By JOEL VERNIER
I was settled into my “Comfy Chair” deep into REM sleep, which for me, means dreamland. Dreaming is a state of existence that has been wondered about, analyzed, questioned, denoted as mystical, prophetic, and just downright fun for eons of human existence.
Wikipedia states that a dream is a succession of images that usually occur involuntarily in the mind of certain stages of sleep. They can be fun, romantic, scary, vivid, bizarre, and thought-provoking.
Sometimes I wake up during my dream. I even have had times I like a dream so much; I quickly try to go back to sleep to continue or finish my dream. Sometimes it works!
Sometimes we can dream multiple times in one night or nap. I have dreamed about flying and floating in the air. I often have dreamed about floating and moving around by flapping my arms even to go high above the clouds.
Nightmares are not a frequent occurrence in my dreams, but they have happened. When my daughter was younger, I had a nightmare about an unseen evil force that was chasing her. I intervened and blocked the creature from getting her. At that point, we both woke up and realized we were in a shared dream! It seemed so real, and everything turned out okay. That only happened once, but I remember it like it was a moment ago.
Lots of things can influence my dream state.
Medication can cause unusual dreams. Alcohol, eating before bedtime, physical or emotional stress, just about anything can change dreaming. I used to have a job that required me to fly frequently all over the county doing management and sales workshops.
Even to this day, I have dreams about being in a hotel somewhere and not remembering what room my workshop was going to be in. I would literally run around the hotel looking for the right room, and no one in the hotel knew anything about it.
I have dreamed I woke up in the wrong city and the wrong hotel and was trying to figure out how to explain that to my boss. That never happened in real life, but I often would do workshops in five different cities at five different hotels.
I have enjoyed dreams about being with people that have passed, and yet in my dream, we would spend time together, often doing things like fishing, or being chased by bad guys or just enjoying a Sunday breakfast together.
In my dreams, I remember thinking how is this possible, but I never asked them, I just enjoyed the time and I would feel a wonderful glow all the next day.
I have been on a diet most of my life. I must admit I have dreamed about a heavenly bountiful buffet, with incredible foods, racks of lamb, filet mignon, turkey with all the trimmings, and of course, tables of desserts. I could enjoy the food, never getting full, and wondering why there were no calories in any of the delicious morsels I was consuming. And no, I never dreamed of eating a big marshmallow and then waking up and missing a pillow.
I must say that I never have dreamed of a year, quite like 2020. COVID ravaging the world, my country in lockdown, everyone wearing masks. Insurrections in some of our cities.
In my lifetime, I felt that people were coming together and enjoying diversity in all aspects of our human existence. There is a movement against our police departments and a society that seems lost in greed and entitlements. I guess I would classify 2020 as a nightmare. I hope I wake up soon and have life return to normal, instead of the “New” Normal! I think I will try to get back asleep and wake up to a better world.
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – © Joel M. Vernier 04/12/2020 Author of: “The Guinea Pig in The Freezer.” joelmvernier@aol.com
