More on dreams (or should it be "Moron Dreams?")

Dreams have always been a mystery to me. I am of the belief that they share some deep meaning, that they are a portal into the depths of our minds, which we are not able to consciously explore. Our deepest thoughts come to life in our dreams. Our unconscious fears present themselves in a desperate attempt to be recognized. Our unknown desires beg to be pursued. That being said...I believe my mind and body have always tried to share my dreams with others as these dreams unfold. As a child, I would often sleepwalk. I'd wander into my parents' room and awaken them, striking up a midnight conversation. I once remember waking from a dream where I'd been frustrated that I couldn't get my Nintendo to work. The next morning my mother told me how I'd made my way into their room, still asleep, and kept begging them to "Just get it set up! Just get it started for me!"

Most of the time, dreams occur simply in the mind. The body lies asleep while our dreams play themselves out in the mind only. This has not always been the case with me. I remember once in high school when I woke up physically acting out my dream. It was the first night back in my own bed after a 10-day trip to Europe. I'd spent 3 days in England, touring London and the surrounding English countryside. We'd visited, among other things, the palace at Windsor. We then took a ferry across the Channel into France. There we spent time in St-Malo, Tours, and Paris. In approaching Paris, we travelled up the Loire valley, stopping to see several medieval castles. It was amazing, and le chateau de Chenonceau was the one that really blew me away. Anyway, long story short, that first night back home, as I was getting in bed I flipped on the Discovery channel. They were running a program on European castles. Several of the castles we'd toured were on the show, which put me into a mood of instant nostalgia. Inevitably, as I slept that night, I dreamt of being back in these castles. In one of my dreams, I was in a castle. I was poking around one of the small bedrooms, when all of a sudden a trap door came down. I was stuck in this room, unable to escape. I began to pound on the wall with both hands, hoping to alert someone as to my presence in the room. I then woke up from the dream, finding myself kneeling on my bed, pounding on the wall with both hands. Amused and a little embarrassed, I crept back into bed and fell back asleep.

On at least one occasion I pulled another fellow sleeper into my dream. My junior year in college, I shared a room with Eric, a good friend since our year together in the freshman dorm. One night, as I slept, I dreamt that Eric and I were playing together in a rock band. We were at a practice session, working out some new songs. I told Eric, the other guitarist in the group, that perhaps he should try playing the bridge like this, instead of how he'd been playing it. I was then awakened by the real-life Eric, from across the room. I looked over and saw him propped up on one elbow, eyes squinting, shouting angrily, "What!?! No! No way, man! No way!" He then rolled back over and went to sleep. The next morning I told him about our little interaction. He was quite entertained by the story, but had no memory of it happening.

The third, and so far final, interactive dream I've had took place at my parents' house after moving into my first apartment in PA. Michaelene and I had gone back to visit for a long weekend. I was staying in my old bedroom, fondly nicknamed the cave for both its darkness and lack of heat. Since my departure, the cave had been converted into a part-time guest bedroom and part-time exercise room, housing my parents' elliptical trainer. That night, I dreamt of being lost in a dark cave (a bit ironic, I must say). I was desperately trying to find my way out of this cave, when all of a sudden I saw a stream of light coming in through an opening ahead. In retrospect, I've figured out that this is where I began crossing over into consciousness. The light I saw was actually the light coming in through the edge of window not covered by the shade. In my dream I began to run toward this light, my salvation. In real life I jumped out of bed and began to run toward the window. After a few feet I came to an abrupt halt, as I ran head-on into the elliptical trainer and bounced backward onto the floor. I awoke with an intense pain in my right hip from one of the two impacts. I got back in bed, but didn't manage any more sleep. The combination of pain and frustration with the oddness of my life kept me awake.