Monday, August 28, 2017

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

Ay there's the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come...

Shakespeare had it right, (not Hamlet, never could stand that whiny character!), dreams are scary.

I'm a vivid dreamer. Always have been. My parents took me to a few doctors when I was young because they were so concerned about my nightmares. I used to scare the daylights out of my mom when I'd tell her my dreams. One night, when I was about 5, I relayed a dream that had her too scared to put her feet on the floor and go back to her room. I still remember that dream.

The doctors said I just had a vivid imagination.
No kidding.

No one in my family or extended family/friends dreams as vividly or as frequently as I do. I've become extremely skilled at pushing away the dreams when I wake up so that I can function throughout the day and not remain stuck in the nightmares and emotions (they can be overwhelming and sometimes debilitating).

Most family members and friends dream rarely and aren't troubled by dreams. Makes me curious.

Are people who are invested in fiction (readers and writers) more likely to dream and/or dream vividly?

So, do you dream a lot? Do you remember your dreams? Do you have nightmares?
Anyone else still able to quote most of that soliloquy? 

Curious minds want to know. 

36 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Sounds like we have that in common! I dream as soon as I fall asleep--abruptly and immediately in REM sleep--and always really terrifying images (someone throwing a knife at my face, etc). 6 or 7 years ago, this wasn't true (had boring dreams then, or forgettable ones, anyway), but apparently I'm not hitting all my sleep stages anymore? Considering yet another visit to the sleep doctor. ::)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I do dream but it's rare they are vivid or all that memorable. Although I do have dreams that reoccur.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I've always had vivid dreams. I used to write them down as soon as I woke. Almost every story I've written has come from a dream. Maybe you need to write a horror story and that will help you deal with it?

Jemi Fraser said...

That's no fun! I get those attack ones as well - so scary!!!

Jemi Fraser said...

I've only had a couple of recurring ones - they're kind of freaky too!

Jemi Fraser said...

I've thought about it - but I don't want to live in those worlds long enough to write and edit! *shudder*

cleemckenzie said...

I do have a lot of convoluted, surrealistic dreams and they haunt me well into the day. They make absolutely no logical sense, mixing events, people and times in my life with things I've never seen or heard (at least consciously). A childhood memory is often connected to last night's pork chop and something I wrote as a journal entry or big clouds with unknown faces. That was last night.

I could never abide Hamlet either. "Stop with the hand-ringing and those "Alases" and do something!" I wanted to scream.

Chrys Fey said...

My dreams are vivid as well, and I wake up feeling as though I hadn't slept at all. I can even direct my own dreams, control them. Most of my stories conef from my dreams.

JeffO said...

Sounds like you have the makings of a good memoir there, Jemi, or a compelling main character! I'm not sure if I dream more vividly than others or more often; I do have some occasional wild ones, including one or two that still give me chills--literally--thinking about them a few years after I had them. I have scared my wife once in a while with the noises I make during these dreams, too.

Jemi Fraser said...

Yes - Hamlet was annoying!
Your dreams sound like mine - so disconnected and make no sense!

Jemi Fraser said...

Yes! I've had the ability to control a few - but not many. It's an eerie feeling. I just can't write about mine - need more inner fortitude I guess! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

I've done the same to my poor hubby! He's learned to mostly ignore me when I sit up and talk to him :)

Kelly Steel said...

I try to remember my dreams int he morning to look for meanings and to work out what my sub conscious must be telling me.

Mason Canyon said...

I don't dream as much as I used to. I did have a reoccurring dream when I was younger but I can't recall dreaming it in years.

Michelle Wallace said...

I don't really dream. Or maybe I do, but I can't remember a thing.
Conclusion? My stories never develop from a dream.

Jemi Fraser said...

I've decided my subconscious is too scary!!! :P

Jemi Fraser said...

Those recurring ones are spooky!

Jemi Fraser said...

I don't get my stories from there either - my dreams are too scary for me - and too convoluted to make any sense! :)

Chemist Ken said...

I used to remember my dreams, so they seemed pretty vivid at the time. These days, the conditions have to be just right for me to remember anything other than a vague feeling. Too bad, I liked thinking about my dreams.

Jemi Fraser said...

I like to think about mine - as long as they aren't the scary ones! :)

klahanie said...

Hi human, Jemi,

I can so relate to your dreamy pawst. I have some very weird dreams and my humans have to wake me up. I keep having this dream that cats have this evil plan to rule the world.

Pawhaps I'm dreaming right now that I read this pawst by you and left a comment.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....

Pawsitive wishes, Penny 🐶

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I would have been worried if I were your parents also. My daughter has vivid dreams that she remembers clearly. I often forget mine not long after waking. When my children were younger I had the typical parent dreams of not being able to get to my child or leaving them behind or something. No real nightmares though.

Deniz Bevan said...

I don't think I dream like a true vivid dreamer, but some of them come close. And I actually dream a lot of story ideas or scenes for ongoing wips. I hope that never goes away!

mshatch said...

I dream like that, too. I once had a dream as an adult that was so frightening I was wreck for days. I still remember it. Other times I've had dreams so vivid and magical I want to revisit and in others I'm someone else entirely, like my assassin dream, which I have to see was pretty cool. My favorites, however, are the ones when I can makes things happen Those are the best, but also the rarest.

Jemi Fraser said...

Wishing you sweet dreams, Penny!! Gary too :)

Jemi Fraser said...

That would be nice - mine are often more mellow these days - but I still have the scary ones right along with them.

Jemi Fraser said...

I hope they keep on working for you. Mine are always disconnected and bizarre - nothing I'd be able to use

Jemi Fraser said...

Yes - if you can manipulate the dream it is so cool! I've only had that a few times as well and not in years. I want some of those magical ones though!!

Gina Gao said...

I've always had really intense dreams, sometimes I'd write them down if I feel like they would make a good story.


www.ficklemillennial.com

DMS said...

I usually remember many of my dreams and they are very detailed. I don't usually have nightmares- but it often takes me a little time to push away the dreamworld because it seems so real!

~Jess

Leslie S. Rose said...

Oh, my goodness - I dream like crazy and keep a journal by my bed to catch them. I've gotten really good at writing in the dark.

Jemi Fraser said...

Gina - I'm too afraid of some of mine! Others are too disjointed and ridiculous :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Yes! I've believed some of mine were real until proven otherwise! :P

Jemi Fraser said...

You're braver than I am! Don't want to remember most of mine :)

Carol Kilgore said...

How did I miss stopping here yesterday? YES to vivid dreams. For my whole life as long back as I can remember. I wake sometimes drenched in sweat. Awful dreams. Too real. I have some good dreams, too, though, so mostly they balance out. I also have some that are much less vivid and more classically dreamlike, but most of my dreams are vivid. Reading the comments, I do wonder if maybe that's something writing related. I do remember many of my dreams.

Jemi Fraser said...

It's fascinating! I'm wondering if vivid dreaming is connected to a personality driven to create