When Terrifying dreams become Exhilerating. Origins in Consciousness. Possible Poll.

[Phlosphr]

Ever have a dream that scares the bajeezus out of you, then upon waking and realizing your mind was just being humbly sacred and profane, get a feeling of exhileration?

This morning I was having a terrible dream about a group of seemingly normal people all found dead in a barren winter wasteland. Connie Chung was giving commentary as to method of death. And she was saying all of these people had died before and been rescusitated, and the reason they committed suicide was because death was such an enlightening and wonderful experience they couldn’t wait for nature to run it’s course. Gruesome deaths for some, others totally calm. When a flash picture of a loved one (not dead) came into my mind I became scared, and that is when I woke up. 5:55am.

5:55 and 45 seconds I was exhilerated for some strange reason. The origins of nightmares and other such dreams is rather clear to me as a psychologist. Metaphorical riches lay in ones dreams, interpreting them can be fun and a little anxiety inducing at the same time.

The exhileration I believe comes from how vivid my mind was allowing my dreams to be. I use the term ‘mind’ rather loosly in this post, precisly why this is not in GD. Anyway, I got a certain rush from the provocative nature of my own understanding of the dream. So much so that I discussed it with my wife this morning and she said, “…well as a guide I would say you learned very little, but as a metaphore for your anxiety about death I’d say you learned quite a bit.”

My wife has an uncanny way of simplifying a conversation to bring it to conclusion quickly. Last week I was at a seminar where the teaching of death and dying was covered. We heard from a guest speaker who had died from a heart attack shortly after his wife left for work. Forgetting her Lunch on the table she came back in a few minutes later to find him dead on the floor. Immediately starting CPR and calling the Ambulance, he was able to be rescusitated after 10 minutes down. He said it was the most amazing and pleasant experience he has ever had. Stating that the feeling was wonderful, completely calming and full of what he called Love.

I found this very interesting, as did many of the other psychologists and professors in the room. Sufficed to say my dream early this morning was spawned by this.

I’d like to hear other’s accounts of terrifying dreams possibly turned exhilerating, or non-terrifying dreams so vivid your reality receptors were having difficulty distinguishing between the real and not. Maybe we’ll make this into a Poll.

[slortar]

It happens quite a bit, at least to me. I think that fear is a more engaging experience than, well, most of what we fill our dreams with. Once you reach that point that you can submit to the horror, it can be kind of cool.

I used to have a fairly strong fear/morbid fascination of tornados. Every few months I’d have dreams I was out driving with someone, we’d spot a tornado and run away from it. Eventually we’d be overtaken and swept into the funnel cloud and I’d wake up.

Eventually, it happened so much I learned to enjoy it, like a roller coaster ride. Looking back on the dreams, I realized that I always, on some level or other, enjoyed the dreams. What I did not like was the loss of control. Once I accepted that I could enjoy the ride.

It doesn’t always work for all of my nightmares, like anxiety dreams or that one dream where my legs got blown off by Nazi’s and I wound up having to live with my parents (who I just found out were evil drug smugglers) for the rest of my life. Those suck on every level.

[Rashak_Mani]

I used to have a recurring dream about being trapped, with some other people, in a house by some kind of huge bird like monster. The house wasnt any I knew of… but the details were always the same… like a thriller movie we tried every which way to escape. I had it only during my beach vacations and from 9 yrs old to 14 yrs old.

The other day I was dozing off in front of the TV and I felt paralyzed suddenly… couldnt make a sound. This creature stepped in from the window and without any weight jumped on my stomach area… stared at me grimly and then left. Pretty vivid too…

I asked my then GF and she said that when your half awake/half asleep your conciousness is more open. She says I probably saw some kind of impish creature.