Yesterday, I listened back to my audio recording of The Ecstasy of Gold Product Description up to the end of Stage One.
Realized I had never actually recorded Stages Two through Four, and I had some time today, so I recorded those this morning.
It was a good chance to really try to absorb more of what is packed into this amazing program.
I didnāt know what was happening in the world.
I just assumed.
Had I known, I might have made different choices.
Had my first real lucid dream last night. (That Iāve remembered anyway.)
I was not trying to have one.
About 2 weeks ago, I had a long airport layover in Istanbul. About a 13-hour layover. I took the Metros and wound up on a street called MĆ¼rsel PaÅa Caddesi . I took a tramline to visit the Hagia Sophia. After that was done, I walked back the way Iād come, and gradually made my way back to the airport.
In my dream last night, I was walking again on MĆ¼rsel PaÅa Caddesi.
Since Iāve only been in that space once in my life, there was a moment when my mind recognized, āThis is a dream right nowā. But itās more than just a ārecognitionā. Itās also a trance state. I know that now Iāve had one. A lucid dream seems to be a particular state of trance, somewhat similar to light jhana states.
Anyway, it makes me laugh that once I knew it was a lucid dream, my first and immediate response was to fly. Something tells me this is quite a common response. hahaha. What can I say?
Anyway, that happened.
I should also mention that while yesterday was a subliminal day, I did not listen during morning meditaiton as usual. Iāve been rolling around the idea of experimenting with shorter loops, just to see how I respond. All the talk on here has gradually been having its effects on me.
All day, I did not listen to the subs. My mind just felt too busy and occupied. But around bedtime, it seemed okay.
I listend to 4 minutes and change of Ecstasy of the Golden One. Then I put on Dragon Reborn Gold 4.
And (apparently) I was just gone.
The next thing I knew it was about 3:30 am and wondering, āwhatās going on?ā
At some point in all of that, the lucid dream happened.
I was absolutely obsessed with VIBES! when that album came out. I hate that his career didnāt seem to blow up, even with Kanye West promoting him.
Propagators of Memes and Genes;
Conveyors of Information;
Constrained by Temperament and Configuration; invisible to ourselves.
Introduced a micro-loop of Alchemist Stage 1 last night. Preparing to switch from Dragon Reborn Gold to Alchemist, possibly next Tuesday.
Okay, so I just went down a rabbit hole today thinking about my subliminals Present and Past.
It took me a while.
But it was helpful and useful to look back.
Alchemist was the very first Subliminal Club program that I ever encountered. And it is the reason that I came to Subliminal Club in the first place.
But when I first started, in September 2019, the first program I purchased was The Ecstasy of Gold.
These two sentences capture the two poles of my journey. These poles feed into each other and they continue to define my current path.
When I first started, I hoped that I could just āget money issues behind meā.
That was not to be.
Ecstasy of Gold essentially led me back to my strengths, passion, and my soul. And this led me, at that time, to Alchemist and Quantum Limitless.
I started running those two programs, concurrently, in June 2020. My goal at the time was to play both programs for 3 months a stage, and then when I got to stage 4, I would create a custom with both program cores. The custom subliminal store had just been established in June 2020. I built a custom with Ecstasy of Gold, called PATHS of Wealth. And I began playing Alchemist and Quantum Limitless.
In May 2021, I built that Alchemist-Quantum Limitless custom, titled it NAISSANCE (Birth/Space and Time of Birth/ Foundation of Emergence); and began playing it. I stayed with that version for about 4 months.
At that point, in the Fall 2021, I took a step back to concentrate on my first run with the original Dragon Reborn.
By the next year, Fall 2022, ZP had been innovated. I built new focused-down versions of my programs. But essentially, the focuses were still on Ecstasy of Gold, Quantum Limitless, and Alchemist.
Starting in September 2022, I played my Alchemist custom for another 30 weeks. 7 September 2022 to 11 April 2023.
I was committed, but also during that time the Revelation programs were innovated. As usual, I did not jump on immediately because I loved my current programs. But I watched and considered.
Eventually, I had to accept that The Revelation of Spirit and The Revelation of Mind seemed to capture everything that Iād been looking for in Alchemist and Quantum Limitless. Like to a tee.
With the addition of the UNFOLDING dimension, the Revelation programs were even better aligned with my nature. I am not forcefully goal-oriented when it comes to my passions, my practices, or my path. In Western astrology, my Sun is in Taurus (the bull) and my Mars is in Pisces. In Chinese astrology, my year is the Ox. I am a double Ox. And those pretty much capture my style of moving. Itās more about consistency over time and contemplation. Thatās how I get there (if I get there).
August 2023 was when I first built my custom with The Revelation of Mind, The Revelation of Spirit, (and I forced in Genesis). This was PHENOMENAUT Genesis. Prior to that, PHENOMENAUT had been the collective name that I gave to my stack (made of NAISSANCE (Alchemist) and SAPIENS (Quantum Limitless)). It was pretty cool and amazing to meld those into one unified custom.
I worked with PHENOMENAUT Genesis from 15 August 2023 to 7 January 2025.
Thatās 17 months with Revelation of Spirit, Revelation of Mind, Genesis.
But I also took 3 massive washouts during that time. So, the actual active time was closer to 13 months.
And that brings us to the beginning of this year; when the NEW Ecstasy of Gold was released, and The Revelation of Wealth and Dragon Reborn Gold were available too.
For 2025, those programs have been my focus.
I started Dragon Reborn Gold in January of this year, and Iāve been playing it until now.
I did two months with The Revelation of Wealth (I pretty much respect any UNFOLDING program). Then in March, I shifted to The Ecstasy of Gold Stage 1. And since March, Iāve been playing The Ecstasy of Gold Stage 1 and Dragon Reborn Gold.
Now itās Fall 2025, and another transition arrives.
Ecstasy of Gold (in a name-embedded ZPQ major title build: Ecstasy of the Golden One, since March 2025) continues. Itās a mainstay until I am satisfied with my foundation and action-taking.
But Dragon Reborn Gold has retired. I played STages 1 through 3 for 2 months each. And stage 4 for 6 weeks.
I hope that the benefits from DRG stay with me and continue to unfold even after I stop playing it actively.
But two major releases have occurred in the past 4 to 5 months: Alchemist: AEON; and HERO: The Light That Blinds.
My aim for now is Alchemist: AEON. I aim to begin AEON at some point around April or May 2026.
In preparation for that, I thought it would be good to do additional plays-through with Khan Black and with Alchemist.
And this is what led me to todayās reflections.
The fact is Iāve already got a lot of time with these programs under my belt.
Total time with Alchemist: 85 weeks 3 days. About 1.6 years.
Total time with Khan Black: 80 weeks and 6 days. About 1.5 years.
BUTā¦
when I played both programs, I was still in my (relatively) heavy, dense stack approach. I was zealously and eagerly packing in as many programs and/or program cores as possible. As such, I did not get the purest experience of the subs. Thatās okay, but, it still makes me want to do a bit more.
Iāve only played the earlier version of Alchemist. I would like to experience the new Alchemist for a bit before diving into AEON.
Iām gradually expanding and deepening Nei Gong practice in my life. I think it would be good to let that unfold for a while and be up-and-running by the time I engage with AEON.
So all of those make me think that a 4- to 8-month (or so) runway to AEON might be great.
But I still have a couple of points to consider.
After playing many dense, heavy stacks during my first few years with Subliminal Club, by the time late 2023 came around, I had a desire for focused, lighter stacks. I began to crave just playing 1 or 2 titles. And even started gradually veering away from customs.
For a while now, the most Iāve played have been 2 titles at a time. And I havenāt played a full custom since January 2025.
Until I make decisive key shifts in my target areas, I want lighter, focused, more easily trackable processing.
But right now, Iām considering a 3-program core stack:
The Ecstasy of Gold stage 1
Alchemist
Khan Black.
None of these are new to me. And if you count the older versions of Alchemist and The Ecstasy of Gold (which I admittedly do not), Iāve been with each of them for at least a year.
Yet, I really love my 2-program stacks.
Iām thinking of changing that during this phase.
Maybe Iāll start by playing Alchemist alone with EoG first for a few weeks. Then Iāll layer in KB and see if I notice anything.
Another complicating perspective:
I have been noticing some subtle, deep shifts in how I organize my world. The idea of facilitating a satisfying life, not just in my mind, but in the actual world, is seeming marginally more tangible. This has always seemed far-away and tenuous throughout life.
As a result of that challenge, I was able throughout life to learn a lot about internal framing and internal work. And I did build some important muscles there.
But the leap to a satisfying FIELD-EXPRESSION was always tenuous.
That is shifting.
And I am thinking that this sounds very much like an expression of the Dragon Reborn Gold vision and objectives.
When it comes to the external world and my actions in it, my subliminal programsāall of themātend to have a lot of heavy lifting to do.
Not everyone fits into our existing social structures and conventions with the same levels of compatibility.
Life is challenging for everyone in a sense.
But Iām not really talking about that baseline of existential challenge.
Iām talking a bit more superficially than that.
Whatās been coming to me more in recent months is that if youāre strong enough and your Vision and Vitality are strong enough, then you donāt need as much affirmation and support.
Iām not talking about being a defiant loner. Iāve already been able to do that. Iām talking about thriving in the world, even though you do not āfit inā so well.
You know youāre really strong, not when you are able to ānot need anyoneā; but when you are able to be friendly without being diminished at all by it.
Iāve been feeling the possibilities of that. The feeling of being abundant just in and of yourself.
Makes me wonder if I really want to stop DRG yet. But I think I may need to do so.
Had a long-haul flight last month.
In those situations, I compose.
As time permits, Iām going to slowly take the music that I uploaded to SoundCloud and move it over to YouTube.
Perfect timing. The release of the updated listening guidelines.
Today is my scheduled day to resume sub listening with my new stack:
Ecstasy of the Golden One
Alchemist
Khan Black
The plan is to work through the four stages of Alchemist and Khan Black between now and April.
ā¦and done.
30 seconds each.
(Interestingly, the button took a moment to respond on Khan Black, so it ended at 33 seconds at 10:10.)
Anyway, so weāre good until Thursday.
As usual, the stress or challenge from actual life is the main focus. I am not sure how much recon from the subs may be camouflaging inside of that. Could be.
Dunno.
Already had a synchronicitous lecture drop into my lap that felt very Alchemist-related. Two of them actually.
Itās the beginning of a new work cycle. The stress is largely self-manufactured right now. By this weekend, things will have settled a bit, and Iāll be able to get a better read of my process.
So, maybe Iāll give it another 30 second run on Thursday. Weāll see.
Another 30-seconds.
Ecstasy of the Golden One
Alchemist 1
Khan Black 1
I opted for another day at 30 seconds. I did not feel trouble or difficulty in processing the subliminals, but I did have a fairly intense and stressful time on Tuesday and Wednesday. For now, Iām treating recon the same whether it comes from obviously and specifically from my subliminal programs or whether it seems to be more an expression of life and life-stress.
Today and tomorrow look pretty relaxed. That will give me a chance to gauge more easily how the processing of the subs is going.
In the last year or so, Iāve been using Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday as my play days. I rested every Sunday and Monday. I felt that this integrated a bit more processing time and made monthly processing days slightly less necessary.
Now, Iām staying with the micro loop guidelines, and Iāll play every other day. So next week Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, will be my play days.
It feels good to move things around a little.
I never realized that athletics is art. The culture tends to frame it as something else. But I see it now.
I was just listening to two retired elite American football players just enjoying themselves talking to each other about their old experiences, and it hit me so clearly, āThese are two artists discussing their art.ā
Increased to 1 minute each program today.
Occurred to me that I can combine these microloop durations with my é¦¬ę„ horse stance practices.
So we did that today.
Re-embraced é¦¬ę„ during August. A minute is feeling a lot more comfortable than it did 4 weeks ago.
Iām taking a relatively flexible perspective on reconciliation. If I notice an increase in challenging sensations in the next day or two, even if they are not obviously connected to the subliminal stimulus, I will maintain one minute in my next play session.
Felt somewhat lethargic today. Maybe that was processing? Maybe not.
But in the early evening, I felt like doing a set of taijiquan.
And after that I felt pulled to return to my project of audio-recording Damo Mitchellās A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong. All of this makes me think that 1-minute is a good spot right now. May just stay with it for a while.