Saturday, November 30, 2013

Dreams Of Three


All my life (at least up until now) I have heard an old bit of folk wisdom or superstition that if you dream the same dream three times, that dream will come true. Sometimes it is suggested the dream must recur on successive nights, but the former is the more popular theory, at least as I've heard of it.
 
I'm a big dreamer and have always felt that dreams have meaning. At least I can attest that mine do. The only thing that prevents me from keeping a dream journal beside my bed is that, light sleeper that I am, if I were to try to record my dreams before returning to my slumbers, why, I would never return to my slumbers. But many of dreams remain with me after I have awakened for the day. Many have stayed with me for years.  
 
I have had premonitory dreams. Much valuable self insight has been gleaned from my dreams when the filter is off and my whole mind gets involved in my thought process rather than just my conscious mind. Because that filter is off during my sleep, my dreams have also given me valuable insights about people I know and who are a part of my life. I've written songs in my dreams. And of course I've had more than my share of Freudian "wish fulfillment" in my dreams.
 
Recently I have twice dreamed of a fire in my home. Well, not really a fire, but rather smoke that indicated to me that there was a fire or about to be a fire. Actual flames were never seen in my dreams, only copious amounts of smoke.
 
The first of these dreams occurred several weeks ago when I dreamed my clock radio began smoking. Now that clock radio has been malfunctioning for a while. The radio occasionally comes on without warning and there is no way to turn the radio off. The control is no longer fail-safe. The clock radio has great sentimental value to me, having been a gift from my high school sweetheart ex-wife, and is over thirty years old. Many have been the nights my sleep was interrupted by the radio suddenly coming on during the night. Often when I am home it comes on suddenly and usually plays a song that has personal meaning for me. That wasn't so bad, but the night interruptions were getting old quick.
 
I had been thinking of throwing the radio away but found I just couldn't bear to part with. It was as I was debating tossing it that my first dream occurred. I was in my bed sleeping and - in my dream, mind you - turned over to check the digital time read out (something I often do during the night) and noticed smoke arising from it. The dream seemed so real that it woke me and then it took me a couple of minutes before I could convince myself it was a dream. 
 
Well, finally I just thought to turn the tuner to a "dead spot" were no radio station was located and that has solved my problem.
 
Then came my second smoke dream. It happened just the other night when I dreamed the indoor portion of my heating and air-conditioning unit began smoking during the night. Again the dream was so realistic it disturbed me greatly.
 
That dream probably isn't mysterious as twice this past week I had to call a repairman to replace a faulty thermostat which was making for a cold house. The first replacement went bad after two days and had to be replaced. Perhaps faulty machines just have a way of going up in smoke in my dreams.
 
Those aren't exactly the same dream but rather the same kind of dream. So now I await a third smoke-filled dream to see what, if anything, happens. You see, I've always had this fear rattling around in the back of my mind - not a great one, but certainly a persistent one - of my home catching fire while I am asleep. That almost happened once when I was a teenager and an ironing board that had been propped up along a wall somehow managed to fall onto a floor furnace. My mother woke up in the night because she smelled smoke (we didn't have smoke detectors in my childhood home}. Strangely there were no flames involved in this incident either, only smoke. I was asleep on the couch and was awakened by the noise my mom made dragging the smoldering ironing board off the furnace.
 
Well, I'm not superstitious, but I am profoundly curious.
 
Just for fun I'm attaching a story about dreams of three taken from the April 30, 1855, edition of the New York Times:
 
Fatal Accident at West Avon - Prophetic Dreams
 
On Tuesday, the 24th inst., as Orson Woodford, of West Avon, was sawing wood with a horse-power saw, the saw caught in a crooked stick and was torn with the shaft from its fastenings. It came in contact with Mr. W.'s right arm, which was torn nearly off at the elbow. He survived the injury but twelve hours. Mr. W. leaves a wife and two children.
 

A singular circumstance connected with this sad occurrence is mentioned by a correspondent, who sends us the above statement. Mr. Woodford dreamed; for three successive nights, of being hurt with that saw; and on the morning of his death he remarked to his wife, on arising, "I had that same ugly dream last night."

15 comments:

  1. I put no store in dreams other than my brain having at it. I used to dream of my teeth falilng out until in my 30s I went to a dentist, who TOLD me my teeth would start falling out in a few years! I am 56, no cavities, and no teeth ever fell out. That said---get a new radio, dude.

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    1. Just my opinion, but I think you are too quickly dismissing a powerful source of personal insight. I don't contend that all dreams are premonitory, and certainly I'm having a bit of fun with the popular "dreams of three" folk wisdom. I don't expect to have a fire - at least I certainly hope I don't!

      Your recurrent dreams about your teeth might express a fear in your subconscious of your good dental health coming to an end. For example, I was an adult survivor of orthodontic treatment; for years I have had occasional dreams of my teeth suddenly drifting back toward their old positions. It only made me more determined to follow up with my retainer protocol. (And it's funny I'm having this discussion with you as I swear I just dreamed last night that I was getting dentures. I hope that isn't premonitory, for sure!)

      I've amassed a huge collection of stories of people - the famous as well as common folk - who have experienced meaningful dreams. I believe our dream life is important because it can be a no-holds-barred look at ourselves, with the filter of our conscious mind turned off.

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  2. Well, yes, of course dreams are relevant, that is why I gave the reason my brain was "having at it" regarding my teeth. Everything EVERYTHING (and that is way more data than we 'think') goes into our brain and is in threre. Our brains are made to figure it all out, organize, bring it to a place we mere mortals can understand. But that is not mystical to me, it is human biology, and I imagine many creatures with brains do the same. FYI--my partner's $30,000 dentures are BEAUTIFUL, she just can't bite with them. ARRGG--back to DDS today to "adjust." Premonition? HA! I must post about my talking poop. ( Now THAT is in your brain--sweet dreams, bro.)

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    1. Talking poop. Didn't you post about that once before? It sounds familiar. Not the kind of thing easily forgotten.

      And the brain. Analogous to a computer or a radio receiver that can, under the right circumstances, "tune into" different aspects of reality? Perhaps both. My mind is open.

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  3. I have a school binder full of dreams. I stopped recording them a few years ago because after a decade of talk therapy my dreams shifted and well sort of neutralized. Though they do pick up from time to time and they are usually recurring dreams. Not exact but close enough.

    Here's a common dream theme for me: tornado. Decades of tornado dreams. I actually see them, through a basement window or while standing outside a home in the yard, I see the tornado. It's dark and menacing. It's headed in my direction. I run to warn/save others. I can't do justice to it all but many years into therapy and giving serious consideration as to the underlying reasons for a tornado to haunt me I started to stand to face the tornado and shift my body so it couldn't touch me.

    Then one night/early daytime hours I had another tornado dream. I'm standing in a yard/field and there is a fence and I see a tornado coming at me and for the first time in my tornado dreams I do not run or evade. I stand firm and stare it down. You will not hit me. At the last moment it makes a sharp turn and the danger is gone. I did not have another tornado dream again for years until just about one or two months ago. This tornado was unlike any tornado I had ever seen. It's edges were clean, not menacing and it was pure white. In the dream I stand and stare at it because it is so unusual and rather umm, pretty. There is no fear but inside the dream I think to myself, 'Wow, I haven't had a tornado dream in a long time. Wonder what's up?' Then I wake up. At first I was upset thinking, 'Oh crap, now what?' But I decided to revisit the visual of that white tornado that wasn't menacing or threatening at all and well I tend to think it was a confirmation of sorts . . . there's been a real and progressive positive shift both in my conscious and unconscious life and the white tornado seemed to be showing me that another layer of healing has taken place.

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    1. I appreciate the way you analyze your dreams. The reason I'm not big on all those dream interpretation books on the market is because dream symbolism seems to be highly personal sometimes. It takes work, lots of thought and introspection, to understand what our deeper mind is trying to communicate to us. At least that is what I believe.

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    2. My dreams paralleled my progress therapeutically. They were keen visuals of both my external and internal life. In some ways I think I was very fortunate to have them. It was like they were the third party in my therapeutic process and helped to tell my story of fear, trauma, healing and recovery. When I could not give voice or feared doing so my dreams did that for me and through them I realized I could give voice. I'm referring to my recurring dreams. I've had lots of other dreams that I don't really find all that meaningful or have paid mind to. I actually find myself grateful when I wake up and realized that I dreamed. It means I achieved REM sleep and that's a good thing for this tired old brain. :-)

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    3. I find that interesting. Let me tell you about a dream I had just the other night. First I have to provide a little background.

      My ex-mother-n-law died a couple of weeks ago. She was a fine woman that I always loved so of course I sent flowers and visited the family at the funeral home. I had not spoken to my ex-wife in several years but did have the opportunity to visit with her for a short time while I was there. Then, a couple of nights ago I had a strange dream. I dreamed I was back at the funeral home looking again at my ex-mother-in-law as she lay in her casket. Suddenly she coughed. Then she rolled over and continued to cough. I ran for the funeral director who told me (duh! ) "this woman isn't dead." That was pretty much the dream. After thinking about it I can't help but feel that my feelings about my ex-wife and the grief over our failed marriage (even though it ended many years ago) was represented by my ex-mother-in-law; that perhaps the dream displayed a deep-seated wish that my marriage hadn't died or wasn't truly dead despite all appearances.

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    4. Or maybe your ex-MIL is really you and it is a reminder that you are alive. :-)

      The "deep-seeded" wish certainly makes sense.

      I had a dream recently where someone asks me a "bucket list" question. One of those, if you could, what would you like to do before you die. I said I'd like to learn to play the cello. :-)

      Dreams can often be nightmares but sometimes they are fun.

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    5. Oh, trust me: I'm sure I nailed my dream's meaning. Now about that cello of yours.... What do you suppose is up with that?

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    6. Probably just simply what it is . . . there was a time I would have liked to play the cello. A man in a music store once told me women love the cello. I asked him why and he replied it had something to do with it being a sexual instrument . . . between the legs. Zoe rolls her eyes. :-)

      Piloting one of those big tanker ships has always been on my bucket list too. I'm weird. *grin*

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    7. I think about the only thing on my bucket list is a trip to Hawaii. I've always wanted to go there. Now I'm just trying to save enough of a nest egg that I can survive retirement (if I live so long).

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  4. hahahaha, well gOOD 'cause I'd rather not talk poo again. (I took pix, before photography everything was the rule! hahahaha

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    1. Pictures? You had pictures? That I don't remember. But wasn't it something about letters being formed by the poo? And I seem recall one of your posts about ghost poo.

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  5. This is interesting. Everyone has their own interpretation of their dreams, but in my opinion, it can either mean the opposite or it's simply a reflection of the current events in your life. It might even refer to your broken air-conditioning unit. Once it’s repaired, which I hope for good, the dreams might stop. How is it by the way?

    Ed @ FiveStarHVACPlumbing.com

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