Dystopia

From Thursday; 2 October 2023

Several dreams last night with crumbling society and disaster on our heels.

In one, several street blocks were blocked off by abandoned vehicles; buses, cars, trucks, etc. There was just enough room in between to get through, thinking the street was passable. Once trapped inside the block gangs of dystopia marauders (think: Mad Max) attacked the car and tried to get me out and steal all my stuff.

In another I was walking down a very foreboding and dangerous alley. To get to the safer main sidewalk I had to walk a dirt path between two houses. Each yard though had large snarling dogs drooling with huge fang-like teeth.

That last one I had to calm myself down from when I woke up, telling myself it was just a dream.

Princess Diana, the Shopping Mall Palace, and Old Ladies Handbags

I was driving in a car somewhere outside London (steering wheel on our side of the car, oddly enough.) I was tasked with getting Princess Diana to a dinner at Buckingham Palace, so I disguised my voice as a Baron, Duke or some such thing to help convince her to attend. After a lengthy conversation with her in which she declines the offer I arrived at the palace. As I was waiting for the elevator to take me up to the dinner I realized I only had street clothes and no formal “royal” dress clothes so I made my way to leave. The main entrance had been converted into a small shopping mall and all the escalators to the exit were moving to fast to get on. I opted for the stairs and outside in a small park every empty bench was taken up by some old British lady’s large handbag which none refused to move so I could sit.

The Lost Dog at the Parade

From Tuesday; October 24, 2023

I dreamed last night that I lost my dog at a parade. In it I was walking to my car and he was following me. When I got to the car the dog following me wasn’t him. I panicked. I searched and searched the parade and never could find him. I was posting signs with his picture all over town when I woke up. It was one of those where you tell yourself it was just a dream and you’re in your bed safe with nothing to worry about. I did check to make sure he was in his bed though.

The Island and the Crater Lake

From Saturday; 28 October 2023

I was on an island that felt more like one in the Aleutians. It felt “earthy.” I got on the wrong vehicle (a bus maybe?) that was going to return me to my living space. It turned out to be a bus touring the island giving an historical and ecological tour. The guide, a sort of pudgy, warm native-like woman was pointing out architecture of living spaces along the way. Everything from primitive huts to something she called “sequash frames,” basically tiny, brick, salt box-like farm houses. I remember each one vividly, even after waking. Part of the ecological tour was along the rim of a crater lake at the top of a massive hill/small mountain. This time, as in the others it’s always near sunset and the far side of the crater is bathed in deep reds and oranges.

The whole dream made me feel connected, as if this is a place I belong, have been to many times, etc. It felt calming being lost in the history and landscape. Bucolic? Maybe. But the sense was more earthy. This may sound super weird, but that earthy feeling I got was the same way a fresh mushroom tastes. Somewhat dirt-like in a rich, loamy way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Islands that are in cooler, not tropical climates, and the crater lake such as in this dream are recurring themes and locations in my dreams. It's not always the same island, but the crater lake is always the same geographically.

The Feral Cat

From Wednesday; 1 November 2023

I dreamed that my dad had found a feral cat in his yard. It was soaking wet, as if it had been caught in the rain. It was emaciated and its eyes were sunken and sullen. My dad stuck a metal ruler into its chest. "Why did you do that?!" I shrieked in horror!

"Because he's suffering," my dad said plainly. 

I cradled the cat as his life slipped away from him. I could feel that in his final moments he felt a love that he'd never had the chance to feel before. And I felt the return of that love and knew he had died happy. 

H2O2, Disney, the Cardinal, and the Dog

I had multiple dreams last night

Dream #1
My dad had six tanks full of hydrogen peroxide in his garage that I ignited and blew up his neighborhood. Afterward I was afraid to call home knowing I’d be in HUGE trouble. I woke from this dream relieved that it was only a dream. I was safe in my bed and none of the dream's events had actually happened. 

Dream #2
I was at a Disney sort of Board of Directors meeting where they were discussing their new business plan. The CEO held a contest to guess the cost of producing the new plan, which was $10 billion. I guessed correctly and won, but was then concerned that I’d compromised my position at my own company.

Dream #3
I was in a massive cathedral, the kind you'd imagine; tons of frescos, murals, and everything layered in obscene amounts of gold. I was waiting in a long line to be seated for a funeral for a Cardinal. It was too crowded to enter the nave so I stayed outside in the cathedral's narthex. Sitting there was a whimpering Golden Retriever. So I sat down and petted and calmed the dog instead.