Off to Dreamland

Do you ever have control of your dreams?

I had an interesting dream the other night. It was long. It was detailed. And I was trapped in it.

I was in a theater, an opulent plush opera style theater, scurrying about preparing for the opening curtain of a stage show. I knew what show it was when they brought the beast out and chained him in place - King Kong in New York! I watched them settle the beast into his restraints, marvelling at his calm. But I knew it could go very wrong.

Once the play began, I had a sudden realization. I wasn't just a helper. I was supposed to be in the show! I was one of the actors – I believe my role was the Apostle Paul, although why he was a character in a King Kong play I don’t know.

Panic! Oh no. I don’t know what my lines are, or what my cues are, or why I’m not in costume or makeup. Oh, no! I’m suddenly and instantly in a great panic. I race around the theater trying to find a script so that hopefully I can suddenly recall what my lines are. Because I know, oh yes I know, what will happen if I fail to enter on cue, and I bring the show to a halt, and I disturb the beast. You’ve seen the movie. You know what happens when you disturb the beast!

So, I’m trapped in this dream and I’m in a panic. Highly distressed. Tossing and turning. For a long time. Racing around the theater trying to find a script. And I did the only thing I knew how to do:

I woke myself up. I willed myself to end the dream, and I did. I told myself “I’m not going to have this dream." - and I woke up! I woke up with my heart racing, but I was awake and I was free of the dream.

After a few minutes I had a stark realization: this was a work related dream! I knew it. The play was a metaphor for an important meeting that I had coming up. And the panic was because I wasn’t prepared for the meeting. (Too coherent a thought for a sleepy guy, but true.)

You can guess what happened when I went back to sleep. I dreamed about the meeting! Again, in great detail. I saw the meeting room. I saw the participants. And I talked my way through the solution that the meeting needed to come to. So, I …..

Woke up again! And I realized that my issues with the meeting were solved and I knew what needed to be accomplished. I was refreshed. I was relieved.

So, having been through two dreams that I had some degree of control on, I set my mind to going back to sleep and having a third dream.

I wanted a sex dream this time. Hot and heavy. With a fantasy girl. Maybe someone I had seen on TV that night. Maybe Kelly Preston from “Jerry McGuire”. Nice. (Who can forget that scene where she's naked and bouncing on Jerry's lap and saying "If you ever want me to be with a girl for you I would....") Maybe Kelly LeBrock from “Celebrity Fit Club”. Still looking good. Maybe the girl from the American ice dancing team at the Olympics. Hot! Any or all - probably at the same time. As long as I’m in control, I just wanted a sex dream.

Off to sleep I went, expectant, and……eh, no go on the sex dream. A bunch of gibberish and mishmash until the alarm went off. Damn. No sex.

Oh, well. I had some input on two out of three dreams that night.

So, do you ever have control of your dreams?