...not the kind of dreams that inspire achievements. Just bizarre, meaningless to anyone other than myself, subconscious visionscapes. There is a point to this: lucid dreaming. I enjoy being an active participant in the universe of my own creation. In recording my dreams, I'm massaging the mind; opening it; becoming more familiar with my own system of symbolic meanings. Indulge me, will you?
THE LOBSTER DREAM:
I'm taking a tennis clinic, but nobody wants to play with me. Dejected, I find myself in an office building. The building and its occupants fall under siege of some criminal who enjoys creative methods of torture. He orders me to build a fire using florescent black-lights and crepe paper. I'm trying to show how 'like-minded' we are in our pursuit of the perfect mock-fire. But, the fire never gets completed because my creative ability never quite measures up to my vision. So, I am punished. The criminal takes me to an area in the lobby that is supposed to resemble an island oasis. There is a rope, one end of which disappears into a fake lagoon made from sea-foam green cellophane. The criminal pulls at the rope and up comes a lobster trap. The trap door opens and out scrambles a frighteningly strange looking lobster with one giant snapping claw and a human mouth with large gnashing teeth. It moves quickly towards my feet. I am desperately trying to back away, afraid the lobster is going to pinch the fuck out of my toes. But, the criminal grabs my shoulders and pushes me down so that now I'm on my belly with my face just inches away from the lobster. Suddenly, I have something in my hand; it's a plastic dowel (thank you, Dream Fairy!), which is all the protection I have against the lobster's gnashing human teeth. I stuff the dowel into the lobster's mouth, so it can't bite down on my fingers. But, I can't do anything about that claw. Meanwhile, in the midst of all this chaos, I'm complimenting the criminal, trying to get on his good side, hoping he'll release my shoulders and let me go. Bang, bang in the background. Somebody's been shot and killed. Now, everyone in the building is panicking and trying to escape. I am among them.
THE OWL DREAM:
It's daylight. I'm standing on my balcony looking out towards the sea. My little dog is at my side. A Great Horned Owl flies past me and lands next to the dog. I'm amazed at the sight of this thing. I'm so excited because I love owls and this one is huge and looks very soft. But, I'm also concerned about how the dog will react as the owl moves closer to him. I'm afraid that the dog might become hostile out of fear, which could cause the owl to either counterattack or fly away. But, then, the owl starts nuzzeling up to the dog and they begin trading affections. I can barely see the dog under the owl's downy feathers. They're cuddling. This is temporary.
Suddenly, the owl is gone and there's a man standing next to me. We're talking casually, about what, I don't know. Then, the realization hits me and I say, "Hey, wait a minute... Weren't you just an owl a second ago?" The man says, "Yes." I say, "So, I'm not crazy? You were an owl and now you're a man?". "That's right" he says. It doesn't occur to me to question whether or not I'm dreaming, only that I'm not imagining this. But, really, I am. Oh, the irony.
THE RATTLESNAKE DREAM:
I'm hiking alone in a desert canyon. I'm well aware that there may be rattlesnakes along the way. I try to walk as quickly as possible past a patch of dead bushes to my left. But, just to my right, I hear the distinct hiss of a rattle. I turn to look, afraid of what I'm about to see. The snake is flying through the air, mouth wide open, just fractions of a second away from meeting my face. I impulsively raise my arm to shield myself and feel the snake's teeth sink into the skin of my forearm. I grab the snake by it's head and detatch it from my flesh and muscle. I'm holding it as tightly as I can with one hand, but it's a strong fucker and it's squirming to free itself. I see another hiker pass by and tell him I need help, fast. He tells me he'll be right back, but I never see him again. I can't let go of the snake, or it's going to bite me again. I can't tie off my arm to prevent the spread of it's venom with only one free hand. So, I try to throw the snake as far away from me as possible. But, this just pisses it off. It comes back at me and bites me again, this time on my neck. Oh, I'm doomed now. I start running towards the nearest town, knowing I'm just killing myself faster. I'm calling out for someone to help me. Nobody notices or cares. Again, I'm holding this damned snake so it can't bite me a third time. But, I feel myself slipping. The venom is killing me. I'm about to lose consciousness. And, still nobody seems to give a shit.
