TVC15— I don’t know about you, but my environment affects my creative output, not to mention how I feel about my day-to-day life. My husband would be happy living anywhere, but I’m much more sensitive to my surroundings. I’ve lived in Colorado, Georgia, Virginia (suburban DC), Massachusetts, Upstate New York, Maine (summers), and Connecticut. Everywhere I go, I soak up the culture and let it texture my life. But my heart sings more in some places than in others. Where I live now—an hour from New York City and a mile from Long Island Sound—inspires me to hit the high notes. I love this place!

Smile— Sounds like you’re in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

Here’s a new topic: The Significance of (Sleeping) Dreams

Last night I dreamed I held a wild tiger in my arms and tamed it with my love. Don’t have a clue what the dream meant on a symbolic level, but I woke up with such a sweet feeling. It’s almost as if I were holding myself rather than the tiger.

Throughout the writing and promoting of my book, my dreams have played a critical role in both guiding and empowering me. I’ve had more than a dozen flying/levitation dreams and several magical dreams about animals. I dreamed of a wolf, the experience of which I recount in the book, a black dog, a fluorescent green owl, twin iguanas (this was a lucid dream—a dream where I was conscious of dreaming), and a crow. From each of these animal dreams—with the exception of last night’s tiger—I awoke with a crystal clear understanding of their significance.

I highly recommend keeping a dream journal by your bed to write down the ones you remember.

Prill, I've recorded many of my dreams. I'm sending you one via PM and hope that the formatting doesn't get too mucked up in this small dialogue box.

Prill, I've always thought that dreams were "messages" and keeping a journal can certainly provide clues over time to what the messages may be. Some messages are more "obvious" others more "symbolic" - but I think if we try, we can usually GET IT as they say.

On another note....I haven't posted much this month in this particular area of the forum - mostly because all the other ladies had such GREAT questions and you answered everything that I would have asked so I just "watched". But I did want to say that having you here has been wonderful. Your humor, insight, willingness to share have been inspirational as is your book. I still keep my copy on my bedside table because I find the stories uplifting and encouraging. I feel like I'm "defying gravity" in many ways, every day as I take this journey through midlife. Your book illustrated the awesome power of determination and also proved to me that we women are capable of ANYTHING we set our minds to regardless of our age or circumstance.

Hugs to you!

Prill,
I have my trusty pen and paper by my bedside table. Next time I wake and remember a dream, I will be sure to record it. I lucid dream a lot and can fly in any dream that calls for it, I just run and jump. Hmmm....
You have given us another avenue to finding guidance and power, while we sleep. That'll work for me. I was wondering how I was going to fill that idle time anyhow. Now I can sleep AND dream with this awareness factor.
Take good care of yourself out there and remember, we are just a screen away.
Stay safe,

chickadee

Prill, I don't mean to put a damper on this topic, but I can't go there with my dreams. First, I rarely dream. Almost never, that I'm aware of. I sleep like a dog and always have.

Also, I don't want to put the pressure on myself to awaken and write my dreams. It's too disruptive. I like sleeping too much.

This topic came up at prayer group some time ago. A friend was taking a class in seminary about finding spirituality in dreams. I had the same response then.

I guess I'm just a load!

This will sound so horrible but I hate to dream! I pray before falling asleep every night that I won't dream, an impossible request no doubt.

I have weird dreams but I also get answers to problems in my dreams, which wake me and I sit up straight, full of realization. Hard to fall asleep after that happens. I'd like to be like Dotsie, just rarely dream and sleep like a log. If only....

I dream all the time, and some are very bizzare. I woke this morning after dreaming of my brother, 6'4, who had to serve jail time for something he did at a circus? When he got out, he then returned to the circus to work there as an acrobat. Now, if you only could see my brother... I didn't know whether to laugh or laugh harder.

Hi everyone!

I've been in NYC all day and just got home. I'm tired and need to recharge before I sit down to respond to all your wonderful comments.

By the way, the person I was visiting in the city is an 87 year old woman named Annie. She's probably the most honest person I've ever met, but her words don't sting. She a sweetie. We sang show tunes and had a far-ranging, fascinating (for me) conversation. Both her mind and body are still going strong. She's so alive. Wish you could all meet her.

Prill, Annie sounds like the grandma I never had.....I always imagined when I was a little girl hving someone like that in my life that I could enjoy and learn from; both my Mom and Dad lost their parents before I was old enough to remember them.

I'm sure spending time with her is good for BOTH of you!

Uh oh! I've got a feeling that this is going to be another one of my long posts.

Meredith & Maggie-- Thank you so much for your private messages. I sent both of you private replies.

Pam-- I was thinking the exact same thing today. My dad's father died when my dad was five; my mom's mother died when my mom was in her early 20's. I didn't know any of my grandparents. (I've always been intensely curious about all four of them, but especially those two.) Anyway, you're so right that spending time with Annie was good for both of us. What a role model she is!

Now...about dreaming.

Dreaming is such a personal thing. Who am I to tell people that they should enjoy it. So, Dianne, revel in your hate!

Dotsie-- My husband, like you, used to say he didn't dream; but we all have several dreams every single night. It's part of our biology. Scientists have a lot of theories as to why, but no one knows for sure.

I finally convinced my husband to try and remember his dreams. I had him jot down anything he recalled about them first thing in the morning before he lost the fragile threads. We've got a pad of paper on our nightstand, and he just writes down a few words. To his surprise, he discovered that he was, in fact, dreaming. I can't claim that he finds his dreams particularly therapeutic, but he enjoys them.

That said, I completely understand your desire to get every last wink of sleep you can and not wanting to feel any pressure about dreaming. I practice recalling mine because, for me, it's helpful and fun. If it weren't, I wouldn't.

Dian-- I'm glad you're laughing.

Chickadee-- Speaking of laughter, your postings always make me chuckle. And, speaking of lucid dreaming, here's a recent lucid dream I shared in my private reply to Meredith:

I don't remember how the dream started, but all of a sudden I became lucid and realized I was dreaming. I thought to myself, "Well, since I'm dreaming and can do anything I want, I think I'll fly to the moon and see how Earth looks these days." With that thought, I took flight Superman-style. The first thing I did once I was airborne was to look at the ground beneath me. I was traveling over some cordoroy-striped fields of alfalfa and thought to myself, "Wow. Those fields aren't real. This is a dream. Can you believe the glorious pictures my imagination is capable of creating? Then, I started slipping out of lucidity and little creatures started nibbling at my feet as I was flying. They felt like small rats, and the dream started to become a nightmare. But then I caught myself and realized I was still dreaming. The rats immediately turned into balls of fur with no teeth. Their nips now tickled rather than terrified me. I started laughing. Then, I noticed out of the corner of my eye three fighter jets coming to shoot me down, presumably concluding I was some type of UFO. But this time, knowing I was dreaming, I didn't even have a moment of fear. I just started dodging the jets, as if I were playing some no-stakes game. As soon as I began doing this, the jets disappeared. Then I took off for the moon and the stars. I woke up feeling so playful, so free.

This is all so interesting. I never considered that some people might hate dreams or not want the pressure of reviwing them.

I'm quite the opposite and have been using my own dreams to help me navigate through life for years. Actually, the inspiration to write my book came from a dream. Also, the title of the book was delivered via my dreams.

Again, very interesting and informative.

I like to dream and will often write down my dreams in my journal. I've gotten lots of story ideas for my books from dreams. Sometimes, while dreaming, I wake in the middle of the night, go to the bathroom, then hop back in bed and get right back to my dream.

I used to look for the symbolism in every dream, now I just enjoy them as "movies" or "Stories" in my head.

I've "mined" my dreams for both poetry and essays. I try to record them as closely as possible. Sometimes it's difficult remembering exactly what the dream was, and even more difficult to incorporate it into my writing.

I like how the title of this thread, on my browser at least, just shows up as "Significance of (Sleeping)"............catches my eye every time, (just what is the significance of sleeping? sounds like a good title for a poem) but then I've been really tired lately

sorry, I know that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread........just had to throw it out there...

How do you ladies get rest if you pop up and right down your dreams. I'm not being silly. I'm curious.

I picture everyone popping up a few times a night to keep track of what runs through your minds while you sleep. I have a hard enough time keeping track of what rund through my mind during the day.

I usually don't pop out of bed and record my dreams. So, sometimes I don't remember all the details or even the dream.

But, you are right, at least as far as my own experiences go, I sometimes don't get all my rest.

And, I think we all dream every night. The key is that we don't always remember dreaming. I go for weeks without remembering any dreams.

I don't pop up to write the dreams down at all. I wait till the morning. Or the next day, or whenever I have time to write.

I had a really stupid dream last night. In real life, I weigh myself every single day before breakfast, standing in my underwear so I can't use heavy clothes as an excuse. In this dream, I weighed myself and I had gained ten lbs. since yesterday. Instead of being horrified, I just said, "Oh, the scale's finally broken. Guess I have to buy a new one!"

Dotsie-- In terms of writing my dreams down, I don't usually pop up in the middle of the night to do so...although I've occasionally written one down at 1 or 2 a.m. when a dream is so powerful it wakes me up. Usually, I wait until the morning, though.


Last night I dreamed I was flying again, but this time as the pilot of a single-engine land Piper plane. I had NO idea what I was doing. Had never flown a plane before in my life. Fortunately, I landed safely in a park. No clue what the dream means. Any ideas?

Meredith-- Love that. Blame it on the scale!

This is a very fascinating subject for me. I have come to remember dreams that I have had in the past and then I remember what had happened afterwards. Kind of like a hindsight if you will.

As you said in your first post Prill about how you felt when you awoke from your dream. That is what I go on as well. I had an experience last year that I will never forget. This wasn't pleasant at all. The dream went like this: I was pursueing something, and in order for me to qualify I was given a styrofoam cup full of some awful tasting liquid. I wasn't allowed to spit it out nor was I allowed to swallow it. I could describe the taste as something from a sewer. That is when I woke up and the first thought that came to my mind was "torture". Well, in the following months I had gone through so much emotional torture.

Later, I had told a friend of mine that is able to interpret dreams. This is what she told me. She told me that torture was the exact thing that I was warned about because of what came to mind. And so it did.

I am so glad to read that you "woke up with a sweet feeling" sounds to me that you are exactly where you are suppose to be and doing what you are suppose to be doing.

Fascinating!

Cathi

If i dream I have no recognition of it at all. I have been getting by on four hours sleep for about twenty years plus now. Right now I work at a job where I work two nights, two afternoons, a one day shift in a given five day week. Sometimes I'll get off at 8am and have to be back for 4pm. So my body really has no idea where's it at. I remember when I was young my mother mentioned she had a dream about the family cat. In her dream the cat had died. After she had woken up and was in the kitchen doing something she heard a meow and she nearly jumped out of her skin. That is when she remembered the content of her dream.

Hi, Prill!

I love to evaluate dreams. I use a dream dictionary to help understand what things symbolize.

Of course, you have to be careful, though, because some times you'll find that dream dictionaries use superstition-based defintions. If the definition is a psychic preditor or mentions impending financial doom (ha!), then it's probably not a good source.

But anyway ... and for example, an airplane might represent:

"To see an airplane in your dream, indicates you may experience a higher consciousness, new-found freedom and greater awareness."

You were also driving the airplane (if I recall). So that also says you're in the "driver's seat" so to speak. And, even though you didn't know "how you did it", you landed safely. It all worked out.

After I look at symbolism, I decide if the meanings or definitions resonate with me. Sometimes, I never understand a dream's message, but other times I do.

Flying dreams are fun:)

Hope this helps:).

I had a dream one time that I shall never forget. I was asleep and this powerful man (built like Mr. Clean) who was not black, but a reddish brown color, jerked me up from my sleep and turned me around to face him. He was hugh. By that I mean he was supersized, like the guy in The Green Mile, but even bigger. Not fat, very muscular. When he turned me around he began sucking the very life out of me. He was breathing in very deeply, and for a long period of time. As he did, my soul was coming out of my mouth and going into his body thru this mouth. He was not touching me except for the strong hold he had on my arms, extending me in the air. He kept sucking in air, and each time he did, I felt myself dying a little. This dream was so real, I can't explain it to you. I woke up in a sweat, terrified. I was going thru a lot at the time. A lot of mental anguish, different kinds of troubles, and so torn about my situation. My Daddy was ill also. So I attribute the dream to my own "boxed-in" kind of feelings at the time and the trouble I was going thru. It was literally sucking the life out of me. I would be happy to hear any other interpretations???? That was a couple of years ago, but it still scares me to think of him. It was almost like he was the devil.

Another dream I had when I was about 4 or 5 was that I dreamed there was a very large and beautiful stairway and I climbed it. It was a long way to the top, but animals, sweet people, and different thing lined it. At the top was God. I still remember the scene. Ahhh....that was a wonderful dream!

JJ

[ February 18, 2005, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: jawjaw ]

I think you nailed that one ... Jaw Jaw. I find that dreams usually "describe" your current situation or circumstances. Dreams are most useful in helping you navigate through the present moment.

The childhood dream ... very, very special.

Hi everyone,

I've been out of town. I missed you!

Jaw Jaw, I don't think I could do a better job than you at interpreting your Mr. Clean dream. What you said sounds about right. In terms of interpreting my own dreams, I just use my intuition and try and make connections between my dream life and my waking life. The first thing I always ask myself is how I felt when I awoke.

Brenda & Allyn-- Couldn't agree more. I don't get too carried away by my dreams; I just use them as a tool. For the most part, my dreams range from pleasant to euphoric, so I enjoy remembering them. I still have occasional nightmares (I often wake up to find that my toes are tingling when I have a bad dream--isn't that weird?), but they occur far less often than they used to before I started writing.

Hope you ladies are well.

If I am anxious, upset or just plain mad before I turn in I will have some outlandish weird usually frightful nightmare. None recently even though my life could be better, but then couldn't they all?

Chatty Lady-- I wasn't upset last night, but I had a weird, outlandish dream. Not a nightmare, but strange nonetheless. Something about a car dealership and a lot full of wrecked autos. Then I had one of my menopausal night sweats, which woke me up. Can't complain, though. At least I DID wake up.

Since I have not seen it mentioned here, I will ask does anyone experience what I call "chapter dreams?" The reason I call them this is that I can wake up and continue the same dream when I fall asleep. I also frequently dream about the same thing for two or three nights in a row not the same dream, just a continuation like a story. I don't go to bed thinking of the dream from the night before or have any consciousness of intending to dream the same situation. In addition, there are a few dreams I have had many times in my life and they are always the same. When I have those dreams it's like I am lucid and aware, hey this is the same dream. I think I might like to explore this further. It sounds interesting. Queen Me, what is the name of the book you mentioned? I might invest in that.

That hasn't happened to me in a long time, but I do remember it happening. The scary ones are when I know I'm dreaming and I try to wake up, think I am, and try to wake up again, and again, and each time I think I AM awake, but find myself waking up again. EEEKKKK. Talk about alternate realities!! Makes you start to wonder if you ever DID really wake up, or you start to wonder/dream if you CAN wake up; what are you going to do if you can't!?!

Hi all, I am a newbie, but wanted to respond to writing down our dreams.
I have kept a journal on dreams for years, and I must admit, they are just as diverse and interesting as when I was 20.
I have crossed a gambit of emotions during and after dreams. Some (hopefully) not prophetic, but powerful -- I have used some of them in my writings.