Dreams on Dreams

Dreams are often confusing, even the pleasant ones. There are countless studies done on why we dream and what those dreams mean. I have found that my dreams are too often previews for what I am manifesting into my physical reality. My dreams are also a great way to benchmark where my primary focus has been, especially if that focus could use a bit of redirection. Some of my dreams are lucid (dreams in which I am aware that I am dreaming), some are not. Lately, I have been having layered dreams where I fall asleep in my dream and begin dreaming another dream! I do not particularly enjoy these type of dreams. I wake up believing I am back to my normal physical reality only to find that I AM STILL DREAMING! The second time I "wake up" is almost always a lucid dream. However, these dreams have held deeper meaning and often lessons for me to harvest.

I do not have a dedicated dream journal. I keep my dreams a part of my normal journal and sometimes use the written accounts as subjects of meditation when they are recurring, completely enigmatic, or if I need to adjust my course of momentum before the physical manifestation of that dream occurs. As I feel myself waking , I like to give myself a moment to feel myself in my bed, be aware of my body, the warmth of the blanket, softness of the sheets, and purposely make the intention to allow any information that I received while sleeping make a clear translation to my conscious mind. My logical mind has a way of misinterpreting the non-linear information experienced in dreams, so I try to stay in that in-between state of awake and asleep as long as I can, waking up gradually. I find that I remember my dreams better this way. For those on tight time in the morning, it is worth turning in early a couple nights a week and setting an intention to wake up earlier just to try this. Keep your journal close.

I am going to share a particularly odd dream in this post. It was a "second dream" in which I did not realize I was dreaming until the very end, which almost never happens when I dream in layers. I hope you enjoy the journey, I did (later). Do you keep a dream journal? How do you harvest information or insight from your dreams, if any? Do you dream on purpose? Lucid dreams? Layered dreams? Share your experiences!

(The names in the following dream have been changed .) :

Dream: August 10, 2014, 11:53pm "I was with Terry. We woke up together. Bright sunshine through the bedroom window, his apartment, navy blue T-shirt, grey sweats...all cuddles and smiles. Later that day, we were with his brother and cousin and we went to the studio. We made a stop at his Father's house where I was speaking German to them! "...Hast du geheiratet?...", his Father was asking him. Terry was telling him in German to stop and they were laughing, then I said, "Ich VERSTEHEN." And they both looked at me crazy. "Really?!", Terry said. I was like, "Ja." It was funny.

At the studio, there was a brother or cousin that looked a lot like Terry's Father, but very young. He was so excited and was asking me so many questions. Everyone was happy to meet me and I felt good being there. I went off exploring on my own while Terry was in session with an artist. There was a mall that resembled an amusement park. From one end to the other, there was a Past to Future theme. There were twisting slides that took you from one side to the next. I got a bit lost on the Past side, but took a slide and walked around to the present, passing the future and it was fun! I went back to the studio, found Terry still in session and fell asleep a bit in another room. I found him by his hair, btw. He was wearing a bright blue T-shirt. We were together and in love and writing together!"

I don't always capture, or remember every single detail when I write my dreams down. I do my best to record things that stand out and give me strong emotions. I also record what my overall feeling was during the dream, then how I felt waking up. Remember, please share your dream experiences by clicking the email/contact button on the main page.