Just one shorter dream from last night....
The dream: The earliest part of this dream I remember is being on the coast in what I would later find out was Japan and looking out to a turbulent sea. As is often the case in my dreams, the waves on the ocean seemed impossibly big and violent. I soon left the beach and went into a nearby beach house where I was staying with some friends.
In the house, we were watching the news of a massive earthquake off the coast. Suddenly, I could see underwater where the earthquake had happened and witness the catastrophic damage to the undersea landscape: giant chunks of rock broke from from their base and crashed to the sea bed. The scene flashed back to our beach house, and I knew we had scant moments before a tsunami. Sure enough, as I shouted my warning to my friends, through the window we could see a giant wave of water heading toward the coastline. I told everyone to brace for impact as I dashed from the window and dove onto the couch (which would help, apparently).
However, when the wave finally hit our house, it had subsided considerably: water flooded about a foot of the floor of our house and quickly washed out, doing little damage. We walked outside to see the aftermath.
The landscape was eerily calm. In the distance, the ocean had mysteriously receded far beyond the coastline; we could see a great amount of uncovered sea floor now in the open air. Of the nearby beach area, we saw wreckage scattered about the beach and floating out in the water: broken houses, capsized boats, etc. We also saw another unfortunate result of the tsunami: strange alien creatures were now floating around in the water and the air about the damaged area. Somehow I knew they were some sort of water monsters. While I don't remember much of the details after this, we set about killing them before I woke up.
My thoughts: I've had dreams about tsunamis or other flooding disasters before, but I guess the significance of this one being in Japan is evident. Why I had it last night, however, I'm not sure. And it's just not one my dreams if monsters or some other weird things don't show up.
Showing posts with label Weird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weird. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
September 05: Outside the Turkey Shop
I had an incredibly vivid and rapidly-changing dream last night; unfortunately, even though I immediately woke up and began writing it down in my bedside journal, the details quickly slipped through my memory. I'll try to share what I remember:
The dream: I remember being in a parking lot and getting in a car with some of the faculty from my graduate program. As we piled in, some vagrants came up and started cleaning the car in hopes of getting some money for their unwanted attention. My advisor, who was driving, started the car up and attempted to put the car in reverse to leave, but I realized that one of the homeless fellows had a hold of our front bumper; our car backing out would result in it being torn off (apparently). I told the driver to wait; I rolled down the window and politely declined their services; the men reluctantly let go and moved away. We were free to drive away, through a small town that I didn't recognize.
Eventually, I was dropped me off just down the street from a small shopping area, and my advisor and teachers drove off. For a moment I could see myself as if looking in a mirror: I was wearing a ridiculous outfit that was a combination of traditional Japanese samurai and Hot Topic goth (complete with combat boots). I was also carrying a second pair of boots for some reason. Feeling ridiculous, I walked up the street to a small shopping plaza.
Reaching the plaza, I walked into the nearest store: a "turkey shop," which was some sort of fast food restaurant, apparently. Inside, the manager was challenging his employees -- a cadre of bored and sarcastic teenagers -- to a trivia game related to the company's history. While I don't remember the details of the quiz, I do remember something about heavy artillery, accompanied by a slideshow of pictures of different types of large artillery batteries. Needless to say, the employees were both clueless and disinterested throughout the oblivious shop owner's attempt at engaging his lackluster employees. I left shortly thereafter.
This part of the dream is where I wish I could remember the details: what I do remember is that it involved five young women (two were brunette and one was blonde if that helps!). Each of the women had to complete a specific and unique challenge. All I can recall of the challenges is that they were slapstick, frustrating, and/or humiliating to the participant and yet humorous to the observer (me) - perhaps along the lines of those Japanese punishment game shows (which have in turn spawned American equivalents). Apparently these were so funny and interesting that as I realized I was dreaming and about to wake up, I knew I needed to quickly write the details down. However, I didn't actually wake up; instead, the dream changed slightly.
In this dream, I enlisted the help of five girls (the same girls?) to reenact the hilarious antics from before so that I could record it all properly. However, I don't even remember the reenactments, other than the end. The girls ran off into the back room of a store we were in, and an extremely awkward young man got on the store intercom to announce the end of the show. The customers in the store started clapping, and soon after, I woke up.
My thoughts: It is so frustrating to remember having such a detailed dream and yet, upon waking up, feel those details float away, even though I am actively concentrating on retaining them. I'm not sure what causes that sometimes, while other times I can remember the dream clearly hours or days later.
And I don't know what artillery has to do with turkey, but they were integral to this company's history, apparently.
The dream: I remember being in a parking lot and getting in a car with some of the faculty from my graduate program. As we piled in, some vagrants came up and started cleaning the car in hopes of getting some money for their unwanted attention. My advisor, who was driving, started the car up and attempted to put the car in reverse to leave, but I realized that one of the homeless fellows had a hold of our front bumper; our car backing out would result in it being torn off (apparently). I told the driver to wait; I rolled down the window and politely declined their services; the men reluctantly let go and moved away. We were free to drive away, through a small town that I didn't recognize.
Eventually, I was dropped me off just down the street from a small shopping area, and my advisor and teachers drove off. For a moment I could see myself as if looking in a mirror: I was wearing a ridiculous outfit that was a combination of traditional Japanese samurai and Hot Topic goth (complete with combat boots). I was also carrying a second pair of boots for some reason. Feeling ridiculous, I walked up the street to a small shopping plaza.
Reaching the plaza, I walked into the nearest store: a "turkey shop," which was some sort of fast food restaurant, apparently. Inside, the manager was challenging his employees -- a cadre of bored and sarcastic teenagers -- to a trivia game related to the company's history. While I don't remember the details of the quiz, I do remember something about heavy artillery, accompanied by a slideshow of pictures of different types of large artillery batteries. Needless to say, the employees were both clueless and disinterested throughout the oblivious shop owner's attempt at engaging his lackluster employees. I left shortly thereafter.
This part of the dream is where I wish I could remember the details: what I do remember is that it involved five young women (two were brunette and one was blonde if that helps!). Each of the women had to complete a specific and unique challenge. All I can recall of the challenges is that they were slapstick, frustrating, and/or humiliating to the participant and yet humorous to the observer (me) - perhaps along the lines of those Japanese punishment game shows (which have in turn spawned American equivalents). Apparently these were so funny and interesting that as I realized I was dreaming and about to wake up, I knew I needed to quickly write the details down. However, I didn't actually wake up; instead, the dream changed slightly.
In this dream, I enlisted the help of five girls (the same girls?) to reenact the hilarious antics from before so that I could record it all properly. However, I don't even remember the reenactments, other than the end. The girls ran off into the back room of a store we were in, and an extremely awkward young man got on the store intercom to announce the end of the show. The customers in the store started clapping, and soon after, I woke up.
My thoughts: It is so frustrating to remember having such a detailed dream and yet, upon waking up, feel those details float away, even though I am actively concentrating on retaining them. I'm not sure what causes that sometimes, while other times I can remember the dream clearly hours or days later.
And I don't know what artillery has to do with turkey, but they were integral to this company's history, apparently.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
September 04: Star Trek Teachers and a Disturbing Dream
The dreams: In the first dream, I was in a classroom that was empty except for me and the teacher, who happened to be William Shatner. Class had just ended, and I stayed after to ask Mr. Shatner for some creative writing advice (whether he was a Writing teacher, I'm not sure). We were chatting for a while when (of course) Leonard Nimoy came in. I woke from this dream shortly thereafter.
In the next dream, I was in my old neighborhood again, sitting in the grass of the front yard of my old house. I was holding a revolver in my hands and getting ready to load the cylinder. For some unknown reason, I intended to use the tips of my fingers as bullets, and so I had cut them off after the last knuckle. I knew this would ultimately be okay, because they would grow back (??); sure enough, they had healed completely by the time I was loading the gun. However, as I was trying to load my fingertips into the gun, I realized I had way too many "bullets"; in fact, one of them was actually an entire finger (which clearly couldn't fit in the revolver). Then I realized that I had somehow also acquired someone else's fingers in addition to my own. I dropped the excess fingers and moved away. Later, I saw a man picking up one of the fingers and licking the cut-off end. I'm just hoping it was his....
When it was time to test out my gun and its interesting ammo, a woman approached me and asked if she could shoot it. I agreed, and gave her the gun. She suggested that I be the target; I acquiesced, only slightly concerned and hesitant. As I took my position standing against a wall, I started having stronger misgivings -- after all, what if she shot me in the head? That would hurt, even if the bullets were my own fingers. I shrugged my concerns off, and closed my eyes and waited. I heard the telltale boom, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes, only to see the woman laying on the ground, completely obscured and covered from head to toe by her own blood to the point that at first I didn't even recognize her as the same person. I reasoned that the gun had backfired and injured her. I, and several other bystanders, ran to help. I don't remember much after this; I eventually woke up.
***
My thoughts: Yeah, we're not going to talk about the first dream; there's not much to say there. Star Trek guys. Got it.
What the HELL is with the second dream? I pride myself on understanding the meaning behind most of my dreams, and if they get a little weird -- hey, it happens, and I usually realize it's a dream soon after. This one was just plain disturbing. It's not just that it was twisted and somewhat gory: the nonchalance of everything makes it doubly disturbing. And at no point did I have a problem with any of it, save the slight concern of getting shot in the head "because it might hurt." Shot in the head by my own fingers, which were being used as bullets! But the guy picking up a random finger and licking it takes the cake.
Where did this come from? I don't watch gory movies. I don't have violent or disturbing thoughts like this while awake. Who knows....
In the next dream, I was in my old neighborhood again, sitting in the grass of the front yard of my old house. I was holding a revolver in my hands and getting ready to load the cylinder. For some unknown reason, I intended to use the tips of my fingers as bullets, and so I had cut them off after the last knuckle. I knew this would ultimately be okay, because they would grow back (??); sure enough, they had healed completely by the time I was loading the gun. However, as I was trying to load my fingertips into the gun, I realized I had way too many "bullets"; in fact, one of them was actually an entire finger (which clearly couldn't fit in the revolver). Then I realized that I had somehow also acquired someone else's fingers in addition to my own. I dropped the excess fingers and moved away. Later, I saw a man picking up one of the fingers and licking the cut-off end. I'm just hoping it was his....
When it was time to test out my gun and its interesting ammo, a woman approached me and asked if she could shoot it. I agreed, and gave her the gun. She suggested that I be the target; I acquiesced, only slightly concerned and hesitant. As I took my position standing against a wall, I started having stronger misgivings -- after all, what if she shot me in the head? That would hurt, even if the bullets were my own fingers. I shrugged my concerns off, and closed my eyes and waited. I heard the telltale boom, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes, only to see the woman laying on the ground, completely obscured and covered from head to toe by her own blood to the point that at first I didn't even recognize her as the same person. I reasoned that the gun had backfired and injured her. I, and several other bystanders, ran to help. I don't remember much after this; I eventually woke up.
***
My thoughts: Yeah, we're not going to talk about the first dream; there's not much to say there. Star Trek guys. Got it.
What the HELL is with the second dream? I pride myself on understanding the meaning behind most of my dreams, and if they get a little weird -- hey, it happens, and I usually realize it's a dream soon after. This one was just plain disturbing. It's not just that it was twisted and somewhat gory: the nonchalance of everything makes it doubly disturbing. And at no point did I have a problem with any of it, save the slight concern of getting shot in the head "because it might hurt." Shot in the head by my own fingers, which were being used as bullets! But the guy picking up a random finger and licking it takes the cake.
Where did this come from? I don't watch gory movies. I don't have violent or disturbing thoughts like this while awake. Who knows....
Saturday, September 3, 2011
September 03: A Magical, Angry, Water Bottle-Powered Flight
Just one dream to journal from last night...
The dream: I don't remember much of the events leading up to this part of the dream, but where it became clear is when I was at a church with a large group of people. For some reason I was livid, lashing out at everyone and acting extremely hostile and angry. It became evident that I was part of a production of a play, but I wasn't suited to the role to which I was cast. So I decided to leave. My cousin was there, so I said goodbye, and walked outside into the church parking lot. Once outside, I decided that I needed to fly to New York - and "fly" in my dreams rarely means via airplane, as this dream would prove. My means of flight in this dream? Two liter-sized water bottles. Yes, by putting one half-filled water bottle under each arm, I was somehow able to fly (the water bottles providing buoyancy on the air, apparently?).
So off I went, flying up out of the church parking lot into the evening sky. I looked around me to get my bearings, and started heading west - "toward Seattle," I thought to myself (the completely wrong way, I apparently didn't think to myself). From here on out, the dream was a rather long flight over hills, fields, and towns. After a while, I realized that I was dreaming (how I didn't realize beforehand is beyond me), and so I got bored of flying and decided to land and explore a small town I had flown over. Outside of a house, I saw some writing on the wall... but I can't quite remember what it said, and I woke up.
My thoughts: I'd like to say that this is the weirdest method of travel I've experienced in a dream, but no: I'd say that honor goes to the dream wherein I was driving on a freeway by sitting length-wise in a large duffel bag -- feet pushing against one end, back up against the other -- and holding on to the straps to "steer" my "vehicle." Somehow the duffel bag could just... go... down the road at highway speeds as I wove in and out of traffic: no means of propulsion, no means of avoiding friction from the asphalt - no, just the thin canvas between my rear end and the road at 75 miles per hour. Makes perfect sense.
The dream: I don't remember much of the events leading up to this part of the dream, but where it became clear is when I was at a church with a large group of people. For some reason I was livid, lashing out at everyone and acting extremely hostile and angry. It became evident that I was part of a production of a play, but I wasn't suited to the role to which I was cast. So I decided to leave. My cousin was there, so I said goodbye, and walked outside into the church parking lot. Once outside, I decided that I needed to fly to New York - and "fly" in my dreams rarely means via airplane, as this dream would prove. My means of flight in this dream? Two liter-sized water bottles. Yes, by putting one half-filled water bottle under each arm, I was somehow able to fly (the water bottles providing buoyancy on the air, apparently?).
So off I went, flying up out of the church parking lot into the evening sky. I looked around me to get my bearings, and started heading west - "toward Seattle," I thought to myself (the completely wrong way, I apparently didn't think to myself). From here on out, the dream was a rather long flight over hills, fields, and towns. After a while, I realized that I was dreaming (how I didn't realize beforehand is beyond me), and so I got bored of flying and decided to land and explore a small town I had flown over. Outside of a house, I saw some writing on the wall... but I can't quite remember what it said, and I woke up.
My thoughts: I'd like to say that this is the weirdest method of travel I've experienced in a dream, but no: I'd say that honor goes to the dream wherein I was driving on a freeway by sitting length-wise in a large duffel bag -- feet pushing against one end, back up against the other -- and holding on to the straps to "steer" my "vehicle." Somehow the duffel bag could just... go... down the road at highway speeds as I wove in and out of traffic: no means of propulsion, no means of avoiding friction from the asphalt - no, just the thin canvas between my rear end and the road at 75 miles per hour. Makes perfect sense.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
August 30: Alaska!
The dream: A friend and I took a trip to Alaska. I'm not sure by what means we traveled there, but I remember stepping onto the shore and looking at the majestic mountains towering in the distance and the land all around covered by lush pinewood forests. We were there in a season where the sun never set; as is the way in dreams, this was highly exaggerated by the fact that throughout the dream, the sun only moved in a small circular pattern high in the sky, never veering far from a noonday position.
My friend and I made our way to where we were staying: a quaint bed and breakfast that was actually a houseboat - and I mean literally a house that was also a boat: constructed like a boxy, two-story cabin with windows, a porch, and slanted roof, the house was docked on the edge of a large lake. We entered the house, made introductions, and checked in.
Shortly after check-in, the houseboat disembarked and began cruising across the lake and then up a wide river at motorboat speeds. While we were racing up the river, my friend and I sat on the back porch and began fishing, our lines trailing out into the rapid wake of our large water vessel. Almost immediately we began catching fish, struggling to reel them in against not only their own fight but the strength of the water rapidly receding behind us as well.
After a while, the river passed through the middle of a small town, houses and roads lining either side of the river and family yards running right to the shore. My friend's fishing line snagged suddenly on something large and threatened to pull her in. Together we reeled in what turned out to be a child's Big Wheels tricycle that she had somehow caught from the yard of a nearby residence. I quickly released the plastic bike and tossed it back into the river, hoping we weren't so far upstream that the owners couldn't eventually find it.
After a while of traveling, I found myself suddenly no longer in the houseboat and on the water, but standing on a small hill far up from the river. I was looking about for pieces of paper that were scattered about what was essentially a landfill of tires and other large garbage. The last thing I remember is knowing that I was a middle-aged businessman looking for important documents that had been lost, while my family waited for me down the hill in a station wagon.
***
My thoughts: Um... I'm not sure what to say about this dream. The glaring discrepancies of Alaska's geography and basic Earth science notwithstanding... that was literally just a house -- not simply floating on the water, but cruising across it! And I'm no fishing expert, but I can't imagine that our method would work so well...
My friend and I made our way to where we were staying: a quaint bed and breakfast that was actually a houseboat - and I mean literally a house that was also a boat: constructed like a boxy, two-story cabin with windows, a porch, and slanted roof, the house was docked on the edge of a large lake. We entered the house, made introductions, and checked in.
Shortly after check-in, the houseboat disembarked and began cruising across the lake and then up a wide river at motorboat speeds. While we were racing up the river, my friend and I sat on the back porch and began fishing, our lines trailing out into the rapid wake of our large water vessel. Almost immediately we began catching fish, struggling to reel them in against not only their own fight but the strength of the water rapidly receding behind us as well.
After a while, the river passed through the middle of a small town, houses and roads lining either side of the river and family yards running right to the shore. My friend's fishing line snagged suddenly on something large and threatened to pull her in. Together we reeled in what turned out to be a child's Big Wheels tricycle that she had somehow caught from the yard of a nearby residence. I quickly released the plastic bike and tossed it back into the river, hoping we weren't so far upstream that the owners couldn't eventually find it.
After a while of traveling, I found myself suddenly no longer in the houseboat and on the water, but standing on a small hill far up from the river. I was looking about for pieces of paper that were scattered about what was essentially a landfill of tires and other large garbage. The last thing I remember is knowing that I was a middle-aged businessman looking for important documents that had been lost, while my family waited for me down the hill in a station wagon.
***
My thoughts: Um... I'm not sure what to say about this dream. The glaring discrepancies of Alaska's geography and basic Earth science notwithstanding... that was literally just a house -- not simply floating on the water, but cruising across it! And I'm no fishing expert, but I can't imagine that our method would work so well...
Sunday, August 28, 2011
August 28: Short Military Dream
The dream: While I don't remember much of what came before this point, what I do remember started with me being in the military and part of some sort of training exercise. I had no idea where I was, why I was part of the military, or what exactly I was training for, but as is the case in dreams so often, I attempted to go with the flow. I was marching around when I was approached by a commanding officer. I didn't know who the officer was or even his rank, so I hesitated before addressing him and stumbled over my words. He berated me for my performance and then sent me off to another room for my training.
I entered a large indoor gym and approached a man who was handing out life vests; he instructed me to find one in my size. I was curious as to what my mission would entail if it required life vests, but I found one and put it on. After a while, I was approached by another commanding officer, who told me I would receive training on how to withhold information during interrogation. I was then escorted with other participants out of the gym. On our way, I was very quickly briefed on what we would be doing: we were to follow a script closely during a staged sequence, and if, during the sequence, we were chosen for the mock interrogation, we were to do our best not to reveal key information. I thought about how I would handle this scenario as we walked down a series of hallways.
We soon entered a small meeting room where many people were gathering around a large conference table. At the head of the table sat a large, gruesome-looking man; somehow I knew he was the actor portraying the leader of a group of thugs. For some reason the "boss" of the thugs had lost his nose; in its place was a fake nose made out of cake. As we were sitting, he started pulling pieces from his nose and eating them. Pacing about the room were other "thugs" playing their parts; meanwhile, the participants took their seats around the table.
As the act commenced, I realized that I didn't have a script. I looked nervously about at the other participants and tried simply to mimic their behaviors and responses. Soon, the act came to the point where the "thugs" began choosing participants to interrogate. First approached was a woman on the other side of the table from me. As they began, the woman immediately said something that was apparently so far from the script that everything had to stop, and some of the actors broke character to show her that, according to the script, she shouldn't say that. I thought it odd that we were being trained to withstand interrogation techniques, but forced to follow a script: how would that prove anything?
Eventually I was chosen to be interrogated, but I still didn't have a script. I asked the person sitting next to me if I could borrow his since he hadn't been chosen. He gave me his copy, and I hastily scanned through the script as I walked with the interrogator to a chair across the room. As I sat down, I realized that everyone was quiet, and all eyes were on me. I quickly looked down at the paper booklet in my hands, and I saw my name there, but nothing written for me to do or say. And this is when the dream ended completely and I woke up.
***
My thoughts: These dreams of being completely clueless as to where I am and what I'm doing are fairly common, though usually related to school (being in a class and having no idea what the subject is, etc). Other than that, it was a rather short dream, and I don't remember much before or after it.
I entered a large indoor gym and approached a man who was handing out life vests; he instructed me to find one in my size. I was curious as to what my mission would entail if it required life vests, but I found one and put it on. After a while, I was approached by another commanding officer, who told me I would receive training on how to withhold information during interrogation. I was then escorted with other participants out of the gym. On our way, I was very quickly briefed on what we would be doing: we were to follow a script closely during a staged sequence, and if, during the sequence, we were chosen for the mock interrogation, we were to do our best not to reveal key information. I thought about how I would handle this scenario as we walked down a series of hallways.
We soon entered a small meeting room where many people were gathering around a large conference table. At the head of the table sat a large, gruesome-looking man; somehow I knew he was the actor portraying the leader of a group of thugs. For some reason the "boss" of the thugs had lost his nose; in its place was a fake nose made out of cake. As we were sitting, he started pulling pieces from his nose and eating them. Pacing about the room were other "thugs" playing their parts; meanwhile, the participants took their seats around the table.
As the act commenced, I realized that I didn't have a script. I looked nervously about at the other participants and tried simply to mimic their behaviors and responses. Soon, the act came to the point where the "thugs" began choosing participants to interrogate. First approached was a woman on the other side of the table from me. As they began, the woman immediately said something that was apparently so far from the script that everything had to stop, and some of the actors broke character to show her that, according to the script, she shouldn't say that. I thought it odd that we were being trained to withstand interrogation techniques, but forced to follow a script: how would that prove anything?
Eventually I was chosen to be interrogated, but I still didn't have a script. I asked the person sitting next to me if I could borrow his since he hadn't been chosen. He gave me his copy, and I hastily scanned through the script as I walked with the interrogator to a chair across the room. As I sat down, I realized that everyone was quiet, and all eyes were on me. I quickly looked down at the paper booklet in my hands, and I saw my name there, but nothing written for me to do or say. And this is when the dream ended completely and I woke up.
***
My thoughts: These dreams of being completely clueless as to where I am and what I'm doing are fairly common, though usually related to school (being in a class and having no idea what the subject is, etc). Other than that, it was a rather short dream, and I don't remember much before or after it.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
August 27: Persistant Scammers and the Big Bang
I've resumed keeping a dream journal after a two-year hiatus. Let's see how long I keep at it this time....
The dream: At the beginning of this dream I was working in an arcade, helping kids turn in tickets for prizes and keeping an eye on the games and patrons. After a while, a woman and her teenage daughter approached me. The girl was participating in a fund raiser and trying to raise money by selling flowers; the person who purchased a flower would get to go on a date with the girl. I assume the mother was there as a chaperone and officiator of the whole process. It seemed strange, so I asked a series of questions to figure out what was really going on.
Ultimately, I uncovered that they were using the information they gathered to sign the unwitting participants up for some sort of contract, which required the dupes to pay a significant amount of money every month (for what I’m not sure); the mother and daughter were at the mall, targeting single males in the hopes of swaying them with the hope of a date. Strangely enough, even though I uncovered their scam and avoided it, the two acted as if they had duped me already and were laughing and mocking me as if I were a desperate chump who fell for their ruse. It was frustrating, but the dream soon changed.
The dream: At the beginning of this dream I was working in an arcade, helping kids turn in tickets for prizes and keeping an eye on the games and patrons. After a while, a woman and her teenage daughter approached me. The girl was participating in a fund raiser and trying to raise money by selling flowers; the person who purchased a flower would get to go on a date with the girl. I assume the mother was there as a chaperone and officiator of the whole process. It seemed strange, so I asked a series of questions to figure out what was really going on.
Ultimately, I uncovered that they were using the information they gathered to sign the unwitting participants up for some sort of contract, which required the dupes to pay a significant amount of money every month (for what I’m not sure); the mother and daughter were at the mall, targeting single males in the hopes of swaying them with the hope of a date. Strangely enough, even though I uncovered their scam and avoided it, the two acted as if they had duped me already and were laughing and mocking me as if I were a desperate chump who fell for their ruse. It was frustrating, but the dream soon changed.
Next, I was at a zoo with a group of friends. It was a strange place where the animals were all free to roam about in one giant building as opposed to individual pens or fenced-off areas. Patrons boarded a small train that ran leisurely along a track through the various zones in the zoo. We rode by a large group of apes standing dangerously close to the tracks, and later through a bird area, where a duck jumped into my car and settled on my lap. At the end of the train ride, I noticed the same girl and mother duo from earlier in the dream, still pointing and laughing. I angrily approached the girl and informed her that I hadn’t fallen for her scam, and began arguing with her. Eventually she realized this, and responded with hostility as opposed to derision. After the brief argument, I left.
The dream changed again, and I was getting ready for bed in a large abandoned dining hall in some unknown building. The room was filthy and infested with rodents: underneath my blanket I found a dead mouse. I realized I wouldn’t be able to sleep here, so I left.
After a while, I again ran into the girl in the hallway of an unknown residence. Unlike before, she seemed now to be at odds with her mother. Apparently our argument made her realize that her mother’s plan wasn’t a good one, and now she wanted out. She befriended me, and we ventured off together.
At some point in the dream we stumbled upon a strange device. Apparently it was a recording that an advanced alien race had made that, when activated, flooded the user’s mind with images of the history of the universe as seen from this civilization, from the big bang to the end of their race. We watched, entranced, the creation of the universe, the expansion of countless galaxies, and the rise and fall of this alien race as if watching the seasons of their civilization from spring to winter. By the end of the overwhelming stimuli, having all of the intense information compressed and distilled into such a short burst, we were emotionally exhausted, left incapable of anything but tears for the loss.
The dream changed again, and either I was watching some sort of new Star Wars movie or I was in it: I saw Han Solo, Chewbacca, and some unknown Wookie who was fixing some sort of machine.
After the short Star Wars tangent, I was back with the girl from earlier; she was telling me about all of the dresses she owned and how they were great because they allowed her to holster a variety of weapons at her hip. This is about where I woke up.
****
My thoughts: Well, the girl and her mother were rather persistent characters, appearing in almost every facet of this strange hodgepodge of dreams. I guess they represent my distrust of people and my paranoia about being taken advantage of or scammed. Other than that, it was an extremely long dream - or rather, a series of dreams wherein the beginnings and endings fuzed with those before and after.
The scene with the alien devise was so intense in my dream. I remember seeing things that would be impossible to see; it was interesting how my subconscious portrayed the Big Bang, etc. It really felt overstimulating.
Friday, May 1, 2009
May 01, 2009: Rainbow Brite
So in this dream, I was watching some sort of Rainbow Brite show, or movie, or video game - it kept switching. It was an updated, revamped version of Rainbow Brite for a new generation, and it was rather dark: the villains were scary looking, it was set in some huge dismal castle, and even the "hero" characters were older and more serious, though they still had the whole Rainbow Brite color names and motifs going on. It was like the Castlevania series crossed with Rainbow Brite.
I was talking to whoever was there with me about it, comparing this Rainbow Brite to the older cartoon version from the 80s, where the villain was some goofy looking guy with a mustache as opposed to a giant behemoth with horns and fangs, and the characters were all little kids with color names and not these brooding teenagers. I don't remember much else about this dream, other than watching this incarnation of a little girl pop-culture icon, and thinking that it was a lot more child-appropriate when I was a kid.
*****
OK brain, what's the deal? Rainbow Brite? Really? I want some sort of refund.
I think the worst part was that I knew enough about Rainbow Brite to describe the way that the characters had changed.
-Matthew
I was talking to whoever was there with me about it, comparing this Rainbow Brite to the older cartoon version from the 80s, where the villain was some goofy looking guy with a mustache as opposed to a giant behemoth with horns and fangs, and the characters were all little kids with color names and not these brooding teenagers. I don't remember much else about this dream, other than watching this incarnation of a little girl pop-culture icon, and thinking that it was a lot more child-appropriate when I was a kid.
*****
OK brain, what's the deal? Rainbow Brite? Really? I want some sort of refund.
I think the worst part was that I knew enough about Rainbow Brite to describe the way that the characters had changed.
-Matthew
Thursday, April 30, 2009
April 30, 2009: Short Gross Dream
This was a pretty short dream. I don't remember what happened, but I somehow put a huge staple through my thumb. This was painful enough, but pulling it out was somehow worse. After I pulled it out, for some reason the two puncture wounds were exaggeratedly huge, to the point that I could see the bones in my thumb, though there was no blood. I noticed that dust and dirt were getting into the gaping wounds, so I washed them out with water - very painful - and put a bandaid on each hole. I don't remember much after that until the dream ended.
*****
I actually have these kinds of dreams a lot - where I get injured and the wound is ridiculously huge, and I can see all kinds of bones and guts and stuff, but somehow it's not that serious and I'm not bleeding to death. I just get pretty grossed out is all.
-Matthew
*****
I actually have these kinds of dreams a lot - where I get injured and the wound is ridiculously huge, and I can see all kinds of bones and guts and stuff, but somehow it's not that serious and I'm not bleeding to death. I just get pretty grossed out is all.
-Matthew
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
April 29, 2009: Nude Printing and Awkward Car Rides
The earliest part of this dream that I can remember was set in my workplace. I was in my office, sitting at my desk, when an old man came in, wanting to use the inkjet printers in my office to print his digital work. He was thin, tall, with bushy white hair and Colonel Sanders-esque facial hair, garbed in jogging gear and a sweatband. He stood in the doorway and began to disrobe; then he walked, naked, over to the printer, much to my astonishment and dismay. I was frustrated and not sure how to proceed; I walked over to tell him to leave. For some reason there was a soldering table in the print lab, so I was distracted by this and forgot about the man. Everything worked out though, as the man soon disappeared and I forgot about it. However, I did find a sock lodged in the printer.
Later, I was wandering around the campus and came upon a family who was interacting with some school staff and faculty. There was a mother and father, and three daughters; the oldest daugher, aged 18, was a student at this school; the middle one a teen; the youngest was eight or so. For some reason I was a family friend, and they welcomed me warmly, especially the daughters, who considered me as a brother.
Suddenly the dream was set ten years later, and I was travelling with this same family on a road trip in their van. The father was driving, the mother was in the passenger's seat up front, the two older sisters were in the middle, and I was sitting in the back seat with the youngest daugher, who was now in her late teens. She had inched over to sit practically in my lap, and was whispering her true feelings for me (which couldn't wait until a less awkward time and place apparently). As she whispered into my ear, she used our chance closeness to try to kiss me. The entire time I was sure that the father was going to look in the rear-view mirror at any moment and explode furiously at the unfortunate misunderstanding, and so I was awkwardly, conflictedly, trying to fend her off.
We eventually pulled into a grocery store parking lot; "dad" pulled up to the front of the store and parked in the fire lane. Everyone piled out, but only the mother and father headed toward the store's entrance. Meanwhile a meter maid pulled up and, rather than writing a ticket for the van parked in the fire lane, boxed us in so that we wouldn't be able to drive off while she called the police, who would themselves write the parking ticket. The father came back, and rather than being upset about being boxed in and getting a ticket, was upset that we were losing valuable time because we had to wait for the police to show up and give us a ticket before we could leave. This is about where I woke up and the dream ended.
*****
I have no idea what the hell a naked guy printing means, other than me being uncomfortable.
I like how my dream about some nymphet coming on to me in the presence of her parents plays out about how you would expect in some sort of generic movie scene.
Not much else to say about these dreams.
-Matthew
Later, I was wandering around the campus and came upon a family who was interacting with some school staff and faculty. There was a mother and father, and three daughters; the oldest daugher, aged 18, was a student at this school; the middle one a teen; the youngest was eight or so. For some reason I was a family friend, and they welcomed me warmly, especially the daughters, who considered me as a brother.
Suddenly the dream was set ten years later, and I was travelling with this same family on a road trip in their van. The father was driving, the mother was in the passenger's seat up front, the two older sisters were in the middle, and I was sitting in the back seat with the youngest daugher, who was now in her late teens. She had inched over to sit practically in my lap, and was whispering her true feelings for me (which couldn't wait until a less awkward time and place apparently). As she whispered into my ear, she used our chance closeness to try to kiss me. The entire time I was sure that the father was going to look in the rear-view mirror at any moment and explode furiously at the unfortunate misunderstanding, and so I was awkwardly, conflictedly, trying to fend her off.
We eventually pulled into a grocery store parking lot; "dad" pulled up to the front of the store and parked in the fire lane. Everyone piled out, but only the mother and father headed toward the store's entrance. Meanwhile a meter maid pulled up and, rather than writing a ticket for the van parked in the fire lane, boxed us in so that we wouldn't be able to drive off while she called the police, who would themselves write the parking ticket. The father came back, and rather than being upset about being boxed in and getting a ticket, was upset that we were losing valuable time because we had to wait for the police to show up and give us a ticket before we could leave. This is about where I woke up and the dream ended.
*****
I have no idea what the hell a naked guy printing means, other than me being uncomfortable.
I like how my dream about some nymphet coming on to me in the presence of her parents plays out about how you would expect in some sort of generic movie scene.
Not much else to say about these dreams.
-Matthew
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April 28, 2009: Birthday Lucid Dreams
In last night's dream, I was at my old house in Washington. It wasn't long until I realized I was dreaming, so I went outside into the night and started flying. I looked up at the stars, picked the brightest one I saw (which was part of the little dipper for some reason), and flew towards it with the intention of traveling across interstellar space to the distant solar system. However, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't fly much faster than a car can drive, so I gave up on that endeavor; reaching a distant star at roughly 60 miles per hour was out of the question in the time span of one dream, let alone thousands of years. I set my sights lower (literally), and decided instead to fly down to a random building that was along my trajectory.
As is the case in my lucid dreams, I was able to phase through the walls of the building, which was apparently some sort of upscale apartment complex. I wandered through one of the doors and met a bewildered man, who, after overcoming his shock, expressed indignation at my barging into his studio. He was apparently some sort of journalist for a noteworthy publication, though I'm not sure how exactly I knew this. For the most part I ignored his displeasure at my intrusion; I forget what exactly I said to him, but it was some sort of indication that I was a government official, which pacified the man.
Suddenly I was Optimus Prime from the Transformers, and I had to leave the man's apartment, transform into a truck, and drive down the highway to chase and battle some Decepticons. Later I met up with more Autobots, some of which had been seriously injured in the fight. For some reason in my dream version of Transformers, being Optimus Prime meant that I was invincible; any damage done to me would be immediately healed. Right before I woke up, I reasoned that the ambulance transformer would also have that ability. This is when the dream ended.
*****
As cool as flying is in my dreams, I'm finding that I have some sort of governor limiting my speed. As I mentioned before, it seems that my brain has rules that it may allow me to bend, but not break.
Time limit is always a factor in lucid dreams; as soon as I realize I'm dreaming I feel rushed to do something with it before I wake up. I usually spsend my time exploring whatever world my mind has created. It's actually amazing how I can do something unexpected, like pick a random house and walk (or fly) right in unannounced, and my mind can keep one step ahead of me and have setting and characters prepared for me to interact with; and yet, there are clear limitations, as apparently I can't leave the Earth's orbit and fly to distant stars.
-Matthew
As is the case in my lucid dreams, I was able to phase through the walls of the building, which was apparently some sort of upscale apartment complex. I wandered through one of the doors and met a bewildered man, who, after overcoming his shock, expressed indignation at my barging into his studio. He was apparently some sort of journalist for a noteworthy publication, though I'm not sure how exactly I knew this. For the most part I ignored his displeasure at my intrusion; I forget what exactly I said to him, but it was some sort of indication that I was a government official, which pacified the man.
Suddenly I was Optimus Prime from the Transformers, and I had to leave the man's apartment, transform into a truck, and drive down the highway to chase and battle some Decepticons. Later I met up with more Autobots, some of which had been seriously injured in the fight. For some reason in my dream version of Transformers, being Optimus Prime meant that I was invincible; any damage done to me would be immediately healed. Right before I woke up, I reasoned that the ambulance transformer would also have that ability. This is when the dream ended.
*****
As cool as flying is in my dreams, I'm finding that I have some sort of governor limiting my speed. As I mentioned before, it seems that my brain has rules that it may allow me to bend, but not break.
Time limit is always a factor in lucid dreams; as soon as I realize I'm dreaming I feel rushed to do something with it before I wake up. I usually spsend my time exploring whatever world my mind has created. It's actually amazing how I can do something unexpected, like pick a random house and walk (or fly) right in unannounced, and my mind can keep one step ahead of me and have setting and characters prepared for me to interact with; and yet, there are clear limitations, as apparently I can't leave the Earth's orbit and fly to distant stars.
-Matthew
Sunday, April 26, 2009
April 26, 2009: Camping Trips, Police High-Jinks, and Nostalgic Memories
Look: Labels for the dream posts! Now you too can just skip the crappy ones and go straight to "sexy." When I start running into more common themes I'll add more labels.
*****
In the first dream, I was out on a camping trip in the woods with some friends and family. We were setting up tents in our camp site, when dark clouds above flashed brilliantly with lightning. I counted off the seconds before the loud, prolonged boom of thunder announced that the lightning was very close - practically right over us. I ran into my tent for shelter from a sudden downpour of rain. This is about all I remember of the dream before it ended.
In the second dream, I was in some sort of coastal town, driving an older Toyota Camry. After a while I was standing near the car and talking to a police officer; I don't remember if I had been pulled over, or if I was already out of the car and ended up talking to him. He asked if he could drive my car, and if I would accompany him; he said that he wanted to check something out. I agreed, and we sped off.
I was surprised at how aggressively he drove, swerving around corners and flooring the accelerator. When we got down to the beach, he drove out onto the sand, and began to peel out in circles, doing donuts and letting the car spin and drift as he sped around the beach. I was a bit confused, but it was fun, so I just laughed and enjoyed the ride. After a while he pulled up onto the asphalt and stopped, and we got out of the car. He asked me why the car had such trouble accelerating, and I told him that it needed a new gas pedal. The dream ended shortly thereafter.
I recall only fragments from another dream about a friend from my distant past. To see her again made me very happy - but as usual in these dreams, I struggled with the premonition that our reunion was to be short-lived. Sure enough, as always, the dream ended too soon.
*****
I'm guessing my dream about lightning and rain was influenced by a book I was reading last night, wherein the characters are caught in a blinding downpour.
I don't know what to say about the one with a police officer, who was driving my car around like a teenager on a snowy night in a grocery store parking lot. Maybe I don't understand driving conditions on a sandy beach, but I'd think we'd just get stuck in the sand doing tricks like that as opposed to participating in some sort of Tokyo drift: beach variety. I also like how the gas pedal was obviously the problem with my car's ability to accelerate. Duh, that's what you push to go faster!
I have dreams about this particular friend all the time, and they are always fraught with conflicting emotions. I feel an intense happiness to see her again, to talk to her and reminisce; but there is always a foreboding sense in these dreams that she is going to vanish at any moment, or that I'll wake up too soon. These are the crueler instances of lucid dreaming, when she'll just disappear and I'll know that it has all been a dream.
I don't know why I have these dreams, or why they bother me so much; I don't even think about this person in waking life until after I have them. These are the dreams that I wake up from and struggle between nostalgia and melancholy.
-Matthew
*****
In the first dream, I was out on a camping trip in the woods with some friends and family. We were setting up tents in our camp site, when dark clouds above flashed brilliantly with lightning. I counted off the seconds before the loud, prolonged boom of thunder announced that the lightning was very close - practically right over us. I ran into my tent for shelter from a sudden downpour of rain. This is about all I remember of the dream before it ended.
In the second dream, I was in some sort of coastal town, driving an older Toyota Camry. After a while I was standing near the car and talking to a police officer; I don't remember if I had been pulled over, or if I was already out of the car and ended up talking to him. He asked if he could drive my car, and if I would accompany him; he said that he wanted to check something out. I agreed, and we sped off.
I was surprised at how aggressively he drove, swerving around corners and flooring the accelerator. When we got down to the beach, he drove out onto the sand, and began to peel out in circles, doing donuts and letting the car spin and drift as he sped around the beach. I was a bit confused, but it was fun, so I just laughed and enjoyed the ride. After a while he pulled up onto the asphalt and stopped, and we got out of the car. He asked me why the car had such trouble accelerating, and I told him that it needed a new gas pedal. The dream ended shortly thereafter.
I recall only fragments from another dream about a friend from my distant past. To see her again made me very happy - but as usual in these dreams, I struggled with the premonition that our reunion was to be short-lived. Sure enough, as always, the dream ended too soon.
*****
I'm guessing my dream about lightning and rain was influenced by a book I was reading last night, wherein the characters are caught in a blinding downpour.
I don't know what to say about the one with a police officer, who was driving my car around like a teenager on a snowy night in a grocery store parking lot. Maybe I don't understand driving conditions on a sandy beach, but I'd think we'd just get stuck in the sand doing tricks like that as opposed to participating in some sort of Tokyo drift: beach variety. I also like how the gas pedal was obviously the problem with my car's ability to accelerate. Duh, that's what you push to go faster!
I have dreams about this particular friend all the time, and they are always fraught with conflicting emotions. I feel an intense happiness to see her again, to talk to her and reminisce; but there is always a foreboding sense in these dreams that she is going to vanish at any moment, or that I'll wake up too soon. These are the crueler instances of lucid dreaming, when she'll just disappear and I'll know that it has all been a dream.
I don't know why I have these dreams, or why they bother me so much; I don't even think about this person in waking life until after I have them. These are the dreams that I wake up from and struggle between nostalgia and melancholy.
-Matthew
Saturday, April 25, 2009
April 25, 2009: School Dreams
In last night's dream, I was again in a classroom, though the course was taught by someone who instructs at the school I work at as opposed to the school I attend. There was a rather small group of students in attendance, most of them girls from the Textiles class that the aforementioned instructor teaches, and we were all seated in a semi-circle with the focus toward the front of the class.
For some reason I had brought my computer to school; it was plugged into the projector and displaying everything up on the screen in front of the class. I was playing a computer game, and a few students were annoyed that I was projecting this game up onto the screen instead of doing something productive. So I quit the game and shut down the projector to free up the blackboard.
Suddenly my sister came in to provide a guest lecture of some sort. She was wearing a giant backpack that she never removed. She stood in front of the class, speaking to us and writing on the blackboard; however, we couldn't understand what she was saying, nor could we read her illegible handwriting in chalk. After a while I heard a baby crying, and I realized that the backpack my sister was wearing had a baby in it. I deduced that she was keeping the baby in there as to not be a distraction to the class, but I though that it was extremely inappropriate to keep a baby in a closed backpack. The dream ended shortly thereafter.
*****
Yay for school dreams. I'm sure they will be an almost nightly occurrence until graduation in a few weeks. I love how I give my sister no credit by assuming not only that she can't be understood, but that she'd be so negligent as to keep a baby in a zipped-up backpack.
There were a few other dreams last night, but I can't recall them.
-Matthew
For some reason I had brought my computer to school; it was plugged into the projector and displaying everything up on the screen in front of the class. I was playing a computer game, and a few students were annoyed that I was projecting this game up onto the screen instead of doing something productive. So I quit the game and shut down the projector to free up the blackboard.
Suddenly my sister came in to provide a guest lecture of some sort. She was wearing a giant backpack that she never removed. She stood in front of the class, speaking to us and writing on the blackboard; however, we couldn't understand what she was saying, nor could we read her illegible handwriting in chalk. After a while I heard a baby crying, and I realized that the backpack my sister was wearing had a baby in it. I deduced that she was keeping the baby in there as to not be a distraction to the class, but I though that it was extremely inappropriate to keep a baby in a closed backpack. The dream ended shortly thereafter.
*****
Yay for school dreams. I'm sure they will be an almost nightly occurrence until graduation in a few weeks. I love how I give my sister no credit by assuming not only that she can't be understood, but that she'd be so negligent as to keep a baby in a zipped-up backpack.
There were a few other dreams last night, but I can't recall them.
-Matthew
Friday, April 24, 2009
April 24, 2009: First Lucid Dream for the Journal
I was wondering when my next lucid dream would occur; they are usually more frequent.
Allow me to provide a quick note (and warning) about my lucid dreams. As soon as I realize I'm dreaming, I will try to take control it in any number of ways: I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride if it's an interesting dream; if not, I'll attempt to completely change the dream, its environment, the people, etc; I'll try to do impossible things, such as flying, walking through walls, etc; I'll respond with extreme violence to dreams about being chased or attacked; or, depending on who is in it, the dream can become sexual. So, read with caution, I guess - a lot of my lucid dreams are either violent or sexy. With that awkward caveat in place, let's proceed:
*****
I was in some sort of office building of unknown origin, peopled by unfamiliar faces. I was talking to a woman, about what I don't recall, but I quickly realized it was a lucid dream, and, well... Whatever we were talking about became even less important, as we dashed quickly into a nearby office and locked the door. This dream ended... later.
In the next dream I had, which was not so... lucid... I was walking around in a mall by myself. I received a cell phone call from my sister, who told me that mom's house was on fire and she had ran to a neighbor's house to call the fire department. I was irate that my mother would leave the house and all of my stuff to burn; I told my sister angrily that I would sue her and mom if any of my stuff was damaged.
Later, I was walking around in a large video game arcade in the mall, and now my sister was there with me. For some reason she had brought a cat with her, and the jittery feline was dashing all around the arcade and managed to get inside one of the game cabinets - a mini skee ball machine, to be precise. Luckily, since I used to work in an arcade, I knew how to open the cabinet (even though I didn't have a key), and though the customer playing it was upset that I had interrupted his game, I got the cat out. I made sure to hold on to the cat for the remainder of the dream, which shorty thereafter ended.
*****
One thing I've discovered about lucid dreams is that they tend to end soon after I become cognizant of the fact that I'm dreaming. I've also found that the more I try to focus on changing or controlling a dream, the more likely I am to wake up - I guess because by that point I've just become too aware, too mentally awake. It's an interesting phenomenon, the lucid dream: being conscious in my subconscious's world, as if these two parts of the same mind are indeed separate entities. In my case, I find that it is often a struggle to change dreams too dramatically, as if my subconscious has developed certain rules, laws, and boundaries, which in many ways reflect reality, yet in others are very strange. For instance, I often find that in lucid dreams where I start to fly, if I fly too high I hit a kind of ceiling, as if I've reached the limit of what my subconscious has created. Actually, the very act of flying, or walking through walls, is often challenging to do in the first place - it takes a few running starts, or requires intense focus - as if my brain is trying to obey laws of physics in its imaginary world.
Another intensely difficult thing to do is to completely change the dream. For example, if I realize I'm dreaming and I want to change the setting to somewhere else, I'll close my eyes in the dream and concentrate, and when I open them - more often than not I'm still where I was; nothing has changed. Sometimes I have to be content with smaller manipulations of the people, places, and things already present.
The second dream confuses me. I don't know why I would threaten to sue my mother and sister because they left a burning house to call emergency services and refused to stay and watch over my supposed belongings. However, the later part with the cat is reminiscent of most of my dreams that involve either small animals or babies. I always worry about them running away or getting hurt, so I feel the need to hold them, or put them in a cage, or make sure all of the doors in the room are shut so they can't get out. No, not put the babies in the cage... never mind.
-Matthew
Allow me to provide a quick note (and warning) about my lucid dreams. As soon as I realize I'm dreaming, I will try to take control it in any number of ways: I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride if it's an interesting dream; if not, I'll attempt to completely change the dream, its environment, the people, etc; I'll try to do impossible things, such as flying, walking through walls, etc; I'll respond with extreme violence to dreams about being chased or attacked; or, depending on who is in it, the dream can become sexual. So, read with caution, I guess - a lot of my lucid dreams are either violent or sexy. With that awkward caveat in place, let's proceed:
*****
I was in some sort of office building of unknown origin, peopled by unfamiliar faces. I was talking to a woman, about what I don't recall, but I quickly realized it was a lucid dream, and, well... Whatever we were talking about became even less important, as we dashed quickly into a nearby office and locked the door. This dream ended... later.
In the next dream I had, which was not so... lucid... I was walking around in a mall by myself. I received a cell phone call from my sister, who told me that mom's house was on fire and she had ran to a neighbor's house to call the fire department. I was irate that my mother would leave the house and all of my stuff to burn; I told my sister angrily that I would sue her and mom if any of my stuff was damaged.
Later, I was walking around in a large video game arcade in the mall, and now my sister was there with me. For some reason she had brought a cat with her, and the jittery feline was dashing all around the arcade and managed to get inside one of the game cabinets - a mini skee ball machine, to be precise. Luckily, since I used to work in an arcade, I knew how to open the cabinet (even though I didn't have a key), and though the customer playing it was upset that I had interrupted his game, I got the cat out. I made sure to hold on to the cat for the remainder of the dream, which shorty thereafter ended.
*****
One thing I've discovered about lucid dreams is that they tend to end soon after I become cognizant of the fact that I'm dreaming. I've also found that the more I try to focus on changing or controlling a dream, the more likely I am to wake up - I guess because by that point I've just become too aware, too mentally awake. It's an interesting phenomenon, the lucid dream: being conscious in my subconscious's world, as if these two parts of the same mind are indeed separate entities. In my case, I find that it is often a struggle to change dreams too dramatically, as if my subconscious has developed certain rules, laws, and boundaries, which in many ways reflect reality, yet in others are very strange. For instance, I often find that in lucid dreams where I start to fly, if I fly too high I hit a kind of ceiling, as if I've reached the limit of what my subconscious has created. Actually, the very act of flying, or walking through walls, is often challenging to do in the first place - it takes a few running starts, or requires intense focus - as if my brain is trying to obey laws of physics in its imaginary world.
Another intensely difficult thing to do is to completely change the dream. For example, if I realize I'm dreaming and I want to change the setting to somewhere else, I'll close my eyes in the dream and concentrate, and when I open them - more often than not I'm still where I was; nothing has changed. Sometimes I have to be content with smaller manipulations of the people, places, and things already present.
The second dream confuses me. I don't know why I would threaten to sue my mother and sister because they left a burning house to call emergency services and refused to stay and watch over my supposed belongings. However, the later part with the cat is reminiscent of most of my dreams that involve either small animals or babies. I always worry about them running away or getting hurt, so I feel the need to hold them, or put them in a cage, or make sure all of the doors in the room are shut so they can't get out. No, not put the babies in the cage... never mind.
-Matthew
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
April 22, 2009: School Dreams Again
In the first dream that I recall, I was at my dad's house for dinner. He had said something that really made me mad, so I told him off and stormed out. That's about all I remember of that dream.
While there were a few bits and pieces of other dreams that I can't quite piece together, the last dream I had before I woke up was about school. I was in lecture for a class that I'm actually taking this semester, and surprisingly most of the details were accurate: the instructor was the same woman, and the class was held in a room of identical layout; the only major difference was that there was an elevator in the classroom, directly behind my seat in the back left corner of the classroom if facing toward the blackboard.
Apparently my corner of the room was dimly lit, because I would keep reaching back and pushing the button to open the elevator door, and the light from within the elevator would better illuminate my corner.
Meanwhile, a girl in the class was complaining to the instructor that the assignments from the workbook were too difficult (again, surprisingly accurate); in this case, the instructor had given the wrong page number for an assignment so the class had all done the wrong homework. The instructor agreed that she would omit that one from the grade, but she stressed the importance of doing the workbook assignments.
About this time my corner became dim again, so I reached back and pushed the elevator button to open the doors and turn on the light. This distracted the instructor so that she called on me to give a explanation as to the importance of the workbook assignments. When I started to respond, someone else started talking at the same time; I guess we had the same name and were confused as to which Matt she called on. So this other Matt and I just started talking to each other, holding our own dialogue about the workbook.
When we finished, I looked about and realized that there were only about three students left in the class. I looked at my watch and realized that class had been over for two minutes, and everyone had been piling out. This is about where the dream ended and I woke up.
*****
I'm surprised that the dream was so accurate in depicting this particular class. Usually dreams with familiar themes such as school and work will be really off. Though the full-fledged elevator right behind my seat as a source of light kind of made up for all the other accuracies.
While there were a few bits and pieces of other dreams that I can't quite piece together, the last dream I had before I woke up was about school. I was in lecture for a class that I'm actually taking this semester, and surprisingly most of the details were accurate: the instructor was the same woman, and the class was held in a room of identical layout; the only major difference was that there was an elevator in the classroom, directly behind my seat in the back left corner of the classroom if facing toward the blackboard.
Apparently my corner of the room was dimly lit, because I would keep reaching back and pushing the button to open the elevator door, and the light from within the elevator would better illuminate my corner.
Meanwhile, a girl in the class was complaining to the instructor that the assignments from the workbook were too difficult (again, surprisingly accurate); in this case, the instructor had given the wrong page number for an assignment so the class had all done the wrong homework. The instructor agreed that she would omit that one from the grade, but she stressed the importance of doing the workbook assignments.
About this time my corner became dim again, so I reached back and pushed the elevator button to open the doors and turn on the light. This distracted the instructor so that she called on me to give a explanation as to the importance of the workbook assignments. When I started to respond, someone else started talking at the same time; I guess we had the same name and were confused as to which Matt she called on. So this other Matt and I just started talking to each other, holding our own dialogue about the workbook.
When we finished, I looked about and realized that there were only about three students left in the class. I looked at my watch and realized that class had been over for two minutes, and everyone had been piling out. This is about where the dream ended and I woke up.
*****
I'm surprised that the dream was so accurate in depicting this particular class. Usually dreams with familiar themes such as school and work will be really off. Though the full-fledged elevator right behind my seat as a source of light kind of made up for all the other accuracies.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
April 21, 2009: Yet Another Beowulf Movie?
The only dream I can fully remember from last night was about yet another movie adaptation of Beowulf. Actually, the plot had nothing to do with the actual Beowulf poem; it was about a mother who was forced to give up her child in order to hide it from the marauding enemy forces of an opposing tribe. That child would grow up to be Beowulf, a great leader who would go on to exact vengeance against the enemy faction. And it was set in contemporary times for some reason; everyone was wearing suits, like it was some sort of mob film adaptation.
I guess I was watching it at a friend's house, because later he gave me a ride home. Only he ended up dropping me off on the shoulder of the freeway out in the middle of nowhere. That's about where the dream ended.
*****
Whenever I dream about movies, they are always about as far off from the actual movie as they can get and still have recognizable features, such as iconic characters. The most common movies in my dreams are those from the Star Wars franchise, which are almost always about the prequel films. I started having them between the releases of Episode I: the Stupid Name and Episode III: Pretend This Trilogy Didn't Happen. The dream versions of these films, though having recognizable characters such as Darth Vader, are so horrendously bad that they are really uncomfortable to sit... through...
Oh.
I guess I was watching it at a friend's house, because later he gave me a ride home. Only he ended up dropping me off on the shoulder of the freeway out in the middle of nowhere. That's about where the dream ended.
*****
Whenever I dream about movies, they are always about as far off from the actual movie as they can get and still have recognizable features, such as iconic characters. The most common movies in my dreams are those from the Star Wars franchise, which are almost always about the prequel films. I started having them between the releases of Episode I: the Stupid Name and Episode III: Pretend This Trilogy Didn't Happen. The dream versions of these films, though having recognizable characters such as Darth Vader, are so horrendously bad that they are really uncomfortable to sit... through...
Oh.
Monday, April 20, 2009
April 20, 2009: Numerous Short Dreams
Last night and this morning I had quite a few shorter dreams, probably because I kept waking up due to someone hammering outside my window. Jerks. Anyway, here goes:
In the first dream I was watching some sort of TV crime drama, though when I "watch" things in dreams I'm usually involved at least as a passive but present observer. I only recall the tail end of this particular drama, wherein I witnessed two rather horrific events unfold. About all I recall is that the story ended tragically, and rather gruesomely, with one man being thrown in some sort of giant garbage compactor that operated, of course, by grinding and crushing with giant toothed gears rather than just flattening; and elsewhere, a woman exploded (in slow motion) due to, I'm guessing, a suicide bomb. This was about where the first dream ended.
In the second dream, the guys from Penny Arcade were working with South Park Studios on a movie deal. They were in the recording studio, putting together the soundtrack; however, there was a bit of contention over the direction that the score was taking: the Penny Arcade guys, specifically Gabe (and of course they were portrayed as their cartoon selves), wanted the music to be dark and eerie, whereas the South Park music team kept pitching lively, bouncy music with chorus vocals parodying those campy 50s radio and TV jingles. Gabe attempted to explain the direction he wanted the music to go by describing one of the monsters in the film: a gruesome undead beast. The music director nodded as if he understood, and said "how about this?" And proceeded to play the same kind of campy jingle music. Gabe and Tycho stormed out in a huff, and suddenly I was watching Fox News, where the ticker at the bottom suddenly started bashing on Penny Arcade. Here ended the second dream.
The third dream was one of my usual "school" dreams. I was in class, working on a project with a group, only I had no idea what the class, project, or point in time in the semester was. Later, we were taking a field trip, only my dad was driving and he missed the turn we needed. This is about where the third dream ended.
There were a few other bits and pieces of dreams throughout the night and morning, though I can't recall them right now.
*****
Sometimes my brain can get really creative; sometimes it gets creative in how graphically gruesome it is. I think I've seen enough disturbing scenes of blood and guts in my dreams to desensitize me to any movie or video game violence.
I'm not sure why I would dream about Penny Arcade, let alone a Penny Arcade movie being made by South Park Studios with Fox News taking interest. I suppose I did see an ad for Penny Arcade's video game last night, and someone on Facebook had one of those stupid images with characters in the style of South Park. And everyone loves Fox News...
My school dreams are always about like this, and never lucid unfortunately. These, I'm sure, do have very real psychological significance. I'm always dreaming that I'm failing classes, or completely confused, or taking a test and have no idea what the class is about. The variant of these dreams is that class is over for the day, and for the life of me, I cannot get my stuff organized and put away, so that I can leave and go to my next class within the allocated ten minutes. It's true that school is always on my mind, especially with finals coming up, but I get no reprieve even in sleep. Hopefully after graduation those dreams will become less frequent.
--Matthew
In the first dream I was watching some sort of TV crime drama, though when I "watch" things in dreams I'm usually involved at least as a passive but present observer. I only recall the tail end of this particular drama, wherein I witnessed two rather horrific events unfold. About all I recall is that the story ended tragically, and rather gruesomely, with one man being thrown in some sort of giant garbage compactor that operated, of course, by grinding and crushing with giant toothed gears rather than just flattening; and elsewhere, a woman exploded (in slow motion) due to, I'm guessing, a suicide bomb. This was about where the first dream ended.
In the second dream, the guys from Penny Arcade were working with South Park Studios on a movie deal. They were in the recording studio, putting together the soundtrack; however, there was a bit of contention over the direction that the score was taking: the Penny Arcade guys, specifically Gabe (and of course they were portrayed as their cartoon selves), wanted the music to be dark and eerie, whereas the South Park music team kept pitching lively, bouncy music with chorus vocals parodying those campy 50s radio and TV jingles. Gabe attempted to explain the direction he wanted the music to go by describing one of the monsters in the film: a gruesome undead beast. The music director nodded as if he understood, and said "how about this?" And proceeded to play the same kind of campy jingle music. Gabe and Tycho stormed out in a huff, and suddenly I was watching Fox News, where the ticker at the bottom suddenly started bashing on Penny Arcade. Here ended the second dream.
The third dream was one of my usual "school" dreams. I was in class, working on a project with a group, only I had no idea what the class, project, or point in time in the semester was. Later, we were taking a field trip, only my dad was driving and he missed the turn we needed. This is about where the third dream ended.
There were a few other bits and pieces of dreams throughout the night and morning, though I can't recall them right now.
*****
Sometimes my brain can get really creative; sometimes it gets creative in how graphically gruesome it is. I think I've seen enough disturbing scenes of blood and guts in my dreams to desensitize me to any movie or video game violence.
I'm not sure why I would dream about Penny Arcade, let alone a Penny Arcade movie being made by South Park Studios with Fox News taking interest. I suppose I did see an ad for Penny Arcade's video game last night, and someone on Facebook had one of those stupid images with characters in the style of South Park. And everyone loves Fox News...
My school dreams are always about like this, and never lucid unfortunately. These, I'm sure, do have very real psychological significance. I'm always dreaming that I'm failing classes, or completely confused, or taking a test and have no idea what the class is about. The variant of these dreams is that class is over for the day, and for the life of me, I cannot get my stuff organized and put away, so that I can leave and go to my next class within the allocated ten minutes. It's true that school is always on my mind, especially with finals coming up, but I get no reprieve even in sleep. Hopefully after graduation those dreams will become less frequent.
--Matthew
Sunday, April 19, 2009
April 19, 2009: First Post - Olympic Event Dream
As this is my first post, I feel that a brief introduction is in order. I will be recording my dreams on a (hopefully) daily basis for a number of reasons. Firstly, my interest in dreams, specifically my own, has led me to investigate ways to improve the likelihood of dreaming, and of specifically lucid dreaming (being aware of the dream as such). One of three factors which greatly improve both regular and lucid dreaming is keeping a dream journal. The other two major influences, for anyone interested, are to get enough sleep (8 hours or so) and to constantly question reality (believe it or not, making it a habit to stop and make sure you're actually awake will carry over into dreams, wherein lucid dreams are more likely to start).
Secondly, sharing my zanier dreams with friends, and in turn hearing theirs, has provided a wealth of hilarious, interesting, and sometimes disturbing stories to tell. So, we're killing two birds with one stone here as the old adage goes. And I guess my "number of reasons" for recording dreams was two.
Thus shall I record my dreams. I will stick to an objective narration of the dream for the first half, then add any observations / questions / glaring discrepancies noted afterward. Also, please feel free to comment on the dream, discuss your own dreams of the previous night, or, as is tradition on the internet, express your dissatisfaction and question my sexual orientation. So, without further ado, here goes - last night's dream:
*****
I was in a church, along with numerous other people, practicing for what must have been some sort of Olympic event. The sporting event called for a single competitor to sprint about thirty feet down the length of an aisle between church pews, toward one of those small, circular exercise trampolines. With his running momentum carrying him forward, the competitor would then launch himself from the trampoline somehow sideways, to smack as hard as possible into an adjacent wall. The goal was then to fall to the ground and, from nothing more than the momentum developed by the aforementioned action, roll as close as possible to a mattress which was placed near the foot of the trampoline. As luck would have it (and as a television running replay videos would prove), I held the record for the event, by launching myself from trampoline to wall, and from wall all the way up on to the mattress itself, much to the delight of the crowd as I celebrated my unbeatable victory.
Indeed, for the remainder of the dream, various competitors, friends, family members, and celebrities would attempt to approach if not match my achievement, sprinting full-speed, bouncing with vigor from the small trampoline, lunging sideways to slam forcefully into the wall, only to fall to the floor and bounce, at best, a few feet toward the mattress.
Some competitors were rather innovative in their attempts to improve momentum, hoping to gain those few precious inches toward a higher rank. Denzel Washington, for example, had the tactic of flying an F-15 fighter jet at full speed in the direction of the trampoline; at the last minute, he would roll, eject, and the momentum achieved from such high velocity would send him bouncing from the trampoline to crash violently into the wall. Unfortunate for him my record was not to be broken, but he was persistent; he tried again later with another jet.
Needless to say, the nature of the sporting event and its lack of apparent rules (outside of hitting the trampoline and the wall and rolling to a stop) led to numerous bodily injuries, some collateral damage for the church, and two crashed fighter jets. And this is about when I woke up.
*****
I really have no idea where this dream came from. I can honestly say this is the strangest dream I've had, at least in a long time. I like that such a ludicrous Olympic event was held inside a church of all places: pews, parishioners, and all. And, as dream physics usually go, I'm not exactly sure how someone carried by their maximum running forward momentum can leap, bounce from a trampoline sideways toward the adjacent wall, slam into it, and still have enough momentum to roll to a stop about 10 feet away up onto a mattress. But hey, I did it, and I apparently hold the record. And the glaring problem of how an F-15 could fit into a church nave, let alone build up enough speed without destroying the church to do a barrel roll. I guess walls and roof and such weren't really there during that part. But hey, it inspired me to finally start this journal. I'll have to go back and dig up some other crazy dreams I had to fill in any times that I don't have one.
--Matthew
Secondly, sharing my zanier dreams with friends, and in turn hearing theirs, has provided a wealth of hilarious, interesting, and sometimes disturbing stories to tell. So, we're killing two birds with one stone here as the old adage goes. And I guess my "number of reasons" for recording dreams was two.
Thus shall I record my dreams. I will stick to an objective narration of the dream for the first half, then add any observations / questions / glaring discrepancies noted afterward. Also, please feel free to comment on the dream, discuss your own dreams of the previous night, or, as is tradition on the internet, express your dissatisfaction and question my sexual orientation. So, without further ado, here goes - last night's dream:
*****
I was in a church, along with numerous other people, practicing for what must have been some sort of Olympic event. The sporting event called for a single competitor to sprint about thirty feet down the length of an aisle between church pews, toward one of those small, circular exercise trampolines. With his running momentum carrying him forward, the competitor would then launch himself from the trampoline somehow sideways, to smack as hard as possible into an adjacent wall. The goal was then to fall to the ground and, from nothing more than the momentum developed by the aforementioned action, roll as close as possible to a mattress which was placed near the foot of the trampoline. As luck would have it (and as a television running replay videos would prove), I held the record for the event, by launching myself from trampoline to wall, and from wall all the way up on to the mattress itself, much to the delight of the crowd as I celebrated my unbeatable victory.
Indeed, for the remainder of the dream, various competitors, friends, family members, and celebrities would attempt to approach if not match my achievement, sprinting full-speed, bouncing with vigor from the small trampoline, lunging sideways to slam forcefully into the wall, only to fall to the floor and bounce, at best, a few feet toward the mattress.
Some competitors were rather innovative in their attempts to improve momentum, hoping to gain those few precious inches toward a higher rank. Denzel Washington, for example, had the tactic of flying an F-15 fighter jet at full speed in the direction of the trampoline; at the last minute, he would roll, eject, and the momentum achieved from such high velocity would send him bouncing from the trampoline to crash violently into the wall. Unfortunate for him my record was not to be broken, but he was persistent; he tried again later with another jet.
Needless to say, the nature of the sporting event and its lack of apparent rules (outside of hitting the trampoline and the wall and rolling to a stop) led to numerous bodily injuries, some collateral damage for the church, and two crashed fighter jets. And this is about when I woke up.
*****
I really have no idea where this dream came from. I can honestly say this is the strangest dream I've had, at least in a long time. I like that such a ludicrous Olympic event was held inside a church of all places: pews, parishioners, and all. And, as dream physics usually go, I'm not exactly sure how someone carried by their maximum running forward momentum can leap, bounce from a trampoline sideways toward the adjacent wall, slam into it, and still have enough momentum to roll to a stop about 10 feet away up onto a mattress. But hey, I did it, and I apparently hold the record. And the glaring problem of how an F-15 could fit into a church nave, let alone build up enough speed without destroying the church to do a barrel roll. I guess walls and roof and such weren't really there during that part. But hey, it inspired me to finally start this journal. I'll have to go back and dig up some other crazy dreams I had to fill in any times that I don't have one.
--Matthew
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