Friends and Lovers...
I have been doing more 'doing' than thinking lately. More living. As a result, I haven't written as much as I might like. But, once again, Dreams are on my mind, so I'll subject you to more musings. I have to say 'musings', because I think that words like 'theorising' require the proponent to have enough scientific knowledge to back up any claims. I do not. I will defer all actual 'facts' to my esteemed Love, Sister Superior Lemon Meringue, a woman that has shaken my foundations with full body sex within hours of showing me the feasibilty of homebrew bio-diesel and teaching me words like 'soponification', which I didn't even know WAS a word.
Anyway, Dreams. This time, specifically, I am pondering Nightmares. At some point last week, while somewhat sadly driving away from the arms of a Lover, I began thinking of Nightmares. I can recall thinking that the synapse road to that topic made perfect sense in the moment, but I have lost the map, and for the life of me I can't remember. Regardless of how I got from point A to point Evil, I did. And I think my first real question in the process was:
"What the fuck good are Nightmares?" Seriously. To which I had to almost immediately reply to myself with another question: What ARE Nightmares?
Intellectually, I don't have an answer. So, what do I know from experience? A couple things, I suppose.
1) They are Dreamspaces of nothing but sheer terror.
2) I have never BEGUN my dream-cycle with a Nightmare.
3) I have never learned anything from a Nightmare.
At this point, that is all I feel confident enough to say I 'know'. Is it enough, for now? Maybe. Number One is kind of a no-brainer, but the second is very telling, I think.
I have never BEGUN a dream-cycle with a Nightmare. In other words, I have not fallen asleep only to be met by horror, right from the get-go. Every Nightmare that I can recall, began as a Dream. A regular, ol' run-o-the-mill Dream. Soon, the Dream would veer to the left or right and get a little Dark. Dark. Painful perhaps, but still useful. Even Darkdreams can be inspirational, epiphanous, beautiful. A little further on, however, and the curtain would get drawn and the Nightmare proper would begin. From bright to grey to grim to demoniac. It was a process.
Once in the pandemonium of the Nightmare, all lessons ceased. As soon as the horror began, all hope of revelation was lost. Blood would have blood, as they say. The Beast would need fed and the only thing left to do would be to wake up, shaken, sweating and moaning in all the wrong ways.
So, I wonder. IF (and this is a disputable 'if') Dreams are representative of our brains working on problems while we are consciously thinking of other things, or more specifically, of the 'conclusions' that are being drawn by our subconscious, and if we can assume that our minds 'are on our side', then Nightmares must have some purpose.
But what? If the lessons of Nightmares are hidden enough to be missed entirely or even considered non-existent, then what is going on? Why be put thru what the pain Nightmares promise, only to wake a shamble?
That, itself, may be an answer. What if the only purpose of the Nightmare was to awaken us? Perhaps it is the mental version of physical pain. Pain says: "Stop touching the stove" It says: "Take action."
Dreams can be lovely. They can teach us, help us come to terms with issues we didn't know we had, and grant us much. But Dreams are still Dreams, and Sleep is still unconciousness. They're uses are limited and we must be awake to utilise them.
Maybe, like so many other kinds of spiritual spankings, Nightmares are alarm clocks. Awful, unignorable sensory overloads that are screeching out: There is nothing more I can tell you, quit asking and, for god's sake, WAKE UP!
That's my tuppence.
******************************
Today's Self-Promotion:
The MudSkipper's MudShakespeare Mudstravaganza won "Best Stage Act" this year. Not only that, but I actually think we earned it. The highest in low comedy.
I have been doing more 'doing' than thinking lately. More living. As a result, I haven't written as much as I might like. But, once again, Dreams are on my mind, so I'll subject you to more musings. I have to say 'musings', because I think that words like 'theorising' require the proponent to have enough scientific knowledge to back up any claims. I do not. I will defer all actual 'facts' to my esteemed Love, Sister Superior Lemon Meringue, a woman that has shaken my foundations with full body sex within hours of showing me the feasibilty of homebrew bio-diesel and teaching me words like 'soponification', which I didn't even know WAS a word.
Anyway, Dreams. This time, specifically, I am pondering Nightmares. At some point last week, while somewhat sadly driving away from the arms of a Lover, I began thinking of Nightmares. I can recall thinking that the synapse road to that topic made perfect sense in the moment, but I have lost the map, and for the life of me I can't remember. Regardless of how I got from point A to point Evil, I did. And I think my first real question in the process was:
"What the fuck good are Nightmares?" Seriously. To which I had to almost immediately reply to myself with another question: What ARE Nightmares?
Intellectually, I don't have an answer. So, what do I know from experience? A couple things, I suppose.
1) They are Dreamspaces of nothing but sheer terror.
2) I have never BEGUN my dream-cycle with a Nightmare.
3) I have never learned anything from a Nightmare.
At this point, that is all I feel confident enough to say I 'know'. Is it enough, for now? Maybe. Number One is kind of a no-brainer, but the second is very telling, I think.
I have never BEGUN a dream-cycle with a Nightmare. In other words, I have not fallen asleep only to be met by horror, right from the get-go. Every Nightmare that I can recall, began as a Dream. A regular, ol' run-o-the-mill Dream. Soon, the Dream would veer to the left or right and get a little Dark. Dark. Painful perhaps, but still useful. Even Darkdreams can be inspirational, epiphanous, beautiful. A little further on, however, and the curtain would get drawn and the Nightmare proper would begin. From bright to grey to grim to demoniac. It was a process.
Once in the pandemonium of the Nightmare, all lessons ceased. As soon as the horror began, all hope of revelation was lost. Blood would have blood, as they say. The Beast would need fed and the only thing left to do would be to wake up, shaken, sweating and moaning in all the wrong ways.
So, I wonder. IF (and this is a disputable 'if') Dreams are representative of our brains working on problems while we are consciously thinking of other things, or more specifically, of the 'conclusions' that are being drawn by our subconscious, and if we can assume that our minds 'are on our side', then Nightmares must have some purpose.
But what? If the lessons of Nightmares are hidden enough to be missed entirely or even considered non-existent, then what is going on? Why be put thru what the pain Nightmares promise, only to wake a shamble?
That, itself, may be an answer. What if the only purpose of the Nightmare was to awaken us? Perhaps it is the mental version of physical pain. Pain says: "Stop touching the stove" It says: "Take action."
Dreams can be lovely. They can teach us, help us come to terms with issues we didn't know we had, and grant us much. But Dreams are still Dreams, and Sleep is still unconciousness. They're uses are limited and we must be awake to utilise them.
Maybe, like so many other kinds of spiritual spankings, Nightmares are alarm clocks. Awful, unignorable sensory overloads that are screeching out: There is nothing more I can tell you, quit asking and, for god's sake, WAKE UP!
That's my tuppence.
******************************
Today's Self-Promotion:
The MudSkipper's MudShakespeare Mudstravaganza won "Best Stage Act" this year. Not only that, but I actually think we earned it. The highest in low comedy.
I used to have a very vivid reoccurring nightmare that would happen for several weeks after a move (we moved a lot when I was a kid). It was always sepia toned like an old movie and I was always a little kid (about 5) dressed in 1920's type kids clothes. I was always lost in my Great-Grandparent's small town. Never anything more than that, but that was always enough to send me into crying jags that tended to jerk me awake. The funny thing is that the dream never changed, even after many years. When we moved two years ago (just across town even) I still had the same exact dream for about a week....Odd.....
Onto the dreams/nightmare thing.....I honestly don't know what I've ever learnt from either, apart from that if you're chewing gum in your dream and it tastes like your hand, well, let's just say I'm glad I didn't properly chew it, but I did have rather dribble covered fingers when I awoke.
Nightmares, for me, always seem to have a large portion of helplessness in them, as in, inability to do some thing, be it run (for some reason I become weightless and can't get any traction), being unable to pull a trigger (way too hard, and the effort of pulling it means I can't aim) or being trapped (kind of endless house, or circular corridors). Maybe these recoccuring themes in themselves mean something, but they happen at vague times, with no direct link to real world stress. To be honest, I'm happy if I dream with either good or bad outcomes, as it means I'm probably sleeping well.
Do dreams have any purpose anyway? I still don't know. Why, for example, did I recently dreamt I shaved my legs? Surely there's not much of a life lesson to be gained from de-hairing bits of my body? And if there is, what on earth is it?
Glad that you're spending lots of time 'doing', find it can help with the thinking.
Stay well,
D