Where do those dreams originate?
Posted 8/28/02

Are you a day dreamer or a night dreamer?
My life at this point doesnít allow me to be much of a day dreamer, but at night my subconscious goes into overdrive.
Iím still surprised when people tell me they donít dream or they canít remember their dreams. I have at least three to four dreams every night and remember most of them.
I even used to keep a dream journal for some of my more bizarre nighttime journeys.
Of course, I have many of the standard chasing dreams - typically someone or some "thing" is chasing me more than Iím doing the chasing.
Thereís also about three different houses I dream of repeatedly and, of course, the old "looking for a bathroom" dream. I always seem to find the bathroom, but refuse to utilize it because itís often a college auditorium filled with commodes in the open!
I can somewhat understand these dreams that take shape during REM sleep, but why do I dream about someone from my past whom I wasnít even close to?
It makes me wonder...are they having the same dream?
It really is a strange phenomena - this dream thing. Why canít we shut off our brains?
What makes our subconscious take over and dream such odd things? Is it the food we eat or the events that take place throughout our day?
According to a book I have, called "Encyclopedia of Dreams," although society instills the fear of punishment in us for violent actions, it cannot stop us from having the thoughts in the first place, so we experience them in dreams instead.
I guess that explains why I chase people or shadows in my nighttime brain wanderings.
The book also offers reasons as to why we dream about particular things, everything from cabbage to laundry to ink to remarrying.
According to this book everyone dreams, we cannot live without dreaming and we dream in color. Dreaming is a kind of safety valve, the book says, because it allows us to live out our secret desires, including those which are completely secret, as well as our hopes, our fears and frustrations.
So that may explain those embarrassing intimate dreams we have about co-workers or acquaintances. Isnít it freaky the next time you see that person after having one of those dreams? I pray they canít read my mind or notice my cheeks turning red!
So what about those dreams where you swear it really happened? Iíve called and talked with people on the phone in my dreams and thought for sure the next day I really spoke with them. No wonder people think Iím crazy.
I personally think the reason we dream is so our brain can take a little fantasy vacation. Letís face it, the brain is working constantly and maybe it decides it needs a little break.
We nod off and the brain says, "Hey, tonight letís go to a little old house in Italy, weíll chase around a dark shadow, meet up with our third grade teacher, cook up some shrimp and then go to a ëRocky Horror Picture Showí party."
Although, maybe if I had some free time to daydream, I wouldnít have such bizarre night dreams!