Life Could be a Dream…
I have always loved dreaming. Sometimes, I go to sleep just so I can dream – and often, to finish a dream. Yes, finish my dreams. I have always had very vivid dreams and lucid recollections of them. At the risk of sounded cliché or crazy, I will say that my dreams are so real that it seems like they transport me. Arguably, they feel as real when I am in them as my perceived reality feels when I am in it.
When I was kid, I pictured a TV in my head as I was falling asleep (no wonder my parents took our TV away for a few years). As I fell asleep, I would ‘flip through the channels’ and choose what I wanted to dream about. I would skip through the scary ones and settle on the the ones that made me feel good. It wasn’t until much later in life that I realized that this was uncommon. It served me well. Though, I don’t have to do it anymore, I sometimes will for fun and nostalgia.
Now, I can fall asleep to finish a dream from the night (or nap) earlier. Usually, I see where the dreams take me and go along for the ride, but when I know I am dreaming, I can dictate what happens next, when it ends, or who will appear in it.
As a result of my connections to my dreams, sometimes the distinctions between my perceived reality and my dreams blur. I often do things in my dreams that I need to do in my reality and then I think they have actually been done.
Recently, I read the following passage in Mysticism and the New Physics by Michael Talbot (page 6 in my copy)
“I may dream that I am sitting at a table having breakfast and talking with my friends, but when I wake, I know that both I and my friends are part of the continuum of the dream. To say that there are many ‘consciousnesses’ in the dream is merely a semantic distinction. All the people in the dream are illusions. They …are constructions of consciousness”
Interesting and provocative.
What does that say about reality and consciousness? Could it be. . . that saying there are many consciousnesses in reality is also a semantic distinction and that people in reality are constructions of one consciousness? Illusions. . .?
February 24th, 2010 at 2:51 am
How cool! I wish I had that kind of control over my dreams!
*from SITS
February 24th, 2010 at 4:19 am
I wish I could select my dreams like TV channels. That’s really neat, Sarah! I often find myself stuck dreaming about something that makes me anxious.
I love good dreams, though. I love dreams that make me feel great.
I hate that feeling when you wake from a great dream and you realize “Wait, that didn’t happen!”
Dreaming is wonderful! Want to interpret one of mine?
http://www.oldschoolnewschoolmom.com/2010/02/my-dream.html
February 24th, 2010 at 7:24 am
What a lovely gift you have. I remember most of my dreams, but can never get back those that I enjoy once I’ve been up.
What I really wanted to comment on though is: “That people in reality are constructions of one consciousness?” I absolutely believe this. To me there is no real-real, only perceptions and individual realities. So what I see/perceive is completely different than what you see/perceive even when we are looking at the exact same thing. How could it be any different when all of our evaluations are made based on our individual life experiences. I could chat about this for hours. Great post!
February 24th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Yay, Christine! I am so with you. We should definitely talk about it for hours some day!
February 24th, 2010 at 9:45 am
So I never really thought about it but I do this too. I roll over, go back to sleep, and finish my dreams. I also have a handful of reoccurring ones too. Does that make me weird?
Stopping by from SITS.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:22 am
If that makes you weird, we can be weird together!
February 25th, 2010 at 2:31 am
I hardly ever remember my dreams and when I do, it always seems to be the “weird” ones I remember.
Stopping in from SITS.
February 25th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Popped in from SITS. What a lovely post. It really made me think.
February 25th, 2010 at 11:12 am
“all the people in the dream are illusions” – interesting; Every now and then I stop to ponder whether we all really exist or not – weird – I know!
February 25th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
carma, I ponder the exact same thing! It appears to be more common than I had realized.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:09 am
I’ve been able to control my dreams for years! It’s called Lucid dreaming. So I know exactly what you mean about skipping the scary dreams and going right to the stuff that makes you feel good. I can pick and choose what I want to dream about. It’s like being the director, producer, and star of my own movie!
February 26th, 2010 at 11:09 am
I also have very vivid and lucid dreams. I often find myself forcing myself to stay asleep just to see how situations will turn out. i believe there is always some reality in our dreams, something that has happened or will happen in the future.
stopping by from SITS
February 26th, 2010 at 11:09 am
That’s a tremendous power of your dreams! I’ve had a few lucid ones, the occasional recurring one or a stop-and-start continuation, but usually they’re just trying to give me insight into what’s going on in my small corner of the world.
…stopping by from SITS.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:00 am
I have never met another someone who had as much control of their dreams as I do.
My ex-husband used to have terrible nightmares that scared him so much he would wake up, pass out from fear, and then suffer some awful side-effects from the fainting (nausea, vomiting, etc). I had a really hard time sympathizing for him, because I have always been able to realize I am having a nightmare and change the course from terrifying to not-so-much, I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just do the same.
My current partner also has issues with dreams/nightmares, but I am more understanding now, because with age comes wisdom and I know that not everyone has the ability to realize they are dreaming and take control of the dream.