The Lingering Effect of Dreams...

So, I was just driving home, after running a couple of errands, and I was listening to "Fresh Air" on NPR. Terry Gross is interviewing some screenwriter, and he was off on a riff about how sometimes the "aftertaste" of dreams can linger a whole day (or more), and sometimes just freak you out.

Wow, I says. Yes, that has certainly happened to me. It's often the case that my dreams are so real, that when I wake up, I really am not sure what is real and what is dream (and whether there's any difference anyway, truly, if reality is all in the mind). A "bad" dream can totally flip me out for a day or two, and a good dream can buffer me against whatever BS happens to fly my way all day. Weird.

I once read a book, can't remember when or by who, which posited that, when we're asleep, and "dreaming", our astral bodies or spirits or whatever you want to call them, are actually out, in some second dimension, doing whatever it is that we're dreaming. Now THAT is one weird concept. Particularly when one has, ahem, "delicate encounters" with others in dreams that, in real life, one would NEVER EVEN THINK ABOUT!!! Whew... And, are those people who we meet in dreams, also out gallivanting in their astral selves? I mean, this is the kind of thinking that can wrack your brain. It's like when I was young, and I used to think about where the universe ends. I mean, it has to end somewhere, doesn't it? Or does it? Hmmmm.... More extreme brain damage.

Anyway, the dream thing really has got me going. I know that, sometimes, I'll act in a way that is totally reflective of my dream, and not at all connected to the "real" world. That has led to some interesting things, from time to time. It has also disconcerted friends and family no end, I fear. Sorry, friends and family, I really am.

Last evening, had a total emotional meltdown. Again. I don't think I can blame a dream for that. But, I do point to my "gut" feelings, or intuition, as setting the stage. Over the decades, I have learned to really trust and rely on my intuition to tell me when something is afoot. I've disregarded it (the feeling, the intuition) often, and sometimes I was wrong, but more often than not, I've lived to regret not listening to the little man who lives in the gut. So, I have a feeling something is brewing, and it could be bad, or not, but it's a change. Like in the original "Mary Poppins" book... she can tell when the wind is going to change, and that change will bring changes to everyone's lives. (You know, that really was not a children's book, I don't care; and I'm still wildly irritated at the Disney-ization of that story... They treacled it out of all recognition...) I sense a change in the wind coming, and I don't know what to do about it. The thing is, when the wind changes, you can't "do" anything at all about it. The wind blows as it blows. The ancients knew that, and knew to respect it. Me, I'm a modern girl, and every once in a while, I forget about the ancient wisdom and set my sails in a way that the boat she is going to capsize.

Oooh, I am getting all woo-woo. No, not really. I ought not make fun of my feelings and intuitions. They are there for a reason. I didn't used to be all flipped out about change. But then, I grew up and became a control freak. There you have it. I need to step back and just let the wind blow. I'm flexible and bendable, and I'll survive and live to see another day.

Make sure you-all have your shutters fastened. It's going to be a bumpy ride.