Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Perchance to dream



I know that I need sleep because my body has to do a lot of minor repairs at night, also because every being needs to check out for awhile, rest and rejuvinate. But I think I need to sleep just as much because I need to dream.

Everyone in my family is a master dreamer. We have the weirdest, wildest, craziest dreams. Sometimes we share them with each other. I am always in awe of the creativity, uniqueness and sometimes quite bizarre nature of our dreams. Not everyone is a master dreamer, and that's OK. I'm so curious as to why all my sibs are such experts in that realm. It's significant, but I don't know what it means.

This morning I had to go back to sleep for an extra hour because I knew I wasn't finished dreaming. It's as if I had to really pack in a whole lot of dream action because that last hour of sleep was so full of dreams it would take me an hour to describe them all. Wow.

I have a friend who is a dream expert. I've used her services at times to get inside my crazy dreams, when I feel the dream is important enough to reflect upon. If I engaged deeply with every one of my dreams, there would be little time to do anything else. Usually I marvel at them, perhaps write down some of the details, and move on. I think the dreams do the work they're supposed to whether or not I analyze them.

Sometimes I think back on the days when I was smoking a lot of weed, drinking a lot. I often could not remember my dreams during those years. It makes me sad to think I was willing to switch off my incredible dream life in exchange for a buzz. What the heck was that all about?

Oh well, it's over now. Thank God!

15 comments:

steven said...

reya, in the summertime when the days open out metaphorically and literally, my evenings also open out and the stories that i wake with fill me with one of my happiest tasks - to open up and play with the gifts of the dreamworld. steven

ellen abbott said...

I also have a very rich, weird, deep dream life. And like you, often the last hour of sleep is full of involved dreams. Smoking pot didn't stop me from dreaming but I think it might have prevented me from remembering them sometimes. Though I've already forgotten the dream I was having this morning when the cat insisted that it was time for me to get up. She doesn't like it when I sleep later than is my usual habit. I was in the habit of writing down my dreams for a while years ago. Some of them would take pages to write down. It never helped understand them.

Whitney Lee said...

It's funny that you mention that-I don't remember dreaming much while I was drinking. I think sleep back then was to get over the alcohol. Aside from those years I've been a busy dreamer. I've often thought that's part of why I enjoy sleep so much-it's so damn entertaining. I have never analyzed my dreams too much because it just confuses me. My dreams often have violence and scary chases in them, but I never wake up scared. I've always found that odd.

Pauline said...

Interesting that you should post this this morning as I woke from a bizarre dream only to fall back to sleep so i could see what happened. The dreams are still with me though I have not been able to interpret them to my satisfaction!

Reya Mellicker said...

I'm not surprised to find out you people are master dreamers, too. Who knows why?

Jinksy I also often take pics of dirty cars since the dust creates such an interesting pattern, though in today's pics both cars were freshly washed.

janis said...

the weed? it was just the era... we all thought it was the right thing to
escape" from ourselves.
dont you hate when you wake up too soon & feel a need to go back to finish the dream? I do that WAY to often. My hubby rarely remembers a dream...whereas I often wish I did not remember them!
Love to you Reya~

Dan Gurney said...

Like steven, one of summer's greatest gifts for me is the luxury to sleep all the way to the end of my morning dreams and to have the time—just as he says to unwrap them up and play with them in the morning, like a kid on Christmas morning.

My dream life is and has been helpful and suggestive of where/how to grow. As for interpreting dreams, there are several online sites that suggest what iconic images might mean.

glnroz said...

do your dreams fuel your imagination, reckon? Your photos, to me, are choked full of imagination. At least from my viewpoint. I hope your day is to your liking.. thanks, glenn

The Bug said...

As you know I dream a lot. I expected to have some wild ones last night because I stayed up late to finish a book. It was a murder-mystery & I thought I'd be dreaming about that all night. But, no, I was inside a wedding the whole night. I'd looked at wedding pictures earlier in the day & that's what stayed with me. Thank God!

Reya Mellicker said...

Wedding dreams are great dreams of integration and peace among diverse aspects of yourself, at least I think so - unless they're unhappy wedding dreams.

Like everything else, I interpret dreams by feel, rather than by anything else. Do they feel potent? Do they stick with me through the day? Even if, when retold, they don't sound all that exciting, if the feeling around them is intense, I tend to pay attention.

Glenn you're so sweet. Yes my imagination is a gift and a curse. Just as all gifts are! xx to you.

Anonymous said...

There is a saying by the Sioux Indian Black Elk that "sometimes dreams are wiser than waking". I feel that very much in my life- and on waking usually only the faintest of remnants remain.

Vicki said...

Love reading about dreams! Mine have been wild and all over the place, I guess kind of like me! Haha. Great post today Reya !!! Love you <3

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Dreams, of course you're talking about dreams today. I had a lovely visit from my dog Jake last night. It's been just over a year now and I've been missing him so much. Last night I dreamed he was at the side of my bed and I let him up and just held and stroked him for ages then thanked him for visiting. It was wonderful.

Reya Mellicker said...

Jeanette, my Jake has been in my dreams of late, too. It is so sweet and sad.

Mary Ellen said...

I love dreaming, and in years past, I did spend quite a bit of time reflecting on them. Without the dreams the day-time experience seems thin, somehow. My problem in recent months (years?) is not getting enough sleep, I think, so the dreaming has been muted. Good reminder - reading your post - that I should pack up and get some sleep!