I've had nothing but bad dreams for the last three nights, with a few nightmares thrown in there. The first night, I have five in a row (that I remember). The second, three. Last night, I only had one fortunately. But it's been really screwing me up. I've been sleeping way more than normal, and it's been really heavy sleeping. Normally I wake up when my husband's alarm clock goes off. But he's been having to waking me up after he's done getting ready. And I'm always exhausted. It's very draining.
We did dream analysis for our Psychology class in college. The dream I chose was one in which I was an American soldier in WW2, apparently a very good one as Hitler himself had me captured and transported to his own personal library for interrogation. He was shouting at me in German and then a Nazi soldier presented him with a bright yellow nail gun, the kind you get in DIY shops. Hitler shot me in the head with it. I fell back and my vision faded , I felt my body getting weaker and I realized I was dying and I woke up with a fright and I was breathless. It was horrible! Turns out it meant I was stressed about exams!
I used to travel all the time when I was a kid, and every time we'd leave for a particularly long trip, I'd have a recurring dream. We'd be somewhere (it kind of looked like western MS, or eastern KS - in the countryside) and there'd be a HUGE rickety, wooden bridge. It was so tall, I couldn't see the river/rocks below it. I'd keep telling my mom not to drive on it, because it's dangerous and we'll fall and she'd just laugh and tell me it's okay. We'd drive on it, and it would start swaying and creaking in the wind and halfway on it, it'd start collapsing and I'd wake up. It's terrifying. I think the bridge is basically a very exaggerated version of the Missouri Bridge. Anyone ever been on it? It's wooden, and lord knows how old it is. Older than my grandparents, I believe. I'm pretty sure it's just a matter of time before it's condemned. You go on it to get into Kansas City, I believe. -- Also when I was really young (I was like.. 5) I had a few dreams that an alligator had crawled up on my chest and it was so heavy it was starting to suffocate me to the point I could barely breath. I'd wake up and swear I'd see something, then when I finally wake up completely it'd be gone and I chalked it up to a nightmare. My mom started to have dreams that something was sleeping with her, so when I told her about MY nightmare, it freaked her out and she started to pay more attention. Turns out she found a huge cat (30 lbs or more) had been living in our new house and avoiding us during the day. It would alternate between sleeping on my bed and hers in the night. I guess it decided to cuddle on top of me at night, and that's why I couldn't breath.
I find all of these ideas really interesting! I've been writing a fanatsy novel, where dreams are the thoughts and idea given to you by your Seraph (gurdian angel figure). Through this medium your Seraph is helping you mentally digest what you have done and they are trying to manipulate your thoughts so that during your waking life, you do as they tell you. I completely appreciate that this is not a real-world explanation but it would certainly explain things like nightmares (acting as warnings) strange feelings (your seraph trying to influence you) etc.
@The Freshmaker I know right? I'm glad she didn't tell me my nightmare was (mostly) real at the time. I only found out about the cat until later. She took me to my grandma who lived next door and got animal control to come get it since the cat wouldn't leave.
I most definitely agree with this kinda sentiment, it holds great sway over me as I have dream journaled for years now and been able to flit between varying degrees of lucid states several times a month since I was a child. We are split half n' half and spend a huge chunk of our existence within the dream realm, so it means something significant alright. It never ceases to amaze me the impressive weight of detail, complexity and texture that the snoozeworld holds... I often wonder whether it is a kinda buffer or filter to prepare us for the next step when we bow out, I have several lunatic theories but I also just assume it's a mind net that catches all the overly frenetic impulses and starbursts to soothe us during downtime in a sardonic, contrary balm. I am also a lifelong insomniac and have experience with innumerable substances that induce slumber, I believe many affect the depth and intensity of the dream experience, it is an intriguing journey.
