Joanna here, talking about one of my favorite things in all the world, aka sleeping. Writing is another thing I’m fond of. There’s a bit of an interconnection between these.
I tend to generate new material when I’m relaxed in the bathtub or lying in bed. I even get good work done in dreams. If I were talking about the creative process I might say I try to sleep a lot.
Let me talk about Coleridge who is a more interesting topic than many of those going
through my mind these days. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, of course, is the English poet who gave us such popular thrillers as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner which many of us read in Middle School. It includes the poignant lines
“Alone, alone, all, all alone,
Alone on a wide wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on
My soul in agony.”
As I say, Middle School. This is stuck in my memory forever.
More on topic, Coleridge gave us the poem Kubla Khan, or at least the 54 lines of it that came to him in a dream. I’ll lay a stanza of Kubla Khan on you.
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
Today’s nod to the Romance genre.
Coleridge one day was sleeping peacefully and spinning out a long poem on the subject of stately pleasure domes with caves of ice, (maybe it was a hot day,) when he was
rudely interrupted by a man who came knocking on his door. (That infamous Man from Porlock represents all the folks who come knocking on artists’ doors and send the creative Muse sprawling arse over teakettle.)
But the important thing is where that Kubla Khan poem came from. Not reasoned planning that called upon centuries of accumulated literary theory. Not earnest contemplation of an empty page. It was composed inside Coleridge’s dream.
So some people use their dreams to write poems.
I’ve written poems in my sleep, (and lost them within minutes of waking when my obsessively tidy waking mind swept all the eldritch and illogical dream fragments back into my subconscious.) I did not write great stuff but it was reasonably good stuff.
Am I creating allkinda poetry in the sleep-garlanded night? Is there a mediocre poet sharing space inside my cranium? Would I like her if we ever got to meet?
Weighty topics. Weighty topics
Robert Lewis Stevenson one night dreamed of Mr. Hyde taking the powder and turning into Dr. Jekyll.
Mary Shelly famously had a nightmare of a ‘hideous phantasm of a man, stretched out, and then, on working of some powerful machine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion’. The next morning, she began writing Frankenstein.
Stephanie Meyer had a dream about a young couple in a meadow talking about why love couldn’t happen between a human and a vampire. Turned out the dream was an over-simplification.
Moving along to other cool dream usefulnesses –
dreams don’t just give us words.
Paul McCartney said the melody for “Yesterday” came to him in a dream.
Salvador Dali who painted The Persistence of Memory described his work as “hand-painted dream photographs.” He painted those melting clocks from memory.
“The brain keeps on thinking while it sleeps. It organizes and free associates. “Far from shutting down, the brain is intensely busy during sleep. As conscious awareness dims, waves and spikes of neuronal activity start their distinctive dance across the sleeping brain. This choreography is vital for processing the barrage of fresh experience that we face each day.” (Ben Martynoga)
Brains — cooler than you think.
This brain activity is expressed in stories, emotions, unique melodies, thoughts, and images. Dreams give us symbols. They give us unique visual interpretations of complex concepts.
Consider the visuals and symbolism of Jacob’s ladder. You remember Jacob’s ladder?
“And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending."
Genesis 28
Which is the sort of dream you have if you use rocks for pillows I guess.
Dreams can give us an intrinsically different way of seeing the world. They’re a subcreation separate from reality. Sometimes a shared subcreation.
“Ethnographers have often found themselves immersed in societies in which people talk about their dreams and in which other people readily interpret them, societies in which “the world of ghosts and spirits is as real as that of markets, though real in different qualitative ways than can be ethnographically described”
Obeyesekere
Even on a book blog I will not shortchange science types and their creative process so let me just mention
Larry Page woke from a dream where he imagined he could download the entire web onto some old computers he had lying around. He started doing the math and it turned out he could. Thus Google.
Elias Howe solved the tricky problem of the sewing machine needle after he dreamed of an attack by warriors carrying spears with holes in the tips.
Dimitry Mendeleev, inventor of the periotic table wrote in his diary, “I saw in a dream a table where all the elements fell into place as required. Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper.”
Mendeleev might have been taking advantage of the old writer’s standby, the notebook by the bedside where you write your dreams down quick, quick before you forget them.
I like to picture the sleeping brain as a chaotic space, full of unfinished, unconnected 
bits and pieces. The brain doesn’t like disconnection, so when bits bang into each other they agglomerate in new and different ways into bigger nuggets we can mine later as story ideas.
Snakes … on a spaceship.
Little Red Riding Hood … serial killer.
I’m not the only one who’s noticed you can set the mind to useful work if you tap on the brain as you go to bed. “You. Yes you! Dream tonight about my hot male character doing something clever.”
That reminds the peculiar madwoman who lives in the cellar of my brain that there’s a story to write and somebody in this brain case had better get to doing it.
Do your dreams help you work? Help you be creative? Give you insight?
Would that my dreams were equally useful! I can’t think of anything I took from a dream to use in other ways. Maybe I should tell my brain to get on that when I go to be tonight?
Would that my dreams were equally useful! I can’t think of anything I took from a dream to use in other ways. Maybe I should tell my brain to get on that when I go to be tonight?
Would that my dreams were equally useful! I can’t think of anything I took from a dream to use in other ways. Maybe I should tell my brain to get on that when I go to be tonight?
Would that my dreams were equally useful! I can’t think of anything I took from a dream to use in other ways. Maybe I should tell my brain to get on that when I go to be tonight?
Would that my dreams were equally useful! I can’t think of anything I took from a dream to use in other ways. Maybe I should tell my brain to get on that when I go to be tonight?
For one who rarely remembers dreams on waking, this was a fascinating post, thank you. When I do, I can usually pinpoint what would have triggered the dream, a previous conversation, a reading or visual memory. Nothing useful like inventing the ATM machine or the lottery numbers for tomorrow 😉
For one who rarely remembers dreams on waking, this was a fascinating post, thank you. When I do, I can usually pinpoint what would have triggered the dream, a previous conversation, a reading or visual memory. Nothing useful like inventing the ATM machine or the lottery numbers for tomorrow 😉
For one who rarely remembers dreams on waking, this was a fascinating post, thank you. When I do, I can usually pinpoint what would have triggered the dream, a previous conversation, a reading or visual memory. Nothing useful like inventing the ATM machine or the lottery numbers for tomorrow 😉
For one who rarely remembers dreams on waking, this was a fascinating post, thank you. When I do, I can usually pinpoint what would have triggered the dream, a previous conversation, a reading or visual memory. Nothing useful like inventing the ATM machine or the lottery numbers for tomorrow 😉
For one who rarely remembers dreams on waking, this was a fascinating post, thank you. When I do, I can usually pinpoint what would have triggered the dream, a previous conversation, a reading or visual memory. Nothing useful like inventing the ATM machine or the lottery numbers for tomorrow 😉
Sometimes dreams help me solve some problems I have in my stories. I keep a pen and note pad next to my bed to write any impressions the dreams may have left behind. Sometimes they are quite vivid and stay with me.
Sometimes dreams help me solve some problems I have in my stories. I keep a pen and note pad next to my bed to write any impressions the dreams may have left behind. Sometimes they are quite vivid and stay with me.
Sometimes dreams help me solve some problems I have in my stories. I keep a pen and note pad next to my bed to write any impressions the dreams may have left behind. Sometimes they are quite vivid and stay with me.
Sometimes dreams help me solve some problems I have in my stories. I keep a pen and note pad next to my bed to write any impressions the dreams may have left behind. Sometimes they are quite vivid and stay with me.
Sometimes dreams help me solve some problems I have in my stories. I keep a pen and note pad next to my bed to write any impressions the dreams may have left behind. Sometimes they are quite vivid and stay with me.
To date my dreams have mostly functioned as conversation starters, “I had the weirdest dream last night….” Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna!
To date my dreams have mostly functioned as conversation starters, “I had the weirdest dream last night….” Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna!
To date my dreams have mostly functioned as conversation starters, “I had the weirdest dream last night….” Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna!
To date my dreams have mostly functioned as conversation starters, “I had the weirdest dream last night….” Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna!
To date my dreams have mostly functioned as conversation starters, “I had the weirdest dream last night….” Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna!
I’ve never had any dreams that helped me solve problems or create anything. Maybe you have to be a creative person in the first place to have a dream like that.
Most of my dreams are quite forgettable. I’ve had a few that I remember because I woke up laughing at something funny in the dream.
One dream I remember was one I had as a child because it seemed a bit scary at the time. In the dream three sinister looking men dressed in black approached my elderly blind neighbor who lived across the street. They spoke to her and then moved on. Several days later I saw three men dressed in black leather jackets and black motor cycle caps approach my blind neighbor who was sweeping her porch. They spoke to her and then moved on. Apparently they were asking directions (smile). Coincidence? Probably so, since I’ve never has any dreams since then that foretold the future.
Interesting post.
I’ve never had any dreams that helped me solve problems or create anything. Maybe you have to be a creative person in the first place to have a dream like that.
Most of my dreams are quite forgettable. I’ve had a few that I remember because I woke up laughing at something funny in the dream.
One dream I remember was one I had as a child because it seemed a bit scary at the time. In the dream three sinister looking men dressed in black approached my elderly blind neighbor who lived across the street. They spoke to her and then moved on. Several days later I saw three men dressed in black leather jackets and black motor cycle caps approach my blind neighbor who was sweeping her porch. They spoke to her and then moved on. Apparently they were asking directions (smile). Coincidence? Probably so, since I’ve never has any dreams since then that foretold the future.
Interesting post.
I’ve never had any dreams that helped me solve problems or create anything. Maybe you have to be a creative person in the first place to have a dream like that.
Most of my dreams are quite forgettable. I’ve had a few that I remember because I woke up laughing at something funny in the dream.
One dream I remember was one I had as a child because it seemed a bit scary at the time. In the dream three sinister looking men dressed in black approached my elderly blind neighbor who lived across the street. They spoke to her and then moved on. Several days later I saw three men dressed in black leather jackets and black motor cycle caps approach my blind neighbor who was sweeping her porch. They spoke to her and then moved on. Apparently they were asking directions (smile). Coincidence? Probably so, since I’ve never has any dreams since then that foretold the future.
Interesting post.
I’ve never had any dreams that helped me solve problems or create anything. Maybe you have to be a creative person in the first place to have a dream like that.
Most of my dreams are quite forgettable. I’ve had a few that I remember because I woke up laughing at something funny in the dream.
One dream I remember was one I had as a child because it seemed a bit scary at the time. In the dream three sinister looking men dressed in black approached my elderly blind neighbor who lived across the street. They spoke to her and then moved on. Several days later I saw three men dressed in black leather jackets and black motor cycle caps approach my blind neighbor who was sweeping her porch. They spoke to her and then moved on. Apparently they were asking directions (smile). Coincidence? Probably so, since I’ve never has any dreams since then that foretold the future.
Interesting post.
I’ve never had any dreams that helped me solve problems or create anything. Maybe you have to be a creative person in the first place to have a dream like that.
Most of my dreams are quite forgettable. I’ve had a few that I remember because I woke up laughing at something funny in the dream.
One dream I remember was one I had as a child because it seemed a bit scary at the time. In the dream three sinister looking men dressed in black approached my elderly blind neighbor who lived across the street. They spoke to her and then moved on. Several days later I saw three men dressed in black leather jackets and black motor cycle caps approach my blind neighbor who was sweeping her porch. They spoke to her and then moved on. Apparently they were asking directions (smile). Coincidence? Probably so, since I’ve never has any dreams since then that foretold the future.
Interesting post.
True story: A friend wanted to remember her dreams. Someone told her to set her intention before going to sleep by focusing on “I am going to remember my dreams.” It worked the first night she tried it. In her dream, she was chasing her husband around with a butcher knife. (He was a very nice man, but it was one of those marriages where the husband and wife were one person, and that person was the husband. Connected? You decide.) Needless to say, she didn’t try it a second time.
True story: A friend wanted to remember her dreams. Someone told her to set her intention before going to sleep by focusing on “I am going to remember my dreams.” It worked the first night she tried it. In her dream, she was chasing her husband around with a butcher knife. (He was a very nice man, but it was one of those marriages where the husband and wife were one person, and that person was the husband. Connected? You decide.) Needless to say, she didn’t try it a second time.
True story: A friend wanted to remember her dreams. Someone told her to set her intention before going to sleep by focusing on “I am going to remember my dreams.” It worked the first night she tried it. In her dream, she was chasing her husband around with a butcher knife. (He was a very nice man, but it was one of those marriages where the husband and wife were one person, and that person was the husband. Connected? You decide.) Needless to say, she didn’t try it a second time.
True story: A friend wanted to remember her dreams. Someone told her to set her intention before going to sleep by focusing on “I am going to remember my dreams.” It worked the first night she tried it. In her dream, she was chasing her husband around with a butcher knife. (He was a very nice man, but it was one of those marriages where the husband and wife were one person, and that person was the husband. Connected? You decide.) Needless to say, she didn’t try it a second time.
True story: A friend wanted to remember her dreams. Someone told her to set her intention before going to sleep by focusing on “I am going to remember my dreams.” It worked the first night she tried it. In her dream, she was chasing her husband around with a butcher knife. (He was a very nice man, but it was one of those marriages where the husband and wife were one person, and that person was the husband. Connected? You decide.) Needless to say, she didn’t try it a second time.
“The subconscious mind is very powerful. Provided the conscious mind absorbs plenty of data while awake, the subconscious mind can process and make sense of the data while asleep. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history are testament to the importance of sleep and dreams in the operation of our minds.”
https://www.famousscientists.org/7-great-examples-of-scientific-discoveries-made-in-dreams/
I can’t attribute anything to dreams but have certainly found that ‘sleeping on a problem’ can clarify and sometimes suggest a solution.
I think Coleridge used opium (laudanum) quite a lot …. good for fantasy writers … maybe!
Interesting post.
“The subconscious mind is very powerful. Provided the conscious mind absorbs plenty of data while awake, the subconscious mind can process and make sense of the data while asleep. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history are testament to the importance of sleep and dreams in the operation of our minds.”
https://www.famousscientists.org/7-great-examples-of-scientific-discoveries-made-in-dreams/
I can’t attribute anything to dreams but have certainly found that ‘sleeping on a problem’ can clarify and sometimes suggest a solution.
I think Coleridge used opium (laudanum) quite a lot …. good for fantasy writers … maybe!
Interesting post.
“The subconscious mind is very powerful. Provided the conscious mind absorbs plenty of data while awake, the subconscious mind can process and make sense of the data while asleep. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history are testament to the importance of sleep and dreams in the operation of our minds.”
https://www.famousscientists.org/7-great-examples-of-scientific-discoveries-made-in-dreams/
I can’t attribute anything to dreams but have certainly found that ‘sleeping on a problem’ can clarify and sometimes suggest a solution.
I think Coleridge used opium (laudanum) quite a lot …. good for fantasy writers … maybe!
Interesting post.
“The subconscious mind is very powerful. Provided the conscious mind absorbs plenty of data while awake, the subconscious mind can process and make sense of the data while asleep. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history are testament to the importance of sleep and dreams in the operation of our minds.”
https://www.famousscientists.org/7-great-examples-of-scientific-discoveries-made-in-dreams/
I can’t attribute anything to dreams but have certainly found that ‘sleeping on a problem’ can clarify and sometimes suggest a solution.
I think Coleridge used opium (laudanum) quite a lot …. good for fantasy writers … maybe!
Interesting post.
“The subconscious mind is very powerful. Provided the conscious mind absorbs plenty of data while awake, the subconscious mind can process and make sense of the data while asleep. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history are testament to the importance of sleep and dreams in the operation of our minds.”
https://www.famousscientists.org/7-great-examples-of-scientific-discoveries-made-in-dreams/
I can’t attribute anything to dreams but have certainly found that ‘sleeping on a problem’ can clarify and sometimes suggest a solution.
I think Coleridge used opium (laudanum) quite a lot …. good for fantasy writers … maybe!
Interesting post.
I think alarm clocks may be the enemy of dreams. Back when I was awakened by one every morning, my eyes would fly open and I would start thinking, “Okay, today is Tuesday. I have to …”
But now I wake up when I wake up and there is nothing to destroy that dream state where strange things happen and you know you are dreaming. And yes, I have gotten ideas for plots, characters, books that way.
I think alarm clocks may be the enemy of dreams. Back when I was awakened by one every morning, my eyes would fly open and I would start thinking, “Okay, today is Tuesday. I have to …”
But now I wake up when I wake up and there is nothing to destroy that dream state where strange things happen and you know you are dreaming. And yes, I have gotten ideas for plots, characters, books that way.
I think alarm clocks may be the enemy of dreams. Back when I was awakened by one every morning, my eyes would fly open and I would start thinking, “Okay, today is Tuesday. I have to …”
But now I wake up when I wake up and there is nothing to destroy that dream state where strange things happen and you know you are dreaming. And yes, I have gotten ideas for plots, characters, books that way.
I think alarm clocks may be the enemy of dreams. Back when I was awakened by one every morning, my eyes would fly open and I would start thinking, “Okay, today is Tuesday. I have to …”
But now I wake up when I wake up and there is nothing to destroy that dream state where strange things happen and you know you are dreaming. And yes, I have gotten ideas for plots, characters, books that way.
I think alarm clocks may be the enemy of dreams. Back when I was awakened by one every morning, my eyes would fly open and I would start thinking, “Okay, today is Tuesday. I have to …”
But now I wake up when I wake up and there is nothing to destroy that dream state where strange things happen and you know you are dreaming. And yes, I have gotten ideas for plots, characters, books that way.
Most of my remembered dreams are stories I have been dreaming. Sometimes they are anxiety stories and sometimes comedies. All of them fall apart when I wake up, because the connections between events in the dream diasppear when I wake up.
On the other hand, when I go to sleep with a problem bothering me, I often wake up with a solution or a start of a solution in my mind. So the sleeping mind does sometimes work for me.
Most of my remembered dreams are stories I have been dreaming. Sometimes they are anxiety stories and sometimes comedies. All of them fall apart when I wake up, because the connections between events in the dream diasppear when I wake up.
On the other hand, when I go to sleep with a problem bothering me, I often wake up with a solution or a start of a solution in my mind. So the sleeping mind does sometimes work for me.
Most of my remembered dreams are stories I have been dreaming. Sometimes they are anxiety stories and sometimes comedies. All of them fall apart when I wake up, because the connections between events in the dream diasppear when I wake up.
On the other hand, when I go to sleep with a problem bothering me, I often wake up with a solution or a start of a solution in my mind. So the sleeping mind does sometimes work for me.
Most of my remembered dreams are stories I have been dreaming. Sometimes they are anxiety stories and sometimes comedies. All of them fall apart when I wake up, because the connections between events in the dream diasppear when I wake up.
On the other hand, when I go to sleep with a problem bothering me, I often wake up with a solution or a start of a solution in my mind. So the sleeping mind does sometimes work for me.
Most of my remembered dreams are stories I have been dreaming. Sometimes they are anxiety stories and sometimes comedies. All of them fall apart when I wake up, because the connections between events in the dream diasppear when I wake up.
On the other hand, when I go to sleep with a problem bothering me, I often wake up with a solution or a start of a solution in my mind. So the sleeping mind does sometimes work for me.
I read a book on lucid dreaming that recommended you write down your dream ASAP. This didn’t help with my writing in terms of story ideas, but it seemed to free up my muse a bit when I was feeling blocked.
I read a book on lucid dreaming that recommended you write down your dream ASAP. This didn’t help with my writing in terms of story ideas, but it seemed to free up my muse a bit when I was feeling blocked.
I read a book on lucid dreaming that recommended you write down your dream ASAP. This didn’t help with my writing in terms of story ideas, but it seemed to free up my muse a bit when I was feeling blocked.
I read a book on lucid dreaming that recommended you write down your dream ASAP. This didn’t help with my writing in terms of story ideas, but it seemed to free up my muse a bit when I was feeling blocked.
I read a book on lucid dreaming that recommended you write down your dream ASAP. This didn’t help with my writing in terms of story ideas, but it seemed to free up my muse a bit when I was feeling blocked.
When my children were young, one of my daughters brought me a large glass of orange juice and woke me. (she must have been wanting something special) I was not exactly completely awake. I took the glass and in my dream I was pouring something into a pitcher. I turned over while holding the glass up in the air and poured the entire glass on Mr Wonderful.
He was not a happy camper. That makes for very sticky bedding.
I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.
When my children were young, one of my daughters brought me a large glass of orange juice and woke me. (she must have been wanting something special) I was not exactly completely awake. I took the glass and in my dream I was pouring something into a pitcher. I turned over while holding the glass up in the air and poured the entire glass on Mr Wonderful.
He was not a happy camper. That makes for very sticky bedding.
I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.
When my children were young, one of my daughters brought me a large glass of orange juice and woke me. (she must have been wanting something special) I was not exactly completely awake. I took the glass and in my dream I was pouring something into a pitcher. I turned over while holding the glass up in the air and poured the entire glass on Mr Wonderful.
He was not a happy camper. That makes for very sticky bedding.
I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.
When my children were young, one of my daughters brought me a large glass of orange juice and woke me. (she must have been wanting something special) I was not exactly completely awake. I took the glass and in my dream I was pouring something into a pitcher. I turned over while holding the glass up in the air and poured the entire glass on Mr Wonderful.
He was not a happy camper. That makes for very sticky bedding.
I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.
When my children were young, one of my daughters brought me a large glass of orange juice and woke me. (she must have been wanting something special) I was not exactly completely awake. I took the glass and in my dream I was pouring something into a pitcher. I turned over while holding the glass up in the air and poured the entire glass on Mr Wonderful.
He was not a happy camper. That makes for very sticky bedding.
I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.
Oh, no, … poor Mr. Wonderful!
Oh, no, … poor Mr. Wonderful!
Oh, no, … poor Mr. Wonderful!
Oh, no, … poor Mr. Wonderful!
Oh, no, … poor Mr. Wonderful!
This is me with my jaw hanging open….what a dream!
This is me with my jaw hanging open….what a dream!
This is me with my jaw hanging open….what a dream!
This is me with my jaw hanging open….what a dream!
This is me with my jaw hanging open….what a dream!
I am not a good dream rememberer. Usually there is only a fragment, and if I don’t talk about it to someone right away to fix it in my mind, it disappears. I do sometimes have dreams that include people I knew who have been dead for a very, very long time. My most common dream I think is an anxiety-based dream. I am traveling, whether by plane, train or whatever, and when I turn around I have lost something. Most often my passport, tickets, pocketbook, money, luggage, or I’ve missed my flight or other travel connection, or I’ve lost my way.
Sadly I have never dreamt any poetry!
I am not a good dream rememberer. Usually there is only a fragment, and if I don’t talk about it to someone right away to fix it in my mind, it disappears. I do sometimes have dreams that include people I knew who have been dead for a very, very long time. My most common dream I think is an anxiety-based dream. I am traveling, whether by plane, train or whatever, and when I turn around I have lost something. Most often my passport, tickets, pocketbook, money, luggage, or I’ve missed my flight or other travel connection, or I’ve lost my way.
Sadly I have never dreamt any poetry!
I am not a good dream rememberer. Usually there is only a fragment, and if I don’t talk about it to someone right away to fix it in my mind, it disappears. I do sometimes have dreams that include people I knew who have been dead for a very, very long time. My most common dream I think is an anxiety-based dream. I am traveling, whether by plane, train or whatever, and when I turn around I have lost something. Most often my passport, tickets, pocketbook, money, luggage, or I’ve missed my flight or other travel connection, or I’ve lost my way.
Sadly I have never dreamt any poetry!
I am not a good dream rememberer. Usually there is only a fragment, and if I don’t talk about it to someone right away to fix it in my mind, it disappears. I do sometimes have dreams that include people I knew who have been dead for a very, very long time. My most common dream I think is an anxiety-based dream. I am traveling, whether by plane, train or whatever, and when I turn around I have lost something. Most often my passport, tickets, pocketbook, money, luggage, or I’ve missed my flight or other travel connection, or I’ve lost my way.
Sadly I have never dreamt any poetry!
I am not a good dream rememberer. Usually there is only a fragment, and if I don’t talk about it to someone right away to fix it in my mind, it disappears. I do sometimes have dreams that include people I knew who have been dead for a very, very long time. My most common dream I think is an anxiety-based dream. I am traveling, whether by plane, train or whatever, and when I turn around I have lost something. Most often my passport, tickets, pocketbook, money, luggage, or I’ve missed my flight or other travel connection, or I’ve lost my way.
Sadly I have never dreamt any poetry!
Seems to me I mostly don’t remember my dreams nowadays. I’m sure there’s good stuff in them …
Seems to me I mostly don’t remember my dreams nowadays. I’m sure there’s good stuff in them …
Seems to me I mostly don’t remember my dreams nowadays. I’m sure there’s good stuff in them …
Seems to me I mostly don’t remember my dreams nowadays. I’m sure there’s good stuff in them …
Seems to me I mostly don’t remember my dreams nowadays. I’m sure there’s good stuff in them …
Scientists, who do a good bit of peering into foks’ heads while they dream, say that dearly in the night our dreams are more closely related to real life events. Later they get wild.
So maybe you’re picking up the early subset rather than the end-of-the-sleep-cycle dreams.
I rather wish one could download them somehow for later study.
Scientists, who do a good bit of peering into foks’ heads while they dream, say that dearly in the night our dreams are more closely related to real life events. Later they get wild.
So maybe you’re picking up the early subset rather than the end-of-the-sleep-cycle dreams.
I rather wish one could download them somehow for later study.
Scientists, who do a good bit of peering into foks’ heads while they dream, say that dearly in the night our dreams are more closely related to real life events. Later they get wild.
So maybe you’re picking up the early subset rather than the end-of-the-sleep-cycle dreams.
I rather wish one could download them somehow for later study.
Scientists, who do a good bit of peering into foks’ heads while they dream, say that dearly in the night our dreams are more closely related to real life events. Later they get wild.
So maybe you’re picking up the early subset rather than the end-of-the-sleep-cycle dreams.
I rather wish one could download them somehow for later study.
Scientists, who do a good bit of peering into foks’ heads while they dream, say that dearly in the night our dreams are more closely related to real life events. Later they get wild.
So maybe you’re picking up the early subset rather than the end-of-the-sleep-cycle dreams.
I rather wish one could download them somehow for later study.
I wonder what makes the difference in remembering dreams? I can almost literally watch the dream matters grow faint and disappear, slipping away through my fingers.
Such a waste.
All the pharmaceuticals, and nobody makes pills so folks can take their dreams out of the realms they inhabit and bring them home for breakfast …
I wonder what makes the difference in remembering dreams? I can almost literally watch the dream matters grow faint and disappear, slipping away through my fingers.
Such a waste.
All the pharmaceuticals, and nobody makes pills so folks can take their dreams out of the realms they inhabit and bring them home for breakfast …
I wonder what makes the difference in remembering dreams? I can almost literally watch the dream matters grow faint and disappear, slipping away through my fingers.
Such a waste.
All the pharmaceuticals, and nobody makes pills so folks can take their dreams out of the realms they inhabit and bring them home for breakfast …
I wonder what makes the difference in remembering dreams? I can almost literally watch the dream matters grow faint and disappear, slipping away through my fingers.
Such a waste.
All the pharmaceuticals, and nobody makes pills so folks can take their dreams out of the realms they inhabit and bring them home for breakfast …
I wonder what makes the difference in remembering dreams? I can almost literally watch the dream matters grow faint and disappear, slipping away through my fingers.
Such a waste.
All the pharmaceuticals, and nobody makes pills so folks can take their dreams out of the realms they inhabit and bring them home for breakfast …
You seem to have better acquaintance with your dreams and hold onto them better than I do. I can’t even use them as conversation starters. Rats.
You seem to have better acquaintance with your dreams and hold onto them better than I do. I can’t even use them as conversation starters. Rats.
You seem to have better acquaintance with your dreams and hold onto them better than I do. I can’t even use them as conversation starters. Rats.
You seem to have better acquaintance with your dreams and hold onto them better than I do. I can’t even use them as conversation starters. Rats.
You seem to have better acquaintance with your dreams and hold onto them better than I do. I can’t even use them as conversation starters. Rats.
Weird foretelling dreas …
That’s one of the great uses of dreams that I wish we had more of today.
The best thing about foretelling dreaqms is you got two cadres of dream people employed: You got yer dreamers and then you got your dream interpreters.
Just imagine coming into the office every morning dressed in a dark blue suit, sitting down with a cuppa coffee, and getting on the phone.
“So,” you say. “We’re getting a good many of these ‘Three Men in Black’ dreams these last couple days. Did they have a dog with them? … Yes? A pink poodle. Good. Good.”
(You make notes.)
“Oddly enough,” you say, “we think this has something to do with Manchester United. Get back in touch with us if you remember any more details.”
Weird foretelling dreas …
That’s one of the great uses of dreams that I wish we had more of today.
The best thing about foretelling dreaqms is you got two cadres of dream people employed: You got yer dreamers and then you got your dream interpreters.
Just imagine coming into the office every morning dressed in a dark blue suit, sitting down with a cuppa coffee, and getting on the phone.
“So,” you say. “We’re getting a good many of these ‘Three Men in Black’ dreams these last couple days. Did they have a dog with them? … Yes? A pink poodle. Good. Good.”
(You make notes.)
“Oddly enough,” you say, “we think this has something to do with Manchester United. Get back in touch with us if you remember any more details.”
Weird foretelling dreas …
That’s one of the great uses of dreams that I wish we had more of today.
The best thing about foretelling dreaqms is you got two cadres of dream people employed: You got yer dreamers and then you got your dream interpreters.
Just imagine coming into the office every morning dressed in a dark blue suit, sitting down with a cuppa coffee, and getting on the phone.
“So,” you say. “We’re getting a good many of these ‘Three Men in Black’ dreams these last couple days. Did they have a dog with them? … Yes? A pink poodle. Good. Good.”
(You make notes.)
“Oddly enough,” you say, “we think this has something to do with Manchester United. Get back in touch with us if you remember any more details.”
Weird foretelling dreas …
That’s one of the great uses of dreams that I wish we had more of today.
The best thing about foretelling dreaqms is you got two cadres of dream people employed: You got yer dreamers and then you got your dream interpreters.
Just imagine coming into the office every morning dressed in a dark blue suit, sitting down with a cuppa coffee, and getting on the phone.
“So,” you say. “We’re getting a good many of these ‘Three Men in Black’ dreams these last couple days. Did they have a dog with them? … Yes? A pink poodle. Good. Good.”
(You make notes.)
“Oddly enough,” you say, “we think this has something to do with Manchester United. Get back in touch with us if you remember any more details.”
Weird foretelling dreas …
That’s one of the great uses of dreams that I wish we had more of today.
The best thing about foretelling dreaqms is you got two cadres of dream people employed: You got yer dreamers and then you got your dream interpreters.
Just imagine coming into the office every morning dressed in a dark blue suit, sitting down with a cuppa coffee, and getting on the phone.
“So,” you say. “We’re getting a good many of these ‘Three Men in Black’ dreams these last couple days. Did they have a dog with them? … Yes? A pink poodle. Good. Good.”
(You make notes.)
“Oddly enough,” you say, “we think this has something to do with Manchester United. Get back in touch with us if you remember any more details.”
I sometimes think it’s better to just not investigate the world of dreams too carefully.
On the other hand, it may just have been a reminder to self to ask hubby to pick up lamb chops for Sunday dinner …
I sometimes think it’s better to just not investigate the world of dreams too carefully.
On the other hand, it may just have been a reminder to self to ask hubby to pick up lamb chops for Sunday dinner …
I sometimes think it’s better to just not investigate the world of dreams too carefully.
On the other hand, it may just have been a reminder to self to ask hubby to pick up lamb chops for Sunday dinner …
I sometimes think it’s better to just not investigate the world of dreams too carefully.
On the other hand, it may just have been a reminder to self to ask hubby to pick up lamb chops for Sunday dinner …
I sometimes think it’s better to just not investigate the world of dreams too carefully.
On the other hand, it may just have been a reminder to self to ask hubby to pick up lamb chops for Sunday dinner …
me too.
The business of setting a story problem or a life problem aside for the night is very useful. Somehow you just wake up with new insights.
Has to be something to dow with dreams.
me too.
The business of setting a story problem or a life problem aside for the night is very useful. Somehow you just wake up with new insights.
Has to be something to dow with dreams.
me too.
The business of setting a story problem or a life problem aside for the night is very useful. Somehow you just wake up with new insights.
Has to be something to dow with dreams.
me too.
The business of setting a story problem or a life problem aside for the night is very useful. Somehow you just wake up with new insights.
Has to be something to dow with dreams.
me too.
The business of setting a story problem or a life problem aside for the night is very useful. Somehow you just wake up with new insights.
Has to be something to dow with dreams.
Might be the shock of sudden awakening. Might be not getting quite enough sleep when you’re in the nine-to-five job.
And then there’s the sort of dream where you conscientiously awaken and get dressed and go into the kitchen and put the water on for tea …
and then it turns out you’re still in bed and the alarm is ringing.
Might be the shock of sudden awakening. Might be not getting quite enough sleep when you’re in the nine-to-five job.
And then there’s the sort of dream where you conscientiously awaken and get dressed and go into the kitchen and put the water on for tea …
and then it turns out you’re still in bed and the alarm is ringing.
Might be the shock of sudden awakening. Might be not getting quite enough sleep when you’re in the nine-to-five job.
And then there’s the sort of dream where you conscientiously awaken and get dressed and go into the kitchen and put the water on for tea …
and then it turns out you’re still in bed and the alarm is ringing.
Might be the shock of sudden awakening. Might be not getting quite enough sleep when you’re in the nine-to-five job.
And then there’s the sort of dream where you conscientiously awaken and get dressed and go into the kitchen and put the water on for tea …
and then it turns out you’re still in bed and the alarm is ringing.
Might be the shock of sudden awakening. Might be not getting quite enough sleep when you’re in the nine-to-five job.
And then there’s the sort of dream where you conscientiously awaken and get dressed and go into the kitchen and put the water on for tea …
and then it turns out you’re still in bed and the alarm is ringing.
I, too, have continuing dreams. Stories I can visit and revist. Worlds I’ve invented.
I hit them early in the night and sorta kinda remember them.
Nothing that’s ever useful for writing stories though.
I guess it would be too easy to just fall asleep and let my subconscious do all the work.
I, too, have continuing dreams. Stories I can visit and revist. Worlds I’ve invented.
I hit them early in the night and sorta kinda remember them.
Nothing that’s ever useful for writing stories though.
I guess it would be too easy to just fall asleep and let my subconscious do all the work.
I, too, have continuing dreams. Stories I can visit and revist. Worlds I’ve invented.
I hit them early in the night and sorta kinda remember them.
Nothing that’s ever useful for writing stories though.
I guess it would be too easy to just fall asleep and let my subconscious do all the work.
I, too, have continuing dreams. Stories I can visit and revist. Worlds I’ve invented.
I hit them early in the night and sorta kinda remember them.
Nothing that’s ever useful for writing stories though.
I guess it would be too easy to just fall asleep and let my subconscious do all the work.
I, too, have continuing dreams. Stories I can visit and revist. Worlds I’ve invented.
I hit them early in the night and sorta kinda remember them.
Nothing that’s ever useful for writing stories though.
I guess it would be too easy to just fall asleep and let my subconscious do all the work.
I should do that.
I used to keep a notebook by the bed when I was getting a lot of work done. It wasn’t so much for grabbing story ideas as for making note of stuff that crossed by mind when I was still half awake. Hypnagogic state, they call that.
Had to write the stuff down because if you fall asleep without doing so you lose it. The same suppression that tidies your dreams away, grabs this stuff too.
I should do that.
I used to keep a notebook by the bed when I was getting a lot of work done. It wasn’t so much for grabbing story ideas as for making note of stuff that crossed by mind when I was still half awake. Hypnagogic state, they call that.
Had to write the stuff down because if you fall asleep without doing so you lose it. The same suppression that tidies your dreams away, grabs this stuff too.
I should do that.
I used to keep a notebook by the bed when I was getting a lot of work done. It wasn’t so much for grabbing story ideas as for making note of stuff that crossed by mind when I was still half awake. Hypnagogic state, they call that.
Had to write the stuff down because if you fall asleep without doing so you lose it. The same suppression that tidies your dreams away, grabs this stuff too.
I should do that.
I used to keep a notebook by the bed when I was getting a lot of work done. It wasn’t so much for grabbing story ideas as for making note of stuff that crossed by mind when I was still half awake. Hypnagogic state, they call that.
Had to write the stuff down because if you fall asleep without doing so you lose it. The same suppression that tidies your dreams away, grabs this stuff too.
I should do that.
I used to keep a notebook by the bed when I was getting a lot of work done. It wasn’t so much for grabbing story ideas as for making note of stuff that crossed by mind when I was still half awake. Hypnagogic state, they call that.
Had to write the stuff down because if you fall asleep without doing so you lose it. The same suppression that tidies your dreams away, grabs this stuff too.
Having small kids in the house is enough to make anyone walk around half asleep.
I join you in the hope that everyone’s being careful. These are particularly hazardous days.
Having small kids in the house is enough to make anyone walk around half asleep.
I join you in the hope that everyone’s being careful. These are particularly hazardous days.
Having small kids in the house is enough to make anyone walk around half asleep.
I join you in the hope that everyone’s being careful. These are particularly hazardous days.
Having small kids in the house is enough to make anyone walk around half asleep.
I join you in the hope that everyone’s being careful. These are particularly hazardous days.
Having small kids in the house is enough to make anyone walk around half asleep.
I join you in the hope that everyone’s being careful. These are particularly hazardous days.
My anxiety dreams, not that I remember them well, are sometimes work-related – reports that haven’t been finished or presentations I’m not prepared for. Nothing that worries me when I wake up.
But then there are the ones about the kids. Those are the nightmares. Unfortunately those are exactly the ones I DO remember. It seems so unfair
My anxiety dreams, not that I remember them well, are sometimes work-related – reports that haven’t been finished or presentations I’m not prepared for. Nothing that worries me when I wake up.
But then there are the ones about the kids. Those are the nightmares. Unfortunately those are exactly the ones I DO remember. It seems so unfair
My anxiety dreams, not that I remember them well, are sometimes work-related – reports that haven’t been finished or presentations I’m not prepared for. Nothing that worries me when I wake up.
But then there are the ones about the kids. Those are the nightmares. Unfortunately those are exactly the ones I DO remember. It seems so unfair
My anxiety dreams, not that I remember them well, are sometimes work-related – reports that haven’t been finished or presentations I’m not prepared for. Nothing that worries me when I wake up.
But then there are the ones about the kids. Those are the nightmares. Unfortunately those are exactly the ones I DO remember. It seems so unfair
My anxiety dreams, not that I remember them well, are sometimes work-related – reports that haven’t been finished or presentations I’m not prepared for. Nothing that worries me when I wake up.
But then there are the ones about the kids. Those are the nightmares. Unfortunately those are exactly the ones I DO remember. It seems so unfair
Jo, I never used to remember my dreams until I started following Dorothea Brande’s writing method, part 1 of which is to write for the first 15 minutes of every day. You’re allowed to go to the loo, but other than that, you don’t “engage with the day” until after your 15 minutes of writing.
What you write is free — stream of consciousness, dreams, thoughts for the day, whatever. I found that doing this really helped me remember my dreams.
The other thing is in the semi-dream state, not quite asleep, not quite awake, I’ve had a lot of the scenes in my books, and ideas for books come to me. Often they’re pivotal scenes.
Jo, I never used to remember my dreams until I started following Dorothea Brande’s writing method, part 1 of which is to write for the first 15 minutes of every day. You’re allowed to go to the loo, but other than that, you don’t “engage with the day” until after your 15 minutes of writing.
What you write is free — stream of consciousness, dreams, thoughts for the day, whatever. I found that doing this really helped me remember my dreams.
The other thing is in the semi-dream state, not quite asleep, not quite awake, I’ve had a lot of the scenes in my books, and ideas for books come to me. Often they’re pivotal scenes.
Jo, I never used to remember my dreams until I started following Dorothea Brande’s writing method, part 1 of which is to write for the first 15 minutes of every day. You’re allowed to go to the loo, but other than that, you don’t “engage with the day” until after your 15 minutes of writing.
What you write is free — stream of consciousness, dreams, thoughts for the day, whatever. I found that doing this really helped me remember my dreams.
The other thing is in the semi-dream state, not quite asleep, not quite awake, I’ve had a lot of the scenes in my books, and ideas for books come to me. Often they’re pivotal scenes.
Jo, I never used to remember my dreams until I started following Dorothea Brande’s writing method, part 1 of which is to write for the first 15 minutes of every day. You’re allowed to go to the loo, but other than that, you don’t “engage with the day” until after your 15 minutes of writing.
What you write is free — stream of consciousness, dreams, thoughts for the day, whatever. I found that doing this really helped me remember my dreams.
The other thing is in the semi-dream state, not quite asleep, not quite awake, I’ve had a lot of the scenes in my books, and ideas for books come to me. Often they’re pivotal scenes.
Jo, I never used to remember my dreams until I started following Dorothea Brande’s writing method, part 1 of which is to write for the first 15 minutes of every day. You’re allowed to go to the loo, but other than that, you don’t “engage with the day” until after your 15 minutes of writing.
What you write is free — stream of consciousness, dreams, thoughts for the day, whatever. I found that doing this really helped me remember my dreams.
The other thing is in the semi-dream state, not quite asleep, not quite awake, I’ve had a lot of the scenes in my books, and ideas for books come to me. Often they’re pivotal scenes.
A little more than 10 years back my husband and I started discussing a story about clans of shapeshifters living in the future on what was roughly the area surrounding the property we still own in NW Washington state. I started a computer Word file and every time an idea that connected to the story came up I added it to the file. Finally one night I had a dream about a girl waking up from sleeping on an old couch at the Rogue River Rest Stop in Oregon [currently the Rogue River Safety Rest Area]. A tall man standing in the doorway says, “I am the courier come to take you to your destination.” That dream became the beginning of the opening chapter of Shifters Sun: the Journey, the first book in what I call my Shapeshifters soap opera, a tale of clans of shifters, native tribes and various other “Normals” building a new world after the devastation brought about by The Year of Shaking and Burning some 50 years before this meeting. Roughly 1500 pages, 2 finished, one almost done books poured out after that dream. Powerful stuff dreams.
A little more than 10 years back my husband and I started discussing a story about clans of shapeshifters living in the future on what was roughly the area surrounding the property we still own in NW Washington state. I started a computer Word file and every time an idea that connected to the story came up I added it to the file. Finally one night I had a dream about a girl waking up from sleeping on an old couch at the Rogue River Rest Stop in Oregon [currently the Rogue River Safety Rest Area]. A tall man standing in the doorway says, “I am the courier come to take you to your destination.” That dream became the beginning of the opening chapter of Shifters Sun: the Journey, the first book in what I call my Shapeshifters soap opera, a tale of clans of shifters, native tribes and various other “Normals” building a new world after the devastation brought about by The Year of Shaking and Burning some 50 years before this meeting. Roughly 1500 pages, 2 finished, one almost done books poured out after that dream. Powerful stuff dreams.
A little more than 10 years back my husband and I started discussing a story about clans of shapeshifters living in the future on what was roughly the area surrounding the property we still own in NW Washington state. I started a computer Word file and every time an idea that connected to the story came up I added it to the file. Finally one night I had a dream about a girl waking up from sleeping on an old couch at the Rogue River Rest Stop in Oregon [currently the Rogue River Safety Rest Area]. A tall man standing in the doorway says, “I am the courier come to take you to your destination.” That dream became the beginning of the opening chapter of Shifters Sun: the Journey, the first book in what I call my Shapeshifters soap opera, a tale of clans of shifters, native tribes and various other “Normals” building a new world after the devastation brought about by The Year of Shaking and Burning some 50 years before this meeting. Roughly 1500 pages, 2 finished, one almost done books poured out after that dream. Powerful stuff dreams.
A little more than 10 years back my husband and I started discussing a story about clans of shapeshifters living in the future on what was roughly the area surrounding the property we still own in NW Washington state. I started a computer Word file and every time an idea that connected to the story came up I added it to the file. Finally one night I had a dream about a girl waking up from sleeping on an old couch at the Rogue River Rest Stop in Oregon [currently the Rogue River Safety Rest Area]. A tall man standing in the doorway says, “I am the courier come to take you to your destination.” That dream became the beginning of the opening chapter of Shifters Sun: the Journey, the first book in what I call my Shapeshifters soap opera, a tale of clans of shifters, native tribes and various other “Normals” building a new world after the devastation brought about by The Year of Shaking and Burning some 50 years before this meeting. Roughly 1500 pages, 2 finished, one almost done books poured out after that dream. Powerful stuff dreams.
A little more than 10 years back my husband and I started discussing a story about clans of shapeshifters living in the future on what was roughly the area surrounding the property we still own in NW Washington state. I started a computer Word file and every time an idea that connected to the story came up I added it to the file. Finally one night I had a dream about a girl waking up from sleeping on an old couch at the Rogue River Rest Stop in Oregon [currently the Rogue River Safety Rest Area]. A tall man standing in the doorway says, “I am the courier come to take you to your destination.” That dream became the beginning of the opening chapter of Shifters Sun: the Journey, the first book in what I call my Shapeshifters soap opera, a tale of clans of shifters, native tribes and various other “Normals” building a new world after the devastation brought about by The Year of Shaking and Burning some 50 years before this meeting. Roughly 1500 pages, 2 finished, one almost done books poured out after that dream. Powerful stuff dreams.
Sounds like it’s a great story. Dreams can be such an inspiration.
Sounds like it’s a great story. Dreams can be such an inspiration.
Sounds like it’s a great story. Dreams can be such an inspiration.
Sounds like it’s a great story. Dreams can be such an inspiration.
Sounds like it’s a great story. Dreams can be such an inspiration.