Showing posts with label dream text/numbers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dream text/numbers. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 July 2019

Dream 1015 (DREAM CHAINING)

'Robbery of my Boyfriend's Sidepiece While he Dreams of a Pigeon'
Date: 24 July 2019
DREAM #1
Scene 1: A Large Interior - Time Unknown
This dream seemed to take place in the same location, which was a large interior, very reminiscent (looking back with hindsight) to a prison-themed game I started playing on Roblox. It was on one level and very spacious, with grey walls and not much furniture or decor. You could walk around corners, some of which were quite dark and had benches or other very basic items (chairs etc). The location also seemed reminiscent of a high school corridor too. I was with EW (an 18 or 19 year old white male, who was a former friend of my friend AK and therefore someone I was on fairly friendly terms with). There was some kind of party going to be held in this building. EW and I were walking around, not in a particularly happy mood. Something (I cannot recall what) was bothering/troubling us and we were walking in a somewhat confused, directionless way. I recall EW having a red backpack and a white T-shirt.

I walked off by myself and turned a corner, to find AJR lying on a bench/bed built into the wall. Sat astride him - in a sexual way, although both were clothed - was my colleague VV (Italian postgraduate student). They were to my left. This area very much reminded me of my old high school corridor. It was quite dark in this area too. I was horrified that AJR was cheating on me with VV. He had a very stupid, dreamy look on his face. In the dream I realised that this meant that he was wishing to own a pigeon - and this led me to the conclusion that he wasn't really cheating on me with VV, doing sexual things with her symbolised him 'wanting a pigeon'. However, I was still not happy, if a little relieved that he didn't want to have sex with VV for the purpose of sexual fulfilment. I wanted to get revenge on VV. I grabbed her by her hair and pulled her off AJR, to the ground. I then demanded she give me all of her cannabis and money - I robbed her. I felt extremely powerful and pleased. AJR also seemed pleased with me, and I told him in a forceful way: 'I'm not a mug'. This seemed to be a very positive aspect of the dream. 

I then went to find EW again. We ended up in what was a very yellow room down the hallway, which had a table in it. The yellow might have been lighting and/or the colour of the walls. I saw a fern hanging on the wall for decor and this made me aware that this was a kitchen/dining area. I somehow become aware that HT (AJR's mum) had been in the Magistrates Court for a motoring offence (reckless or dangerous driving - however, HT's mum does not drive). I don't think HT was present, I think I found out some other way. I was able to see the Prosecution (CPS) papers (I may have had the actual papers or I might have seen these on my mobile phone screen - I seem to recall it being the latter). The papers were also yellow and were written out like text messages (although it is often a huge dream sign to try and read text in a dream, I recall the words looking 'normal' in this dream. Here is my article 'Reading in Dreams' and here is another on 'An Introduction to Dream Speech'). The text was very large and in a weird font - like a 'Halloween' or 'creepy/spooky' font, with slightly jagged edges, which could be used to brand a horror-themed product. The text was in the centre of the 'page' and had large gaps between each sentence/paragraph, which meant not much fit on each page. I think I was reading these from my mobile phone, as I think I 'scrolled' to flick through the 'pages'. The text represented the submissions from the Prosecution/CPS lawyer, who I knew was a male (I am not sure how - maybe I recognised his name on the 'papers'). he submissions were just a series of extremely bad language - swearing and threats. The word 'fucking' appeared a lot. I was horrified that the Prosecution/CPS lawyer would be using such extreme and unnecessary language and display such terrible, deeply unprofessional conduct in court and I was very anxious to make a phone call to discuss what had happened, as I felt in shock. I think I might have been calling HT. Whoever I spoke to on the telephone (I cannot recall who it was) told me to look at the last 'paper' - I saw that the text on this page was multicoloured and appeared to be 'digital' as it flickered, like text on a TV screen which had been distorted (look at the thumbnails for the 'Zombieface Horrorshow Series' of videos on my Youtube channel - in particular, the text reading 'Weird Childhood Vol.1' - this is what the text looked like, but the 'horror-style' font, and less stretched/distorted. I realised that due to the Prosecutor's behaviour during the court case (trial), the charges against HT had been dismissed. I was very pleased and relieved about this. 

I then woke up. I was still very sleepy and I wanted to return to this dream, so I continued to visualise the last scene as I fell back asleep. This worked! This is a very basic form of 'dream chaining' although I did not induce a lucid dream this way (the technique for that it known as Dream Exit-Induced Lucid Dreaming of DEILD - I haven't written a dedicated post for DEILD yet, but I did refer to the OBE-Exit Technique in this article and also described a dream chaining experience in Dream 689 - 'My Weirdest Dream Experience' (NIGHTMARE, FALSE AWAKENING, SLEEP PARALYSIS,OBE-EXIT TECHNIQUE, LUCID DREAM, DREAM-CHAINING)').

DREAM #2
Scene 1: A Large Interior - Time Unknown
I found myself back in the interior building, in the grey space (corridor-like) which I had been in in Scene 1 of DREAM #1. I 'knew' that I had returned to somewhere I had been before, as if I knew I had intended to come back to this place, but I was not consciously aware that I was dreaming, and therefore this was not a lucid dream, just some successful dream-chaining and a fairly vivid dream experience. 

I was aware that there was a large, dangerous wolf loose in the building and this made me feel panicked. I knew that I had to find EW to warn him to 'hide his chipmunks' (it seemed that he had pet chipmunks with him, which would be at risk of being killed by the wolf). I did not see the wolf, the chipmunks or EW, but I felt a sense of panic. I began walking alone through the grey part of the building. I saw other dream characters (unrecalled). At the end of one of the corridors was a cello player - male, but cannot recall any other details about him. 

I cannot recall anything else about this dream.

Additional Notes:
  • This dream took place during the period in which I am testing the Awoken Lucid Dreaming App - please click HERE to read my introductory post which provides all relevant information about this app which is designed to help you train your mind for lucid dream induction!
  • On the day of this dream I had watched a Youtube video by Laura Lee in which she mentioned adopting her niece, who has the same first name as EW
  • On the day of this dream I wrote a Facebook comment, defining the legal meaning of robbery
  • AJR and I have a joke about birds - he owns 2 budgies and he always says that he wants to cross-breed them with a chicken to make a 'budgen'
  • A few days before this dream I had a discussion with DL about Lil Yachty who had mixed up a cello and clarinet in his lyrics for Peek A Boo (where he says 'she blow that dick like a cello')



Monday, 11 March 2019

STORYTIME: I DREAMED OF THE FUTURE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MANY YEARS AGO (EVIDENCE PROVIDED!)

Introduction
So, one of the significant reasons as to why my dreamwork suffered over the past few months is my relationships. I would not normally make a post dedicated to relationships (other than those with my dream characters, or where strictly relevant to a dream). Regular readers of my Blog will note the relatively recent references to a person named 'AJR' in my dreams. This is my boyfriend, but more importantly, the love of my life. The primary motivation for sharing private details of our relationship is because I am aware some of the contextual information for my dreams has the potential to cause confusion or intrigue. Secondly, due to the nature of how our relationship developed, I decided to go back through the dream archives to see if there was any indication of AJR appearing in my dreams prior to the start of our relationship, and I found something really interesting (to me: 'mind-blowing'). I therefore need to talk about my relationship with AJR in order to demonstrate the significance of this dream from a number of years ago. 

If this Storytime is too long and rambling (it is very convoluted, despite my best efforts here), and you simply want to read the relevant dream, you can scroll down towards the bottom of the post where I have copy-pasted the text of the dream, or you can visit the actual original post itself, by clicking here - Dream 70. However, I do recommend you read the rest of this post, because some of the content is pretty weird and also - it's a tale of 'True Romance' and 'Fate' and 'the Universe Speaking' and 'Star-Crossed Lovers' etc as well as having a lot of emphasis on Star Wars, quite randomly.

My Relationship with AJR: A Summary
AJR and I first met in 2007, although precise details of timing are unclear. AJR is likely to have better recollection than I do, but I haven't specifically asked him. We generally refer to us as having met '11 years ago' because at the time, we know AJR was 19 years old and I was 25 years old. 

At the time of our meeting, I was working as a prison lawyer and criminal law paralegal while I did my professional legal qualifications. AJR was serving an IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentence. I do not plan to explain what an IPP is in detail (an indeterminate sentence, which is basically a form of 'life imprisonment') or AJR's personal information. Just be aware that IPP sentences are very controversial and no longer available, having been abolished. Many IPP prisoners are languishing in the prison system, unable to obtain parole. A tariff is set (the part which must be served before parole can be considered) and many prisoners received tariffs of a number of months for relatively minor acts of violence, but remained in prison for over 10 years. AJR had been in prison for some time already, and at 19 years of age was 'starred up' meaning he was in the adult side of the prison, not Young Offenders (where he normally would have been, being under 21 years of age at the time).

AJR and I 'met' in the following way. I admit my memory here is very vague, as I met so many different prisoners at that point in my life, and honestly, as much as he will hate this, AJR was of no personal significance to me 11 years ago, despite me liking him a lot and enjoying seeing him each time we had a legal visit because he was cute and had a good sense of humour. 

One day, my law firm asked if I would do a prison law case for a Young Offender (IS) who was in the local YOI. My firm had been/was dealing with a criminal case for IS (my recollection is that he had already been convicted). He had an independent adjudication (District Judge comes into the prison to hear the case) regarding an assault charge against another prisoner. He was running a defence of self defence and wanted me to defend him (we won). I believe this may have been my first ever 'not guilty'/contested adjudication case where I'd be cross-examining witnesses. Anyway, in preparation for the IA, I needed to take instructions from IS, so I arranged a legal visit in the YOI. 

I recall more about this meeting with IS than I do with AJR, possibly because I'd already been working on IS' case file for his Crown Court matter. IS and I had our legal visit in the YOI in an office, which I remember had filing cabinets in it, because a prison officer came in halfway through and asked if we'd been stealing the staff biscuits, which were in the filing cabinet and we'd joked and said IS was known for drug offences, not dishonesty. I recall that after I took IS' instructions for the IA we were discussing music, as IS wrote down the name of his friend's mixtape on the legal papers, after discovering I was a hip hop fan and knew a number of UK-based hip hop artists through my friends/current boyfriend (PS). 

After the legal meeting with IS, I left. Unknown to me at the time (and remaining unknown to me until recent times, when AJR informed me of his version of events), AJR was in the Segregation Unit ('the block') which I was walking through/past. AJR heard noise outside his cell and peeped through the gap between the door/door-frame. He saw me leaving, specifically he says he saw my ass in a tight skirt. He wanted to meet me, and therefore shouted out to IS, thereafter 'forcing' IS to provide him with the details of my law firm so he could make contact. At first, he did not believe IS had given him my real name, as my last name is very long and unique. He contacted my firm, asking for representation from me, and unaware of how he came to be my new client, I arranged for a legal meeting.

If I was asked to describe AJR (prior to us reconnecting and me actually having my memory revived), I would struggle. I would possibly (and this is an assumption, given I can't discredit what I now recall having a template of his face as it is now, relatively the same, just older) have said 'tallish, slim build, white skin, blondish hair'. I did not remember he was from Essex. AJR was in a weird suit when I first met him. The suit was blue and yellow checked. He was made to wear this because he was an escape risk and the suit was designed to make him visible as an escape risk. It was truly awful and this was the first time I'd seen a prisoner in such clothing. AJR told me the legal visit was so I could request he be given his normal clothing back. In fact, he did not care about wearing this suit, as it made him feel 'special' (AJR is, like me, an extrovert, so I understand this). He had invented' his problem solely to get me to visit him. I said I would write to the Governor. After a very short legal discussion, AJR began chatting to me socially. I do not recall the nature of this - or subsequent - conversations, but apparently I told AJR about my relationship with a guy from London (PS) and what PS did; and we also discussed music (AJR was an Eminem fan, and he says we discussed Eminem at length). 

After our first meeting, AJR would constantly contact me asking for representation on a number of matters. I just assumed he was - like most prison clients of mine - wanting some interaction and to stir issues within the prison, using his lawyer as a means of challenging small problems. I would arrange legal meetings, receive letters from him or phone calls to my office. I never ever once felt he fancied me, although he says it should have been obvious given all his 'legal issues' were so minor and invented purely to see me (stuff like his Playstation had been removed or he'd lost a T-shirt and wanted to complain). IPPs/life prisoners do not have IAs (as they can't have extra days added to their sentence on a guilty plea/finding) so it was always matters requiring written representation. AJR can recall outfits and hairstyles I wore 11 years ago. He recalls watching me write legal notes, and then looking away at the wall when I looked up. He'd remain seated at the end of the visit, so he could watch me leave (and check out my ass). On one occasion, he recalls I mentioned I was very tired (maybe he'd commented that I seemed tired) and I'd told him my boyfriend, PS, was staying with me. This led AJR to get jealous, knowing I'd been with my boyfriend the night before and that was why I was so tired. I cannot believe I shared so much personal information with a client (looking back, having been told by AJR), but I guess he was charismatic and I trusted him. He can't believe I didn't know his real intentions, given our legal visits involved less than 5 minutes of legal instructions and advice, and then 55 minutes of hanging out together, talking. He'd go back to his cell and...(as candid as I'm trying to be here, you can use your imagination). Apparently there was a lot of talk about how he fancied me within the prison. His mum has since told me that she and his brother remember my name being mentioned by AJR over the years. 

My last meeting with AJR was in a different, local prison, where he'd been transferred at some point. A new client (I'll call him ABC as I have no recollection of him whatsoever, and he was simply used as a pawn in AJR's grand scheme of getting contact with me) asked me to represent him on an IA involving production/possession of 'hooch' (prisoner-made alcohol from fermented fruit juice). ABC was pleading not guilty and AJR was his star defence witness. AJR was in fact not a legitimate witness - ABC was bang to rights on the charge and was advised by myself that he should plead guilty as he had no legitimate defence from AJR, who was clearly inventing his evidence. ABC and AJR knew this, AJR had simply wanted the opportunity to see me in a private room, to give a witness statement, knowing I'd advise that it wouldn't be useable in the case and I wouldn't need to call him to testify (ABC in fact told me he was always wanting to plead to the charge anyway, so for him it made no difference). I still did not know AJR fancied me or had concocted this scheme to see me. I only found this out in recent times, and yes, I do think it is both creepy and highly romantic at the same time. 

AJR said that he was always waiting for me to give him the 'green light' to make a move on me in a legal visit. Ethically, I would not have done so, but honestly - I wasn't even tempted to do so as I had a boyfriend. He said he wanted to try and play footsie under the table and see if it led anywhere, but I never gave him a sign and he didn't try anything. Looking back, we both wish things were different, but in a way, if I'd known he fancied me back then and acted on it, perhaps life would have turned out differently (I might have regretted it or something might have gone 'wrong' meaning I'd avoid future contact?)

Anyway, sometime thereafter AJR and I lost contact. I stopped working for the law firm and moved to London to live with PS. AJR did a 'grand tour' of the prison system in England. There was no way of contact, even if either of had been minded to try. I forgot all about AJR (so I assumed), and to him, I was just another woman he'd met who he fancied, but never forgot. 

So between 2008/9 and 2018, there was absolutely no contact between AJR and I - it was as if neither of us existed for each other anymore - life moves on. He was one of a large number of former clients and I was just another one of his numerous lawyers over the years. 

In spring 2018 I was dating KU. The relationship was toxic and I was suffering from mental and emotional health issues due to family matters and the effect the relationship with KU (another university student, same age as myself) was having on me. 

Out of the blue I received a Facebook friend request and message from AJR. I didn't know who this was at first, but soon realised. His face appeared familiar to me and then upon re-learning his name, I had more memories (although clearly, not as strong as AJR's). He said that he had seen me as a mutual friend of TW (a friend of his offline). TW had been someone who randomly added me and had no interaction with me, so the fact this was AJR's actual friend and the way he first found me online randomly, is a matter of pure chance. I discovered that AJR was still in prison, this being his 14th year serving the IPP sentence. He was now 30 years old. He was also back in my local prison (i.e. in my city, the place where we'd originally met, 11 years ago). I was shocked he was still in prison, and upset to hear about that. He had an illegal smartphone, hence how he had Facebook and other social media. I recall him 'liking' (maybe even commenting) on some of my profile pictures/photo uploads, but I do not think I ever went and looked at his actual profile as I do not remember a single thing about his online presence outside of our inbox conversations. 

AJR appeared to be instantly interested in me and - in my opinion - came on very strong, talking about wanting to kidnap me for a shotgun wedding. I resisted his advances, but did not tell him I had a boyfriend, saying I was single and not interested in dating (the toxic/abusive relationship was not something I was prepared to discuss with AJR at the time). I would read AJR's messages on Facebook and leave him on read, ignoring him. He'd ask for my phone number and I wouldn't say 'No' outright, but make some excuse as to the fact I thought he'd harass me, given he was already harassing me in message form. I was basically avoiding given solid answers and stringing him along without being entirely honest with him. This would make AJR angry and frustrated and he would challenge me about it, leading to me becoming hostile and defensive. Obviously, I didn't know that he'd fancied me for so long and how it felt to make contact after so long, only to be actively ignored. I remember telling friends that I was wary of talking with him too much because he seemed very persistent and I wasn't sure about him. I completely overlooked the fact that while me ignoring AJR for hours or even days was 'normal' for online interactions, for him sitting in a cell, minutes felt like hours. He'd forget people have busy lives in the outside world. Seeing a notification that I'd read his messages and was online, but not responding drove him crazy and he'd tell me he'd seen me online ignoring him, which led to me being even more cold and aggressive with him, telling him I didn't want him watching my actions etc. At one point, AJR decided to send an unsolicited photograph to me, which enraged me. I immediately responded in an angry manner, informing him of how disgusting I found his actions. AJR was really apologetic, and in his defence, he wasn't as clued up on these types of interactions as I was - he assumed it was a good way to get my attention. My reaction made him feel really guilty. 

Eventually, after I continued to behave in a cold and unapproachable manner, AJR told me that he was going to delete me from Facebook and re-connect with me when he achieved parole, which was scheduled for October 2018. I didn't even respond to his final message to me, and just saw it as one of those unfortunate online interactions. I was upset he felt he had to delete me and that my rejection had led to this, but I had my own problems to deal with, so just moved on. 

Sometime in June/July 2018 I'd finished my relationship with KU. I was on Facebook and decided to look in my 'second' or 'hidden' inbox (the one where messages from non-contacts often end up). I hadn't got any notifications to look in there, it's just something I sometimes do. In the hidden inbox was a message from a person with a name which was the same first name as TW, and AJR's actual last name, spelled slightly differently, so 'TR'. There was a photograph as the profile picture, but I didn't look too closely at it. The message said words to the effect of 'Hi Babe' or something, triggering me to say; 'You obviously don't know me if you think I like being called Babe'. I then looked more closely at the profile picture and saw it was AJR, so softened my tone. AJR said he his former Facebook account had been deactivated (Facebook became aware he was in prison - so perhaps someone reported his account, although he wasn't exactly subtle in what he posted). He said he'd wanted to leave me alone until he was released, but couldn't resist making contact with his new Facebook. 

AJR and I started messaging each other again. Now I was single, I was more receptive to responding. At this point, my best friend LD2 was in the process of finalising and submitting his PhD. I recall there was a lot of LD2, IN and I getting together, usually with drinks. One day I had issues with my wifi/mobile data and AJR arranged a top up for my phone. I was so grateful, I offered to send him some photographs as a thank you. This angered AJR as he had done it out of friendship, not to get 'favours'. I realised this man was genuine and exceptionally kind and caring. Our conversations grew more intense and we moved on to phone calls. It was on 10 August 2018 (the night LD2 finally finished his PhD and we celebrated the fact) that I decided I wanted to be with AJR. I was drunk that night and when I told him, he asked me to reconsider when sober, but I knew what I wanted (even though that night I was so drunk, following drinking an entire bottle of vodka while with LD2 and IN) that usually I'd completely doubt my judgment. I even forgot large chunks of the night. I cannot recall the sequence of events, but basically at this point, AJR and I would chat on the phone for hours on end and we began Facetiming (yes, in a sexy way!). I agreed I would visit him given he was less than 5 miles away from me! 

The visit was the first time I'd ever had a social (i.e. non-legal visit) with anyone. I was really scared, as 11 years had passed since I'd last seen AJR in person (despite our Facetiming and sharing photographs online). I was so anxious, I spent hours trying to find an appropriate outfit etc. I won't bother to go into detail about visits with AJR, save to say I was so nervous on the first one, I could barely even look at him and kept laughing. When things got 'romantic', prison officers were quick to step in, making it even more awkward. Our relationship progressed to the point that I'd visit AJR 3 - 4 times a week in addition to speaking every night, and eventually we told our families etc. There were ups and downs - as expected in any relationship - but I am sure you can understand the unique pressures of dating a life prisoner - the challenges for him (having spent his entire adult life and majority of teenage life in custody) and myself (lack of intimacy with someone I am in love with; the stigma other people try and impose upon finding out the nature of the relationship and dealing with judgment and curiosity; seeing his treatment within the prison system etc). 

AJR did not get parole in October. He got D Cat (open prison) and thereafter was unfortunately transferred back to closed prison before he ever got a home visit or time out of custody. These matters are private and still ongoing. The point is, AJR and I are in a committed relationship and don't allow the obstacles to cloud our future, even if we have to negotiate tough or impossible situations etc. 

I guess, there is one other thing I should mention - as a weird aspect of our relationship - before I reveal the 'mind-blowing dream'. Just after Christmas 2018 (AJR had recently been moved from open conditions back to a local closed prison) he told me we needed to break up because it was too difficult to cope with a relationship in our circumstances. Previously, we have had similar issues periodically. We never really argue at all - AJR just tries to distance himself from me, and given he is in control of most contact, the ball is always in his court (i.e. he can call me on the prison pin phone - if no mobile access is possible - but I cannot call him; I can write/email, but he can choose to ignore it; I don't book visits to compel him to see me if he indicates he does not want to). AJR never intends to hurt me; it's a form of protecting me and himself from potential emotional pain. 

Anyway, back in December/early January, the break up he instigates is hurting us both and our communication is virtually non-existent, although I am sometimes trying to tempt him to text me by sending messages. I am so depressed, every day is a struggle. AJR's mum tries to reassure me that he is in fight or flight mode and will come back when he is ready, as it's just a defence mechanism. I believe our relationship is 'meant to be' and concentrate on willing him to contact me and tell me he wants to be with me (I know he loves me, that is never in doubt). 

One day I was alone, walking across the field outside my house. Earlier that day, when smoking with DL, I'd said I thought Star Wars would be the thing that would bring us back together. AJR had never ever seen any Star Wars movie and thought it was really funny how much I love it. He was totally against it, thinking it was a weird, geeky sci fi thing. However, over Christmas, every one of the Star Wars movies was being shown in chronological order on TV, so AJR had agreed to watch them (usually with phone calls to me in between to explain stuff). He actually enjoyed many parts of this new experience and we could now discuss it at length. AJR is my Anakin, he shares many traits, such as impulsiveness; a fierce protection over people he loves, namely the women in his life; fearlessness etc. He also shares some physical characteristics, including a facial scar and skin/hair colour/height/build; and his legal name could be shortened to 'Ani' which he hates me pointing out. He doesn't use his legal name, he is literally 'AJR' to everyone. The age gap between us is the same as Anakin and Padme, and we reunited after many years apart, and I was initially resistant - you get the picture! AJR loves Padme, so it's kind of perfect that he enjoyed the prequels the most out of Episodes I - VI. Anyway, given AJR had been watching Star Wars, I knew any reference would remind him of me during our separation. While walking alone on this particular evening, having been smoking on the field, I began to focus on the idea that I could 'use the Force' to bring AJR back to me. I know it sounds stupid. I don't believe in fate or ESP or any kind of paranormal activity/powers. I was just desperate and using Star Wars as a way of positive thinking in the face of distress and trauma. It gave me something to set my mind on. I wondered if I should learn Buddhist chanting, as I'd read/heard that Courtney Love used this to focus on her goals and believed it worked for her. I got home. 

That evening, I got a random text from AJR - it wasn't in response to any of my previous, pleading texts, it simply told me to turn watch a particular TV channel. AJR finds it odd I don't own a TV, but when he wants me to watch something, he knows I can live stream it online (obviously, his understanding of modern technology has some limitations). I did so. The show in question was The Keith and Paddy Picture Show - the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi parody. I put it on and began to watch, amazed that my 'plan' seemed to have worked. However, I didn't know exactly how weird this experience was going to be. For context - AJR and I are very jokey and insulting towards one another. Sexual frustration means we tease each other a lot. I call him 'Mayonnaise Sandwich' and 'AJonnaise' and suchlike because he is so 'white'. I also call him a 'toxic male' and he calls me a 'female thing'. He bullies me about how my Middle Eastern heritage makes me hairy, calling me a 'Silverback Gorilla'. If I had to list 5 personality qualities for AJR, 'annoying' would be in there, but I love his annoyingness. One of it's manifestations is the constant teasing over eggs. I hate eggs, they repulse me. I can cook them for other people and I can eat them as an ingredient in other foods (i.e. cake or quiche even) but I'd never eat an actual egg. I also hate the idea that I produce something called an 'egg' and to be extra annoying, AJR calls me 'Yokeybear' as a term of endearment and a way of making me feel gross about eggs, either in their edible form, or the reproductive form have in my ovaries (ewww). Bear this strange feature of our relationship in mind, when I tell you the next bit of this story. So I was watching the Keith and Paddy parody of Star Wars, and AJR wasn't really texting me as such. I was excited to know he'd reached out and specifically, due to a factor I'd predicted and wished for. 

Then, there was the fight scene between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker (and the Emperor) on the Death Star. Both AJR and I have the same reservations about this scene - AJR because he thinks both Darth Vader and the Emperor die too easily for powerful Sith Lords. He hates the fact that canon or EU explains parts of the overarching story and ideology not contained within the movies, such as why Force Lightening was so dangerous to Darth Vader and how the Emperor may not have actually died when he was thrown down the reactor shaft (I think that's what it was? I can't be bothered to fact check the technology on top of this loooonnnngggg Storytime post). He thinks Darth Vader is depicted as far less powerful than his mythos and reputation would suggest (again, he dislikes that there is so much other material which actually depicts Darth Vader more 'badass' than the original trilogy does, as he has no access to this material - and Rogue One (containing the best Darth Vader scene from any of the movies) had not been shown on TV, so he hadn't seen a contemporary depiction of Darth Vader more inline with how he should be (better lightsaber skills; more force power on display etc). He also dislikes Luke Skywalker and doesn't understand how he was able to become such a powerful Jedi in such a short space of time (I mean - who doesn't think that?)

On screen, AJR and I - miles apart, watching the same show separately saw the scene where Luke removes Darth Vader's helmet. And in the parody version - Darth Vader's head was a boiled egg with a soldier!!! I have recently found a screenshot of this for AJR which I will print and mail to him, as we both love that this was the lynchpin which brought us back together. Seeing an image of my favourite Star Wars character - introduced to AJR only weeks before - have an egg for a head randomly, within the context of our jokes about eggs was 'a sign'. AJR was compelled to phone me and we got back together. I have posted the relevant screenshot below so you can understand. 


The Dream
So, the dream!

The other day, I wondered if I'd ever had a dream which involved AJR at any point within the 11 years we had been apart (or at least the portion of the 11 years during which I was recording my dreams on this Blog). When this Blog began it had already been a number of years since I'd last seen AJR. The reason I questioned whether I might have had a dream which referenced him was because I had always had a lasting memory of the escape list suit he'd worn when we first met - he's the only prisoner I've ever represented or seen in person wearing one. I know that over the years whenever anyone has mentioned prisoners wearing unusual regulation clothing I'd thought of/mentioned having a former client who was a young, very rebellious boy who'd been made to wear a really ugly outfit due to being an escape risk for making a hole in his cell wall. I was just curious. 

Having 962 dreams recorded on this Blog makes searching through the archives really difficult and time-consuming. I can do it using labels (not helpful, since these are broad and don't refer to specific dream content) or keywords featured in posts (more accurate, but potential to bring up large numbers of posts). I used the latter method. My first search term was 'prison' - this brought up a high number of posts. I then used 'prisoner', which only narrowed the search results down marginally. I then used 'escape'. This brought up much fewer potential results and I began to read through each relevant post. There is - the best of my knowledge and research here - only one relevant dream, which relates to AJR during the 'lost years'. It is Dream 70 (I didn't title my dreams at that point), dated 2 August 2012. I have posted the dream below. I hope you find the fact that my future true love (the man whose face I'd looked into and felt nothing - no flicker of potential or chemistry so many times, so many years ago) remained somewhere in my mind, popping up in my subconscious thoughts (i.e. my dream) years later as amazing as I do. Probably not, since I'm a random stranger on the internet and this is my life and therefore of peripheral or non-existent interest to anyone reading this. But, it fascinates me how I could have this dream and just accept it - a dream about a random man who I never ever thought I's see/hear from again, without fully questioning why. I didn't even remember his name properly, or remember his face clearly, just blurry, general details. I didn't wonder about the significance of the dream - why would I? But now, looking back with hindsight, it's impossible for me to not see this as something symbolic, imbued with meaning. It's probably nothing mystical, just one of those phenomenon which we pay attention to because we're actively searching for meaning or answers etc. But I'd like to think my subconscious dreamself was sending me a message about my future, as ridiculous (and apposite to my worldview and beliefs) as that sounds. Please enjoy my special dream, and comment below if you want to share any views on this post.

Dream 70

Original date: 2 August 2012
Original post location - click here
I was sitting at a computer, browsing the internet. I saw a picture of a red and yellow checked tablecloth, laid out on a table, and clicked on it to enlarge the image and get a better view. The image was captioned, but I am not sure if I read the caption, or just 'heard' the words being said to me (in my own head?) It was my auntie, VF. The caption said: "I didn't want to look at this picture, because I have synesthesia and it gave me the answer to a question I didn't want to know about" (I do not know if VF has synesthesia, although I myself do). I wondered what the question/answer was and in my mind, thought that it must be something to do with a vehicle (although neither myself nor VF actually drives). I also thought that it was strange that VF's synesthesia gave her 'questions and answers' whereas mine involves mere associations between random items.

I was then with my mum in the Two Lifeboats Hotel, Sheringham, our former workplace. The lighting was very dim - as if all the curtains in the room were drawn - as it was definitely daylight. We were joined by my mum's friend AB, who was dressed in the outfit she used to wear when she too worked there - a white top and a black skirt. AB entered the room from behind me and came to stand next to my mum. She was in a bad mood. She sat a short distance away from my mum and I, who had taken seats close by where we had been standing (which I think was next to the bar/doorway to the restaurant area). She was now talking to a young male, who I did not recognise in the dream, although I feel that his dream character represented someone I know in real-life. He was tall, with dark brown hair and was wearing a white baggy T-short and light brown baggy trousers with trainers. AB was going through some legal case papers with him - witness statements - in preparation for a criminal trial in which he was the defendant. My mum and I were undertaking another (in my 'dream opinion' - less important, quite boring) task in relation to the trial (this was odd, even to me in the dream, as I am the qualified lawyer and neither my mum nor AB have any real legal expertise, yet they were taking over and not letting me look at the paperwork properly or talk to the male). I asked if I could go through the case papers, but AB refused to let me and carried on 'advising' the male - who in the dream was not named, or I do not recall any name given to him. The male was then taken in a prison van - possibly to be conveyed to court. I dd not see him get in the prison van - I had a mental image of it driving away, with him in the back, just visible behind grey metal bars (it did not look like the G4 prison vans I am used to seeing in real-life, more like one seen in movies, less secure and more 'military'). My mum and AB told me that now it was my turn to take over the case and work out a way to defend the male and win his liberty. I was fairly pleased, but also disappointed that I could not discuss the case face-to-face with the male. I was also annoyed that my mum and AB were leaving me behind and I assumed that they were going to court to watch the trial without me, having 'dumped' the work on me to complete). I went back onto the computer - which was now clearly a laptop. I was sitting on the floor of a bedroom, next to a bed with a colourful duvet. The lights were very bright - like a bare 100watt bulb was illuminating the room. It was not a room I recognise from real-life. I logged onto my Facebook page, to write a message of support for the incarcerated male and try to get others to join the campaign to free him - but I decided that in my status update, I should remove all vowel letters from the sentence I was typing. I typed 'RFFLSS' and posted this on my 'wall'. I have no idea what it means.

Contemporaneous notes/analysis which appeared at the bottom of the original post of the dream, explaining/interpreting specific details:
* At the time, I did not pick up on this, but the red and yellow checked design on the tablecloth seen in the first scene of the dream is the same as a 'prison escapee' suit (known amongst prisoners by various names) which prisoners who have made attempts to escape are forced to wear (i.e. think of the stereotype of the prisoner - in black and white stripes/arrows design or in bright orange - to make them stand out as prisoners amongst other civilians). When I worked in a law firm, I used to regularly visit/represent a prisoner (can't remember his full name, so I'll call him 'A') who was notorious for trying to break out of prison - he was often dressed in the blue and yellow 'clown suit' which would make us laugh at how silly he looked. Although the colours here were different, I understood the red/yellow checked design was 'the same' as the blue/yellow - I had a strong realisation of this upon waking. 

The following images are Google search results for 'prison E-List' suits. The 2 I have posted are exactly the same colours /style as the one I saw AJR wearing when we first met. I think the pattern is a combination of both shown (i.e. his was checked, so there were 4 panels), but I'd have o ask him to clarify this for definite. From my memory, his was most similar to the bottom image, but you can get a very accurate impression from both images.


Of further note is the fact that since meeting AJR again, my views on marriage and children have changed. I want to marry him and start a family. In the above dream (Dream 70), the male dream character does not necessarily match AJR's description, particularly the hair colour. 

You will recall (if you bothered to read the above Storytime) that AJR and I used to discuss Eminem a lot in prison visits. AJR was a massive Eminem fan and has told me (recently - not sure if he told me in the past) that he used to bleach his hair to look more like Eminem (AJR is more facially handsome than Eminem but there are similarities between them). 

My dreams always appeared to reflect my resistance to marriage and family life. It is something I have referred to numerous times on this Blog. However, the only 'dream character' I ever felt a strong connection towards (in the sense of wanting marriage and family life with him) was Eminem. I always thought this was odd, as I had never been particularly attracted to Eminem (nor a huge fan of his). 

The main dream in this respect dates back to 23 May 2015 and is Dream 443 - 'Will the Real Mrs Slim Shady Please Stand Up?!' I was so fascinated by my desire for Eminem within this dream, that it inspired a dream incubation experiment - Dream Incubation Experiment - Eminem/Marshall Mathers III Dream. Back when this dream incubation experiment took place I did not consider using an index system so that all relevant dreams taking place during the course of the particular experiment were recorded in one place. The Dream Incubation Experiment post linked above does have an index of Eminem dreams which took place prior to the experiment (so, including Dream 443), but in order to move forwards and read the dreams taking place within the duration of the experiment itself, simply go to the bottom of the Dream Incubation Experiment post page and click on left hand side link - 'Newer Posts'. There are also Youtube videos I have made relating to updates on this experiment if you are interested. They are linked on posts relating to the Eminem Dream Incubation Experiment. 

Given there is an association between AJR and Eminem - could my dreams of one true love with Eminem have been precognitive in any way? I guess I'm asking this ironically, but I am being honest when I say deep-diving into my subconscious like this makes me question the subconscious and dreaming in ways I may not usually do.

Sunday, 5 April 2015

Dream 399

'Alan Sugar Proves Infinity' (Lucid Dream)
Dream date: 3 March 2015
I was at a location which appeared to be a slightly altered version of The Crown in Sheringham. There was a party going on, which seemed to be hosted by my mum and I. The whole venue was crowded, and I was walking around, occasionally stopping to talk to my mum. At one point I went to the doorway and looked outside - I could see rows of wooden tables and benches (similar to those in the actual pub in real-life). LD and two other male dream characters (who I knew in the dream) were seated at the tables. LD was wearing a white shirt. They were - like the other guests at the outside tables - all eating. This scene was quite long, but nothing exciting or strange happened; I was simply mingling with the party guests. It started to turn dusk.

I was then in a room which looked like the diagram below. The room was quite dark and it was a kind of classroom, the teacher being Alan Sugar. I was with LD, AP (a girl from my high school), and the two male dream characters who had been with LD at the party in the earlier scene. We were seated at school desks, facing Alan Sugar, who was standing at a small chalkboard (which was not mounted on a wall, but was some sort of stand-alone easel). Alan Sugar was teaching us about 'infinity'. He drew a diagram on the chalkboard (see below for replica),which consisted of three rectangles, with upwards pointing arrows inside them. Above the middle rectangle was the infinity sign. I was really frustrated and confused because my number dyslexia/dyscalculia meant I did not understand the maths he was using to explain the theory. Everyone else seemed to understand just fine, and this contributed to my feelings of inadequacy (considering I was the person with the most formal education and academic interest out of the 'students'). 

We moved to the back of the room, and sat in a row on some benches against a wall. To our right (which I had not noticed before) was a wall made up of textured diamond-shaped patterns which seemed to be made of some sort of felt material. They were attached to the wall, but could be removed. The diamond-shaped felt pieces were in jewel colours - ruby, emerald, violet and sapphire blue. Between the patterned wall and the doorway, was a box mounted on the wall which contained spare diamond shapes. A male dream character in a handyman's uniform (blue overalls) entered the room and emptied the box of spare diamond shapes into a clear plastic bag and took them out of the room. 

JA - a former friend and colleague who I fell out with in 2009 and haven't spoken to since - entered the room. She was wearing a backless gown (I think it was white with jewel decorations on the front, because it seemed sparkly in places). She came up to us and started speaking to us. I thought it was odd that she was acting as if nothing adverse had happened between us. She then paraded around the room, in a very smug manner. 

I then found myself in my kitchen in my home in Norwich. On the counter in front of me was a packet of minced beef (mine) and a packet of raw chicken breasts with some minced beef also in there (not mine, and I found it odd that the minced beef was mixed in which raw chicken breasts). I wondered who the chicken breasts belonged to, since my housemate is a vegetarian. I started to make burgers from the minced beef, but I only had enough for one burger. I decided to take the minced beef out of the packet of chicken breasts and use that, but as soon as I started, a male dream character (white, tall, fat, blonde hair and thick glasses, wearing a navy jumper and beige trousers) came downstairs and into my lounge/kitchen. He was my new housemate. I apologised for stealing his minced beef, but he did not seem to care. We walked over to where my window would normally be, but this was now a small glass conservatory (with the normal real-life view of the grassy field and lake outside). It was daytime and very sunny outside. The conservatory was crowded with (unrecalled) people, who were all friends/people I knew. We sat in there together, with me in the corner, near the door leading to the lounge, up against the glass wall. I asked the new housemate - who was sitting opposite me, with our knees so close they were almost touching - what his name was, and he said 'Stuart'. I said: 'Do you spell that S-T-U-A-R-T?' and he said: 'No' and got a small scrap of paper and a pencil and started to spell his name, which looked like this (not exactly, just an approximation of what I can remember): 'SFETW CMURMFGU'. I thought the spelling was so odd and did not make any sense at all. He said that his Polish grandmother had invented this spelling of his name, which was pronounced 'Stuart Cummings'. He handed me the piece of paper and I held it up to the glass of the conservatory so that the light shone through it. He had also drawn a 'monkey graveyard' which featured a picture of a monkey statue on a tombstone. The writing was so difficult to read as the letters all seemed to jumble into each other and change. Stuart then asked me if I could guess his favourite movie. I said: 'Betty Blue' (1986) instantly, without thinking, Stuart pulled out a DVD case from behind his back, revealing it to be Betty Blue and I was surprised that I had guessed it correctly in one answer, considering I have never even seen this movie myself.

I then found myself in an outside environment in  almost total darkness. There was a dirt path in the middle of two grassy areas, which stretched a long distance. At the sides of the grassy areas, were steep hilly banks. I was walking down the path alone and felt anxious because it was so dark and I did not know where I was. I sat down on the grassy area to my left and instantly questioned if I was dreaming. There seemed to be no trigger at all for this Dream Initiated Lucid Dream. I thought: 'I better reality check' but my thoughts were vocalised loudly (without me intending to speak aloud) as: 'Reality check, reality check, reality check!' I was then consciously aware that I was dreaming - fully lucid! I could feel that the grass I was sitting on was very damp. I looked up at the sky and saw it was now filled with stars which I had not seen before when not lucid. I stood up and started waking in the direction I had been heading originally. I thought to myself that I should try and control the lucid dream by bringing a dream character into my environment and decided that I would visualise someone called 'Simon' because that was the first name which came into my head. Suddenly a group of people came towards me (laughing with each other and seemingly in a good mood), but I could not see who they were. One of them (male) called out my name and I realised it was my friend SD. I said: 'Hello' to him, but decided to carry on walking and control a different aspect of my dream instead, perhaps change the dream scene. I turned around to see what SD and the group of people were doing and saw they were climbing up one of the steep banks, in the area where I had just been sitting. I then felt myself waking up. I tried to fight it, by shaking my hands and saying: 'Stay lucid!' but it was too late and I woke up fully. 

TIME: 23:00 - 09:30 hours (woke from dream at 09:30 hours, so the dream probably took place between 08:30 - 09:30 hours)
LUCIDITY: Yes - Full Lucidity (approximately 2 minutes of lucidity via DILD, not induced)
SPECIAL NOTES: No obvious lucid triggers, unusual reality check

Dreamsigns:
  • The Crown looked different from real-life and I noticed this (IA - Inner Awareness/F - Form).
  • Taught by Alan Sugar (C - Context)
  • Chicken breasts - I questioned their presence in my house, knowing that I live with a vegetarian and that they did not belong to me. It was also weird that they had minced beef mixed into them (IA - Inner Awareness).
  • I thought it was odd that I had a new housemate and this took my by surprise (IA - Inner Awareness/ C - Context).
  • The spelling of 'Stuart' was so odd I questioned it, and the text was unreadable when I concentrated on it (IA - Inner Awareness/F - Form).

Potential Day/Dream Residue:
  • There was to be a family gathering at The Crown on the Friday after this dream took place, but it was eventually cancelled. At the time of this dream, I still thought the family gathering might be going ahead.
  • The night before this dream I had seen JA on Facebook.
  • The night before this dream, I had watched a play which was originally screened at part of ITV's Armchair Theatre series. I had been particularly drawn to the Thames Television opening ident, because it had reminded me strongly of seeing/hearing that during my childhood and it had some nostalgic significance. I used to see/still sometimes see the Thames Television ident in my mind's eye whenever I got stoned and get lost in my thoughts. I have no idea why this happens or why this particular image/audio holds so much importance for me. I have included a Youtube video of the ident (from 1984) below. The play I was watching was called The Office Party (1971) and involved an office leaving party for the boss, which descends into chauvinistic, sexist and misogynistic behaviour, particularly aimed at one young female receptionist who is pregnant after having an affair with a colleague. She wears a sexy, backless dress to the office party. attracting both lecherous male behaviour and female jealousy. I had fallen out with my friend and colleague JA in real-life because when we worked in an office together as trainees in the same role, she had received favourable treatment (promotion; paid leave for study - which I had not been entitled to; making me unwell from the stress of juggling full-time work and study; extra training and responsibilities; and a significant pay increase, as well as having her tuitions fees paid for by the firm). This was as a direct result of having an affair with our much older boss, which had been turbulent, chaotic and affected the working environment for many of my colleagues. I felt that this was a form of sexual discrimination and nepotism and the situation contributed to me resigning from my much-loved job. Confronting my former boss over his unfair treatment was one of the reasons I fell out with JA. I think watching the  The Office Party play and thinking about JA contributed to her appearing in my dream, parading around proudly, wearing a fancy, sexy, gown. I would be lying if I said that these events from several years ago (which had a massive impact on my professional career) did not cause me some resentment and bitterness.
  • Two days before this dream I had been working in a legal office, which may have also contributed to JA appearing in my dream.
  • JA and I used to work with SD in the office.

Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
I awoke excited and disappointed by the fact I had experienced a lucid dream, but that it was over very quickly. I was however, also impressed by the vividness/clarity of the earlier, non-lucid parts of this dream and how much I could recall upon waking. This was a very enjoyable dream.

Monday, 27 October 2014

Dream 287

'Dream Town'
Dream date: 26 October 2014
I was with an (unrecalled, unseen) female dream character. We were arguing over who owned two small books, which had hard, shiny white covers and were about the female body. I managed to obtain both books. This part of the dream was very vague and non-vivid. 

I then found myself dressed in a pink mohair crochet-knit jumper and blue jeans. I had put on weight and worried that I might be pregnant. I was walking along a canal in the sunshine, and then up some concrete steps (with a metal railing), towards a town. A male dream character (unknown) passed me on the steps and said something which I cannot recall. At the top of the steps, I found myself in my 'Dream Town' - this is a town which seems very familiar to me, but I cannot recall or recognise from real-life. Every time this town appears in a dream, I become aware that it is the same 'Dream Town' as in previous dream experiences and it makes me very excited. At this point in the dream, I became semi-lucid. I knew I was dreaming, but I was unable to control the dream properly, only my thoughts and minor actions. It was as if the blueprint (my locations, destinations, things I had to do) were already set as a 'dream blueprint', but I was conscious in my mind and able to look around me and discover the setting and dream characters. I passed by some grey/sand coloured buildings, which all looked very institutional and dull, although there were some trees and plants along the pavement and between the buildings. I walked on and came to a wide part of the road. On either side of me were Tudor-style thatched buildings, which were all set hickledy-pickledy, not in a straight line. It seemed to be like an urban village. I thought that everything looked very pretty and was able to take in my surroundings by consciously making myself turn around to look at what was going on. The streets were very busy with people, and it was still bright daylight.

I went into a pub, which was a traditional style pub, and very dark. The bar was to my left, running along the entire wall, and I sat on some red velvet seating at the back. PS was there with me. We could see that a few meters away there were a group of old men seated, drinking at a table, They had two large dogs with them - one golden colour and the other black, both with shaggy fur. The golden coloured dog mounted the black dog and they started having sex. PS and I moved a short distance away, into the corner of the pub. We had a conversation, which I cannot recall, but after a while I said I had to leave because I had a doctor's appointment. I was going to see the doctor to check if I really was pregnant, although I was hoping that it was a false alarm. I left the pub - it was now early evening, but still light outside. I walked a very short distance down the street to a GP clinic, which was sandy brown and made up of two stories - the top one being wider and more square than the narrower bottom part of the building and therefore over-hanging it. I entered the clinic, which was quite dark. I went to the counter to 'book in' - instead of being a normal reception desk, it appeared to be more like a bank counter, with a glass partition separating the patients from the employees. There was an older women next to me - before me in the queue, already speaking to a receptionist. It seemed like she was using the clinic as a post office, because she was putting stamps on envelopes and handing them to the receptionist by sliding them under the partition. I started getting impatient of waiting and stood close to her. A female dream character (my age approximately, white, brown hair - unknown to me in real-life, but a friend in the dream) was with me and I started complaining to her about how long the old woman was taking at the reception counter. I noticed a clear plastic wallet on the counter - which was credit-card sized and looked like a bus-pass holder. Inside it was a folded piece of paper and £3 in money - a pound coin and two pound coin. I thought about stealing the money, but realised that it belonged to the old woman, so put it back on the counter where I had found it. Without speaking to the receptionist I moved to the waiting area seats with my female friend and picked up a magazine. There were many other patients sitting and waiting to be called in to see the doctors/nurses. I wondered how the doctor might examine me to find out if I was pregnant. There was a buzzing noise and my friend said: 'it's for you'. I turned around and looked up and above the reception desk was an electronic noticeboard (with LED dot matrix display in red lights) which had the name of the patient and room number illuminated - like in real-life clinics. I could see my name was lit up, notifying me that the doctor was ready to see me. It said my full name in large lights, and 'Treatment Room 6' next to it. I thought (lucidly) 'I wonder if my name is spelled correctly' so I looked again, more closely, and saw that superimposed over my name was the word 'ESTA'. I then thought about the fact that in dreams words and numbers do not appear as they do in real-life and that this was a prime example of this happening to me (see my earlier article on 'Reading in Dreams' by clicking on the title link). I walked through the doorway which was on the right of the clinic and led from the reception/waiting room into the area where the doctors' individual rooms were located. This area was extremely dark. I turned to my right and saw a table with cleaning products on it. Next to this table was a door leading to a room, but the sign on the door read 'Storage Room 6'. I thought that I better walk a little bit further down so that I could find 'Treatment Room 6',  but as I turned left, I felt myself waking up, and could not fight it. My eyes opened suddenly and I was wide awake.

Later, I fell back asleep and had another dream. I had a bird's-eye view of a scene below me. I was positioned above the action, looking down on a green park. Along the road which ran adjacent to the park railings were three people - one dressed as a completely yellow ice cream cone, one dressed as an ambulance and the third dressed as a sign-post. I thought to myself that I would not like to be wearing the ice cream costume as this was the only one which had a head-piece/hat and it looked uncomfortable and cumbersome.

I was then in a dark room or location with no details. I had just brushed my teeth. The toothpaste company were launching a new interactive service. After you used the toothpaste, electronic data appeared in the air in front of your face - like what is seen by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator movies when he wants to process information about someone/something or what it looks like when using Google Glass. It was a form of 'augmented reality' experience which projected images into the space in front of your face. You had run through several survey type questions and touch on the corresponding images to describe your experience - choosing between two or more options. One of the options was whether you felt happy or sad - illustrated by the graphic of a smiling or crying face. I chose 'sad' although I wasn't actually sad, I was annoyed about something and therefore not 'happy'. The 'app' also asked what you did directly after using the toothpaste. The options were 'go to bed' or something represented by a pile of books. All the graphics were red. I felt annoyed again, because I was unsure of whether the pile of books represented 'teaching' or 'studying' and I had done neither, but felt like I should be studying instead of wasting time with this app. I selected that I had gone to bed. The data then collated and showed me a series of graphs and pie charts which had been compiled from the sum total of all my entries - which I had submitted to the app every time I had brushed my teeth. I heard the voice of my mum say: 'the toothpaste makes you a very angry person!'

Thursday, 17 July 2014

An Introduction to Dream Speech - Emil Kraepelin & Sigmund Freud

This is an introduction to the phenomenon of dream speech. Dream speech is the verbal or acoustic language of dreams, which most commonly occurs in the form of dialogue between the dreamer and other dream characters. This article focuses specifically on the contributions of psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin (1856 - 1926) who produced an impressive opus of dream speech material and analysis of Kraepelin's self-reported dreams using Freudian psychoanalysis. I will be posting a further, more generalised, article on dream speech at a later stage.


Dream speech (or Traumsprache in German) is internal speech within a dream, in which errors of speech may occur. This phenomenon was defined by Emil Kraepelin in On Language Disturbances in Dreams (1906), which analysed various types of dream speech, presenting 286 examples. Dream speech is distinct from 'the language of dreams' which refers to the visual symbols used to represent thoughts in dreams. Kraepelin identified three categories of dream speech, within which there are numerous subdivisions:
  1. Disorders of word selection (paraphasias)
  2. Disorders of discourse (aggrammatisms)
  3. Thought disorders
Kraepelin found that the most common type of dream speech was neologism - the use of words which only have meaning for the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning and not necessarily accepted in mainstream language. Kraepelin studied dream speech because he hoped it would provide him with insight into analogous language disturbances in schizophrenic persons. In 1920 he stated that: 'dream speech in every detail corresponds to schizophrenic speech disorder'. Kraepelin was interested in the psychiatric as well as psychological aspects of dream speech, but modern dream scientists and psychologists are interested in speech production in dreams in relation to cognitive processes in the dreaming mind. Some modern studies have confirmed Kraepelin's earlier findings. Kraepelin is well-known as a pioneer of biological psychiatry and the 'spiritual father' of the DSM classificatory system for psychiatric disorder.

Kraepelin continued to collect examples of dream speech until his death in 1926, from his own personal experiences which he recorded and can be seen in the Archive of the Max Plancke Institute of Psychiatry in Munich. Kraepelin's dream speech specimens were published in 1993 - the second dream corpus had not been censured and is annotated with the date, as Kraepelin (who had been collecting specimens of dream speech for 40 years) approached this exercise with scientific precision. 

Kraepelin's own dream speech began during a period of personal crisis and depression (1882 - 1884). In 1882 Kraepelin was fired from the Leipzig Psychiatry Clinic after only working there for a few weeks and two months later his father died. From the early years of his career Kraepelin had witnessed schizophrenic speech disorder ('schizophasie') in his patients - a condition which can often make it impossible to understand what the schizophrenic patient is trying to express. Using the classic dream-psychosis analogy, Kraepelin attempted to study dream speech, hoping it would shed some light on schizophasie. He recorded his own dreams, but did not use psychoanalysis to analyse them, instead using them for scientific research. He found that he was able to record 'deviant language' from the dream, and also the intended utterance (which was not possible in the case of his schizophrenic patients who cannot cross the boundary between psychosis and reality in order to communicate this distinction). Most neogolisms (the deviant utterance) have a meaning (the intended utterance). 

Kraepelin was able to identify two fundamental disorders in dream speech: a diminished functioning of the Wernicke's area of the brain (cerebral cortex involved in the understanding of spoken and written speech); and diminished functioning of the frontal area which deals with abstract reasoning. Therefore individual ideas, rather than general ideas, are expressed in dreams. Kraepelin included proper nouns (i.e. names such as Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune) in their widest sense within this model.

Kraepelin's dream speech specimens range from simple to intricate and his own analysis is somewhat limited in scope. Below are some examples:

'Vi tafalk!' 
This was an order given to a gravedigger named Vi to bring a coffin for the body during a funeral. 
'Tafalk' is a shortcut for the German 'katafalk' (catafalque' meaning the raised platform on which a coffin sits during a funeral)

'nsens' 
'Nonsence' minus 'one'
'Crap a ace' ('crap' meaning 'rubbish' in English, 'a' being the Greek prefix for 'without' and 'ace' representing 'one)
'Crap a ace' is a derivative from the metathesis of 'carapace'
'Carapace' (dorsal section of an exoskeleton) refers to 'schild' (shield) from 'Firmenschild' (German for 'company logo')
Schild = (1) carapace - (2) crap a ace - (3) nonsense without one - (4) nsens
(1) and (3) are conceptual associations ('code-type' associations in cryptography)
(2) and (4) are word form associations ('cipher-type' associations)
Kraepelin (who did not provide this particular analysis) termed 'nsens' as an example of 'syllable combinations jumbled in a completely arbitrary way' and thought 'nsens' was Russian. According to scholars, this assertion originated from the associative networks of his dreaming brain. The Russian word 'krapkea' means 'firm' which is an association with 'Firmenschild', provoking the transformation to 'carapace'

'Serre'
'Serre' - a word with no meaning in German. Kraepelin associates the word with 'an animal, by appearance, a heavy panther, but in fact a harmless herbivore which cannot turn over again once it is lying on its back and is completely defenceless'.
He includes the word 'turtle' - in German 'schildkrote' ('shield-toad')
'Serre' in French - linked to 'talon' (bird of prey)
French for 'turtle shell' -= 'carapace'
French for 'bird of prey' = 'rapace'
German for turtle = 'krote' (toad)
'Krote' translated in French = 'crapaud'
'Crapaud' associates with the German 'krapfen' and 'hook' - i.e. 'talon'
'Serre' - is linked to 'schildkrote' by 'carapace' and 'crapaud' - which in turn are linked to 'Kraepelin'

'Trafei'
'Trafei' - linked to 'Trafoi'
Implicit critique of Freud's analysis of  'Trafoi' in the 'Signorelli parapraxis' (see my previous article on 'Freudian Slips' for the background to this analysis)
'Trafoi' - 'trofei' (Italian for 'trophy')
'Trofei' - 'Siegeszeichen' (German for 'victory-signs' - 'Signum' (Latin for 'sign') - Sigmund (Freud)


Words such as 'Krapea', 'crap' and 'carapace' are all Kraepelin-words, which seem to associate to the proper noun, Kraepelin and influence/direct associational processes. The key role of the proper noun (or name) can be explained by referring to the 'Cocktail Party Effect', which states that during a cocktail party we tune into our discussion party, neglecting any background noise. However, we notice when someone in the background din mentions our name (or something that sounds like our name). This effect has been replicated in studies using dichotic listening techniques, showing that only proper nouns break through the attentional barrier and can be heard even when our attention is at its lowest. What happens within 'outer speech' during a cocktail party occurs similarly with 'inner speech' whilst dreaming. Code words, which are linked in sound with our proper name will be detected in a set of associations during thinking.  The ongoing thought process will then deviate because code words will act as priming words, influencing the direction in which the associations will go. 

The link between schizophrenia and dream speech was the topic of debate between linguists Victorian Froomkin and Elaine Chaika in the 1970s. Chaika believed that schizophasia was a form of intermittent aphasia, whilst Froomkin stated that schizophasia could occur in non-schizophrenic persons. By 1995, Chaika conceded that schizophasia is not due to aphasias linked to actual brain damage, but is a form of speech error which may be caused by a deficiency in language production or the result of a failed intention. Thus, she adopted a position similar to Kraepelin, who stated that speech errors resembling schizophasia occur in normal individuals during dreams. 

Dream speech appears to play a very marginal role in Dream Theory, although David Foulkes highlights its significance, claiming: 'however visual dreaming may seem, it may be planned and regulated by the human speech production system'. Deirdre Barrett at Harvard University describes examples of dream literature in The Committee of Sleep (2010) where dreamers had dreamed of heard/read words which they later recorded when awake. She observed that most of these literary works tend to be poetry rather than prose or narrative fiction, although the title Vanity Fair appeared to William Makepeace Thackeray in a dream, as did Katherine Mansfield's Sun and Moon. Barrett suggests that poetry fares better in dreams because grammar tends to be well-preserved in dream speech, while meaning suffers and rhyme and rhythm are more prominent than while awake - characteristics which benefits poetry, but not necessarily other literary forms. In another study, Barrett looked at verbatim language in the dream speech of college students and found them similar  in these characteristics to literary examples of dream speech - intact grammar, poor meaning, rhyme and rhythm. She stated that this is evidence that within the two language centres in the brain - the Wernicke's area and the Broca's area, there is a malfunctioning in the former. Dream speech resembles that of persons with Wernicke's aphasia - the same conclusion reached by Kraepelin in 1906. 

Kraepelin's dream speech has been psychoanalysed by others, using Freud's technique. One theory is that Kraepelin's dreams reveal a desire to preserve his uncommon family name. Freud was initially schooled in notions of anatomical localisation of mental functions and the idea that consciousness was an epiphenemenon which was caused by strong cortical stimulation. He later rejected these ideas, favouring those of John Hughlings Jackson, who suggested that neural functioning was hierarchical and dynamic, as opposed to static and localised and often outside the conscious awareness of the individual. In On Aphasia (1891), Freud focused not only on neurology, but also linguistics. leading to his recognition as the first neo-grammarian neurologist (Junggrammatika) and he advanced distinctions between hysterical speech impairments and true organic aphasia. He introduced the idea of 'word presentation' in schizophrenic subjects - that speech is invested with psychic energy and consciousness, with words manipulated by the schizophrenic, as if they were 'things'. He expounded this theory further in The Unconscious (1915). Although Freud's work on dream speech was neurologically orientated, he later turned towards psychoanalysis as an explanation, characterising speech as a 'secondary process' (phylogenetically and ontogenetically advanced) which occurs in normal functioning wakefulness. He contrasted this secondary process with primary processes which occur at an unconscious pre-verbal level - condensation, displacement and symbolisation.

Many of Freud's own dream reports contain complex verbal content - lengthy 'speech' which is grammatically appropriate to the context in which is occurred. Dreams are 'compromise formations' resulting from the interplay between primary and secondary processes - however, the primary processes are far more active in dreams than normal wakefulness and thus, it would be expected that speech - a secondary process - would be subjected to severe disturbances during dreaming. Freud's dream records show that his dream speech was remarkably well-formed. In The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) Freud addressed the theoretical dilemma of secondary process speech occurring within primary process dreaming. He employed 'replay hypothesis' as an explanation, stating that audible/acoustic speech in dreams is a playback of actual speech heard by the dreamer in their waking life. Non-acoustic utterances within dreams had their origin in previous wakeful ideas and thoughts of the dreamer. This material may have undergone 'splicing' or 'editing'. He applied his theory to several of his own dreams, notably, 'The Autodidasker Dream' and 'The Castle by the Sea' dream, both of which demonstrated that dream speech, while perceived as being in the dreamer's native language, may involve links from other foreign languages of which he has some knowledge.

The problem with using the psychoanalytic method to dissect Kraepelin's dreams is that Kraepelin did not free associate upon his own dreams or use psychoanalysis as a tool for exploring their meaning. Thus, any psychoanalytical study of Kraepelin's dreams are third-party analysis - like Freud's inclusion of Hanns Sach's psychoanalytic interpretation of Bismark's dream which was included in The Interpretation of Dreams and focused on infantile sexuality. In doing so, Freud pointed to 'firmly established linguistic usage' - the idea that dream speech may take on a visual, physical representation, rather than presenting in verbal form.

On 5 April 1926, six months prior to his death, Kraepelin recorded a dream. The only information provided is that the phrase 'Ruhrochs gibt es nicht mehr' ('there is no more scrambled ox') was uttered 'in an inn'. The dream utterance has been analysed in the following way:

'Ruhrochs gibt es nicht mehr'
The neologism 'Ruhrochs' = 'scrambled ox'
'Ruhrei' = 'scrambled eggs'
'Ochsenaugen' = 'eggs sunny-side up'
'Ochs' = sounds like English word 'ox'
'Ruhrochs' associated with Latin word 'Praecox' which is linked semantically with 'Ochsenaugen'
'Ochsenaugen' also means 'Apricot cake'
Apricot/aprilkose = 'praecox' - a form of early-ripened peach
'Praecox' translates to the German 'fruhreif' which translates as 'early-ripe'
'Fruhreif' - becomes 'fruhreif'
Latent meaning: 'Dementia praecox is no more' ('Dementia praecox' was Kraepelin's term for what we now call 'schizophrenia')
Bleuler's term 'schizophrenia' had superseded Kraepelin's terminology and become the accepted medical classification, whilst Kraepelin was at the end of his career and near death.

The dream interpretation above can be interpreted as a 'loss of name' - and can be analysed in a similar way to Kraepelin's other dreams, noted above, which also link to his moniker. Thus Kraepelin's family name is key to unravelling the meaning of his dream speech - his anxiety that his name/legacy might become extinguished, or his contribution to medicine may be lost. His dreams seem to display a wish that his name and nomenclature would continue to live on after his death. Additional interpretations of Kraepelin's dream speech suggest that it displays an unconscious motive to demonstrate his intellect and mental complexity, therefore reinforcing his overall claim of historical importance. Validation of the theory that preservation of Kraepelin's unusual family name was of psychological importance to him can be found in biographies (Steinberg (2001) & Burgmair et al (2000) for example). It is suggested that the concern about the loss of his family name and his desire for its endurance may have been idiosyncratic to Kraepelin under the particular circumstances of his personal life. However, analysis of his contributions to dream speech and psychoanalytic interpretation using Freud's techniques may enable a more generalised hypothesis to emerge: in dreams which are almost entirely made up of utterances/dream speech rather than visual representations or imagery, one's proper name - an aspect of their identity - may constitute a remnant of a diminished sense of identity or a 'minimal characteristic of the ego' (Engels et al (2008)) which the dreamer clings to. The deeper roots of the dream may concern childhood fears of elimination or annihilation. These theories can be tested in a psychoanalytic setting, via use of Freud's methods of free association. Certainly, irrespective of whether Freudian interpretations of Kraepelin's dreams are accepted as truth, Kraepelin left a rich legacy of dream material capable of illuminating the intricate nature of speech functions and the unconscious mind. Kraepelin's name endures in this respect and his dream records may be dissected within a linguistic, neurological or psychoanalytical framework, each possibility offering valuable insight into the speech patterns of dreams.