Showing posts with label synesthesia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label synesthesia. Show all posts

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.

Friday, 10 August 2012

Synesthesia Results

I undertook an online synesthesia test, knowing that this is not the best method of ascertaining whether someone is synesthetic, but also thinking it might be interesting to find out how I rated on the test. I have copied and pasted my results page from the 'Synesthesia Battery' test, with some basic explanations of the results, as emailed to me by the website, below. 

Battery 1 status: complete on 9 August 2012

Types of synesthesia I have:
  • Numbers - Colour
  • Letters - Colour
  • Weekdays - Colour
  • Months - Colour
  • Sequences - Spatial locations (Sequences such as numbers, weekdays or months)
  • Taste - Colour
  • Smell - Colour
  • Personalities - Colour
  • Touch - Colour
  • Sound - Taste

Grapheme Colour Picker Test
In this test, I was presented with a random sequence of numbers and letters and had to use a colour wheel to select the colour I associate with each (if I have an associative colour for that particular number/letter). This meant that I had to 'manually' mix the exact colour from the tonal ranges of the colour wheel. The numbers/letters would be repeated throughout the sequence and as you can see from the table above, my colour mixes were very accurate, despite not having a reminder of the exact mix I had used in a previous answer for a particular number/letter. I think this is because the precise colour I associate with each is so strong and vivid. For example, the colour I associate with the letter 'E' is a pinky-grey; a 'Q' is a gentle lilac shade, whilst 'F' is purple and 'J' is violet-purple. The differences in colours can be very subtle. The speed-congruency test measured how quickly and accurately I was able to determine whether the computer presented another random sequence of the numbers/letters in the correct associative colour. It simply required me to click 'correct' or 'incorrect' as the numbers/letters were flashed onto the screen for one second only. The main problem I had with this aspect of the test was mistaking a zero for 'O' as they appeared very similar in the font used by the programme. I also confused an 'S' (tomato red) for a '5' (orange) on one question and answered 'incorrect' accidentally. 

In this battery, a score below 1.0 is ranked as synesthetic. Non-synesthetes asked to use memory or free association typically score in the range of a 2.0. A perfect score of 0.0 would mean that there was no difference in the colours selected on each successive presentation of the same letter. An accuracy percentage of right answers in the range of 85-100 typically indicates synesthetic association between the graphemes and colours. Those below 85% typically rule out synesthesia.

Weekday Colour Picker Test
This test required that I do the same as before, this time with days of the week. In this battery, a score below 1.0 is ranked as synesthetic. Non-synesthetes asked to use memory or free association typically score in the range of a 2.0. A perfect score of 0.0 would mean that there was no difference in the colours selected on each successive presentation of the same letter. 

Month Colour Picker Test
Again, the same method of testing synesthetic responses to the word was used. In this battery, a score below 1.0 is ranked as synesthetic. Non-synesthetes asked to use memory or free association typically score in the range of a 2.0. A perfect score of 0.0 would mean that there was no difference in the colours selected on each successive presentation of the same letter.

Vividness of Visual Imagery

Your VVIQ-2 Score is: 3.40625

This test quantifies how vividly different people can visualize objects and scenes. A score above 3 suggests a higher level of vividness relative to the general population. We are using this questionnaire to understand whether synesthetes are better at mental imagery than controls.

Projector Associator

Your PA Score is: -1.5

Projectors and Associators are proposed forms of synesthesia that describe how you experience your synesthetic percept. If you are classified as an 'Associator', it means that your synesthetic associations (like coloured letters, for example) are experienced in your mind's eye. When shown text on a page, Associators know that each letter has a colour, but they don't actually see colour on the page. If you are a 'Projector', it means that you physically see the colour projected onto the page in front of you. A positive score is classified as a Projector and a negative score is classified as an Associator. I am therefore classified as an Associator.

Saturday, 4 August 2012

Dream 72

PS and I were sitting in a room of sort sort - I cannot recall anything about the room. PS told me that he had seen two women standing on a bus. I asked him what they were like. He said: "They were really attractive" I asked him again, what they looked like. He said: "They were Spanish. They had a big fat butt like yours, but they were much slimmer and sexier than you." I felt completely jealous and inadequate. I thought that I should lose weight to improve myself. In the dream I felt really ugly, although there was no point at which I looked at my appearance or saw myself in the dream, so I am not sure if I looked as I do in real-life. I was then standing on a white bus, holding the pole for standing passengers. I was posing as if I was about to start pole dancing around this and there were photographers crouched behind me, taking pictures of me with flashing cameras. I then was back in a room - this time I recognised it as the lounge in my nan, PC's Sheringham home. I was sitting in the armchair closest to the kitchen. I was wondering if being on the bus - and having my photographs taken by the photographer had improved my looks and made me 'sexier'. I decided to go for a walk I was walking down avenue in dusk - have no idea how I know that this was an 'avenue' as opposed to any other type of residential road (it was not a road I recognise from real-life), but because of my synesthesia I always associate the following things: left, lemon, the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons Sing the Bells of St Clements, sycamore leaves and the word avenue (amongst other things - I have a range of associative words, images and thoughts which relate to 'left' (yellow) and 'orange' (right) and others which relate to the square central space I envisage when I think about what is between left and right. Thus, in this avenue - which had normal brick houses and lots of green leafy trees, I had thoughts about the things which I associate with 'avenue' which led to the conclusion that I must be there.I hope this makes sense. A young black woman, dressed in a T-shirt and running shorts ran past. She and PS said 'Hello' to each other, but she didn't stop or slow down. 

* The good thing about this dream was, that upon waking I felt like I should exercise. I think, although generally I am fairly happy with my figure, I have latent insecurities, because I used to be very slim (8 stone 4 pounds - approx. 53Kg; vital statistics 30B-23-36; size 8 on top, size 10 on bottom) and now I am heavier (10 stone 8 pounds - approx. 69Kg; vital statistics 32C/D-25-40; size 10 on top, size 12 - 14 on bottom), although some of this weight/size gain can be accredited to weight-lifting - and the Brazilian Butt Workout I do to get stronger, sexier butt, hips and thighs and tone my waistline. I managed to motivate myself to go to the gym for the first time in ages and did a proper workout and weights session and booked a personal training programme to re-focus my body goals and training plan. It also helps that the London 2012 Olympics are taking place - great motivation for getting fit and healthy!

Thursday, 2 August 2012

Dream 70

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-shirt 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, nor 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 did 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.

* 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. 

Thursday, 19 April 2012

Dream 40

I was in my 'dream town' location. I thought I had gone for some form of 'consultation' as I was in a waiting-room area. This was known to me somehow, as the room did not look like a traditional waiting-room. It was in a wooden shack with very bright lights - sort of like a log cabin. Outside the window was a mix of city and alpine forest. I could see the stars very clearly through the window. Soon, I found myself in another room, again brightly lit, with wooden walls. The room was very small and taken up by a table. I was sitting on one side and on the other was a male (unknown to me in real-life). He was white with curly black hair. He was wearing a business suit. He said: "I know what you're thinking" and gestured towards his face, smiling at me. I didn't know what he was talking about. He said: "Bugs Bunny, right?!" and I just agreed with him as that's what I thought he wanted me to do. He did not look like Bugs Bunny. I wondered if he was poking fun at me because my two front teeth are noticeably larger than the rest of my top row. 
Bugs Bunny
The dream transitioned and I was in halls of residence of the university in this town, which are nothing like those of the various learning institutions I have attended in real-life. It was still night. I was in a dining room which seemed to be on a first or second floor with wall-to-ceiling windows, with no curtains. The city/alpine scenery was still the main view from the window. I was sitting next to the curly haired male and was surprised to find that he was now more attractive. He appeared to be somewhat younger than before (where he appeared to be late 20s or early 30s, now he looked early 20s) and was dressed casually, although I cannot remember specifically what he was wearing. I felt very close to him. I got the impression, without him saying so aloud, that he was leaving and I desperately wanted him to stay. He had a pile of books which I only noticed at this point. 
Alpine city landscapes
I was then in a university hallway which has an outside connecting walkway to the next part of the corridor. I think this image was based on a memory of  an area of York University (Langwith College? I think that where most of the English/Arts based lectures/seminars took place and I think this was my college), but I knew I wasn't actually at York and the exterior of the campus was very different, although nothing appeared 'odd' or out of place in the dream. Whilst I was standing at the doorway, by some stairs - facing  towards the covered outside walkway, there was a rush of students around me. I had thoughts at this point of talk show hosts Michael Parkinson and then Jonathan Ross (it sounds random, but it was as if I were 'remembering' something in the dream - or that I was having a synethesia-response to the location which I had 'forgotten' until seeing that place again, even if in a dream - I haven't been to York University for 8 years now). I walked outside, along the walkway and back into the building through the next set of doors. It was daylight now. There were posters of Pre Raphaelite artworks (in real-life I had recently been excited to see an exhibition of the PRB artists would be shown at the National Gallery in September of this year. I think I associate the area I entered in my dream with history of art lectures at York). There were more students crowding around in the corridor. I tried to speak to some of them as I walked through. Everyone seemed to be getting ready for something and too busy to stop and speak to me. I went off in search of the curly haired male. When I got back to the dining-room I was told by some seated male students, there was a festival being held on the university campus field and that was where everyone would be. They seemed to know I was looking for someone even though I do not remember specifically mentioning this. I felt happy and excited about the prospect of a festival. I received a text. My mobile phone was a smart-phone type and much better than the cheap Nokia I use in real-life. The curly haired male had text me. Annoyingly, in the dream I did not check what name appeared on the phone - I wasn't trying to find out what he was called as it seemed like I already knew his name - it is my waking mind which wishes I had checked in the dream. The text said: 'Come now'. I felt overjoyed.

Since writing up this dream, I investigated the buildings referred to above - searching for the University of York, and in particular, Langwith College. I found that my dream did show me these places, which would have been stored in my visual memory, dating back to the period 2000 - 2003. Below are some of the images which best show the specific areas referred to in my dream - namely Langwith and Derwent Colleges which are linked by outside walkways. I am convinced, however, that my dream did not depict either Langwith or Derwent College 100% accurately, but rather combined aspects of both as composite images.
The entrance to Derwent College, University of York
Passageway in Langwith College, University of York
Langwith College, University of York
The distance between Langwith and Derwent Colleges (facing Derwent), University of York

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Dream 34

Dream date: 4th April 2012

I was flying over a landscape (about 5 - 6 feet from the ground) which appeared to be made up of blue cubes, placed in a grid format. These cubes, which were mid-blue in tone, covered the entire ground and stretched up, like walls enclosing me. I could not see what was at the top. I was gliding, not travelling at any great speed. I had a feeling that I was in a hospital, although I could see no signs of other people (such as medics or patients) nor any medical equipment to validate this notion. I then saw an image of some glossy red lips - obviously belonging to a female. However they were dislocated from any other facial features and just popped up in my field of vision before vanishing once again. I wanted to stop flying through the 'hospital' and suddenly heard a voice on a tannoy system say: "If you realise you are in a dream you will be able to control it". I thought to myself: 'if only I could make myself realise I'm in a dream...' but I was unable to become lucid. 

I then saw that I was at home in London, although it did look quite different from real-life. There was more open space and the layout of the furniture appeared to be altered. I knew that I was no longer welcome there. I saw PS - there was a close-up of the side of his face, as if I were standing very close to him and only focusing on his profile. I begged him to allow me to stay in London. He refused, but would not turn to look at me. At this point, I got a sense that the room was opening up, creating more space around us. I turned to look at what was behind me. There were formica banqueting tables stretching out either side of PS and I, with further, identical rows arranged in front and behind, much like a cafeteria. Various persons were sitting at the tables, with plates of food before them. I saw my friend SD and a female companion, to my right (this female appeared to be a girl he had told me he liked in real-life, although he does not actually know her well - she works in a bar we visit and during a short conversation with her, we had discovered that she is French-Italian and a Nabovov fan, like myself). I felt happy that they were together. There were empty plates in front of them at the table. As I approached the female stood up, as if leaving. She said to me: "the way to get me is to buy me a salad" then walked away. I spoke to SD, but I cannot recall the content of our exchange. Soon, SD left. 

I worried about collecting my belongings from my home in London - indicating that a change of scene had taken place and the room we were in was no longer my home, but an unfamiliar location. I thought that by the time I got home, my belongings would be destroyed by PS. I was then at home, with many laundry bags full of my clothing (this is how a lot of my clothing is stored in real-life due to space limitations) - far too many for me to be able to physically carry, although in the dream I could hold them all at once. I began walking and the scene transitioned to my grandmother PC's house. She was not there, but there was an (unidentified) person working in her kitchen (which is set off the lounge area). Instead of a sofa in the middle of the lounge, there was a long counter (which would never fit in real-life). I emptied my laundry bags onto the counter and realised that many of my clothes were missing, despite there being several hundreds of garments. I was annoyed at the fact that all of my fancy party clothes and sexy dresses were absent, leaving me with the more practical or sporty items from my wardrobe, such as vest tops and tracksuit bottoms. I was agitated and wondered if I would be able to dress nicely again, given the lost items of clothing. 

I was then leaning on the counter. I noticed that it was white marble. I wondered if I had missed PC's birthday (this was a concern in real-life - the day of this dream I had suddenly realised that I may have missed her 71st birthday and was anxious about this when falling asleep). I used my mobile phone to call my mum, SM. I couldn't get through to her at first as the line was busy. I felt panicked. I remembered (rightly) that PC's  (monthly) birthstone was a diamond. I then thought: 'if I google 'diamond' maybe the internet will tell me what date PC's birthday is...' but soon realised that this was impossible and implausible. I wondered if her birthday was 8th April, but decided it couldn't be, as my cousin's birthday falls on 8th March, and PC's birthday is  a little less than an exact month apart. I was pondering what I should do to find out the correct date for PC's birthday (whilst experiencing strong feelings of guilt, as in real-life, when I had first realised my error) when my phone rang. The phone had been laying on the counter. The screen flashed blue, although it does not do this in real-life - it is a normal backlie Nokia, a very cheap model. It was my mum calling. She told me in no uncertain terms that PC's birthday was 17th March. I told her I thought she was mistaken, but she insisted and told me she should know as it was her mother. After I ended the phone call, I questioned this again, in my own mind. I was still standing, leaning on the counter, and was deep in thought. I knew in the dream that the date given by my mum was incorrect as 17th March falls within the zodiac sign of Pisces (I knew PC is an Aries) and the birthstone for March is bloodstone/aquamarine, and not diamond (I was adamant I was right about her birthday being in April and the correct birthstone being diamond and indeed, when I actually texted my mum the next day (in real-life), she informed me that PC's birthday had indeed been 3rd April 2012 - the day before the dream took place! She also told me to stop worrying as PC would not be upset at me for forgetting, as she knew I had a new job on top of my studies. I have since apologised to PC and sent her some cash as a gift to make up for my poor organisation. However, the knowledge I possessed in the dream and the wrong birthdate given by my (dream) mum would have provided excellent lucid dream triggers!)

I was then sat at the dining table in PC's house (which always makes me think of the colour orange and baked beans, due to my synesthesia). The white marble counter was no longer present in the room. I felt annoyed at myself that I had missed my grandmother's birthday as I am very close to her, having been brought up in the same house and being her eldest grandchild. I also felt angered that I had been forced to leave my home in London and lost my favourite clothes. I went upstairs (where in real-life many more of my clothes - I have thousands of items - are stored in my aunt VF's former bedroom and my own bedroom in that property, which my mum and I shared during my childhood). I put the clothes retrieved from London with the rest of my stored clothes and felt happy that the majority of what I owned was in one place, together. I woke up.

Monday, 23 January 2012

Dream Interpretation 27

DREAM 27

21 January 2012

This is a really strange sequence of dream scenes. As you will see below for the attached dream report, the first ‘scenes’ occurred while I was still conscious – therefore were more like visualisations. I was meditating using binaural beats and the ‘visualisations’ occurred during the theta/gamma beats – following a period of 20 minutes of alpha beats. I was concentrating on the beats and mentally preparing for experiencing a dream state (using MILD technique – see below). Soon after the alpha beats switched to the theta/gamma playlist (approx. 10 minutes into the theta/gamma mp3s), the visualisations started and seemed linked to my synesthesia, as I ‘felt’ what I heard and saw and experienced the sensation of biting/tasting the visual noises (I haven’t explained this well – those who understand synesthesia will know the ‘unity of senses’ I’m referring to). In simple terms, I could see, taste and feel the sounds I was listening to. I usually experience synesthesic responses to words, numbers or memories and then, typically the linking of a visual image or word to an unrelated word; or a colour to a number or day/month. The example which most amuses my friends is those words I associate with left and right directions, or more specifically words and themes associated with the colours I have randomly attributed to them. I have set them out below:

Left: 
  1. Lemons 
  2. Yellow 
  3. The nursery rhyme “Oranges and lemons sang the bells of St Clements”  
  4. Walking down an avenue with sycamore trees  
  5. An old man in tweeds, walking down said avenue 
Right:
    1. Baked beans  
    2. Orange  
    3. A memory of myself as a young child, in my grandmother’s home in Sheringham, swinging myself in the gap between the dining table and the back of the sofa  
    4. Carving words in the dining table with a pen tip  
    5. Round dullness
      Furthermore, only when I’m passenger in a car on a motorway (i.e. I assume this is because there is little opportunity to stop to buy refreshments), I feel an intense thirst if I see lorries with orange or yellow colours on them – I think it’s because I associate them with citrus ice lollies (a semantic link, perhaps?) Another one which always raises a laugh is the associate of my own nipples with instant thirst – if someone touches my bare nipples, I instantly get a craving for water – despite the fact that I otherwise hate drinking water and find that only carbonated water or acidic juices quench my thirst. I cannot explain why this happens, but it has been my experience since first becoming sexually active, and the sensation of intense, immediate thirst never occurs when I touch my nipples myself!!! I’m not sure how relevant it is, but for the record, I was never breastfed and have never drank milk willingly – even as a newborn baby. For more information on this topic, please see my earlier post.

      After the visualisations I experienced whilst listening to the binaural beats, I fell asleep for about two hours, during which time I had one very short dream scene.


      Lucid dreaming experiments/techniques
      • Mental/training – MILD technique (no binaural beats before sleep); WBTB (Wake-Back-to-Bed) technique (woke after 6 hours of delta sleep; remained awake for 1 hour, then returned to MILD technique/sleep)
      • Binaural beats through headphones following WBTB technique – 10 minutes of alpha and 1 hour of theta/gamma mix – specifically a looped track I prepared, using binaural beats music downloaded from Youtube. The track I used is called Conscious Release - Solfeggio & binaural beats (theta & gamma), performed by Jandy Rainbow aka Jezebel Decibel. The description of the track states that it a ‘Silk Road-inspired meditation’, incorporating 10 ‘solfeggio’ frequencies with a delicate background soundscape of Oriental Koto music; Punjabi ‘drones’ and Tibetan bowl samples, giving it an ancient feel
      • LDS –high strength cod liver oil enriched with omega 3, 6 & 9 (3,600 mg); multivitamins A – Z with evening meal; sea kelp (90 mg); CoEnzyme Q-10 (150 mg); Gingko Biloba (120 mg); and Vitamin B Complex. No 5-HTP (experimenting without to test improvement in dream recall) 

      Potential triggers/’day residue’ 
      • The evening before this dream I had a debate with a male friend following about black people lightening their skin. We were discussing the theories behind Michael Jackson’s whitened skin (i.e. vitiligo or cosmetic bleaching). I then mentioned the recent ‘race row’ surrounding images of Beyonce with much-lightened skin – not only in the controversial white-washed L’oreal advertisements, but also on her own album cover – and seemingly when photographed without any post-production ‘touch-ups’ (I have presented the relevant images below, as they were intrinsic to my dream). He disagreed that she would have lightened her skin, but I showed him the images on Google. His opinion was that it was fine for her to lighten her skin. I thought this was controversial in light of the previous comments about Michael Jackson, especially given my personal opinion that Beyonce is at liberty to change her skin colour, but it should be recognised that the beauty industry, in lightening skin colour, is reinforcing a discriminatory and artificial aesthetic which contributes to an implicit, if unexpressed, racist attitude to what constitutes ‘beauty’. As I see BeyonceL’Oreal advertisement or the image used on the front of her latest album). In the end my friend and I agreed to disagree
      • I was reading articles online about the female aesthetic in hip hop and urban culture. This interest stemmed from a chapter in a book I once read online (I cannot recall the title, I was randomly searching for material about Jennifer Lopez when I stumbled across it) which stated that the aesthetic for an overly large butt stems from black and Latin cultures and entered into the hip hop aesthetic due to the particular social demographic and socio-economic environment of the ‘ghettos’ where hip hop was established – leading to the continued objectification and misogynistic attitudes towards women. According to one anthropological and sociological text, the buttocks have been viewed as a marker of racial difference ever since the  days of slavery, when white people first encountered other racial groups (see the terribly sad story of Sarah "Saartjie" Baartman (1790 – 1815), known as the ‘Hottentot Venus’ (an offensive term for the Khoi people of South Africa) who was paraded around Britain as a freak show on account of her enlarged buttocks and elongated labia). The JLo article insinuated that when she was merely a ‘Latina’ starlet, Jennifer was praised for her large butt, largely because it was part of her culture’s aesthetic and an emphasis on the buttocks was the dominant form of sexual expression. When she entered Hollywood – and mainstream culture – which cherishes a very different aesthetic ideal – she was pressurised (her own account) to lose weight and straighten/lighten her dark, wavy hair – and her butt became objectified as the ‘marker of racial difference’. In some images of Jennifer (post-weight loss) you see a very North Americanised ideal – slender frame with smaller butt; lighter skin/hair; emphasis on the breasts and frontal shots - yet in images promoting Jennifer as either a Latina – or more interesting, hip hop diva, the focus is entirely on her rear – a phallic marker of raw sexual availability. I some cases, it had been grossly over-inflated by the airbrush in post-production. What was interesting was Jennifer’s quote that, during her rise to fame, she was entirely unaware of the attention focused on her butt and knew nothing of the cultural response to her body. I believe that not only was Jennifer very aware of her objectification, but she actively played into it in the promotion of her brand. I am not criticising her for that choice, but it seems ludicrous for her to suggest otherwise. The further articles I read on this topic suggested that in promoting the ‘big butt’ aesthetic, hip hop culture has encouraged a cultural regression – ‘booty shaking’ – often accompanied by lyrical references to women as ‘bitches’ is nothing more than women allowing themselves to ‘wagging their butts like bitches in heat’ as a sign of their sexual availability to the men who they are offering themselves up to – i.e. there is nothing ‘independent’ or self-respecting about being ‘bootylious’. Further, the enhancing of the butt – through surgical implants/injections or padded underwear (and, I’m assuming, organic body sculpting) is compared to the mating rituals of female baboons and other primates, who display inflated buttocks to the male as a signal of fecundity and sexual availability. The articles were all really interesting – particularly given the cultural trend for butt-enlargement/enhancement (and continued reference to celebrities such as JLo, Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, Vida Guerra, Nicole ‘Coco’ Austin, Pippa Middleton etc in the popular media, as contemporary body ‘ideals’ for women to aspire to) and the fact that I am currently in the process of weightlifting/sculpting with the hope of creating the perfect ‘Brazilian beach body’ – making the most of my hourglass figure. I decided to see how big I could get my butt muscles to grow (my butt was already fairly large) after one of my friends compared my figure to Kim Kardashian. The articles I read about JLo and women in hip hop culture generally, led me to question the reasons behind my desire to obtain the perfect butt – after all I admire many of the same women who the articles refer to as promoting this particular aesthetic, and am entirely immersed in hip hop culture. PS and I were talking about the female stereotypes within hip hop culture – and in particular, hip hop videos (he makes hip hop videos, but has avoided reverting to misogynistic/homophobic stereotypes within his lyrical or visual content, although the same cannot be said of many of his peers) the day I had this dream and I was telling him all about the articles I had been reading and he agreed that hip hop still encouraged a negative representation of women. Indeed, I was so interested in the subject and my own perceptions as a female who aspires to an aesthetic I consciously realise to be damaging to my own self respect (i.e. I want to be known for my mind, not my enlarged sexual organs), that I am considering writing a thesis on the topic – i.e. hip hop music and feminism/changing female aesthetics
      • I had been doing exercise on my glutes (butt muscles) just prior to going to sleep – and the muscles were aching as I fell asleep, undoubtedly drawing my attention to that part of my body
      • On the evening before this dream I told my friends that I had once watched a documentary (I remember watching it, I cannot recall what it was called. I thought it was called Faces of Death, but a search revealed that this was a completely different documentary) which showed the facial expressions of a person (filmed from in front) the second a bullet was fired into the back of their brain
      • I was reading Facebook status updates on the home page and read that someone on my friends list was studying medicine in Egypt
      • PS and I discussed why domesticated dogs (such as ‘N’) ‘smile’ – by showing their teeth and gums. It looks like a snarl, but is definitely a sign of affection or joy – he does it when greeting or playing and we researched it on the internet. One theory is that dogs only smile like that because they have been conditioned by their owners, who encourage them to continue doing it for affection/treats (most likely the case for N, who does it on demand!)
      • While writing up this report, I suddenly remembered that the day before this dream, I saw a clip of a past TV programme Young Butcher of the Year featured on Harry Hill’s TV Burp – and one of the segments Harry was poking fun at involved a ‘young butcher’ who prepared a joint of meat to look like a miniature boat with a sale – hence the association of fins/sales with meat...(see below)

      Main dream environment(s)
      • (Conscious visualisations/pre-dream scenes): A scene of glacial ice and ocean
      • (Scene 1): A shop (I think it was a small shop selling electrical items as there were many television screens dotted about the shop floor)

      Characters
      (Conscious visualisations/pre-dream scenes):
      • Several ‘fins’ in the ocean – I’m not sure if they belonged to a particular species of sea creature
      • A snarling child – a little girl, dressed in a pinafore with side-parted hair
      • The disconnected (decapitated?) head of a man with brown hair and a moustache (unknown to me in real-life)
      (Scene 1):
      • Myself (I did not see myself, although I saw my own butt and recognised it as my own)
      • PS (appearing as he does in real-life)
      • Beyonce
      • Various other customers using the shop (none known to me in real-life)

      Dream narrative
      • (Conscious visualisations/pre-dream scenes):
      I could see crystal-like glaciers of ice – some sharp spiky icicles (which I ‘saw’ when I heard a particular sound effect on my binaural beats mp3) and flatter expanses of ice. There was ocean, although I did not see it clearly. When the Tibetan bowl sounds were heard, I saw massive ‘fins’ in the ocean – my first thought was ‘whale meat’, but the fins did not belong to whales – in fact I’m not sure if they belonged to any known sea animal, as they were almost like the sales of a ship, yet thicker and greyish-pink, like rare-cooked tuna steak. As the fins/sales floated closer to my eyes (sorry for the poor terminology used – I don’t think we have a proper, comprehensive ‘dream jargon’ just yet!) I thought of the gelatinous, jelly-like texture of eel flesh (I’ve never tasted it) and blancmange. I felt gelatinous meat. As I stated above, the visualisation of the fins/sales and the sensation of gelatinous meat corresponded directly with the sound made by the Tibetan bowls. A little girl flashed before my eyes. She looked old-fashioned – wearing her hair in a deep side-parting and dressed in a pinafore dress. She jumped onto all fours and snarled at me, in a manner associated with a wild animal. I then saw the disconnected head of the male with the brown hair and moustache. This image appeared before me for a matter of seconds, then the male opened his mouth wide and swallowed his own face, leaving a skull, which flashed before my eyes for literally a second, before it reappeared, mummified – the bandages floating around his head, like the character ‘Mumra’ from Thundercats.
      • (Scene 1):
      No lucidity. PS and I were in an electrical (or similar) shop. There were television sets (all turned on) on shelves and stacked on the floor. The shop was narrow and confined, and fairly dark. There were several other customers in the shop, browsing or looking at the television screens. PS and I were standing by the counter, waiting for service. The shop-keeper did not come. We turned to leave and to the left-hand side of the door, there was a huge TV screen set up. Something caught my attention. At this point, the shop keeper came from the back room and stood at the counter. He tried to call PS and I back over to where he was standing so that he could help us. I said: “I want to watch the Beyonce video”. The music video on the large screen was definitely one of Beyonce’s, yet it was not one that I know actually exists in real-life (I admittedly haven’t watched any of her videos relating to songs I don’t like). I think it was highly likely that my subconscious mind has composed the video from actual images I have seen and some created by my own mind. I could not hear the music. The video was filmed by a camera positioned at the side of a sofa, on the floor – as if the camera-lens was spying on Beyonce. All I could see on the screen were her legs walking from the other side of the sofa, into the camera lens. The camera then zoomed out and showed Beyonce from the front – she was wearing a sparkling gold leotard. She then started to walk away from the camera. I noticed that her butt (which was completely exposed) looked very different from her own in real-life. As I noticed this, the video seemed to go into slow-motion allowing me to get a better view. I realised that although from a full-frontal angle, the person on the screen was definitely Beyonce – appearing as she does in real-life, from the back, only the head to waist belonged to Beyonce and from there downwards, my lower body had been spliced on. The skin was pale – like my own Middle Eastern mix; the hips were wider and thighs thicker (like my own) and the butt had more cellulite than Beyonce (again, like my own). Beyonce was shaking ‘my’ butt provocatively towards the camera. I could almost see ‘my/her’ vaginal lips as she bent over. I actually have ‘Tallulah’ tattooed above my butt crack, but I couldn’t see this, as it was covered by the leotard (which had a thong, if it wasn’t clear exactly how my butt/genital area was so exposed). I wasn’t ashamed by this, but I was annoyed that she was getting sexual attention from my body part, particularly given the fact I could see the imperfections and knew hers to be of a better ‘aesthetic’ than my own – i.e. why would she choose to purposefully show off my cellulite? I said to PS: “Beyonce has my butt” and he agreed. The other customers were gathered around watching the video. I said: “stop watching it, that’s my butt!” I was getting agitated. The people gathered were telling me: “it’s Beyonce’s butt now...” I woke up in a good mood.


      Interpretation/analysis  
      I think the interpretation for this dream is pretty self-explanatory, given the dream triggers/day residue referred to above. A lot of the other symbolism (including Beyonce!) has been interpreted elsewhere in this Blog, and I do no justice in repeating myself in this particular interpretation.

      Buttocks/bottom/ass:
      • Ability to make progress, or to get ahead and ‘make strides’ in life
      • ‘Sitting it out’ or resting
      • A person's foundation, such as their beliefs and values
      • Laziness or procrastination
      • Negative emotions you may be holding in or repressing (the idea of anal retentiveness?)
      • Feelings of guilt; shame; and self-worth
      • Instincts/urges
      • Feelings of insecurity/personal struggles
      • Misshapen butt – underdeveloped/damaged areas of your psyche

      I have included some of the relevant imagery below, I hope my readers enjoy :) 
      Glacier of ice in the ocean
      Whale fin in the ocean
      Rare tuna steak - this has the same quality as the huge fins/sales seen I visualised
      Gelatinous texture washed up on ocean shore
      Beyonce Knowles in a gold leotard exactly like that which appeared in the dream, except the one in the dream had a thong
      Picture of me taken to demonstrate my muscle growth from weight-lifting - aspiring to the 'ghetto booty' ideal of hip hop culture
      Sarah "Saartjie" Baartman (1790 – 1815), known as the ‘Hottentot Venus’
       Futuristic Reintrepretation of Hottentot Venus by Renee Valerie Cox (1994)
      In this futuristic reinterpretation of the Hottentot Venus, Renee Valerie Cox directly inserts her own body into the historical matrix of Western representations that configured black female sexuality.  In the photograph Cox’s body is transformed, recalling the Hottentot Venus, with the addition of protruding metallic breasts and an accompanying metal butt extension.  The white strings that delicately hold these metallic body parts in place with a bow, seem to emphasise the artists’ complex and ambivalent relationships to representations of black female sexuality.  Cox wears the metallic appendages like a costume or disguise, but her own nude body is simultaneously revealed to the viewer.  She stands in profile emphasising her bodily dimensions, hands akimbo, and stares directly at the viewer.

      In the following pictures of Jennifer Lopez, please note the differential representation of her butt - from over-inflated to gross proportions in some images, whilst appearing to adhere to steroetypical western ideals (i.e. small and pert) in others. It is of course, not coincidental that the images where the focus is on the overly-large nature of her butt, tend to be for promotional use aimed towards the Latin and 'urban/hip hop' markets, or for a male audience, whilst the more slim, 'Western' aesthetic tends to appear in images aimed at a female audience, and notably, when photographed for glossy high-end fashion magazines, such as Vogue Italia. In all the pictures I found to illustrate the subject I had been reading about (referred to above), the lens of the camera is firmly focused on Jennifer's butt, symbolising that which marks her as a 'different' bodily aesthetic within popular culture, a sign of her raw sexuality. It has been said that JLo did for the butt, what Pamela Anderson did for breasts --- the media is saturated with stories of increasing numbers of young women seeking buttock augmentation, in pursuit of the current Western craze for the 'big booty' ideal, with several cases ending in fatality, due to complications arising from negligent surgery.
      Below are some of the pictures available on the internet showing Beyonce Knowles' supposedly lightened skin (both non-manipulated) and allegedly-airbrushed in post-production for her own album cover for her fourth studio album, 4 (2011); and the L'Oreal Feria campaign (Beyonce was featured as a L'Oreal 'Ambassador' in their 2008 & 2011 campaigns for the hair colourant). What do you think?