossroads looks forward to recieving you dream traveller!