C: Chasing Dreams
Sleep is so mysterious to me. I realize that this is no news flash, but I have found that the amount and quality of my sleep is deeply entwined with both my productivity and my mood.
Without enough sleep, I become prone to depression and excessive worry. Those little hills I face at work begin to look like insurmountable mountains. I can’t tell you the times I have come home from work worried to death about how I was going to deal with an upcoming problem. After a good night’s sleep, not only was I refreshed and re-energized to tackle it, but often I have new, good ideas about the situation; it’s as if my brain was working on things while I was asleep. I believe that is exactly what happens, so often do I have this experience.
In looking through some of the on-line sources about sleep I find that one of the major points made is that sleep is not idle time. There is some suspension of sense, and it is restorative and restful. Studies show that sleep allows your physical body to rejuvenate: wounds heal more quickly with good sleep, for instance. And, without doubt, during sleep my brain works. I know it not only because of that problem-solving I mentioned above but because sometimes I am deprived of a good night’s sleep because my brain is in overdrive about work. This is one aspect of sleep I have not learned to control.
But, now, for the real reason for writing this post. I am nosy about you.
One of my greatest pleasures of sleeping is dreaming. I do not remember my dreams after every night and, in fact, I don’t think I remember my dreams nearly as often as other people seem to. I find in my reading that all of us dream every time we sleep, whether we recall it or not.
What I loving about my dreams is changing and directing them. I hear people all the time saying that they had a “bad dream” and woke up disturbed. I have had that happen a time or two, but not many. Instead, I just change the direction of the dream if I don’t like what’s happening. Frequently I have the experience of dreaming and consciously saying to myself, “No, I don’t like this; I’m going to dream about this in this way…”
I also sometimes choose topics to dream about—my current favorite involves having lots of money…there, you have it: I’m materialistic.
My question: Do you do this? Do you seem to have control over your dreams?
And do you choose the topics of your dreams?
Some of my friends seem to think this is strange. I did a quick little Google on this to find that it is something called “lucid dreaming,” and that people are urged to “learn” to do this by practicing it. It also seems to be associated with new-age mumbo-jumbos like astral projection and teleporting, which I hasten to add has not been among my sleep experiences, although I might like a few trips to Europe and other places during the night…
It appears, that dream control is possible for us all. But I can’t remember a time when I could not control my dreams…do you do this? Am I weird? - C
Comments
The other day I was reading a book, fell asleep in the chair and my dream continued the story in the book. I had to go back and reread the last few pages of the book to get back to the real story!
My kids often tell me about the crazy things I say when my sleep is disturbed. One morning my son asked me if I remembered telling him goodnight. No, I said, why? He didn't answer. Did I say something crazy? Yes, he said. What, I ask. I don't know, he said, it wasn't in English.
Uh, just so you know, I do not speak a foreign language except for a little (very little) Spanish, which he said it definitely was not.
OoooOOooooooOOOOooo...Twilight Zone.
Many years later someone asked me if I prayed about this night time fear.Wow, never thought of that, but it works. I think meditating on God, His word and His ways put the night horrors on the run. I have also had some very intense dreams that seemed to foretell things, I don't like those either.
I have read books in my dreams that although I don't remember the books, I wanted more of the story when I awoke, and like others who have commented, I have had my share of very pleasant dreams that made me stay in bed a bit longer to remember them and think on them. Love this topic, and maybe I should try to redirect my dreams. How very imaginative and practical of you to tell yourself what to dream...now as to sleep, I s'pose I should be heading to bed now to get some R & R with lovely dreams included!
I've also woken up on the odd occasion when I'm half way through a particularly enjoyable dream and I try to go back to sleep to continue it! That never works though!
I also do dream. A great deal actually. My dreams effect me greatly, to the point I want to relive them again. I have not been able to direct or change my dreams, but I do pay attention to what I dream as it often reflects my inner worries and desires, some that I often suppress in my woken state.
Have you seen the movie "Inception". One of the bets movies I have ever seen. And the only one I have a desire to go and see several times.
xoxo
If you haven't seen Inception yet, I highly reccommend it. One of the best movies I have seen in a long time, albeit a bit stressful!!
I have lucid yet sometimes movie-like dreams. It's sometimes like I am directing a movie with characters who rely on me for their existence. I am the character and then I'm 3rd person omniscient. I can fly in my dreams and breathe under water.
My most recent strange dream that I can remember is one where I went on a cruise with my boyfriend's family. The cruise went around the north pole and every time the ship got into what I'm guessing my mind decided was a magnetic field of some sort, everything would change and everyone would be hanging from the furniture on the ceiling. When we finally let go, we would land back on the floor as if nothing had happened, but you had to let go and fall for things to return to normal. Very weird! I love dreams. I always have had very vivid and often lucid dreams. Funny though, when I was pregnant I didn't dream at all and my dreams have only recently started to go back to 'normal'.