Dreams (yes, dreams)

If you know me very well at all (and hopefully you do if you are reading this blog) you also know that one of my favorite things to talk about (right after Doctor Who, delectable food, and Mr. Darcy) is dreaming.  It's a subject that really fascinates me, especially a) lucid dreaming and b) the meanings of dreams. Yes, yes I know that this is a such an incredibly nerdy thing to even think about let alone post about, but I just couldn't resist.

Part of my interest in dreams probably originates from my own. I dream very vividly and I can usually remember most of the dreams after I wake up. I never thought this was weird until my friends revealed to me that they hardly remember any dreams they have, but the in the ones they do remember they don't have all five senses--whereas I can not only see and hear but also feel (especially pain and heat), smell and taste.

I've also had more than my fair share of super intense feature-film length and detailed story dreams. Sure, they have some plot holes here and there (no, I don't really see why I had to pass through Canada and Mexico to get from Virginia to New York while running away from my crazy hippie parents and their van filled with strange vision-bestowing vegetable juice) but they are some of my favorites. If you don't know what I'm talking about you're really missing out. Maybe I'll post a synopsis of one later so you can see what I mean.

So, lucid dreaming... This is basically a fancy way of saying that you gain consciousness while remaining in the dream state--realizing that you're dreaming. If this happens and you know what you're doing you can (99.9% of the time) take control of your dream and make whatever you want happen. Really helpful when you suddenly need superpowers or if you start craving the world's biggest bean burrito. Now I don't know about you, but I've actually done this by accident before. It was mostly when I was younger and mostly during nightmares. I would be running or hiding from whatever bad guy, giant rat, zombie or wicked witch was chasing me when I would suddenly realize that it wasn't real and if I could just wake up I would be safe.

I've read a few different articles on smart/crazy people's theories on how do this on purpose, so you can gain lucidity at any point in your dream. Most of them were strange and complicated and sounded like whoever wrote them was on that vision-juice, but one actually made some sense. It basically said that if you ask yourself several times a day "Am I awake or am I dreaming?" (the answer at this point should be "Awake, duh") and keep at it for a week or two that your subconscious will start doing it automatically. Then, when you start dreaming, your mind will wonder if you're awake or dreaming, you'll realize that it is indeed the latter, and voila--you are now consciously dreaming. Yeah, it admittedly sounds like a half-sized load of hoo-ha, but I've been trying it and it actually works; I've done it at least 3 times.

I know I also mentioned dream meanings but this post is getting long and my scrumptious taco salad from Cafe Rio is getting cold, so I'll do a part two sometime later, okay? Maybe tonight maybe tomorrow, but I'll get to it soon (whether you want me to or not MWAHAHAHA).

You rock.

P.S. Colin Firth IS Mr. Darcy, nobody else even compares.