Dream Sequence
“I’ve dreamed a lot. I’m tired now from dreaming but not tired of dreaming. No one tires of dreaming, because to dream is to forget, and forgetting does not weigh on us, it is a dreamless sleep throughout which we remain awake. In dreams I have achieved everything.”
Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
For a long time now, sleep has functioned more as a continuation of my reality. I rarely sleep for the recommended 8-9 hours a night. I usually sleep within a 4-5 hour block and occasionally will nap for 1-2 hours throughout a 24 hour period. I think it probably has to do with how my consciousness has changed. My dreams are so vivid and intense that I consider them a continuation of my life. They're easily distinguishable between my everyday reality, although I sometimes find myself whimsically thinking back to Zhuangzi.
Zhuangzi fell asleep one day and dreamed that he was a butterfly. When he woke up, he questioned whether he was really the man dreaming he was the butterfly or whether he was the butterfly now dreaming he was the man. I think that best describes how interwoven my dreams have become and also how valuable they are to me. I always look forward to what sleep may bring. I've come to understand that it is my subconscious speaking to me through tremendous symbology. I've noticed that I experience different styles of dreams. Sometimes I'll have the common dream in which the dream seems to skip from action scene to action scene. I could compare those types of dreams to the feeling of watching a film. I don't usually get the memo that I can control what's going on in the dream and whatever needs to play out does.
I have others that feel like this very moment of me writing this entry. I can feel every keystroke of the characters as I'm typing, hear the gentle ticking of a clock in the background. Time functions differently in these dreams, and they're incredibly realistic. So realistic that I usually find myself waking up in my dream to the thought, "am I dreaming?" I usually figure out that I am dreaming, to some degree, and sometimes I can take control of them in a multitude of ways. A lot of those are normally indicative of empowerment in some area of my life. Empowerment that I've allowed myself.
Other dreams are like parallel lives I'm living in different times or worlds. The worlds I visit are recognizable yet nothing like Earth. I mean recognizable in the way that some part of me knows it, and it's like I've just been dropped into a whole other life I'm experiencing as a different being or sometimes as my recognizable self. Sometimes I'm dropped into foreign love stories filled with poverty and hardship in lands and languages I don't know in my every day life. Sometimes I find myself in unrecognizable battlefields or even in technologically advanced cities confidently using impressive equipment and intricate strategy. I really never know what I'm going to get, but I'm always excited to find out. I've gotten really good at holding onto those dreams while awake, as well. I'm going to share with you some of my tips for getting better at dreaming below. It's incredibly fun and rewarding to vividly experience the details of dreaming and also to reflect back on them while awake. Taking seriously and deeply reflecting back on the symbology is something more recent to me. I've found that sometimes I'm getting cues about direction, answers to problems, and then other times it's just my subconscious giving me a high five or a hug in one way or another.
Tips to Get Better at Dreaming and Remembering Dreams
Be interactive with your dreams: think of or write down an intention before falling asleep. I would suggest writing it down in case you forget by morning, but either way is fine. For example, do you have a question you'd like answered? Or maybe you want to get better at a hobby that you have. If so, imagine yourself doing whatever it is that you'd like to get better at. Much of the time, your dreams will follow suit and help you practice. As for questions, think about your question before falling asleep and set the intention for it to be answered.
So, if you're intending to find answers through your dream or maybe you'd like to trial a different lifestyle, etc. No matter what intentions you've set, it won't matter unless you can recall the dream. Dreams slip away very quickly once we're awake. The best method I've found is to keep a pen and paper nearby. You are not going to want to write it down and will probably convince yourself that you'll remember. Most likely, you won't. I've done that many times. I normally have my phone nearby, so I'll force myself to either text myself the most important parts or the overall storyline or do it in a quick voice memo. Even if you get the basics, it will allow you to recall a lot of other information.
When you're awake, practice your daydreaming skills. Dreaming gets more vibrant as you actively work with your imagination in the waking hours. It also helps with recall. Just think of it as investing in the best dream theatre possible. It also helps tremendously with every day creativity.
Take advantage of the nights that you are woken up and go back to sleep. Treat those like intermissions, and check in with yourself. If you've dreamt up until then, talk about your dream aloud or write it. Then, when you're going back to sleep, you have a lot more leadway because a lot of the time you're still within a range of consciousness that can really sway what happens next. That's a great time to use intention, and it's a good opportunity to lucid dream. In lucid dreams, you can actively work with the subconscious.
Most importantly, the decision and intent to dream and recall will set in motion opportunities to do so.
We all have our nightmares, and I can imagine someone prone to nightmares reading this and being like, "well, why would I ever want my nightmares to be more vivid?" The subconscious will use nightmares when it's really trying to get a message across and other means have failed. We are more likely to remember the nightmares because they are tied to adrenaline. Be curious about them and see if any meaning can be ascertained. A personal example is that I would have recurring dreams of a haunted house. It was as if it just went on forever, and there was always this really foreboding, eerie feeling that lingered in the air. As soon as I realized I was in one of those dreams, I would feel locked in there. I would have to explore the rooms to find my way out, and some of the rooms were benign while others were not.
What I understand about these recurring dreams now is that a house is usually, if not always, representative of the subconscious. I have spent a lot of time trying to find answers about myself and in my own life which ultimately led me to exploring my own subconscious. Everything you see here is a result of it. It seems that my life's purpose has a lot to do with the evolution of consciousness and understanding my own. Reflecting back, I think I was pointing myself in the directions I needed to go and preparing myself for the road ahead. Those dreams also served as means to face many of my fears and find creative ways of dealing with issues in my life. The universe is always communicating, and the communication gets louder until we notice that it is time to listen. One of the softer ways are through our dream state, even when some of the dreams feel loud. If that is the case, go deeper because things are never what they appear first glance.
We all dream, even if we have no recollection. Not remembering our dreams doesn't stop our bodies from benefiting from them. It doesn't really matter if we remember them or not, but it is fun to play a more conscious role in dreaming. Either way, trust that all is beneficial whether it plays out consciously or unconsciously. Our bodies know what to do with them without ever having to spend time figuring them out. Examination is but a recreational pursuit of the mind.
I'm going to sign off with the clowns. I used to have recurring nightmares about clowns, like many people.
What was that telling me? Probably to stop taking life so seriously, it's killing me.
Currently inspired by
Album: Country Christmas by Loretta Lynn
Thing: The Furby Organ throwback
Book: The Ultimate Guide to Tarot by Liz Dean
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