Happy Friday! We’ve made another week. Today is the last stop on the Saddled Hearts blog tour, so I hope you will visit me at Erika Kind’s place.
Yesterday, myself and a couple of my Story Empire colleagues were talking about sleep patterns, then we got sidetracked talking about dreams.
What are dreams? Dr. Derup, a behavioral sleep medicine expert, says this, “Dreams are mental imagery or activity that occur when you sleep.” That’s pretty simple. But to me, they are so much more.
Freud thought dreams were repressed content, ideas, or themes. Jung’s idea of what dreams are is deeper and more objective since the archetypes that caused dreams were collective, universal, anatomical, or biological, and therefore objective and empirical. Jung thought dreams are something that you carry from your ancestors.
Hmm. Could be, I suppose.
To the Native American people, dreams were an essential conduit for communication with the supernatural world. I buy more into that theory than any other. The dreamcatcher originated with the Ojibwe tribe, and they believed it would trap bad dreams and let good dreams come through.
I’ve always been fascinated by the dream world and have dreamed ever since I can remember. They say everyone does, but not everyone remembers their dreams. And there are different types of dreams. Most often, our dreams are made up of the subconscious mind processing things from our day.
Then there are lucid dreams, where you are asleep but aware that you are dreaming. In Dan Antion‘s new books, The Dreamer’s Alliance Series, one of his characters has lucid dreams and even learns how to manipulate them for the outcome he wants.
I can’t say I’ve ever had that exact experience where I manipulated a dream, but I have definitely experienced being aware that I was dreaming. I have had dreams where I am flying low and close to the ground, but really fast, and when I have those dreams, I wake up feeling a tad bit dizzy.
But probably the most bizarre dream I’ve ever had was one where I dreamed I laid down on a bed and went to sleep. When I awoke, I was so disoriented and unsure if I was awake in my dream, or awake in my real world. I’ll never forget that. It was a very strange feeling.
I’ve had a dream interpretation book since the seventies, so it’s something I’ve always been fascinated with. You can tell by the photo the book is well-worn.
I’ve dreamt about loved ones who have passed on. Then, on the other hand, I’ve had visits from loved ones who have passed on, and there is a distinct difference between the two. When you have a visit, you know you’ve been with that person. Often, there will be a lingering fragrance or touch after you awake. When I experience visits, I often awake with tears on my cheeks.
Dream interpretation is as broad as the dreams themselves.
For example, here are some of the basic dream interpretations in my book:
To dream of wild animals is generally a good omen pertaining to business.
Dogs in dreams are a good omen and often represent friends.
To dream of being naked indicates a stroke of money luck.
By the same token, to dream of feces, symbolizes wealth.
Obstacle dreams are very common, where you are having to squeeze through tiny openings or climb narrow ladders, and those dreams indicate frustration about not reaching a goal in real life.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. Do you have a recurring dream? One that you still think about regularly? My late husband had a recurring dream where he was living in the 1800s, wearing a coat and top hat, and he played upright bass. In real life, he never tried to play the bass. He often thought that dream might have been a glimpse at a past life. Who knows?
Let’s talk about dreams. Do you have one you’d like for me to look up in my trusty book?
Next week is Thanksgiving week in the U.S., and I will be taking a blogging break to spend time with family. I’ll try to visit your blogs as I can, but I won’t post anything more until after the holidays. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours a wonderful time!
