Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Dreamscape


(The best dream song ever from Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe in which I played a part, many, many moons ago.)

Some say they never dream. But they do. They just can't remember them when they wake up. It is through our dreams we get to work out the problems of our lives, or attempt to understand our pasts.

I'm one of those who has dreams that are better than movies. And sometimes when I'm truly lucky, I get to fly in them, over houses and mountains and oceans. I write them down when the mood strikes me. Like now. I've alway dreamed in full spectrum technicolour (some dream in black and white, I understand)and there is always an interesting plotline.

For instance, last night I dreamed I was in this ancient marketplace in France but the entrances and exits were designed for dwarves so if you wanted to leave the market you had to starve yourself if you were in anyway plump so you could slide under the doorways on your back to get out. I found myself comforting some of the tourists who were there including French people from the town itself (who should have known better, n'est pas?)who didn't have any English but understood mine when I told them to diet so they could get out.

Once you got outside into this mediaeval town all the roads were very narrow and populated by carts pulled by tiny men going at outrageous speeds so that one had to press oneself into doorways to avoid being mowed down.

It turned out I was selling silk ribbons, sold by the foot (I had explicit instructions)and in between selling them I was to go to my brother's house and weave mats out of them for a bathroom which was 100 yards long and could take me a lifetime.

I didn't seem to mind this onerous task as he told me I was also his bathroom tester to make sure the showerheads and jacuzzis worked properly, also a big job as when we counted up his bathrooms he had 52. Yeah, one for every week of the year.

I had a dear friend, a Jungian analyst, who moved to Scotland some years ago. He would analyze my dreams and always revealed a startling insight into my psyche.

I wonder what he'd make of the latest one.

15 comments:

  1. great dream...i have some doozies too, but don't even know where to start analyzing them

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  2. I love your dream. It made me grin. You have a great sense of humor.

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  3. Wow that was a busy dream. Do you feel tired when you wake in the morning? If I dream, I have no memory of it.

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  4. Twain:
    One of my gifts is that I can analyze dreams, but never my own.
    Nora:
    Delighted I have you a grin, my dear!
    GM:
    Interestingly enough when I wake I am always disappointed I have to leave my dream!
    XO
    WWW

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  5. Good recollection skills, WWW.
    I hardly ever remember my dreams, unless they are nightmarish or recurring (occasionally).

    Your latest contains the raw materials for a fantasy movie! Terry Gilliam would direct it !

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  6. Giving pieces of yourself away whilst trying to put yourself together a contradiction with which you are completely content. Limited time left. Listening to the masculine.

    You're welcome.
    xo

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  7. That dream is far too complex for me to analyse in a hurry. But I'm struck by the tiny men pulling carts at outrageous speeds. A metaphor for the frantic pace of modern life perhaps....

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  8. T:
    It does sound rather Gilliamish doesn't it though? I see a comedic understructure too....
    Orla:
    It seems to always come back to this theme in my life. thanks for the reminder. I am particularly pieced out at the moment and feel very chopped up. I wonder where you get your gift of dream analysis from? :)
    Nick:
    Or a further scattering of my energy, perhaps?
    XO
    WWW

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  9. What I wouldn't give for a friend who could analyse dreams in a useful and "true" way. You were fortunate.

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  10. Thanks for sharing this WWW. I once heard dreams described as a "gentle opening of the subconscious door". Sometimes not so gentle, but always interesting. I often wish I had access to a jungian analyst. Would make for some fascinating conversations. Thaks for sharing!!

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  11. What a robust dream! I had a dream last night that made me happy for some reason, just a feeling when optimism when I awoke. I love that type of dream.

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  12. I envy people who can remember their dreams. I dream but I cannot for the world of it ever remember any.

    That is quite a dream story.

    In India the current craze seems to be past life regression therapy seems to have caught the imagination of the believers in reincarnation.
    http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/110225/india-psychotherapy-past-life-regression

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  13. Katie:
    Yes, he helped me work out a lot of my life challenges which I was unaware of - the baggage we unconsciously carry which impedes us greatly.
    Veep:
    Absolutely. Dreams are really the key to the undone tasks, the strings that tie us to old behaviours. Enlightenment.
    Marcia:
    If you can recall what you were doing that would be so helpful.:-)
    Ramana:
    If you can think of putting a pencil and notepad at the side of the bed you may be able to capture the bits and pieces floating around.
    I often put reincarnation down to cellular memory. it just seems preposterous to me that we can be recycled? To each his own, I guess :-)
    XO
    WWW

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  14. I have incredibly vivid dreams, to the point where, on waking, I can't remember if what I have just remembered is real or not - and have tried to carry on dream conversations, which has left the other party very bemused!

    Whilst I may not be able to remember them with the clarity that you can, WWW, I often find that remembering a 'scene' from a dream as I'm trying to go to sleep the next night will actually help me relax and drop off - very helpful when I'm wound up and not able to just 'zone out'.

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  15. Ever tried Past Life Regression therapy?

    Am sure you would prove a fascinating subject.

    I occasionally remember mine, but usually quite ridiculous and never profound or amazing like the ones you describe.

    A top song by G&S by the way.

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