Dream 556

'Arguing with my Nan'

Dream date: 28 January 2016

Scene 1: My Nan's House, Sheringham - Night
I was in my Nan's house in Sheringham and it was night, although I did not see outside the house to confirm this. I was sitting in the chair beside the door to the hallway and my nan was sitting on the sofa. In the room were 2 uncles by marriage - AF and BJ - who are divorced and estranged from the family, both for infidelity and other more serious issues which I will not detail in this Blog out of respect to my aunts and cousins. AF is HM's stepfather/SAF1 and SAF2's father (ex-husband of VF, my mum's youngest sister); and BJ is my cousin CAJ's father (ex-husband of my aunt CJ). There were other family members - including my cousin JC1 - in the kitchen. My Nan wanted to use the internet on a laptop. She asked if she could use my smartphone as a 'hotspot' for internet access and I said she could and I would set it up. My Nan then gave me a £20 note which I placed on the table. I thought that this would be useful as it covered my train fare back to Norwich and also my food for the next day. My Nan started to look up a website about prawns/shrimps on the laptop. AF was also using a laptop. He said something (I cannot remember what), but this caused me to disagree strongly with him and he was mocking me. To my surprise, my Nan started to side with him against me (this would never happen in real-life - my Nan once threw BJ out of her house - bearing in mind he lived on the other side of the country and was hungover - whilst my ex-boyfriend and I were also staying, because BJ had made racist comments; my ex-boyfriend was a person of colour and I am mixed-race and my Nan obviously wanted to defend and protect us from the racism).

My cousin JC1 tried to keep the peace, telling me that it was OK and I should not get angry. My Nan was laughing and I started arguing with her, telling her that she shouldn't treat me in this way. I then noticed that the £20 was gone from the table. My Nan said: 'Yes, I took it back'. I was angry about this and wondered why, as it was so out of character for my Nan, who is very generous with what little money she has because she knows that I struggle with finances and we are a working-class family who try to help each other out when we can. I started trying to convince myself that it was not worth getting upset about because in the grand scheme of things I had enough money in my own bank account to pay for my train fare and food and I should not fall out with my Nan over money (I never ever would do this, I am so grateful to her for how she helps me out without ever expecting repayment). The situation felt very uncomfortable and I wanted to leave.

TIME: 21:00 - 05:00 hours (I am not sure when this dream took place)

LUCIDITY: NO

SPECIAL NOTES: NONE OF NOTE

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• My estranged uncles were at my Nan's house, even though in real-life they would not be welcome
• My Nan would never use a computer or want to access the internet as she does not understand technology
• I would not know how to use my phone as a hotspot for the internet

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• My Nan's house as a dream scene location

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• I had recently spoken to my cousins JC1 and also CAJ separately
• I am visiting my family over this coming weekend, for JC2's (JC1's younger brother) 18th birthday party - HM and her family will be there
• I am aware that a certain person invited to the party holds racist views and I think I am anxious that I won't hold my tongue if he makes any controversial or hateful remark in my presence; I know he holds these views based on comments he has made on Facebook. This worry is clearly in my mind prior to attending the party

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
This dream wasn't particularly enjoyable because it involved a family feud and my uncles who I would not want to spend any time with. The most interesting thing about this dream was how significant the fact my Nan was researching prawns/shrimps seemed to be - I remember seeing a huge image of a prawn on the laptop screen and this seemed to be very important in the dream.

* I have forgotten some aspects of this dream, but if I recall them later, I will record them below.

14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment - Art Star! (Dream Analysis 3)

I will be analysing the dreams I have as part of this Dream Incubation Experiment as I progress through the 14 day period. If you want to read the introductory post for this experiment, please click on this link; if you want to be directed to the main Index & Summary page, which contains links to all posts and videos for this particular Dream Incubation Experiment (and also my previous Dream Incubation Experiments), then please click on this link.

As part of my analysis I will be gathering the data from my dreams. I started this particular method of visual analysis during my Lucid December challenge and I found it was very interesting to produce graphs and charts which display the data and trends/patterns. My second analysis covers Days 1 - 8, although there was no dream recorded from Day 1 and other days during this period. Note that my dream analysis is cumulative - so the charts I produce cover all dreams which took place up until the date on which the analysis takes place. This means that not only will the new data from the most recent dream be collected, but also included is the previous data which has already been analysed. 

Note that I am not a professional expert when it comes to managing or organising data - and this is not intended to be empirical research. Therefore, where more than one theme occurs in a dream, it may produce a number of data entries - so in one dream, it may be day (sunny); evening (rainy) and unknown time/weather conditions - so this dream would be recorded as a combination re time and weather. There may be a very prominent colour which features in a number of scenes of the same dream - this would be recorded as 1 occurrence per dream. For emotions & thoughts, a number of different emotions/thoughts may have occurred in the same dream and will be recorded separately.

If you wish to see my post for 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment - Art Star! (Dream Analysis 1), please click on this link; and for 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment - Art Star! (Dream Analysis 2), please click on this link.

Analysis of Days 1 - 14

This was a really interesting Dream Incubation Experiment. In total, across the entire period of 14 days, I had 13 dreams, although there were a number of days when I had no dream at all, and a couple of days when I had 2 dreams because I took an afternoon nap. 

I would not consider that this Dream Incubation Experiment has been a complete success, because I did not have a single dream in which I was an 'art star', but there were certainly references to art in my dreams during this period, and on one occasion (Dream 553) there was an indication that I was a published author, who was a better writer than I was a visual artist. This subconscious realisation might explain why I was unable to incubate a dream in which I was an artist.

There were a number of interesting recurrent dream themes/symbols in the dreams I had during this period. These are the ones which stood out in particular to me looking at my data from this experiment:

• Shops
• RBA as a dream character
• My Nan's house as a dream scene location
• The colour yellow
• Feelings of abandonment and loss

Dream 555 (LUCID FALSE AWAKENING)

'There's a Shark on the Ceiling!'

Dream date: 24 January 2016 (Normal Full Sleep)

Day 14 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 14 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment. This is the second dream I had on this date, as I had one during an afternoon nap - see Dream 554.

Scene 1: My Bedroom, Norwich - Night
I woke up in my bed. I could hear a low buzzing noise in the room. It was dark - as I would expect it to be. I tried to move and found that I had sleep paralysis - and I was instantly aware that this was a false awakening and I was still asleep and dreaming. My first thought was that if I could fight the sleep paralysis and move my 'dream body' I could get out of bed and experience this as a full lucid dream - hopefully with some control. I was trying to move, but I was unable to. The duvet was also in my face and I could not move it away. I was getting frustrated as I could not break through the sleep paralysis and was stuck laying on my back, with the duvet over my nose and mouth (although I could breathe normally). I looked up at the ceiling and found it was a lot less dark than the room had seemed when I first 'woke up'. There was a grey shark hanging upside down on my ceiling, above my bed. I did not feel scared because I was fully lucid and the shark was not a threat to me in any event - it was not moving. I must have fallen back asleep.

Scene 2: My Nan's Back Garden, Sheringham - Day
I was then in my nan's back garden, with Courtney Love and Kendall Jenner. It seemed that we were all friends. However, I pushed Kendall over onto the path which runs down the centre of the garden. She looked very small laying on the floor - almost child-sized. I started to scratch her, while Courtney watched. I could see that I had left red scratch marks on Kendall's face. However, I did not mean to hurt her - I am not sure what I was doing, but it didn't feel malicious. I decided I should take photos of the incident on my mobile phone. Courtney and Kendall both posed for a photograph. I then heard myself say to someone (unseen/unrecalled): 'It's weird how they know each other' (meaning Courtney and Kendall). I was showing the photos of Courtney posing by some bushes and Kendall with the red scratches on her face.

TIME:  02:00 - 11:30 hours (The first part of the dream - the false awakening felt like it occurred just after I fell asleep, but I am not sure if this is what really happened. I am not sure when the rest of the dream took place as I did not appear to seamlessly transition from the false awakening into the second part of the dream)

LUCIDITY: YES: Full lucidity during false awakening

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. 100 mg Vitamin B6 taken
6. NO Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• The incident with Courtney Love and Kendall Jenner

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• My Nan's house/garden in Sheringham as a dream scene location

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• I had seen (separate) online articles relating to both Courtney Love and Kendall Jenner on the day of this dream

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
This was a very strange dream experience - and the first false awakening I have had in a long time. Interestingly, this was the fastest I have ever become lucid during a false awakening. It seemed like only seconds passed between 'waking up' and realising I was actually still asleep and dreaming. I wish I could have transformed this experience into a full lucid dream, so it seems like a wasted opportunity.

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream does not in any way appear to be related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment.

Dream 554

'I Can't Text!'

Dream date: 24 January 2016 (Afternoon Sleep)

Day 14 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 14 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment. 

Scene 1: An Interior, Location Unknown - Time Unknown
I was in a domestic interior, unknown to me in real-life, although it felt familiar in the dream. I was with AM (a Facebook friend), although he looked slightly different in the dream - his hair was curly. I was on a date with AM and the fact surprised me as I had not considered that this would happen (in the dream I was aware I had met him on Facebook). AM and I were sitting on a bed in this room, indicating that it was probably a bedroom, although I cannot recall much about the surroundings other than this. AM was telling me about his children (AM has children in real-life). 

I then received a text from my boss, DT, angry with me, because I was supposed to start work at 04:00 hours (4:00 am) and I had failed to do so. I was stressed and panicked, and decided that I should text DT with an excuse about why I had not started work on time. I thought the best excuse would be that I had been in hospital. I tried to text on my smartphone, but I could not use the touchscreen and all the words were nonsense. I said to AM: 'I need a burner phone. The only phone I can use is a Nokia 3310'. AM said that he would text the excuse to DT on my behalf and took the phone from me. I started waving my hands in the air, saying: 'Yeah! 3310!' and felt very excited about the thought of this basic old-fashioned mobile phone. AM showed me the text he had composed. It said: 'I don't care!' I was annoyed, because this was not a good text to send my boss when I had missed work and needed to remain on good terms with him. I said to AM: 'You're not helping!' and took the phone from him, trying my best to write a meaningful text to DT, at the same time feeling annoyed that AM had tried to send a rude text knowing I was stressed. 

I am not sure how the text incident resolved, because AM and I then left the room and went into the hallway. The hallway had tables and chairs. My mum was sitting on a chair, with her back to a staircase. In front of her was a glass table. Other people were sitting around the table. My mum said proudly: 'My daughter has a black boyfriend!' She was smiling. I said: 'No, he's Asian' but my mum simply said: 'You're children will be mixed race' (this would always be true, regardless of their father, because I am mixed-race myself). I walked over the AM who was sitting adjacent to where my mum had been sitting, with 2 young males, dressed in urban clothing. I knew these males were Facebook friends, involved in the hip hop scene, but I could not put a name to their faces in the dream. I wondered who they were. AM said: 'I need to go with the boys to sort something out, but I will be back in a minute'. I tried to stop him going, because I felt that he was abandoning me, but he reassured me that he would return shortly. He got up, and he and the 2 male dream characters walked through a double-set of glass doors, which were just behind where he had been sitting. 

Scene 2: A Canal, Location Unknown - Day
I was then with AM again, although he became RBA shortly after I realised AM had returned. One minute I was thinking 'he's back like he said he would be' and the next moment I looked at him and realised he was RBA. We were beside a canal in a suburban or rural area. I could see houses and trees in the surrounding area. The weather was sunny and bright. We started to walk up a small flight of stairs by the side of the canal, while discussing the singer Jessie J. RBA said she was 'pretty but stupid' and I agreed that she was stupid, but said 'her face looks like a robot'.

TIME:  17:00 - 20:30 hours (I woke up from this dream)

LUCIDITY: NONE

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. NO Vitamin B6 taken
6. NO Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• I was unable to text on a smartphone
• AM became RBA

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• RBA as a dream character
• Fear of loss/abandonment as a dream theme

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• I may have seen AM post something on Facebook although I am not sure
• RBA had told me around the time of this dream that he was unwell (flu)
• I may have seen something about Jessie J online, but I cannot remember for certain - I know I saw an article about her after I woke up from the dream, but I may have also seen it prior to this sleep and just not remembered it clearly

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
There were no specific waking thoughts or emotions connected to this dream, although I did think it was a very weird dream. Even though nothing very bizarre or odd happened, the feeling of the dream was unusual. I experienced extreme confusion and panic in the dream and I also felt a very strong connection to AM.

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream does not in any way appear to be related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment.

Dream 553

'The Worst Gym Ever'

Dream date: 23 January 2016 (Normal Full Sleep)

Day 13 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 13 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment. This is the second dream on this date as I had one recorded from my afternoon nap - Dream 552 (click on link to read this dream).

Scene 1: An Interior, Location Unknown - Night
I was in a domestic interior, unknown to me in real-life, although it felt familiar in the dream. I was standing in a room which may have been a lounge or kitchen (I am not sure, but it wasn't a bedroom) and was looking out of a large window, while I talked to RBA who was also present with me. I then saw a tall, thin, mixed-race (black and white) male - in his 20s - approach the window. I invited him inside and was aware that I had a romantic/sexual interest in him - I was attracted to him and wanted to spend time with him. I opened the window and he climbed into the room. I asked RBA to leave, which he was not happy about, but he did so - walking out of a door to the left of the window, which we were all standing in front of. I felt happy to be alone with the new male dream character and thought that it was nice of RBA not to cause a fuss when I told him to leave. I then started talking to the male dream character, who I knew very well in the dream (although he is not someone I know in real-life and I cannot recall his name in the dream if I was ever aware of it in the first place). I then became aware that he and RBA were the same person even though they had been 2 separate people a moment before. I was confused about how this happened and the dream character male said: 'You wanted me to leave so I became him', which also confused me. I said: 'Are you RBA?' to which he said: 'Yes, but this is the dream version of him'. I did not become lucid, even though this dream character was clearly telling me that I was in a dreamstate. The male told me he had to leave and I wanted him to stay. I was begging him to stay and keep me company, and he agreed that he would, which made me happy. 

Scene 2: A Gym, Location Unknown - Time Unknown
I was then in a gym. It was very large and dark. Other dream characters were there, working out and I was using 2 machines - a cross-trainer and also a machine which looked like a large pink padded rectangle, the size of a mattress, balanced at a 45 degree angle, with a bar which you hooked your legs over. The exercise motion was leaning forwards and backwards at the waist, which caused the machine to tilt in the same direction - this was a leg and butt workout in the dream. I was alternating between these two exercise machines, which were next to each other. I realised DL was with me. He was using the cross-trainer. I started to use the cross-trainer next to him, and found that I was OK at going forwards, but everytime I tried to do the reverse motion, I would get thrown over the handlebars onto the ground. I said to DL: 'Mine doesn't go backwards!' I decided to use the leg and butt machine, but became trapped upside down on it. I looked towards the left (while in this uncomfortable upside down position) and noticed a partition, behind which was a row of wooden bars mounted on the wall and a pile of white towels on the floor. My nan approached from this area and said: 'We need to leave now'. I said: 'I need to do more exercise', but I was aware that she was impatient and did not want to wait, so I decided to leave with her. 

Scene 3: A Charity Shop, Location Unknown - Day
My nan and I were then in a large charity shop which only sold clothing and accessories. I was looking at the many secondhand handbags which were sold in the shop (I did not seem to be interested in the many rows of clothing). Inside each handbag were half-used items of makeup - some of them very expensive brands. I wondered if it would be OK to still use these cosmetics as they were very tempting. My nan was talking to the shop assistant - a middle-aged female with dark hair. I realised - suddenly - that this shop assistant had worked in a different charity shop, in Sheringham, previously. This charity shop was a 'dream' one, not a real-life one and I thought: 'It's an imaginary charity shop I dreamed of before' (I searched my Blog for dreams involving charity shops and found that the dream in question was Dream 254 from 3 June 2014 - I have not had cause to think of this dream since it took place). I was taking a long time to look in each of the handbags - my nan was waiting for me to finish.

Scene 4: The Living-room in my Nan's House, Sheringham - Day
I was then in my nan's house. I had several of the handbags from the charity shop with me - I had obviously bought them. I started looking in the bags for the cosmetics and found there was some expensive foundation, but the shade was far too dark for me. I kept sifting through the items. My nan was standing in the hall and was again waiting for me impatiently. She said: 'Hurry up!' and I responded by telling her I was trying to. I then saw 2 books resting on the arm of the sofa - they were both yellow with black writing on the cover, almost identical, although one was much thicker than the other. Both were square in shape, and had many pages. I noticed that I was the author of both books. One of the books was a novel and the other was a book of collected poetry. My nan said: 'You are more of a writer than an artist...' 

I woke up.

TIME:  03:00 - 13:30 hours (I woke up from this dream)

LUCIDITY: Pre-Lucid (I was told by a dream character that they were the 'dream version' of one of my real-life friends; and I 'remembered' that a dream character had appeared in a different, earlier dream (dream déjà vu) although I did not become fully lucid - see below)

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. NO Vitamin B6 taken
6. 2 Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• RBA and the male dream character were the same person, even though I saw them as 2 separate people initially - I was also told that the male dream character was the 'dream version' of RBA
• I realised that the female shop assistant was a dream character from a previous dream
• I was a published author

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• RBA as a dream character
• A shop as a dream scene location
• My Nan's house in Sheringham as a dream scene location

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• I had done a butt workout shortly before I went to sleep and had this dream
• About a week before this dream I had told my friend LD2 that I found it really hard to reverse the motion on a cross-trainer when we were discussing gym workouts
• I had been watching makeup tutorials and reading makeup websites just before I went to sleep and had this dream
• On the day of this dream I had told DL that I would like to launch a makeup range just for people with darker/black skintones as I feel they aren't being properly catered for by the cosmetics industry and there is a clear gap in the market
• I bought a book on the day of this dream
• While in the city on the day of this dream, I had thought about a friend from Sheringham - RP - who has written 2 books which have been published and sold locally. Strangely, RP features in Dream 254 (he worked in a charity shop in this dream), although I had no idea/memory of this connection until I found the previous dream for the purposes of writing this Blog post

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
This dream felt really significant and I am pretty certain that I was close to becoming lucid due to the references to dreams and dreaming/previous dreams in this dream. This dream was very complex on a number of levels, described above. I woke up very happy to have experienced such a vivid dream with such interesting references to a previous dream, which were actually much more deep and multi-layered than I first thought when I woke up.

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream appears to be very vaguely related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment - perhaps it reflects a subconscious awareness that I am a better writer than visual artist? It may be that my dream was trying to tell me that I already am an artist of sorts, because literature/poetry is an art in itself? 

Dream 552

'Please Call Your Brother for Me'

Dream date: 23 January 2016 (Afternoon Nap)

Day 13 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 13 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment.

Scene 1: A Bedroom, Location Unknown - Night
I was in a bedroom - this was my room, but not a real-life one. It was a normal room. I was trying to contact my ex-boyfriend, PS on my mobile phone, but the only number I had for him was out of service and was dead. I felt annoyed because I thought this meant I would never be able to speak to him again. 

I left the room. I was in a hallway. The hallway was very well lit - bright yellow light. There was an open doorway a few meters away and I could see (unidentified) people in this room. Along the (white) wall between my bedroom and the doorway/other room were 3 pillowcases (purple - recognised as my own) pinned to the wall, about 1 meter from the floor. The floor was polished wood and just below the pillowcases was a large yellow cushion - it was a dog's bed. I thought it might belong to N, PS's dog. I started to pull the pillowcases off the wall - they were tacked to the wall with drawing pins and so were easy to remove. I wondered why they were pinned there in the first place.

Scene 2: The Living-room at my Nan's House, Sheringham - Night
I went downstairs and found myself in my Nan's living-room. In the chair beside the kitchen door, someone was sitting with a black duvet covering them, including their face. I said: 'Hello?' and the person pulled the duvet down. It was JGH, PS's teenage sister. She was wearing a spiky metal headband and her hair was styled in loose waves. I thought she looked very pretty. Balanced on a chair in front of her was a laptop, playing a documentary. I asked her what she was watching and she turned the screen to show me that it was a documentary about the notorious TV celebrity, posthumously revealed to be one of the nation's most prolific child sex offenders/paedophiles, Jimmy Savile (1926 - 2011). I was surprised, because I 'remembered' watching the same documentary a short while ago, when I was upstairs in 'my bedroom'. I said: 'That's a coincidence!' I then begged JGH to use her mobile to call PS for me, assuming she has an up-to-date and working phone number for him. She did: it ended in the digits '360'. As soon as she got PS on the line, she handed me the mobile. I said: 'Hi, I was worried I'd never be able to contact you...'

My mobile phone (Facebook message alert) then woke me up from the dream.

TIME:  17:00 - 18:00 hours (I woke up from this dream which occurred during an afternoon nap)

LUCIDITY: Pre-Lucid (I 'remembered' watching the Jimmy Savile documentary - this was something which happened in real-life - see below)

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. 100 mg of 'dream supplement' Vitamin B6 taken
6. NO Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• None of note

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• None of note

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• PS had his Facebook deleted (due to a refusal to use his real-name on his account) - I do however have 3 separate phone numbers for him in case I need to contact him
• I have the purple pillowcases on my bed at present
• The day of this dream I bought a true crime book on Jimmy Savile and I had been reading this just before I took my nap. When I laid down to take a nap, I started to watch a documentary on Jimmy Savile (my laptop balanced on my chair beside my bed) - and fell asleep while it was playing. I woke up just after it had finished, so it had played throughout my dream and influenced my subconscious

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I found it really interesting that my dream was influenced by the content of the documentary which was playing on my laptop during this nap. I also found the symbolism of the pillowcases and duvet quite significant.

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream appears to be very vaguely related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment in a way, because JGH is at art college and is a very talented artist - PS often posts images of her artwork online. I therefore associate her with art.

Dream 551

'Hotel Room Food'

Dream date: 22 January 2016

Day 12 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 12 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment.

Scene 1:Hotel Room in Glasgow, Scotland - Evening
I was in the hotel room which I stayed in when I went to Glasgow (November 2015) for Strathclyde University Law Conference (a Travelodge). I was sitting on the bed and RBA (who met me in Glasgow, which is his local area) was with me. The headboard of the bed was like a shelf (white) and on this was a tray of sandwiches, cakes and other delicious snacks. RBA and I were excited to eat the snacks and put the tray on the bed to start eating them. Suddenly, the door of the room opened and in came 2 females (white, middle-aged). I was aware that one of these women was my stepdad's ex-wife (RM) and the mother of my step-bother, although she looked different (but I don't know her personally and have not seen her in over 15 years, so this did not surprise me). The 2 women were carrying suitcases and it appeared that the hotel room had been double-booked, meaning RBA and I had to leave. 

Scene 2: A Bus Stop Location Unknown - Evening
I was then standing at a bus stop, although I am not sure where I was. I am not sure if RBA was with me at this point in the dream. The bus was parked by the bus stop and there were members of public standing at the stop, but not boarding the bus. It was dark (so evening, but not late night) and the weather was rainy. I was standing beside a young white female who had a baby/young child in a pushchair. She threw some eggs at the side of the bus, causing them to splatter and make a mess. I was watching, wondering why she was doing this pointless act of vandalism. She was laughing.

Scene 2: A Domestic Interior, Location Unknown - Evening
I was then in a domestic interior, which I did not recognise from real-life. This was the location RBA (who was with me again) had been forced to relocate to after being removed from the hotel. I was whining at my mum, who was also present, about the loss of the food, which was 'Afternoon Tea' and I was pestering her to go and collect the tray of food for us to enjoy. This seemed to be more important to me than the fact we had been thrown out of the hotel. My mum was hesitant to go and collect the food, given that her husband's ex-partner was in the room, but I convinced her to go and get it. My mum must have left and gone to the hotel, but it did not seem as though much time passed before she came back with the tray of food for us, which pleased me.

TIME: 02:30 - 11:00 hours (I woke up from this dream)

LUCIDITY: None

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. 100 mg of 'dream supplement' Vitamin B6 taken
6. 3 Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• None of note

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• RBA as a dream character
• My mum as a dream character
• Female dream character with baby at bus stop

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• 2 days before this dream, my stepdad mentioned to me (on Facebook) that he was upset not to be a part of his grandchild's life - his ex-wife and son have excluded him and my mum for no reason
• My previous experience in the hotel
• The fact RBA and I got some snacks/junk food to eat while in the hotel 
• The day before this dream I had discussed Afternoon Tea with one of my students

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I had no particular waking thoughts and emotions about this dream.

* I have may have possibly forgotten some aspects of this dream. If I recall anything else at a later stage, I will record it below

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream does not appear to be related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment in a way.

Dream 550

'My Cousins are Dead'

Dream date: 21 January 2016

Day 11 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 11 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment.

Scene 1: An Unknown Interior, Sheringham - Time Unknown
I was in an interior - a domestic premises, although I do not recognise it from real-life. I knew it was Sheringham - the town where my family live because various members of my family who live in that area were present. I think I was in a kitchen, as there was a dining table (dark wood). The room was dimly lit. I received a telephone call on a landline phone. I was told - I am not sure by whom - that 3 of my cousins (BH, BJ and BD) were dead. There were no other details. I did not feel upset - because the 3 cousins were actually second cousins, 2 of whom I have not seen in a long time. I was quite shocked however, and told my mum - in a sense, it seemed that I was attention-seeking and looking for sympathy. My mum said that it 'did not matter' because these were her first cousins, not mine and it shouldn't affect me. 

I cannot recall anything else about this dream.

TIME: 03:30 - 09:30 hours (I woke up from this dream when my alarm clock sounded)

LUCIDITY: None

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. 100 mg of 'dream supplement' Vitamin B6 taken
6. 4 Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• None of note

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• None of note

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• None of note

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I did not have any particular waking thoughts or emotions about this dream.

* I have definitely forgotten some aspects of this dream. If I recall anything else at a later stage, I will record it below

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream does not appear to be related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment in any way.

Dream 549

'Vinegar Flowers'

Dream date: 20 January 2016

Day 10 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 10 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment.

Scene 1: Back Garden of my Nan's House, Sheringham - Day
I was in the back garden at my nan's house in Sheringham. It was a sunny day. I had a jar of vinegar and I started pouring it on the ground - into the dirt of the flowerbeds, although they were bare (no plants or flowers growing). 

Some time passed.

I went back into the garden (I cannot recall where else I had been). It was now the next day. The garden was a jungle of flowers - huge ones, which were taller than me. In particular, I was looking at some blue ones which were growing in the middle of the garden. The heads of the flowers were bigger than dinner plates. I thought that it must have been the vinegar which caused the flowers to grow. I started to walk back to the house and on the way saw that there was a pile of flowers on the grass outside the 'front room' window - my nan had started to chop some of them down. I wondered why.

I have forgotten some further details of this scene.

Scene 2: An Unknown Interior, Location Unknown - Time Unknown
I was drawing some pictures, using pencil on white A4 sheets of paper. One of the pictures was of snowflakes and included a figure. There were some lightening bolts between the snowflakes and the figure. I told someone (unrecalled) that I was designing sweatshirts.

TIME: 20:00 - 04:30 hours (I woke up from this dream after having a very bad night sleep)

LUCIDITY: None

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. 100 mg of 'dream supplement' Vitamin B6 taken
6. 4 Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• The huge flowers which grew overnight

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• None of note

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• None of note

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I woke up from this dream in a good mood, although I think I have forgotten some parts of it. I just really enjoyed the first scene where I watered the garden with vinegar and caused a huge jungle of flowers to grow as it was a beautiful experience.

* I have definitely forgotten some aspects of this dream. If I recall anything else at a later stage, I will record it below

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream appears to be related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment in a way, because it involved me drawing (so therefore, making art). However, this was not the most significant part of the dream - the scene with the flowers in my nan's garden seemed to be more interesting and left more of a lasting impression on me.

Dream 548

'Cat Child'

Dream date: 19 January 2016

Day 9 of 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment

This is Day 9 of my 14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment. Click on the red link to access the article which explains the experiment.

Scene 1: An Unknown Interior, Location Unknown - Time Unknown
I was watching an episode of South Park which featured the 'Scott Tenorman' character. I cannot really recall what happened in this scene as I could only see the action - no screen was in view, it was as if I was watching the animation take place in the same location (unknown) that I was in, although I knew I was watching a TV show.

Scene 2: My Former Childhood Home, Pine Grove Sheringham - Day
I was then in the hallway of my former childhood home, in Pine Grove, Sheringham. I was looking at the bottom stairs. There was another person, or perhaps 2 people with me, but I cannot recall who they were. On the second or third stair was a very small female child - about the size of a cat. The girl seemed to be half human, half cat, with sharp teeth and claws. The face of the child had scratches - as if she had been in a fight. She was curled up - again, resembling a cat. As we looked at the child, it hissed and tried to scratch me with her claws, making me jump back. I wasn't scared, but I was concerned, because I thought the cat-child was a danger which should be removed from the stairs before she could attack someone.

Scene 3: A Rocky Hill, Location Unknown - Day
I then watched a scene happen from a distance. It was an outside location - with a huge hill made out of gravel/rubble (see below).  It was a cloudy day. Walking up the mound/hill (from the left of my vision) was Jessie Wallace, who plays 'Kat Slater/Moon' in Eastenders. Jessie was wearing hiking gear and was carrying a backpack.

TIME: 03:00 - 08:30 hours (I woke up from this dream)

LUCIDITY: None

SPECIAL NOTES:  14-Day Dream Incubation Experiment:

1. MILD Technique 
2. Tholey's Combined Technique
3. Dream Incubation methods
4. Dream Visualisation methods
5. 100 mg of 'dream supplement' Vitamin B6 taken
6. 4 Reality Checks
7. No WB2B

Dream Information:

• None of note

Dreamsigns:

• The cat-child

Recurrent Dream Themes:

• None of note

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

• The day before this dream I had a conversation with DL about a documentary (Lost Soul (2014)) RBA had recommended to me (I asked him what his favourite documentary was). He told me it was one about the disastrous making of the movie, The Island of Dr Moreau (1996), starring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer. I mentioned that there was an actor who was due to play a cat-human hybrid who was fired from the movie production in favour of a midget actor, at the whim of the stars who were creating problems on set. I mentioned to DL that the plot of the movie reminded me of the character 'Dr Mephesto' on South Park, who has a has a homunculus companion, 'Kevin'. The Dr Mephesto character is actually based on 'Dr Moreau' (played by Brando). I then referenced the South Park episode, 'Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut' in which Dr Mephesto tried to help Cartman find out the identity of his father by DNA testing. This led me to mention 'Scott Tenorman'. 
• The day before this dream I had read an online article about celebrities with 'freak' body parts - in particular. the fact Ke$ha was born with a 'tail' (an extra section of spine) which had to be removed.
• The day before this dream I saw the Juergen Teller photograph of Kim Kardashian reclining on a pile of rubble (see below) which was released last year.

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
This was such a strange dream - and was quite complex in the symbolism, particularly relating to cats. The influence of day residue was also very clear in this dream.

Interpretation/Analysis:

This dream does not appear to be related to the theme of my Dream Incubation Experiment in any way. 

Proust Questionnaire

I thought it would be fun to complete the famous Proust Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, originally answered by French writer, Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922) in 1890. The questionnaire is often given to notable public figures, especially writers, artists, actors and other celebrities working in intellectual or creative fields. I have never answered this questionnaire before, so my answers given in this post are the first time I have completed this task. 

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

The freedom to live without restrictions or responsibilities.

What is your greatest fear?

Disease and ageing.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Apathy.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Ignorance/narrow-mindedness.

Which living person do you most admire?

Tracey Emin.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Cannabis.

What is your current state of mind?

Frustrated.

What do you consider to be the most overrated virtue?

Virtuousness.

On what occasion do you lie?

When police/authorities could hold the truth against me.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

My bone structure.

Which living person do you most despise?

As a misanthrope, I could not narrow it down to one single person after 15 minutes thought about this question. Anyone who possesses the traits I most despise with the addition of power and influence.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Sense of humour.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Sense of humour.

Which words of phrases do you most overuse?

Fuck, cunt, dick, like, erm/umm, oh my God!

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Nip, my ex-boyfriend's dog.

When and where were you happiest?

1999 - 2003: living in Manchester, just prior to my  undergraduate years at University of York, and the period of my degree there. I was experimental with fashion, was a vocalist in 2 hardcore bands and had more dedication to my education and physical health as well as having a very active social life. It also marked my first taste of adult independence, which I adapted to very well.

Which talent would you most like to have?

The ability to sing or dance well enough to make it a career.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I'd be more ambitious and driven to fulfil my potential.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Remaining in education my entire life and attaining the number of qualifications I have, despite never having any available money to support myself and having the most chaotic adult life. I don't think anyone would have predicted this when I was younger.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

The Marilyn Monroe or the Beyonce of that generation.

Where would you most like to live?

Downtown New York or the West End of London.

What is your most treasured possession?

My laptop because it connects me to the world. I don't care much for material things.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Clinical depression.

What is your favourite occupation?

Cooking for someone else.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Lack of a verbal filter/social inappropriateness.

What do you most value in friends?

Loyalty/trust.

Who are your favourite writers?

Vladimir Nabokov, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Irvine Welsh, Matthew Collings.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Tank Girl and Jill Tyrell from Nighty Night.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Andy Warhol.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Chris Morris.

What are your favourite names?

Tallulah, Lola, Lila, Delilah, Crystal, Jade, Liam, Serj, Francis, Freddy.

What is it that you most dislike?

Ageing and discrimination/prejudice.

What is your greatest regret?

Wasting past opportunities to better myself or my life.

How would you like to die?

Pain and disease-free, in my sleep while I'm still young enough to leave an attractive corpse.

What is your motto?

Take me as I am.