I don't generally remember dreams, and when I do about half the time they have more to do with random events from the previous day than any theme.
When there is a theme, it's always the same one. I've a task to do--somebody to pick up or something to deliver--and somehow I forgot the map, or the phone number, or the trunk key. Not to worry--there's somebody I can ask. But they're not in. The situation slowly and steadily unravels: the rental car is towed, the theater closes, now I have 4 people to find, the clock is ticking--and I wake up wondering how to salvage the confusion.
I also seldom remember my dreams. I do recall having that "not prepared for the exam" one for years afterwards, though. I also had a "trying to escape/get out" emergency where I was responsible for a helpless person as well - a child, a person in a wheelchair, an unconscious person.
ReplyDeleteThe Random Events scenario is now the accepted one. You can impose meaning on dreams with some validity because recombination does sometimes provide an insight. But mostly not. If you insist on forcing wisdom out of your sleeping self, the easiest form of dream interpretation is "You are all the people in the dream." So I was both the test proctor and the student. I was both the helpless person and the rescuer.
Yep I get the "unfinished and unfinishable" task dreams all the time. I wonder if the mind is not just clearing these half finished issues out to allow a more rational approach the next day.
ReplyDeleteI frequently have the "lost and/or late" dream and also the "naked in a public place" dream. But I also have dreams in which I wake up in bed, in my pyjamas, in a public place as well. The most disturbing dreams have occurred during the last several years, but have finally ceased, in which I spend a long period of time seeking a washroom in which to empty my full bladder. I then find a washroom and with great relief empty my bladder completely; only to wake up in bed in the middle of the night. I then lie there realizing that my bladder is actually completely empty, as it should not be, whilst thinking "I don't feel wet". My only explanation is that I've been sleepwalking to my washroom.
ReplyDelete