Dreams, dreamscapes, and the power of dreaming

Our cat, up from a window ledge cat-nap

When we sleep, we dream. It's something we all do. But, dreams hold a special kind of fascination for many people. They want interpretations, understanding, and occasionally feel something prophetic happened. I've never seen any strong reasoning about why we dream, though it appears without dreams (REM sleep) that our bodies don't actively rest. So, without dreams we go a bit psycho. That's a great story concept, which authors have used to great effect before.

Anyway, it amazes me how powerful the dreaming experience can be. There are stories about people even dying due to dreams, or seeing Heaven, meeting ghosts, or seeing things that haven't happened yet. I'm not sure what the sleeping mind is up to, but the result has a strong effect on the dreamer. After all, why else would we wake in a cold sweat, heart pounding, scared out of our minds, yet have hardly any recollection of what we dreamt. And, the times we do remember, it's like we only catch the high points, as the strands of the dream flutter away.

To me, the mind is tossing and connecting and churning our life experiences into some kind of mental stew. What comes out is anyone's guess, but it sure is entertaining. Perhaps there's some truth that our brains are attempting to work out solutions to problems we had the previous wakefulness. I don't have a clue. But, the power of those dreams is undeniable. I don't doubt our world is filled with dreams worked into reality. People do such things constantly. We are a rascally lot.

We live. We play. We dream.

- M