I've often thought that my favorite time of day is the brief moment at the very end of it. It's the time that starts with the moment the lights are turned off and lasts through when my head hits the pillow and finishes up right to the second I lose consciousness for the day. It's when my mind is at it's most calm and peaceful, thanks to the absence of light and sound and any other influences of sensory media and the outside world. I'm at the mercy of my subconcious and my imagination; free from the inhibitions and laws of nature that dog me throughout my waking hours.
I am by no means a lucid dreamer, although I do try my hardest to grasp that ability on occasion. I guess it's not something that everyone or anyone can force upon themselves, (or maybe it is, I don't know). Hopefully someday I'll figure it all out, but until then my inability for dream lucidity is not for a lack of practice. For the shortest of moments each night with the eyes closed I'm able to be a different me, even if only in my mind. I'm no longer a pixel pusher strapped into a desk for nine hours of the day. I can be anyone, go anywhere. I can float instead of walk. I can play centerfield for the White Sox. I can live in a world where my dog doesn't shed as much. I can create music and play in front of people in Chicago, Las Vegas, Boston, Dublin, London, Paris. Taxes, mortgages, politics and war don't exist. I can see the smile of a girl that I no longer see in my waking life and hear her laugh again.
My only wish is that I remembered more of my dreams. I've read the sleep cycle for the normal person permits a major dream every 90 minutes or so. That should be at least 4 dreams a night, and so rarely do I remember any of them. String them together. Connect the dots. Create something in the real world brought on by inspiration from the dream world.
If I could only feel the same way during the rest of my waking life as I do those few moments of pseudo-lucidity...
Are you a dreamer? - Waking Life, 2001
Lucid Dreaming - Waking Life, 2001
The ongoing WOW is happening right now - Waking Life, 2001