Dream a little dream

 

   
Matisse: The Dream

    Exhaustion this morning after another very active night of dreaming. I seem often to be having a much busier and more strenuous time in my subconscious than in my waking life, going to sleep only to be involved in all kinds of taxing situations which leave me quite drained. What does it all mean, I wonder.
     The other night I was struggling to prevent a situation develop which I knew was ill-advised and I was trying very hard to get the message across. Last night, someone wasn't cooperating and let me down; I was highly aggrieved, though I did get a sheepish apology in the end. Then there are the dreams of unpreparedness such as not having revised for an exam or packed for a holiday, or the ones which involve crying for help and having no voice, or trying to run away and being unable to move. It's all a bit much!


F. C. Robinson: The Bluebird

     In case it sounds as though I daren't drop off for fear of these nocturnal adventures, they aren't all bad, and even the ones that sound bad are more exhausting than frightening, and I do have positively pleasant dreams as well, but what's going on in my head when I have the other kind? Perhaps I should keep a dream diary and try to work it out, or is there a good book which might explain it? Anyway, to go with the pictures from Bridgeman Art Library, here's a nice song on the subject.


Helena Horwitz: Dream of Spring

Sweet dreams!

Comments

[Peter the Flautist]

I am not at all sure that you can "work it out". Indeed I do not think (but I am no neuroscientist) that people have any understanding of why we dream let alone what the interpretation should be. I had some very violent dreams as a young adult; was that just a reaction to the rather cushy and peaceful life I was actually living? My dreams are completely realistic but sadly only once in my entire life did I "solve" a problem in physics in a dream (it involved Gauss' Theorem for those who are interested).

Nightmarish Cat

[Harriet]

I kept a dream diary for several years and it was great fun. I never even tried to analyse them, but enjoyed trying to recapture them in the mornings -- so often bits would disappear leaving only the memory of the feeling that was associated. The best fun was, and still is, re-reading them later. I love the way dreams are often so bizarre and yet seem completely rational while they are going on -- a fascinating second life, running parallel with the other one. Yours sound pretty typical of dreams I have from time to time and which I just put down to lurking anxieties!

[Nancy]

Your post started me humming a tune - one that has come in and out of my consciousness several times lately: "dream a little dream of me"

I googled it and found the lyrics - as sung by the Mamas and Papas. Wow! _That_ was ages ago!! :-)

[penny]

Perhaps your dreams are trying to tell you something. Perhaps you are afraid of something. A dream journal is a great idea. Listen to your dreams and then you will start to trust your intuition, and all the riches it can bring you.