To Sleep, Perchance To Dream - IFC S2 R31 - Entry

I’m sitting in a trolley car in complete and total solitude. It appears there are no controls to operate the trolley at either end of the car nor is there anyone there to drive it and yet I can feel the gentle rocking motion as we move down the… WOW!

I look outside the window and see that the trolley car is floating in deep space and we are passing near the planet Jupiter. Billions of stars fill my vision while nebula and comets drift by in the distance. Saturn enters into my periphery and I turn in wonder to count the rings. It feels like the trolley is travelling very slow but the speed at which I am moving past these massive planets tells me it’s moving at incredible speeds. I just love days like this and even though they happen quite often I never get tired of it. Out of nowhere is a violent lurching and the car comes to an immediate halt and suddenly I am…

Standing in my kitchen in my beautiful home with marble countertops and gold faucets (not gold-plated but solid gold). Outside my kitchen window I have a beautiful panoramic view of Mount Everest. I look down and see that I am grilling steaks (because apparently I keep a grill in my kitchen, complete with a patch of grass). I turn to my left and my good friend Tony is standing at the portcullis (another item no kitchen should ever be without). I know we haven’t seen in each other in nearly 8 years and haven’t talked to each other in 3 but here he is. We are reminiscing about last nights game, the Chicago Blackhawks vs the Los Angeles Lakers in a jaw dropping rugby match. I turn back to my right and flip the pancakes (pancakes?), that’s right I almost forgot I was making pancakes. I turn back and see my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Dubins’ head on Tony’s body and we return to our conversation about the probability factor of finding Schrödinger's cat alive in the box. This day just keeps getting better and better. I love it when nothing strange or out of the ordinary happens. Then, I feel a gentle nudge on my leg. I look down and see my dog JoJo nuzzling my right leg (the one with the shorts on, not the left leg which has full length jeans on) and now I’m confused. What is HE doing here? I see him in everyday life in the… … … THE WAKING WORLD! Damn, I just realized I’m dreaming. How did I not pick up on this before? Well then, here I am having a lucid dream and aware of the fact that I am dreaming. What’s a guy to do? I know exactly what to do, I am going to fly.

I have had a handful of dreams in which I was able to fly freely and this time should be no different. To feel the wind cascading through my hair and soaring to heights unimagined. If you’re going to dream may as well make the most of it. So I look to the sky and will myself upwards but nothing happens. DAMN! I hate when that happens. Unfortunately even though I have successfully managed to fly in several of my dreams more often than not I just can’t seem to do it. So I throw myself up in the air, arms spread wide, legs akimbo and drop to about 6 inches off the ground. I’m half ass flying because none of my body is touching the ground but I can’t get any higher. Nor can I fly forward or backward. I feel like Tom Cruise in the first Mission Impossible movie where he’s just hanging by a wire. WTF! That’s ok, This is my dream I can do it I just need to stand tall, strike a Superman pose and…
Then I hear the angelic voice of my soulmate, best friend and wife softly say “Joey, it’s time to make the donuts”. Nope, the fucking donuts can wait, I’m trying to fly here. Again, the beatific voice fills my ears “Joey, it’s time to wake up”. I shake my head and prepare for another take off attempt. Now comes the gentle rub on my leg and the voice of my wife as if on the gossamer wings of angels “C’mon you dumb fuck, Nick has school this morning, get your ass out of bed”.

Sigh, I guess it really is time to make the donuts. I wake up and shake off the haze and am left with the following questions: Why didn’t I realize I was dreaming sooner? What are the subconscious blocks that keep me from consistently flying in my dreams? Why does my wife ALWAYS say “It’s time to make the donuts” when she’s waking me up in the morning?

Please share in the comments your experience(s) with being aware that you are dreaming while in the dream state.

Bonus Dream Material
Three great songs about dreaming by three great hard rock bands.
“Silent Lucidity” by Queensryche

“Dream On” by Aerosmith

“Make it Real” by Scorpions

* For the image of the galaxy, thanks to wikipedia.commons.org
** The title of this post is taken from the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The full quote can be seen below
“To die, to sleep – to sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come…” (Hamlet)