D is for Dreams
What are your first thoughts when you
read that word? Do you think of your most profound wishes coming
true? Do you think of nightmares? Do you think of mystical
interpretations?
Where will I go with this topic? I'm
still not exactly sure. Let's explore that question together.
I had three stressful, disheartening
nightmares/dreams the other night. I woke up in the middle of the
night and couldn't shake the feelings from the first two for a little
while. I had to get up and get a drink of water to help wake up a
bit more before I could fall back to sleep. Once I finally did fall
back to sleep, another, slightly less intense, nightmare awaited me.
In the morning, I analyzed my dreams
and the stress inherent in them. I could draw parallels between the
content of my dreams and current life issues. Interestingly,
theories about what defines the word “dream” and what their
function or purpose is are controversial and insufficiently tested.
Though the testing that has been done confirms that waking life and
dreams are connected; not that most people need testing to confirm
that. Think of the alarm clock making its way into your dream as a
siren or a loud engine or an annoying person repeating themselves
obnoxiously over and over and over until you just want to scream at
them to stop....ahem. OK. I'm all right.
Whatever the purpose or function of
dreams, however, they sure can be
entertaining at times. Beyond that, according to Robert Van de
Castle, dreams have sometimes changed the world! Rene Descartes'
philosophy of dualism, Frederick Banting's discovery of insulin,
Mohandas Ghandi's strategy of nonviolent protest, Marry Shelley's
Frankenstein and Robert C Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr Hyde were all either inspired by or emerged out of
dream experiences!
So, keep those notebooks and pens handy
by your bedside! Who knows when one of YOUR dreams could change the
world!
No comments:
Post a Comment