Dream 416

'Marilyn Monroe Thesis'

Dream date: 21 April 2015

I was in a bookshop or some other dark environment which was filled with bookshelves. The atmosphere was crowded and dusty. There were several middle-aged male dream characters (unknown to me in real-life) who were all university professors. They were dressed very stereotypically - in tweeds and cords, wearing glasses etc. One of them was my PhD supervisor (not my real-life supervisor who is a much younger man). I told him I wanted to change my thesis topic and said I was now going to do a history-based topic, which he seemed to approve of. I then thought that since it was so easy to convince him that I should change my topic, that I should actually pick a subject which really interests me - Marilyn Monroe. I told my supervisor this. He asked me how I would find enough source material to do a thesis on Marilyn Monroe. I saw an image of my actual desk in my Norwich home, above which are shelves full of all the major books on Marilyn Monroe. I said: 'I have all of the Marilyn Monroe books'. My supervisor and the other professors seemed to agree that I would probably have enough knowledge/reference sources to do a thesis on Marilyn Monroe, but I was asked how I would sell the idea to the law school who provide my PhD funding. 

I then thought to myself: 'This dream is very fragmented'. I did not become fully lucid, but I did wonder why the dream was fragmented and kept featuring visions of my Marilyn Monroe books interspersed with the scene inside the bookstore.

I was then asked again how I would find enough information on Marilyn Monroe, and I replied (again): 'I have all of the Marilyn Monroe books'. 

I sat down at a desk and realised that there was no way to connect Marilyn Monroe with legal academia/law, which would present me with problems in justifying my new thesis topic.

TIME: 07:00 - 11:00 hours (I am not sure when this dream took place)

LUCIDITY: Semi-lucid (I recognised that this was a dream)

SPECIAL NOTES: None of note

Dreamsigns:

• My PhD supervisor was a different person to real-life (IA - Inner Awareness/F - Form)
• The idea that I can change my thesis topic at this stage of my PhD (A - Action/C - Context)

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• Education & learning institutions as a dream scene location

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• Generally thinking about how dull my PhD thesis topic is for other people - a fact I mentioned to RBA during a conversation. I said words to the effect of: 'I am writing a 100,000 word thesis which no-one except my supervisor and examining panel will read'.
• I am always thinking about my icon, Marilyn Monroe.
• On the day of this dream, DL and I were looking at a market stall which sells second-hand books. I had previously bought a Marilyn Monroe book from this stall and I always check for new books in second-hand book places. DL had said to me: 'You already own all the Marilyn Monroe books!'
• I am planning a novel (with the theme of dreaming) and the day of this dream had wondered whether my main character should be writing a thesis on Marilyn Monroe (as she is also a postgraduate student, although I have yet to determine her discipline/subject).

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I note that I was semi-lucid in this dream, and it frustrates me that I did not become fully lucid. I recognised that this was a dream sequence, but was not fully conscious. However, this was still a beneficial experience as I did not try to induce lucidity, so any at all is a bonus. 

* I think I have recalled the entire dream.