Acknowledging the value of my dreams came to me later in life--previously, I had ignored them. Now, I call them my nighttime life — filled with a wide diversity of experiences and insights. My dream journal sits by my bedside and is full of late-night scribbles, capturing the fleeting nature of dreams so I can process them further in the light of day. What a joy to have discovered part of my existence.
I think dreams are rooted in all of the above, and so much more. You asked about a dream that defies explanation. Here's mine:
I was floating above an interstate off-ramp near my home. It was dark and the only light was from interstate streetlights and sporadic vehicle headlights. I knew it must be the wee hours of the morning. Suddenly, a car flew down the off-ramp and a terrible wreck ensued at the T-intersection at the foot of the off-ramp. Here the dream ends.
I woke up early for work, got a cup of coffee, and turned on the morning news just as the anchor began a report on an overnight accident. Suddenly there was a news helicopter view of the off-ramp in my dream, complete with the exact same accident from my dream. "Wait wait wait, is that the same one?" I thought, and without warning the TV picture froze on the scene of the crash. I took a quick photo. The picture remained frozen until I turned the TV off then back on.
That TV never froze. The news anchor hadn't commented on the frozen scene so I knew it was my TV, not the helicopter feed. I was and am still astonished by this, and I'm no stranger to the other realms thanks to experience with evidential and physical mediumship, energy work, animal communication, etc.
At that time I had been dabbling in daily dreamwork and felt a pull to delve deeper into it, but had been resisting it for years. I began having dreams of overnight events local to me, as they were occurring, or of seemingly random things that occurred the following day in powerful synchrony. Yet I was firmly in the corporate world and resisted the pull. My guess is, something was telling me to pay closer attention.
Definitely your dreams were trying to get your attention. Over the years, I’ve heard a number of stories like yours that defy our understanding of time and space. I think dreaming must operate outside of these constraints. Sometimes. It’s hard to tell when. Part of the enduring mystery of dreaming. Thanks so much for this.
I loved this piece! The line about dreaming being one of the mind’s most sophisticated ways of helping us become more fully ourselves really stayed with me. I’ve personally found dreams to be surprisingly helpful in navigating alexithymia and understanding emotions that don’t always feel accessible during waking life. I’d be so curious to hear your thoughts on that connection. Thank you for sharing this.
I’d love to hear more about this Nadia! I work with dreams using Focusing - which is a way of sensing into what we know before we have words for it. There is such a depth and nuance we can experience that words will never do justice to. And dreams give us living images of this complexity. So what you say makes sense to me.
I've been thinking about dreams as an oneiric ecumene, where multiple ontologies converge. In my research with statues who appear in dreams asking to be rescued, the dreamer than goes out and discovers the statue.
I agree that the 4 primary theories are correct to an extent simultaneously. There is a layer of continual living that seems to occur in the dreaming place. Looking at dreaming as a spectrum of perceptual experience that is a “gear” we switch into makes sense to me but why? I’m not fully sure. I feel refreshed by dreams because of the removal of mental constraints, social norms, habitual behaviors. So for me dreaming is like a playful and liberating cleanse of the psyche. I also deeply value the symbolism I receive and the experiences with relatives who have passed.
I love many things about this comment: ‘There is a layer of continual living.. in the dreaming place.’ Yes I also believe this. And it’s wonderful to hear you express the playfulness of dreaming, the freedom from all of our usual constraints.
Acknowledging the value of my dreams came to me later in life--previously, I had ignored them. Now, I call them my nighttime life — filled with a wide diversity of experiences and insights. My dream journal sits by my bedside and is full of late-night scribbles, capturing the fleeting nature of dreams so I can process them further in the light of day. What a joy to have discovered part of my existence.
I love this. It’s never too late to discover the joy and richness of dream life.
I think dreams are rooted in all of the above, and so much more. You asked about a dream that defies explanation. Here's mine:
I was floating above an interstate off-ramp near my home. It was dark and the only light was from interstate streetlights and sporadic vehicle headlights. I knew it must be the wee hours of the morning. Suddenly, a car flew down the off-ramp and a terrible wreck ensued at the T-intersection at the foot of the off-ramp. Here the dream ends.
I woke up early for work, got a cup of coffee, and turned on the morning news just as the anchor began a report on an overnight accident. Suddenly there was a news helicopter view of the off-ramp in my dream, complete with the exact same accident from my dream. "Wait wait wait, is that the same one?" I thought, and without warning the TV picture froze on the scene of the crash. I took a quick photo. The picture remained frozen until I turned the TV off then back on.
That TV never froze. The news anchor hadn't commented on the frozen scene so I knew it was my TV, not the helicopter feed. I was and am still astonished by this, and I'm no stranger to the other realms thanks to experience with evidential and physical mediumship, energy work, animal communication, etc.
At that time I had been dabbling in daily dreamwork and felt a pull to delve deeper into it, but had been resisting it for years. I began having dreams of overnight events local to me, as they were occurring, or of seemingly random things that occurred the following day in powerful synchrony. Yet I was firmly in the corporate world and resisted the pull. My guess is, something was telling me to pay closer attention.
Definitely your dreams were trying to get your attention. Over the years, I’ve heard a number of stories like yours that defy our understanding of time and space. I think dreaming must operate outside of these constraints. Sometimes. It’s hard to tell when. Part of the enduring mystery of dreaming. Thanks so much for this.
It's like my dreams said, "Okay, we need to really blow your mind to get your attention, so we're going to do just that!" It worked.
I loved this piece! The line about dreaming being one of the mind’s most sophisticated ways of helping us become more fully ourselves really stayed with me. I’ve personally found dreams to be surprisingly helpful in navigating alexithymia and understanding emotions that don’t always feel accessible during waking life. I’d be so curious to hear your thoughts on that connection. Thank you for sharing this.
I’d love to hear more about this Nadia! I work with dreams using Focusing - which is a way of sensing into what we know before we have words for it. There is such a depth and nuance we can experience that words will never do justice to. And dreams give us living images of this complexity. So what you say makes sense to me.
I've been thinking about dreams as an oneiric ecumene, where multiple ontologies converge. In my research with statues who appear in dreams asking to be rescued, the dreamer than goes out and discovers the statue.
I would also love to hear more about this. Sounds fascinating
This sounds interesting Kerry! I’d be eager to read more about this
I agree that the 4 primary theories are correct to an extent simultaneously. There is a layer of continual living that seems to occur in the dreaming place. Looking at dreaming as a spectrum of perceptual experience that is a “gear” we switch into makes sense to me but why? I’m not fully sure. I feel refreshed by dreams because of the removal of mental constraints, social norms, habitual behaviors. So for me dreaming is like a playful and liberating cleanse of the psyche. I also deeply value the symbolism I receive and the experiences with relatives who have passed.
I love many things about this comment: ‘There is a layer of continual living.. in the dreaming place.’ Yes I also believe this. And it’s wonderful to hear you express the playfulness of dreaming, the freedom from all of our usual constraints.